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 40
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 40
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MRS. ELIZABETH ADDINGTON
A prominent place among the women who have left their impress on the development of Colusa must be accorded Mrs. Elizabeth Addington, wife of the late Stephen Addington, one of the foremost men of the Sacramento Valley, and one whose serv- ices to the county were of exceptional importance, and who was associated with the late Will S. Green in the management of the Colusa Sun. Mr. Addington, by his wise investments in property in Colusa, did much to help develop a city from the barren plains. He erected several houses, and a brick block at the corner of Market and Fourth Streets; and this property is still in the pos- session of Mrs. Addington. In all of his activities Mr. Addington always had the cooperation of his able wife.
Before her marriage Mrs. Addington was Miss Elizabeth Hart. A native of Indiana, she came as a child to California, with her parents ; and here she received her education at Mrs. Perry's Acad-
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emy in Sacramento. Her father, James Hart, came to America at the age of twelve years, and grew to manhood in this country. He received a good education, and tanght school in Indiana for some time. In 1854 he located in California, having crossed the plains with an ox team. He settled in Sutter County, and at Nicolaus studied law and was admitted to the bar. In the town of his adop- tion he served as a justice of the peace. He eventually removed to Colusa, where he continued to practice his profession until a short time before his demise, at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. Hart was a Republican in politics ; and fraternally he was a Mason. He was a student and a scholar, and was charitable and kind; and in his business and professional life his honesty and integrity were never questioned.
By the first marriage of James Hart, a son, T. J. Hart, was born. He became a prominent attorney at Colusa, and served two terms as a representative from his county in the state assembly. For his second wife, Mr. Hart married Sallie Cavins, a daughter of Samuel R. Cavins, a native of Kentucky, and a colonel in the War of 1812. Mr. Cavins studied law when a young man, and practiced it in Indiana, where he became a prominent judge of his time. He died while rendering service to the Union cause in the Civil War. In devoting his life to the service of his country, he followed in the footsteps of his father, who carried a musket in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Two of Judge Cavins' sons, Elijah and Adin, entered the army as colonels and · served with their commands during the Civil War, and later prac- ticed law in Indiana. Mrs. Sallie Cavins Hart was reared in In- diana, and died in San Francisco at the age of sixty-one years, in 1895, while visiting friends. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Church. Besides Elizabeth, who was the second child, she had eleven other children. Three sons died in youth or early manhood. The others are: Antoinette, Mrs. Richard Jones of Sac- ramento; A. L., a man of remarkable endowments, who became at- torney general of California, and practiced law in San Francisco, where he died; E. C., who was founder of the Willows Journal, and who afterwards was admitted to the bar, practiced in Sacra- mento, and served as superior judge of Sacramento County until he was elected to the appellate bench, where he is now serving his second term as Judge of the Appellate Court of California; S. Robert, who is also a prominent attorney at Sacramento; W. Cur- ran, who is a practicing dental surgeon in San Francisco; Dr. Adin C., who is a physician and surgeon of Sacramento, ranking with the best surgeons on the Pacific Coast, and who served a number of years as a member of the State Board of Health; and Miss Margaret and Miss Lola, both residents of San Francisco, the
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former a well-known musician and a teacher of piano and voice, and the latter an expert stenographer with the State Bank Com- mission, and equaled by few in her work.
Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Addington divides her time between Colusa and San Francisco, in both of which cities she has numerous friends, drawn to her by virtue of her many graces of mind and heart, and an unfailing sympathy and tact which have made her a social favorite wherever her lot has been cast. She was of great assistance to her gifted husband, was his kindest yet severest critic, and rejoiced in the noble and influential career he fashioned in the West. She is a member of the Woman's Club in Colusa, and has always been active in its music and art section. She continues her interest in music and art, and is devoted to her piano, still keeping up her practice and giving pleasure to her musical friends. Mrs. Addington is a member of the Episcopal Church, and an active worker and treasurer of the Ladies' Guild. She has always assisted with the music at the church, and was a leader of the choir for years, rendering musical selections before the congregation and before private audiences. In her political affiliation, Mrs. Addington is a Republican. She is well-read, has a retentive memory, and is a most interesting conversationalist.
