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 36
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 36
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When B. H. Burton was elected president of the bank in 1904, Mr. Green was made cashier, a position he now holds. He is one of the best-known bankers in Northern California, and his record 21
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of more than thirty-six years in this one bank is something to be proud of. He is now the oldest director of the bank, in point of service, having been elected a director on January 15, 1885, and having served continuously ever since. He is one of the directors of the First National Bank of Willows, and of the Bank of Prince- ton, which was organized by Colusa and Willows capitalists; and he has been a director and secretary of the Willows Warehouse Association since 1883. Besides these varied interests, Mr. Green has been active in the affairs of the county and of Northern Cali- fornia in general.
The agricultural interests of Mr. Green are large, including a stock ranch of over eleven thousand acres in the foothills and mountains west of Willows. His ranches support over eleven hun- dred head of full-blooded and graded Durham cattle, which are grazed on the mountain ranges in the summer, and in the fall are brought down to the foothill and valley ranches. Those ready for beef are marketed each spring.
Mr. Green chose for his partner in life Miss Mary Augusta Knight, a native of Michigan. They were married in Sonoma County in 1898. Mrs. Green is an active participant in social, re- ligious and civic affairs in Willows; and like her husband she has proven a positive factor in the welfare and progress of the community.
JESSE CURL STOVALL
Two notable pioneer families are represented in the life story of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Curl Stovall. Mr. Stovall was born in Rutherford County, Tenn., on January 19, 1822, a son of William Preston Stovall, a farmer of that state, who removed to Missouri and settled in Carroll County, where he prospered as an agricul- turist until his death. William Stovall's wife was Mary Drake, before her marriage. She also passed away in Missouri. The old- est in a family of two sons and two daughters, Jesse Stovall grew up to manhood on his father's farm in Missouri, meanwhile re- ceiving such instruction as was possible in private schools sup- ported by his father and other neighbors. Until 1850, he was en- gaged in farming and in running a flour mill at Carrollton, Mo. That year, Mr. Stovall set out as a member of an ox-team train, to cross the plains to the Pacific Coast. He underwent the usual hardships, braving the dangers incidental to that adventurous un- dertaking, and arrived safely in Placer County. There he mined for a year, and then threw aside the pickaxe and shovel because failing health warned him of the necessity of a change. At Sacra-
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mento he took up freighting and teaming; but soon after, he went to Cache Creek, Yolo County, where, with Jefferson Wilcoxson, he began to raise sheep, cattle and horses. Experience showed, how- ever, that their range was insufficient; and so they drove their stock into Colusa County, where they bought government land, and added as fast as possible to what herds they possessed. In 1858 they purchased one hundred sixty acres, long the old home place of the Stovalls, situated some seven miles west of Williams; and this formed the beginning of the great area-a range of some forty thousand acres-which the partners acquired and continued to hold, their partnership lasting throughont their life. In 1890, . the enterprising ranchmen incorporated their interests under the firm name of the Stovall-Wilcoxson Co., of which Mr. Stovall be- came president ; and for years the sheep-raising operations of this company were among the most extensive on the Coast. They sometimes owned as many as ten thousand head. Economic and other conditions, however, operated to make the enterprise less profitable than it had been; and the Stovall-Wilcoxson Co. then sold most of their flocks, or exchanged them for cattle and hogs, and went in for the raising of grain. The company also erected a flour mill and put up warehouses at Williams, where they carried on a live grain business.
Decidedly a prominent factor in the promotion and upbuilding of almost every worthy interest here, the late Mr. Stovall was the organizer of the Bank of Williams, and served as its president until his deatli, on November 19, 1902. His active participation in the fraternal life of the Odd Fellows contributed to his popularity in social circles; while his energetic support of Democratic doc- trines and policies brought him before the public and enabled him to extend his range of influence.
