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 45
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 45
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and places of interest in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. She had the pleasure of being present at the coronation of King George. On her return to the United States she visited different places of in- terest, arriving home in Glenn County in January, 1912. She takes an active interest in social, religious and civic affairs, and believes, inasmuch as women have been granted suffrage, they should exercise their vote on important questions. A Democrat in national affairs, she is especially interested in forwarding moral and temperance movements.
Continuing to make her home in her beautiful country resi- dence, which she planned and which was erected during her hus- band's life, Mrs. Walker loves nature and derives much pleasure from caring for the flowers and ornamental trees on the place, meanwhile making of it one of the beauty spots in Glenn County. She is an active member of the Methodist Church at Willows, and is also active in Marshall Chapter No. 86, O. E. S., in Willows, in which, for the past five years, she has held the office of treasurer.
PETER ASBURY EARP
To reach the venerable age of four score and two years, and still retain all of one's faculties, is evidence of right living. In the life of Peter Asbury Earp, this is aptly demonstrated. As a far- mer and fruit-grower he has been an eye-witness of all the changes that have taken place with the passing of the years during his resi- dence in the Sacramento Valley. He was born in Ohio County, Ky., September 12, 1835, the oldest child in a family of eighteen children by the two marriages of his father. His parents were Lo- renzo Dow and Nancy (Storm), Earp, the former born in North Carolina, a son of Walter Earp, who in turn was a son of Philip Earp, a Virginian, who served from his colony in the Revolution- ary War. Walter Earp, also a Virginian, went to North Carolina in young manhood, and in 1814 removed to Ohio County, Ky., and settled there. The record of this trip has been preserved in the family annals, and is indicative of the hardships and privations endured by the early pioneers. All the household goods taken were carried on a pack-horse over the mountains, while the family walked the entire distance. From day to day they preserved their live coals for fire, stopping at times to revive them until they were ready to start a fire. In due time they arrived safely. Mr. Earp was a school-teacher, and followed his profession in the primitive schools of his time for many years. In 1846 he moved to Mon- mouth, Ill., where he died at the age of sixty-eight. One of the
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pioneer experiences of the family was the baking of bread on a flat rock that had been heated in the fire. Their corn meal was ground in a hand-mill or beaten in a mortar.
Lorenzo Dow Earp grew to manhood in Kentucky, and went with the family to Illinois in 1846, where he lived until 1853, when he removed to near Newton, Jasper County, Iowa, and farmed there until his death in 1893, at the age of eighty-four years. He served as justice of the peace and postmaster of Galesburg, Iowa. In politics he was a Republican. During the Civil War he was active in raising troops for the Union cause. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and lived the life of a true Christian. He was twice married, and had nine children by each wife. His first wife, Nancy Storm, was a daughter of Peter and Ann Maria (Sou- ders) Storm. Peter Storm was a son of John Storm of Virginia, who migrated to Kentucky. While hunting in the vicinity of what is now Louisville, John Storm was captured by Indians, by whom he was held prisoner for two years. His boldness won him his freedom, the Indians making him a chief. He escaped while ont hunting, and returned to his home in Kentucky. Nancy Earp died in Illinois, aged thirty-four years.
Peter A. Earp was reared in Kentucky until he was eleven, and then accompanied his parents to Illinois. He received his edu- cation in both the free and the subscription schools in the two states, and was early trained to the duties of a farmer. In 1853 he went to Iowa with his father, and remained at home until he was of age, after which he worked as a farm hand for wages. The tales of the riches to be found at Pike's Peak fired the young man with a desire to try his Inck; and with some friends he outfitted with ox teams and provisions, and on May 11, 1859, started to seek his Eldorado. Before they had got beyond the boundary of their state, they met parties returning who said nothing was to be gained by going to Colorado. They were then induced to go on to California; and after six months of traveling they arrived at Hangtown, now Placerville, on September 2. Mr. Earp did not go to the mines for his fortune, however, but sought employment at chopping wood, as the first opportunity that came to his hand; this wood he sold to the boats plying the Sacramento River. This was in Sutter County, just across from Colusa County. He con- tinned in this occupation until 1863, when he bought a part of his present ranch, two and one half miles south of Meridian, and be- gan farming, and improving the property. He set out apple trees, peach trees, prune trees and apricot trees, and raised hay and live stock; and he also had an apiary. He has over thirty acres in prunes and six acres in mixed fruits. The first year he was in this part of the country he cradled seventy acres of grain, in Sutter
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County. His one hundred sixty acres on the Sacramento River is well improved with good buildings, and is a model ranch property. His orchard of thirty acres, principally prunes, is irrigated by a pumping plant ; and he has about twenty-five aeres in alfalfa, from which he cuts four crops without irrigation.