MRS. MARY FLOOD
The life-story of Mrs. Mary Flood, one of the long-honored residents of Newville, and the widow of the late John Flood, is another reminder of the many and valuable contributions made . by the Irish and English to the settlement and successful develop- ment of the Golden State. When about twenty-six years of age, in the year 1849, John Flood, a patriotic son of the Emerald Isle, came to the United States and located for a while in St. Louis County, Mo., where he took up the blacksmith's trade. In 1853 he crossed the plains to California, and located in Henleyville, Tehama County, where he built the first cabin. He came with John James, helping to drive his cattle, and afterwards ·ran a blacksmith shop for John Simpson in Tehama. After working in that vicinity about two years, he came to what is now known as Newville, Glenn (then Colusa) County, and opened the first black- smith shop in that section. At the same time, he took up a claim of one hundred sixty acres, where he built a house and a black- smith shop, the first one in the district. In 1859 he moved over to the north fork of Stony Creek, in the Newville district, and there established his blacksmith shop, this time a mile and a half east
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of the present site of Newville. In the early days he shod horses from Sacramento to Red Bluff and Redding, along the old stage road; he was an excellent blacksmith, a thorough workman, and could make anything in the line of iron work.
In 1860, Mr. Flood came on the home place, taking up one hundred sixty acres of land at first, and gradually adding to the same by purchase, until today the ranch contains twelve hundred forty-seven acres, He continned at the forge until 1866, when he sold his blacksmith shop, and gave all his attention to his growing agricultural and stock-raising interests, in which he was very suc- cessful, and from which he acquired considerable wealth. Ripe with the experience and accomplishments of seventy-five years, he passed away, on November 22, 1898. He was a man who merited, and enjoyed, the esteem of his fellow men. He was a faithful member of the Roman Catholic Church. He was an active Demo- crat; and his aid and counsel were highly prized in political circles.
On September 6, 1860, John Flood was united in marriage with Miss Mary Williams, who was born in Liverpool, England, on October 31, 1841, and came to the United States with her parents. Her father was Thomas Williams, a native of Wales, and a tailor by trade. Her mother was Alice Robertson, who was born in Liverpool. For a while after his arrival in this country, her father had a tailor shop in St. Louis; but hearing the stories of rich mining adventure, he crossed the plains, withont his family, in 1850, and tried his Inek at mining in Nevada City. Two years later, he returned to Missouri; and in 1853 he again crossed the plains, this time with his wife and three children. Two children had died in Missouri. Mrs. Flood was the eldest of the three; and one son was born on the Platte River. They named him Louis Platte. Mr. Williams and his family located six miles north of Sacramento, on the American River, where he engaged in dairy- ing. In 1858 he removed to Colusa County and settled three miles north of the present site of Newville, in what is now Tehama County, where he continued his dairy business, in connection with general farming, until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Flood were the parents of nine children: John Thomas, who with a brother operates the home ranch; James Mathew, ranching near the home place; Alice Margaret, at home; Lonis Vernon, also a rancher in the vicinity; Grace, Mrs. J. W. Trexler, of Mills Holm; Owen Ernest, who died in June, 1897; Mary Ellen, Mrs. Lundrof, of Fruto; Lester Henry, partner with his brother John Thomas; and Clara Genevieve, also at home. Since her husband's death, Mrs. Flood continues to reside on the old home farm; and with the aid of her children she is looking after the affairs left by him.
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HIRAM LEROY WEST
One of the prominent ranchers of Glenn County is Hiram Le- roy West, an extensive grain farmer, fruit grower and breeder of fine horses, who resides in the vicinity of Hamilton City. He was born in Bremer County, Iowa, on November 28, 1862. He attended the public schools there until he was sixteen, and then, with an older brother, Frank West, came to California and located in what is now Glenn County, in 1879. Upon his arrival here young West went to work as a ranch hand, eager to learn the methods of farming as done by the Westerners. He had been brought up on a farm in the Middle West, and had become acquainted with the methods of suc- cessful farming as it is carried on there; and with that knowledge to aid him, he was soon qualified to hold down any responsible position along agricultural lines. He worked for various persons, and soon became foreman on the Glenn ranch, which position he held for nine years with credit to himself and satisfaction to the owners of the property. He saved his earnings ; and when he was ready to engage in an independent venture, he leased land and for three years raised grain on a twelve-hundred-acre tract of the Glenn estate. Soon lie added to his leasehold, and was farming some three thousand acres of that estate. For two years he farmed two thousand acres of the Walsh ranch. Each year saw his profits grow, as well as the scope of his operations, until he had eight thousand acres of this land under cultivation to grain. At one time he was farming thirteen thousand acres, using the best methods then in vogue for planting and harvesting his enormous crops, being recognized as one of the largest grain men of the Sacramento Valley.