In the old town of Sonoma, the scene of the raising of the "Bear Flag," Jesse Stovall was married on March 3, 1859, to Miss Mary E. Moore, a native of Monroe County, Mo., and a daughter of Robert Moore, who was born in Kentucky. The fam- ily was originally of Virginia, where the grandfather, Travis Moore, was a farmer until his migration to the Blue Grass State, and then to Missouri, where he was engaged as a farmer till his death. Robert Moore also followed the life of a farmer, remaining in Missouri until 1853, when he rigged up a comfortable prairie schooner for his family, which then consisted of his wife and seven children, and crossed the wide plains to California. Leaving home on April 19, the train traveled along the Carson route to Eldorado County, and on September 19 reached Gold Hill-historic ground, for in that locality was the spot where gold was first discovered at Colonel Sutter's mill. Although there was but a small party in
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the train, loaded on to seven wagons, the emigrants had come through safely after exactly five months of trying experiences on the road. At Gold Hill, Mr. Moore stopped for a year to try his luck at mining. He then located further down in the Sacramento Valley, on the Norris grant, but later removed to Sonoma, where he bought and improved a fine farm, engaging in both general farming and horticulture. Later still, he removed to Hollister, San Benito County; and there his death occurred at the age of seventy-four years. He had been a consistent member of the Pres- byterian Church, and was no less a faithful Odd Fellow.
Mrs. Moore was equally well connected. Before her marriage she was known as Lucilla Sproul, a danghter of William Sproul, who moved from Kentucky, where she was born, to Missouri, and there farmed until his death. His wife was Sarah Davis, a cousin of Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Confederacy. They, too, were valued members of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Moore died at Santa Ana, the mother of nine children, of whom four sons and three daughters are still living. Among these is Mrs. Stovall, who spent her thirteenth birthday on the plains, en route for her new home in California, and who, during her first year in Cal- ifornia, at Gold Hill, frequently visited the place where gold was first discovered by John Marshall, at Sutter's Fort. She was edu- cated principally in the public schools at Sacramento and Sonoma, and had the satisfaction of being married in her father's home.
When Mrs. Stovall settled on the ranch west of Williams with her husband, in 1859, conditions were indeed primitive. Wild cattle roamed the plains, for there were no fences. Colusa was the nearest trading point. The old home place was a bare field, very different from the acreage now covered with large shade trees. For the first twelve years they lived in, a small house. Later a modern residence, of one and one-half stories, was erected; and, little by little, orange and lemon trees, as well as other fruit trees and bushes, were set out. Today, the largest orange, lemon and fig trees in the county are to be found on the ranch. Mrs. Stovall has thus been a witness to all the changes that have taken place. Since the death of her husband in 1902, she has made her home in Williams. She is a member of the Wednesday Chib and the Red Cross Society of Williams, and a communicant of the Presby- terian Church. She is a woman of sterling character and winsome personality, who imparts to others some of the cheerfulness and inspiration which have brightened her own life.
Among the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Stovall are Corde- lia, who became the wife of Reuben Clarke, and died near Wil .. liams; Mary, who died at the age of thirteen years; William Pres- ton, who died at the age of twenty-nine years; Jesse, who accident-
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ally shot himself while hunting, at ten years of age; James M., cashier at the Bank of Williams; H. Curl, manager of the Stovall- Wilcoxson Co .; Charles E., who was accidentally killed by being thrown from his horse; and Mabel, the wife of E. A. Brim, a rancher near Williams. Among the pioneers of California, Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Curl Stovall well deserve a place.
MRS. SARAH W. CARY WILLIAMS
A native of Bucyrus, Ohio, Mrs. Sarah Cary Williams was born on January 27, 1832, a daughter of Aaron and Phoebe (Thompson) Cary. She was reared in the states of Ohio and In- diana, her parents settling in the latter state, at Greenfield, La Grange County, in her early childhood. She was the youngest of a large family of children, and in 1858 came with her sister, Jane W., to California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Upon their arrival they at once located in Colusa, where, on March 13, 1860, Sarah was united in marriage with W. H. Williams. He was a native of Maryland, and was the founder of the town of Williams, Colusa County, Cal. Thus, Mrs. Williams became the first lady of the town, where she resided until the time of her demise. She was one of the pioneers who shared the dangers and hardships which accompany the founding of a new commonwealth; and she gave to the task the influence of her upright life, conscientious fulfillment of duty and uncomplaining courage.
When Mrs. Williams and her husband first settled in Wil- liams, they were surrounded by broad prairie lands. Their house was the only one in the vicinity. This was destroyed by fire a little later, and was rebuilt of brick hauled from Marysville, a dis- tance of thirty-six miles. The new house served as a hotel until another brick building was erected. Mrs. Williams could recall a five-mile stretch of water which, during the early days before the levees were built, lay between Williams and Colusa, a town ten miles distant, and over which passage had to be made in a boat during the time of high water. In July, 1876, the railroad was put through, and the town of Williams was laid out and founded.
