USA > California > Glenn County > History of Colusa and Glenn counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 35
USA > California > Colusa County > History of Colusa and Glenn counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 35
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WILLIAM F. HARLAN, M. D., D. O.
A man of wide knowledge in all branches of medical science, and a graduate of several colleges in his pursuit of a thorough preparation for his chosen profession, Dr. William F. Harlan, the well-known physician and surgeon of Arbuckle, Colusa Connty, is winning for himself a prominent place among the medical men of the county. A native of Wetzel County, W. Va., where he was born on November 12, 1875, Dr. Harlan was raised on a farm and received his preliminary education in the local schools, after which he clerked in a store at Littleton, the same state, until 1901.
It was at this stage in his career that he decided to prepare himself for the medical profession and began the study of Oste- opathy. Going to Kirksville, Mo., he took a course in the Ameri- can School of Osteopathy, graduating in 1904 with the degree of D. O. Following his gradnation he located in Grand Forks, N. D., and practiced there until 1911. While practicing in North Dakota, he went, in 1906, to Battle Creek, Mich., and took a course under Dr. Kellogg in Hydrotherapy; and in 1908, he pursued a postgrad- nate course at the American School of Osteopathy, his Alma Ma- ter. In 1911 he came to Arbuckle, Colusa County, to retire from active practice. Here Dr. Harlan purchased a twenty-acre ranch south of town and engaged in hortienlture. He set out almonds on the acreage, built a home, and settled down to enjoy the peaceful life of a rancher. But the lure of further study proved too great, and in 1915 he went to Los Angeles and took a course at the Pa- cific Medical College, gradnating that same year with the degree of M. D. He also took a postgraduate course at the Osteopathic College of Physicians and Surgeons, in that city.
Theodora Y, Parkett m. &
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Completing his studies in Los Angeles, Dr. Harlan returned to Arbuckle; and in June, 1916, he opened his present offices in the Ash Hotel. These are fully equipped, including an operating room fitted up with all the modern conveniences for operating. Dr. Harlan is specializing in ear, nose and throat troubles. He is meeting with a success made possible by his recognized profes- sional skill, and by his intimate knowledge of the most recent dis- coveries in medical science, supplemented by years of searching study along both general and special lines. His practice is not confined to Colusa County, but extends into the different counties of the Sacramento Valley.
While in North Dakota, Dr. Harlan was president of the State Osteopathie Society for two years, and the next two years was a member of the executive committee of that body. Fraternally, he is an Elk, a member of Marysville Lodge, No. 783; and an Odd Fellow, a member of the Grand Forks (N. D.) Lodge, No. 4, I. O. O. F., and of the Encampment at Arbuckle.
Dr. William F. Harlan was united in marriage with Leona Vale, a native of North Dakota. They are the parents of three children : Virgil, Gertrude, and Melvin V.
MRS. THEODORA TIFFEE PURKITT, M. D.
The native ability, tact and consequent enterprise and ambi- tion of the Argonaut are reflected in the professional advance and financial success made by Dr. T. T. Purkitt, a member of one of the most prominent families of the state, and the daughter of John R. Tiffee, of whom mention is made on another page of this volume. Theodora Tiffee was born in Petaluma, Sonoma County, but was reared in Glenn County, where she attended the public schools. Later she took a course at the Sacramento Seminary. On April 28, 1873, she was united in marriage with George H. Purkitt, a civil engineer. He was a native of Illinois, and had come to Cali- fornia as a young man, where he followed his profession and served for several terms as surveyor of Cohisa County.
Mrs. Purkitt had been reared on her father's ranch, and was very much interested in the various branches of agriculture and stock-raising. After her marriage she devoted some of her time and attention to pioneer experiments in the raising of fruits, as early as 1877, setting out an orchard of a variety of fruits, which she cared for so well that the fruit from her trees was considered the finest grown in the valley. Her experiments with deciduous fruits in those early days were an aid to many in their subsequent choice for planting in their orchards.