In 1864, near Grimes, Mr. Earp was married to Martha Hel- ton, of Missouri, who came to California in 1852, crossing the plains with her parents, William and Esther Helton. Mr. and Mrs. Earp have had eleven children, eight of whom grew up: Wil- liam H., who married Agnes Woodland and died in 1915, leaving eight children; Walter, who manages the home ranch; Nancy Maria, Mrs. J. E. Starnater ; George, of Sacramento; Mary A., the wife of J. A. Messick, of Sycamore; James, in San Joaquin County ; Emma J., the wife of Robert McMahon, of Gridley; and Bertha E., at home. Mrs. Earp died in 1888; and Mr. Earp reared and educated the children. He is a great reader of current literature. For many years he served as a school trustee. He was also connected with the Good Templars for years. He is an elder and deacon in the Christian Church at Sycamore, and was its first Sunday school superintendent.
HENRY WEAVER VAN SYCKLE
In California, more than in any other state in the Union, the vigorons prosperity of the commonwealth is directly traceable to the sturdy character and. untiring perseverance of the pioneers, many of whom risked their lives on the trackless, Indian-infested plains, bringing hither Eastern conservatismn and practical experi- ence to the aid of Western chaos and impetnosity. Enrolled among these noble and self-sacrificing men is the name of Henry Weaver Van Syekle, who was for many years identified with innumerable enterprises looking towards the development of the state.
A native of New York, he was born on the Mohawk River, March 12, 1830. When he was a small boy his father died, leaving a widow, two sons and one daughter. Henry W. being the oldest child, it devolved upon him to assist in the support of the other members of the family. This he did by selling papers and fruit, and by singing on the streets of New York. He continued to lend his aid at home until he was nineteen, when his mother married again. The young man then left home, intent on reaching Califor- nia. With his uncle, Solomon Hasbrook Burger, and two young men, he left in 1849 for the long and dangerous trip across the plains, with a team of fine horses. They got as far as Salt Lake,
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Mrs A Van Dyckle
76 Vandyckle
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with their team almost exhausted, and the party very much dis- couraged by having had to walk much of the way. Mr. Burger and the two young men decided they would return to their homes, and accordingly sold the horses, wagon and provisions, took their share of the money and went back East, leaving young Van Syckle to pursue his journey to California by himself. He was firm in his determination to reach the Coast; and so he bought a horse and saddle and started alone. His provisions gave out, however, and he nearly starved. On one occasion, seeing an Indian's dog, he crawled about a quarter of a mile to shoot it, so as to have some- thing to eat. Failing in this, he was ready to cry with disappoint- ment. He had to sell his horse to buy food, and paid as high as one dollar for two eggs, and four dollars for three biscuits. On arriving in Hangtown, now Placerville, he engaged in mining with a company of men; but becoming disgusted with the company, he left them and formed other associations, and for a time mined quite successfully. Later, on leaving Hangtown, he went to Shasta County, where he formed other mining connections and flumed the Sacramento River, expecting to dig up gold nuggets by the bucket- ful in the river bed. He met with fair success in Shasta County until a great freshet came and washed away their flumes and place of mining, when Mr. Van Syckle lost about ten thousand dollars.
It was at this time that Mr. Van Syckle quit the mining game and went to raising fine horses, in partnership with Joe Bonds, on a ranch near what is now Butte City. In 1856 he came to Colusa County, and at a place he named Princeton, located fourteen miles north from Colusa, opened a store and engaged in the mercantile business. He continued the partnership with Mr. Bonds, and they raised some very fine stock on their ranch. In 1860 he sold out his store to John Helphenstine, and disposed of his interest in the horse business to Mr. Bonds, and then returned East for his mother, and his sister and brothers. His stepfather had died in the meantime, and Mr. Van Syckle decided that he could look after the family if they were in California. He went back by way of Panama, returned the same year, 1861, with the family, over the same route, and settled three miles south of Princeton on the Ben HIance place of fourteen hundred acres. The following year he bought two hundred acres on Stony Creek, where he raised horses and grain with success.