Although lacking in physical strength, Mrs. Sarah Williams was gifted with an indomitable will; and, like her ancestors, she was noted for her steadfastness of purpose. Her main ambition in life seemed to be to bring pleasure and comfort to those about her, regardless of self; and many are the lasting memories of her unselfish kindness still held sacred in the hearts of those with whom she came in contact. She was a great sufferer through life,
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though she complained but little. On the morning of February 6, 1908, she passed away at her home, after only a few days' illness. Her last words voiced her concern for the comfort of the watchers about her bedside, and her death was painless and peaceful. Her friends loved her for her estimable qualities of womanhood; and her children cherish the memory of her unselfish motherhood.
Mrs. Williams was a descendant of a wonderful family. She traced her ancestry back to the time of Edward the First; to Adam Cary, who was Lord of Castle Cary in Somerset, England. In America she traced her ancestry to John Cary, a native of Somersetshire, England, who joined the Plymouth Colony in 1634. His name was among the original proprietors of Duxbury and Bridgewater. The Cary Memorials trace the descendants of John Cary to the ninth generation. Sarah W. was born of the sixth generation. She was a cousin of the poetesses, Alice and Phoebe Cary, also members of the sixth generation in this country.
Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Williams four children were born : Harriet May, who became the wife of J. R. Moody; Laura, who died at the age of four years; Lulu, the wife of S. H. Callen; and Ella, Mrs. Harry W. Manor. Mrs. Williams was liberal in her support of all worthy causes and benevolent undertakings, and gave generously to the churches of her community.
From the pen of Phoebe Cary, under the head of "Entering Heaven," we copy the following lines :
Softly part away the tresses From her forehead of white clay, And across her snow-white bosom Let her pale hands lightly lay : Never idle in her lifetime Were they folded thus away.
She hath lived a life of labor, She hath done with toil and care; She hath lived a life of sorrow, She hath nothing more to bear; And the lips that never murmured, Nevermore shall move in prayer.
JAMES WILSON CRUTCHER
The history of many a notable American family is a story of successive migrations. This is illustrated by the family of James Wilson Crutcher, whose ancestors came from Virginia, where the family was established in colonial days; removed to the frontiers
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of Kentucky ; and afterwards entered upon a timber claim in Mis- souri. Here both the grandfather and his sons toiled at the heavy task of clearing the land and preparing the soil for cultivation. The grandfather lived to an advanced age, and in his later years was surrounded by comforts, and even luxuries, where once there was only a wilderness. Among his children was a son named Samuel, who was born in Kentucky, and became an extensive farmer in Montgomery County, Mo. Samuel Crutcher married Miss Eliza Ann Holliday, a native of Kentucky, and a member of the Virginia Hollidays, who came from England. Stephen Holliday married Miss Annie Hickman, the daughter of James and Hannah (Lewis) Hickman, who were also pioneer Virginians. In Stephen's family was a son, Elliot, who was born in Culpeper County, Va., in 1786, and when two years old was taken by his parents to Clark County, Ky. In 1810, he joined the Christian Church; and he continued in that communion until his death. In 1812, he vol- unteered in Captain John Martin's company at Winchester, Ky., and actively served against the Indians until the River Raisin de- feat, January 18-22, 1813, when, after having maintained the brav- est kind of fight for two days, he was taken prisoner by the sav- ages, who subjected him to most cruel treatment and to intense suffering by cold. After returning home, in April, 1813, he took up farm pursuits; and the following year he married Miss Rachel Johnson. She was born in Maryland in 1791, of German descent, and died in 1874, having survived her husband five years. Among their eleven children, the eldest, born in 1815, was Eliza Ann, who was married to Samuel Crutcher. Samuel Crutcher and his wife both died in Missouri, the former at the ripe age of seventy-three years. In their family there were three sons and a daughter. The sons came West. E. W. Crutcher settled in Idaho ;. O'Bannon Crutcher died in Nevada; and James W. Crutcher is the subject of our sketch.
James Wilson Crutcher was the youngest of the family. He was born in Montgomery County, Mo., on April 17, 1842, and passed his boyhood days uneventfully on the home farm, attending school in a log cabin. On April 15, 1863, or two days before at- taining his majority, he joined a large party of emigrants with mules and horses and set out for the long trip across the plains to the Pacific Coast. He traveled by way of Omaha, along the north side of the Platte River, across the Rockies, through South Pass and on to Salt Lake, along the Reese River to Austin, and then to Muddy Springs. He stopped for a time at Carson City, Nev., be- fore coming on to California. Soon after reaching Sacramento, he met Major Jeff Wilcoxson, and took charge for him of his private toll road in Placer County, a position he held for more than four
.