In 1913 Mr. West turned his attention to horticulture, setting out seventy acres of almonds, one of the first orchards set out on the Van Syckle tract. A comparison of the trees on that ranch, now four years old, with trees of equal age in other sections of the state, will show that the growth is far more rapid here. He rented the entire Van Syckle tract until it was sold off in smaller tracts, and raised fine crops of barley on the rich land. This section of the county he considers the very best for fruit and alfalfa. With- out irrigation, from a three-year-old stand of alfalfa, he cut thir- teen and one half tons to the acre, on an eight-acre tract; and be- tween trees, two and three quarters tons per acre at the first ent- ting, and one and three quarters tons per acre at the second cut- ting, all weighed when sold from the field. While well known as a fruit grower, it is as a grain raiser that Mr. West is best known; he is still raising large crops on leased land.
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For years Mr. West has given considerable attention to rais- ing fine Belgian horses. He has sold fine animals throughout the state, and has aided in raising the grade of stock thereby. He ex- hibited nine head of horses at the State Fair in 1913, and took fif- teen prizes. One mare, weighing two thousand three hundred sev- enty pounds, has been exhibited five times, and has been given five gold medals-two in California and three in the East. Mr. West specializes in Belgian stock, and has fourteen head of fine blooded animals. He also has been successful as a raiser of mules.
When Mr. West settled on his present place, it was a grain field. He built the house, barns, and outbuildings, fenced and lev- eled the land, planted alfalfa, and set out every tree and shrub seen on the place today. He now has one of the show places in Glenn County. He has traveled over the greater part of the United States, mainly to see what other people were doing and how they were doing it; has visited China and Japan; and has also been in Alaska. After his journeys were ended, he came back to the Hamilton district, well satisfied to make it his home the remainder of his days.
On October 23, 1890, in Sacramento, Mr. West was united in marriage with Miss Adah Longmire, born in Dixon, Solano County, June 13, 1871, a daughter of Andrew J. Longmire. An- drew J. Longmire crossed the plains in 1850 and settled in Solano County, where he married Eliza Munion, who crossed the plains in 1851. They had six children, five of whom were sons, Mrs. West, the oldest of the family, being the only daughter. The others are Leonard, George, Harry (now deceased), Albert, and Elmer. All the living children are residing in the vicinity of Hamilton City. Mr. Longmire came to what is now Glenn County in 1874, and farmed successfully for many years. He died in Hamilton City in 1913. Mrs. Longmire is still living in that place, at the age of sixty-seven years. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. West two chil- dren were born: Leona, the wife of Edwin Collins and the mother of a son, Hiram, Jr .; and Leroy West, who is assisting his father on the ranch. Mrs. West has been an active worker in all good movements for the upbuilding of the section of Glenn County where they have resided for so many years. She was a member of the first committee that was organized in Hamilton City to raise funds for the Red Cross; and the members raised two hundred eighty dollars in seven days' time, a record unsurpassed in the county. She has been identified with the movement for the organ- ization of the new union high school; was connected with the Woman's Improvement Club for years; and is a member of Mar- shall Chapter, O. E. S., at Willows. Both she and her husband have been liberal supporters of all church work, and worthy char-
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ities in the county; and they are counted among the most public- spirited citizens in their section. Though engrossed with his nu- merous ranch enterprises, Mr. West finds time to devote to social and fraternal organizations. He is a Thirty-second-degree Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge at Willows, the Chapter and Com- mandery at Chico, and Islam Temple at San Francisco; and is also a member of Chico Lodge, B. P. O. Elks, and of the Odd Fel- lows at Willows. Politically he is a stanch Republican.