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After living on a ranch for several years, Mrs. Purkitt de- cided to take up the study of medicine; and having sold the ranch she removed to Willows. Soon afterward, she entered the Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, and in 1894 she was graduated with the degree of M. D., receiving the highest honors. She began her practice in Willows; and here she has since resided, an hon- ored member of the State Medical Association, and a contributor to the State Medical Journal. Dr. Purkitt has the distinction of being one of the first woman physicians in the Sacramento Valley. While devoted to her profession, she has not lost her love of the country life in which she was reared, but has kept her interest in the raising of live stock, and in agriculture and horticulture, on land she has purchased in the county. She has developed fine fields of alfalfa and rice ; has set out fig trees, and eucalyptus trees ; and raises high-grade Holstein and Jersey cattle, and Berk- shire hogs that are prize-winners. She loves nature, and takes de- light in seeing trees, vines and flowers grow and flourish, to beau- tify the homes throughout city and country. Her home at 444 West Sycamore Street is one of the most comfortable in the city, the yard being replete with all kinds of trees and flowers. She is liberal and enterprising, always willing to aid those less fortunate than herself; and many are the men and women who have received benefactions at her hands, as well as encouragement to make an- other attempt to overcome the obstacles that seem to confront them in their road to success.
Dr. Purkitt is the mother of six children. Her eldest son, Herbert T., is now deceased; Claude F., a prominent attorney of Willows, is State Senator from the Fourth District in California; Theodore T., who married Miss Minnie Hume, of Redding, is pro- prietor of a pharmacy and lives in Woodland; Edna Louisa is the wife of J. E. Knight, of Willows; Georgie Harriett became the wife of Homer Henley of San Francisco; and Rebecca T. married Charles Lambert, Jr., of Willows. Dr. Purkitt saw that her chil- dren all received a good education; the daughters all graduated from Mt. St. Gertrude's Academy at Rio Vista, and were popular and successful teachers in the schools of Glenn County before their marriage. All this has been the result of her personal efforts; and she is proud of her children's standing in the county where their lives have been spent. There has been no project ad- vanced in the county for bettering the condition of the people, or for the development of the county, with a view to making of it a better place in which to live, that has not had the hearty coopera- tion of Dr. Purkitt; and she has often taken the lead in such move- ments. There is no one in her community that is more universally loved and respected than is she.
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GEORGE A. WARE
The Ware family is of New England stock, and became estab- lished in California at an early period in the history of the state. George W. Ware, who was born in Penfield, N. Y., in 1832, came to California by way of Panama in 1852, and settled in Colusa. He established a general merchandise store with his brother-in-law, under the firm name of Case & Ware, of which he became sole owner some years later. As his business grew, the demand for more room necessitated his erecting a new building; and he put up the second brick building in the county, opposite the old Colusa House. For more than thirty-one years he conducted business in the town. During that time people came from all parts of the county to trade with him; for he was noted for his reliability and honesty, and made warm friends among his customers. In 1868 he began to buy land and devote it to grain and stock-raising, adding to his first purchase until he had over four thousand acres. His estate was the result of his own industry, for he had no assistance in any way. Some years after locating in Colusa George W. Ware married Mary A. Corwin, who was born in Quincy, Ill., and came across the plains to California in 1853, with her parents and other members of their family. Her father, Elisha Corwin, settled in Marysville and followed the carpenter's trade for several years, later removing to Colusa, where he died. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ware six children were born, of whom three are living: Mrs. Alice Bedell, of Redwood City; George A., of this review; and Mrs. Mary R. Drake, of New York City. Mr. Ware died in 1884, while on a visit to San Francisco, at the age of fifty-three years. After his death, his widow remained in Colusa until 1891, when she went to San Francisco to make her home. She passed away on June 6, 1917, at the age of eighty-two. Her remains were laid beside those of her husband, at Colusa.
The only living son of his parents, George A. Ware was born in Colusa, November 27, 1868. He attended the public schools of the town; and when he was old enough, he went to work on the home ranch. Later, with a partner, J. C. Bedell, he began opera- tions on the Ware estate, southeast of Williams. In 1892 he bought out his partner; and ever since then he has been operating alone. He has seven hundred acres in grain, and five hundred acres seeded to alfalfa. He raises from seven to nine tons of al- falfa to the acre without irrigation, making four or five cuttings annually. He holds the record in the state for unirrigated alfalfa. His grain land yields from fifteen to twenty-five sacks to the acre,
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on an average. Mr. Ware is breeding up a fine herd of thorough- bred Holsteins, principally dairy cows. He makes a specialty of raising mules ; and many valuable animals have been sold from his ranch. He also raises some hogs. He is known all over Northern California as a leading farmer and stockman. Mr. Ware has a real estate office in Williams, where he is active in subdivision work. He is selling off the Gauthier tract of six hundred forty acres near Williams. He is identified, also, with the oil interests of the state, as president of the Williams Oil Co.