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years, collecting the tolls, and keeping the road in repair. In the spring of 1868 he went to Sacramento, where he took up work in Mr. Wilcoxson's office. About that time he entered and attended the Pacific Business College, in San Francisco, after which he re- turned to Sacramento and continued his office work for a couple of years. He then went to Jacksonville, Ore., in 1870, as book- keeper for Major J. T. Glenn ; and when he came back to Califor- nia, in 1874, he was employed in the ranch store of Dr. H. J. Glenn, at Jacinto, Colusa County.
While at Jacinto, in June, 1875, Mr. Crutcher was married, on the Glenn ranch, to Miss Annie E. Houchins. She was born in Monroe County, Mo., and about 1873 accompanied her father, Samuel Houchins, and other members of his family, to California, where they settled upon a farm at Jacinto. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Crutcher : Clarence W., of Woodland ; Leona, the wife of L. L. Wilson, of Madeira County ; Sam. E., postmaster at Maxwell; Nellie, the wife of the Rev. Emrich, pastor of the Williams Christian Church; and James C., Crawford, Harry H., Glenn, and Anna Belle, the wife of Otto Miller, of Williams.
In 1876, in partnership with Alec Manor, Mr. Crutcher opened the second store at Williams, and there engaged in general mer- cantile pursuits, continuing the same until 1878, when he was elected justice of the peace. The store remained in his possession until he was chosen by the people, in 1898, on the Democratic ticket, as county clerk and recorder. He won the election by a majority of eight hundred, and in January of 1899 took the oath of office. In 1902 he was again elected, without opposition, to serve until Jannary, 1907. During that time he made his home at Colusa. For the past six years he has been justice of the peace at Williams, where he is now serving his second term. In early days Mr. Crutcher was a school trustee, and he is still interested in the cause of education. He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce of Williams. Fraternally, he is a charter member of Tuscan Lodge, No. 261, of the Masons at Williams, of which he was secretary for many years.
LEVI JEFFERSON McDANIEL
One who played a part in the right control of public affairs in Glenn County, where his memory is still held in reverence, was Levi Jefferson MeDaniel, born in that part of Colusa County which is now Glenn County, August 8, 1858. He attended the pub- lic schools, and later took a course at the Pacific Methodist College
R.J. Burrows
Charlotte J Burrows.
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at Santa Rosa, after which he settled on the old home ranch of thirteen hundred acres near Butte City, and engaged in raising grain, and stock. His father was Elijah MeDaniel, a native of Roane County, Tenn., where he was born on July 4, 1820. At the age of fourteen Elijah McDaniel went with his father to Illinois, where, in January, 1842, he married Sarah Ann Gore. He settled in Wayne County, and later removed to Schmyler County. In 1853, with his wife and four children, he crossed the plains to California in an ox-team train, and in the fall of that year settled in the Sac- ramento Valley, where he built a log house at Painter's Landing; and here, on October 4, was born a daughter, the first white child born in the valley on the east side of the Sacramento River, who later became Mrs. Annand. Mrs. McDaniel died on September 8, 1889.
In 1881, Levi MeDaniel married Hattie Griggs, an estimable woman, born in Santa Rosa, who proved her valne as a true help- mate. By her he had four children: J. E. McDaniel; Mrs. Ethel Lane and Mrs. Elva Melville, both living at Oakland; and Frank- lin, who died in infancy. Politically, Mr. MeDaniel was a Demo- crat; and he was active in the latter years of his life in the coun- cils of the party. Fraternally, he was a Mason and a Forester, be- ing Past Chief Ranger of the Butte City Lodge. He was an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was a steward of the church at the time of his death, on Jan- uary 15, 1905. At his passing the state, and particularly Glenn . County, lost a progressive citizen, and a man who commanded the respect of all who knew him. After his death, Mrs. McDaniel took over the management of the ranch, with the aid of her son, and conducted it successfully until the property was sold.