JAMES BYRON MORRISSEY
Among the pioneers of Colusa and Glenn Counties, James Byron Morrissey is worthy of special mention. He was born in Janesville, Wis., April 22, 1856, a son of Thomas and Ella (Dunn) Morrissey. The family moved to Allamakee County, Iowa; and there he acquired the knowledge he has put to such good advan- tage in later life. He was raised on a farm, and early learned the lessons of industry and perseverance so necessary in order to be- come a successful tiller of the soil.
When a lad of seventeen, James Morrissey set his face towards the West. He arrived in California in 1873, and first worked for wages on the Whyler rauch, near Princeton, Colusa County. For four years thereafter, in partnership with his brother, John Morrissey, he farmed a section of land, north of Orland, to grain. In 1881 the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Morrissey then continued to farm the large acreage alone until 1885, when he purchased his present ranch of three hundred acres, one and one half miles north of Orland. This ranch originally contained four hundred eighty acres, but he sold one hundred eighty acres of the property. Here he has a splendidly improved place, which he has been several years in developing. He has one hundred sixty acres in alfalfa; and with his two eldest sons, he is developing a seventy-acre almond orchard. In addition to his hor- ticultural interests Mr. Morrissey devotes a portion of his ranch to stock-raising. He was the first man to start development work north of Stony Creek, in the Orland district, and his ranch is one to which Glenn County can point with pride as an example of what can be done in this section of the state with proper development and management.
The marriage of Mr. Morrissey united him with Ellen O'Hair. Fourteen children have blessed their union, twelve of whom are living to carry on the work begun by their parents. They are as follows: Rodney J .; Dora M., wife of Dr. H. E. Minor; and Ed-
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ward J., Clara E., Hazel C., Bernard F., Kenneth C., Jeremiah B., Melvin M., Howard P., Marjorie L., and Harold E. Both Mr. Morrissey and his wife have been members of the school board and have helped in all movements for bettering the educational ad- vantages in their community, realizing that the future of the val- ley lies with the rising generation. Mr. Morrissey has served as a director of the Orland Unit Water Users' Association, giving much time from his multiplied activities to this feature of the county's development. All projects having for their object the progress and advancement of the community have found in him an ardent supporter. In this work he has had the able assistance of his wife, who is herself an earnest worker for the betterment of conditions, both socially and economically. Mrs. Morrissey is a charter member of the Woman's Improvement Club of Orland. Fraternally, Mr. Morrissey is a Mason, a member of Orland Lodge, No. 265, F. & A. M., and has passed all the chairs of the Order.
WILLIAM H. PAPST
The cordial communication and social relations existing be- tween the people of Canada and the people of the States have often been the subject of pleasant comment; and no wonder, for many of the Dominion's sons and daughters have crossed the line to find still greater opportunities, and to bring with them their wholesome native customs and their helpful spirit of enterprise. One of these esteemed settlers is William H. Papst, a native of Toronto, Upper Canada, where he was born on November 19, 1845, and where he attended the Model School. His parents were Henry G. and Elizabeth (Burke) Papst, and both were natives of Canada. In 1857, the family settled in Davenport, Scott County, Iowa; and after a short sojourn there they located at Council Bluffs, in the same state. On May 15, 1860, they started to cross the plains with three yoke of oxen and a prairie schooner; and on September 15, of the same year, or just four months after they had set out, they arrived south of Chico, in Butte County. There the father rented some farm land; but in the fall of 1866 he crossed the Sacramento River and took up his residence at St. John, in Colusa County, where he lived until his death, in 1870.
Besides the subject of our sketch, three children born to these worthy pioneers crossed the plains with them. Charles J., now deceased, was the next younger brother of William H. Papst, Then came Elizabeth Ann, Mrs. Chaney, who died in December, 1915, at her brother's home, where she had lived for twenty years.
William He Papst
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The youngest was a daughter, now Mrs. Frances L. Stahl. In the fall of 1867, Charles J. Papst bought out the mercantile store of A. C. St. John, at St. John. This he conducted for twenty-five years, when he sold out and removed to San Francisco, where he died in 1893.