Mr. Ware was married in Oakland, in 1891, to Miss Alexine G. Fairbairn, who was born in Chico. Her father was Rev. Alexan- der Fairbairn, a native of Scotland. He was a graduate of Prince- ton University, and a Presbyterian divine. Her mother was Helen M. Edwards, of New York, who died in Colusa, in 1884. The father died in Williams. Mrs. Ware was a lady of culture and re- finement. While raised in the Presbyterian Church, she was a member of the Methodist Church with Mr. Ware and their family. She died in Woodland, April 17, 1916, leaving three children: Helen M., the wife of W. R. Meyer, of Redwood City; Alexine Gertrude; and George Fairbairn, who is with his father on the ranch. Mr. Ware is public-spirited, actively supporting all meas- ures for the good of his county, and is firmly convinced that there is a great future in store for this section of the state when its pos- sibilities have been fully made known. Politically, he is a stanch supporter of Republican men and measures. Fraternally, he is a member and Past Master of Tuscan Lodge, No. 261, F. & A. M., of Williams.
WILLIAM FRANK MILLER
When it comes to talking of the pioneer days of '49, then William Frank Miller, the popular merchant of Butte City, Glenn County, will have a story to tell, and one that is always worth hearing. He was born in Anderson County, Ky., April 13, 1848, the son of Marshall and Amanda (Walker) Miller, both natives of the sunny South, who came to California in 1849, crossing the plains with an ox-team train of emigrants. Soon after their arrival the father began to operate a ferry between Fremont and Vernon, and it was here that his good wife died. She is buried at the latter place. After his wife's death the father then went to Nevada County and became one of the pioneer merchants of that county, being located at Nevada City, or in the vicinity of that place, at a settlement known as Coyoteville. He died there in 1859.
W. Frank Miller
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It was while living in Nevada City that W. Frank and his brother, Merritt H. Miller, had a narrow escape from death. The incident is worthy of record, for Providence certainly interceded in behalf of the future merchant of Glenn County. The home of the Miller family, for his father had married again, was one of the pioneer structures of that day in the mining camps. Near by stood a large dead pine tree that threatened to fall and crush the building. One night the parents heard a creaking of the tree dur- ing a strong wind; and before the crash came that would have crushed the two boys asleep in their bed, they dragged them away from danger just as the tree fell across the bed where the boys had been sleeping but a moment before.
W. Frank was in his twelfth year when his father died. He was thus left to shift for himself at an age when most boys are considered helpless and entirely dependent. His schooling was very limited. His education has been acquired largely by elbow- ing the rough edges of the world, and his diploma came from the "College of Hard Knocks." He is a pioneer, and the. son of a pioneer; and he had the usual experiences of the pioneer's off- spring. Ever since he was twelve he has made his own way in the world, so that whatever he has accomplished is due entirely to his own indefatigable exertions in self-reliantly following a defi- nite course.
He worked in the mines in Nevada County, and then went to Virginia City, in Nevada, where he mined for a time, mingling with men of every description. Afterwards he worked at various kinds of employment to make a living. He returned to California, and for a time was employed on ranches in Colusa County. In 1863, he settled in what is now a part of Glenn County, and there farmed on his own responsibility until the public lands came into the market, when he preempted a tract near the present site of Butte City. Later, with his brother, Merritt H., for a partner, he carried on a grain ranch southeast of that place and made a stake, so that he was enabled to open a store. This was in 1873, when, with a partner, he opened one of the first stores in the little settle- ment. Starting on a very small scale and in a very small building, the firm of Miller and Ryan began to do a flourishing business. Ever since the opening of the establishment, Mr. Miller has been connected with the business, although several partners have been associated with him at various times. The name of W. Frank Miller & Co. has long stood for reliability, and the business has grown to large proportions with the settling up of the country round about. Branch stores have been opened at Princeton and at Glenn, and a large and varied general stock of merchandise is always to be found in their stores.