RUFUS G. BURROWS
One of the earliest settlers in the Newville section of Glenn County, who became a large landowner there, controlling thou- sands of acres, and whose influence, always for the better things in life, is still perceptible in that favored region of our state, is the late Rufus G. Burrows, who was born at La Porte, Ind., April 8, 1834. His father was Arthur Burrows, a native of Pennsylvania, who became an early settler in Indiana, removed to Illinois, later went to Missouri, and still later located on the present town site of Sidney, in Fremont County, Iowa. In 1845, he crossed the plains to Oregon, and settled for a while in what is now Hillsboro, Washington County. Then he removed to the Umpqua Valley,
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where his death occurred. His wife, who was formerly Nancy Rice, a native of Ohio, married again, becoming the wife of Rufus Hitchcock.
In 1848, Rufus Burrows, with his stepfather and his mother, started across the plains for California. William Wambaugh was the captain of the train, which consisted of fifty wagons, two hundred emigrants, two hundred fifty head of oxen, two hundred fifty head of stock cattle, and fifty head of saddle horses. They arrived in Sacramento in August, of the same year, and reached Sutter's Fort on September 10, 1848. There they leased the old Sutter residence, and utilized it for a hotel until the following spring, when they removed to Carson Creek, en route to the southern mines. On account of the death of a daughter, they returned to Sutter's Fort, after which they went to Green Springs, Eldorado County, and there engaged in the hotel business. While in that vicinity, both Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock passed away.
Rufus Burrows was the fifth in a family of six children, and was educated in the schools of the Middle West, coming to Cali- fornia, as has been stated, in 1848. Later, he was sent back East to Albany, N. Y., to attend school there; but the death of his stepfather led to his being callel back to California. After the death of his mother he went to Oregon, where he remained until 1857, when he settled at Newville. There he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred on September 13, 1913. At that time, he had some three thousand acres well stocked with cattle, sheep and hogs, and devoted to the farming of grain. In the . later years of his life his two youngest sons became partners with him on his ranch.
In Multnomah County, Ore., on May 24, 1854, Rufus Burrows was married to Charlotte T. Hull, a native of Pike County, Ill., who was born in 1841, and who is now living in Willows, the old home ranch at Newville being rented. Her father, Cyrus B. Hull, a native of New York, was a carpenter and millwright by trade, who crossed the plains to Oregon with her and her mother in 1852, and who met with a sad accident on the journey. He was shot by his own gun, and although every relief possible was offered him he never fully recovered from the wound. For a number of years he resided in Oregon, and in 1863 settled at Newville near his dangh- ter, where he engaged in sheep-raising. Notwithstanding the acci- dent referred to, he lived to be seventy-six years old. He was survived by the following children: Mrs. R. G. Burrows, of Wil- lows; Mrs. Electa Murphy, deceased; Mrs. Mary Hooper, of Hum- boldt County; Telemachus Hull, also of Humboldt County; John J. IIull, farming in the Newville section; Daniel Hull, of Tehama County; Charles Hull, deceased; Mrs. Aurora Marilla Millsaps,
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of Corning; Mrs. Ellen Metcalf, of Los Angeles; Cyrus B. Hull; and Mrs. Emma Scribner, of Washington. The maiden name of Mrs. Burrows' mother, who died many years ago, was Nancy Shinn.
Several children blessed the family life of Mr. and Mrs. Bur- rows. Orlando A., a merchant at Sites, is married and has a son and a daughter. Isaac F. and Sylvester are both deceased. Mary C. married William Millsaps of Glenn County, and has two sons. Elo E. is the wife of John W. Millsaps of Stonyford, and is the mother of two daughters and a son. Annie is the wife of William Markham; she has two daughters and a son, and resides in Willows. Ira Ancil, of Newville, has two daughters and one son; and Aura C., also of Newville, has three sons. Mrs. Burrows has fourteen great-grandchildren. Mr. Burrows was a Mason, and was Master of Newville Lodge, No. 205, F. & A. M., for thirteen successive years, after which he missed one year, and was then elected again and served until his resignation a few years before his death.
Mr. Burrrows had a personality that made him a very inter- esting companion, especially when he was induced to talk of the historic past and his own relation to it. Having himself expe- rienced much, he was able to portray graphically those scenes which were typical of the early settler's life, describing vividly the famous Sutter's Fort, the lawlessness of the times, and the con- stant changes which impressed themselves upon his youthful mind. As a pioneer, he began in an undeveloped wilderness, and with the passing years added much, through his self-sacrificing efforts, to the upbuilding and growth of the county.
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