In 1871, William H. Papst, with his mother and a sister, set- tled north of Germantown, where he bought a half section of railroad land for five dollars an acre. Two years later he home- steaded eighty acres near by, on which he is still living. In 1877, his revered mother bade good-bye to the scenes of this world.
Having a chance to dispose of his half section at an advance of fifty dollars an acre, Mr. Papst sold the same in 1913. In the meantime, he had farmed the land to grain, and had engaged in the raising of hogs. His eighty acres he has recently much im- proved, with characteristic enterprise, sinking a well a hundred and three feet deep, and getting seventy feet of water, which has proved extremely serviceable in the raising of alfalfa. So well known has he become as a ranchman, that at one time he was pres- ident of the Farmer's Alliance of Glenn County.
Mr. Papst joined the Odd Fellows in 1873, and is the oldest member of Stony Creek Lodge, No. 218, at Orland. He enjoys the possession of a beautiful golden emblem given him by his fellow lodge members, as a token of the esteem in which he is everywhere held by those who know him.
JERRY ALEXANDER BURGER
One of the natives of the Middle West who eventually reached California, to swell the number of sturdy American pioneers who have done so much for the development of the state, is Jerry Alexander Burger, of the vicinity of Hamilton City. He was born in Laporte County, Ind., June 10, 1859, a son of David and Minnie (Gullen) Burger, both now deceased. When he was eight years of age, he went with his parents to Linn County, Iowa. There he laid the foundation, in health and industrious habits, for much of the success of his later years. His mother died in New York, and his father at Nelson, Cal. Besides Mr. Burger, there is still one sister living, Mrs. Eliza Amelia Van Syckle.
At the age of thirteen, in 1872, Jerry Burger crossed the . Rockies to California, and for a time stopped in San Jose. In June of that same year he arrived in Colusa County, and almost immediately began working for the late Henry W. Van Syckle, who gave him his start in the world. On August 25, 1886, he was 24
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united in marriage with Miss Lydia Irene Van Syckle, a native of Princeton, Cal., and a danghter of his employer. Mr. Burger as- sisted his father-in-law with the work on the Van Syckle ranch, which is now subdivided into many rich and fertile farms, upon which intensive farming is being carried on with great success.
With the money Mrs. Burger received from the estate of her father, Mr. and Mrs. Burger purchased the O'Brien place. He at once began making improvements and cultivating the land, and met with very good returns. Through the improvements made on the place, and also on account of the natural increase in land values, after six years there they received a flattering offer and sold the place for several times what they paid for it. They then came back to the old Van Syekle tract, where they were brought up, and bought one hundred thirteen and a half acres. This has been seeded to alfalfa; and here they are running a small dairy, besides raising some stock. The property is one of the most fertile spots in the entire Sacramento Valley; and upon it anything will grow that may be planted, if it is given an ordinary opportunity.
Mrs. Burger has been a resident of this particular part of what is now Glenn County since she was an infant, when her father moved from his pioneer store at Princeton to this ranch, which at one time comprised eight hundred acres and yielded large crops of grain for its owner. Mr. and Mrs. Burger believe in the old adage, "Live and let live." They are home-loving, hospitable, cheerful people, who try to help others less fortunate than themselves; and they have won a host of good friends wher- ever they are known. Mr. Burger is a Republican. For eight years he looked after and worked on the roads in the St. John district, under Supervisor V. C. Cleek. While living in the Plaza district, he served as a school trustee for several years. Fra- ternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters.
IRVING WOODBRIDGE BROWNELL
A pioneer of 1849 in California, and a man who aided mate- rially in the development of the resources of the state, Irving W. Brownell was born at Westport, Bristol County, Mass., October 10, 1826, a son of Isaac W. and Abby (White) Brownell, both horn at Westport. The elder Brownell was a school-teacher in that state. In 1864 he came with his family to California via Panama. On their arrival they located near Knight's Landing, in Yolo County, where he improved a farm and resided until his
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death. His wife also passed her last days there. The Brownell family were descended from French Huguenots who settled in Massachusetts. On the White side of the family they are of English origin, and trace their ancestry back to the Pilgrims and the landing of the Mayflower. Peregrine White was the first child born in the Mayflower party after landing.
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