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The pioneer spirit of this worthy man was again demon- strated when he went to the Klondike at the time of the gold excitement in Alaska; but he did not find it attractive enough to stay longer than two years, at the end of which time he returned to his California home. Ever since, he has been a familiar figure in Colusa and Glenn Counties.
As might be expected of a man who has met with success in his various undertakings, Mr. Miller has been prominent in public life. He is a loyal Democrat, and has served as a member of the County Central Committee for many years, and as a delegate to both state and county conventions. He was a member of the board of supervisors of Glenn County after the division was made, filling the office two terms with satisfaction to all his friends, for he served the whole people with impartiality. For twenty years he was postmaster of Butte City, and for a like period was agent for Wells-Fargo Express Co. He was one of the organizers of the Butte City school district, and has been a member of the board of trustees ever since its organization. No more public-spirited man can be found in Glenn County than W. Frank Miller.
On September 29, 1869, William Frank Miller was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Rantz, a native of Illinois, who crossed the plains to California with her parents in 1850, behind the slow-moving oxen. Of this marriage nine children were born, six of whom are still living. The oldest daughter is Mrs. Effie Frances Wylie, of Corning, and she has three children. Mrs. Lena Barham is the second daughter, and she has two sons and a daugh- ter. Mrs. Gloria May Bondurant has one daughter and two sons, twins. Alice D. is the fourth daughter, and married Charles Han- son; and Mrs. Achsah Moler, of Sacramento, is next to the youngest. Miss William Franklin Miller, Jr., or "Frankie, " as she is known to her friends, is the youngest member of the Miller household, and her father's namesake. The other children died in infancy and early childhood. Mrs. Miller passed away on September 11, 1914, one day less than sixty-four years of age, mourned by her family and a very large circle of friends. The family are members of the Christian Church of Butte City. Mr. Miller is a Knight Templar Mason, and belongs to the Independent Order of Foresters, being a charter member of Butte City Lodge, in which he was the first Past Chief Ranger. He is known far and wide throughout the Sacramento Valley as a man whose word is as good as his bond, a tribute paid to comparatively few men.
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JOHN MEHL
The pioneer shoe dealer of Orland is John Mehl, who has been a resident of California since 1873, when he arrived in Marysville, a youth of seventeen. He was born in Baden, Ger- many, and up to the age of sixteen attended the schools of that country, gaining a good knowledge of the common branches of education. During his last year in his native land, it was arranged that he should go to America to join Charles Mehl, an uncle, located in California and engaged in the bakery business at Marysville. Accordingly, he boarded a vessel for New York, and on his arrival came direct to Marysville, where he worked about a year for his uncle. He was very much dissatisfied with his environments, however, and did not like the bakery business; so he left there and went to Colusa. There he served a three-year apprenticeship with Benjamin Bropst, learning the trade of shoe- maker. After he had mastered the trade, he worked for one year in Ynba City and three months in Red Bluff. He then came to Williams, Colusa County, and worked one year for Samuel Wild. Some time later he bought out Mr. Wild's business, forming a partnership with Otto Lunz, and carried on a shoe shop with growing success. They opened a branch store in Orland, in August, 1882, when the railroad was built to that town; and since then Mr. Mehl has been in the shoe business in Orland. His partner died in 1883, and their interests were then divided.
There is not a man doing business in Orland today whose connection with the commercial interests of the place dates back to the time of Mr. Mehl's arrival. In point of service, therefore, he is the oldest merchant in the town. The first year he had a small shop on Fifth Street. He then moved to his present location on Fourth Street, where he had a modern front put on his original store. He carries a full line of both dress shoes and serviceable shoes, in all sizes, for men, women and children, and also does a general repair business. Besides his place of business, he owns a comfortable home in Orland; and he has taken an active interest in every movement that has been put forward to build up the town. There were only five stores in the town when he started his establishment; and all the development of this section has been witnessed by this pioneer merchant.
Mr. Mehl has been twice married. His first wife was Esther E. Birch, born in Illinois, by whom he had three children: Bern- hard L., a graduate of the University of California and now a
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civil engineer in San Francisco; Flora, the wife of W. H. New- house; and Ross B., who assists his father in the store. His second marriage united him with Emily Brooks, also born in Illinois, and a lady of culture and refinement. Mrs. Mehl is a prominent member of the Rebekahs. She has passed all the chairs of the order, and attended the Grand Lodge in San Diego. Mr. Mehl is a member of Stony Creek Lodge, No. 218, I. O. O. F., of Orland. He has served as treasurer of the lodge for twenty years ; and he attended the Grand Lodge in San Francisco. He is a charter member of the Encampment and also of the Rebekahs. As a man and citizen, Mr. Mehl has a high standing in Orland, where he is looked to for cooperation with every public move- ment for the betterment of the community. He is a member of the Lutheran Church.
BANK OF WILLOWS
No one knows better than the merchant or farmer living in or near a live, growing town, what an important and absolutely es- sential part a bank plays, and must play, in the growth of the com- munity- a fact likely to be quickly appreciated by any one who will remain for a while at Willows, and note the flow of commer- cial and financial life through the daily transactions of the Bank of Willows. In 1876, W. C. Murdock and B. Marshall established a private bank under the firm name of W. C. Murdock & Co .; and on September 2, 1880, it was converted by Mr. Murdock and N. D. Rideont into the incorporated Bank of Willows, with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars. The president was Mr. Rideont; the vice-president, A. A. Jackson; and the cashier, Mr. Murdock; and in September, 1881, P. H. Green became assistant cashier.
In April, 1889, the controlling interest was sold to stockhold- ers of Colusa County Bank, the new officers of which were William P. Harrington, president; Milton French, vice-president; B. H. Burton, cashier; and P. H. Green, assistant cashier. On January 1, 1904, Mr. Burton became president; Milton French, vice-presi dent ; and Mr. Green, cashier; while C. R. Wickes succeeded Mr. Green as assistant cashier. The personnel of the bank has since continued the same, except that, on the death of Milton French, Frank Moody succeeded him as vice-president, in January, 1917.
The bank now has a commercial department with a paid-up capital of three hundred thousand dollars and a surplus of two hundred thousand dollars, and a newly established savings depart- ment with a paid-up capital of fifty thousand dollars. The assets of the bank have now reached a total of one million, three hundred
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twenty-six thousand, nine hundred sixty-four dollars. Thus, the stability of the bank and the conservative policy of its officers have gained the entire confidence of the people, to such an extent that it has by far the largest deposits of any bank in the county. The bank's old home was in their old building on the southwest corner of Walnut and Tehama Streets until in 1911, when they moved across the street into the present substantial modern fire-proof building erected of granite and Utah white stone, one of the most beantiful buildings that adorn the town.
PARLEY H. GREEN
In the life of this successful banker of Willows are illustrated the results of perseverance and energy. He is a citizen of whom any community might well feel proud, and the people of Glenn County accord him a place in the foremost ranks of the represent- ative business men. Identified with the history of Glenn County from its beginning, he has witnessed its gradual growth, the devel- opment of its commercial interests, and the increase of population by the removal hither of men of enterprise, intelligence and high standing. No better name could be selected to suggest the com- mercial soundness and the financial stability of Willows than its far-seeing and enterprising banker, Parley H. Green. He was born at Fort Wayne, Ind., March 25, 1855, a son of Corydon and Sarah (Huss) Green, both natives of Ohio and descended from old New England stock. He is also a lineal descendant of Gen. Joseph Warren, killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Corydon Green was a grain buyer and a well-known business man of Fort Wayne.
It has meant a good deal to many Americans to have been born in the Hoosier State, and Parley H. Green made the most of his boyhood there. Ile was educated in the grammar and high schools of his native city, after which he chose as his profession the work of an accountant. In 1877 he came to California, and for a time was in the employ of the Sweepstake Plow Co., at San Leandro. Two years later he removed to Colusa County, and here entered the employ of his uncle, Warren Green, who was engaged in the sheep business. Three years later he accepted a position as an accountant in the Benicia Agricultural Works in Benicia, contin- ning there until 1881, when he resigned to enter the Bank of Wil- lows as assistant cashier.
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