On November 27, 1853, at the age of twenty-three, Henry Weaver Van Syckle was united in marriage with Mrs. Rebecca Elizabeth (Etzler) Willetts, a native of Iowa, who came to Cali- fornia in 1851, when she was twenty-seven years old. The cere- mony was performed at the home of H. Clay Grigsby, at Prince- ton. Of this union there were born five children, three of whom
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are now living: John William, of Chico; Mrs. Mary A. Gore, of Capitola; and Mrs. Jerry Burger, of Glenn County. Mrs. Van Syekle passed away on December 26, 1878, at their beautiful home . in Santa Clara County, which Mr. Van Syckle purchased in 1871, and which comprised twenty-one acres. He had moved his family down to that county in order to give his children better educa- tional advantages. The previous year he and his oldest daughter had made a trip back East to visit some of his old friends and rel- atives; but they came back to California that same year, and set- tled on the ranch until locating in their new home.
Mr. Van Syckle acquired other properties also. He bought one hundred fifty acres from "Bob" Ord, near St. John, and there constructed a rough board house, in which he and his family lived until he could build a more substantial residence. He bought more land from A. C. St. John, and in time became the owner of seven hundred acres. This land he sowed to grain, doing the work alone and by hand, walking the fields with a wheat-sack fastened to him. In 1876 he purchased three hundred nine acres one mile west of Nelson, Butte County. He became well-to-do through his own efforts; and after a long and useful life, passed to his reward in 1903, mourned by his family, and by a large circle of friends, who appreciated his worth as a man. He was a loyal citizen, thor- oughly grounded in the belief that there was no country like his own ; and he was ready at all times to do his share towards making it a better place in which to live. After Mr. Van Syckle had met with prosperity, he did a great deal to aid all those who were less fortunate than himself; for he knew by experience what an up-hill road a poor man has to travel in order to make a success. He knew what hardships meant, and was always glad to lighten the burdens of others when he found an opportunity.
MOSES STINCHFIELD
Among the names held in high esteem in Colusa County is that of the late Moses Stinchfield, a pioneer rancher of the Syca- more district, who was noted throughout the community for his genial, liberal nature and uprightness of character. He was born on June 5, 1832, in Evansville. Ind. His father was Daniel Stinch- field, who was born on March 11. 1782. Daniel Stinchfield was united in marriage,. on May 26, 1816, with Roxana Judkins, who was born on January 17, 1800, and who died in October, 1838. He died on March 9, 1852. The progenitor of the family in America was John Stinchfield, born in Leeds, England, who migrated to
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America and settled at Gloucester, Mass., later moving to New Gloucester, Maine. The township of New Gloucester was granted in 1736-in the days of the tomahawk and scalping-knife, when the general court offered a bounty of four hundred pounds ster- ling for Indian scalps-but the settlers were forced to flee to safety, and it was not until 1753 that New Gloucester settlement was successfully established. John Stinchfield was the leader in building the blockhouse, which served as fort, meeting-house and home for the settlement, in which he was prominent for years. It has been handed down that he was an ignorant boy, who could not spell or write his own name when he came from England. In 1904 there were found records in the attic of the home of the First Con- gregational Minister of New Gloucester, which tell of many brave and wise things done by him; and also business letters in his own handwriting, correct in form and concise in diction, which showed that he had considerable executive ability. He was married in America to Elizabeth Burns; and their children were John, Eliza- beth, James, Thomas, Sarah, William, and Rogers. James Stinch- field married Sally Parsons; and they had the following children: Sarah, James, Lydia, William, Daniel, Mark P., Sarah, Moses, Jacob, Betsy, John, and Henry. This Daniel Stinchfield was the father of Moses Stinchfield, the subject of our sketch. To Daniel and Roxana Stinchfield the following children were born: David, John, Hiram, Moses, George, Sarah, Harriet, Rachel, Lydia, and Mark.
Moses Stinchfield, of this review, attended the public school for a short time, and obtained the balance of his education by personal study and the reading of good literature. He was partic- ularly fond of reading. When he had reached the age of nineteen, he was offered and accepted a position as teacher in a country school. He was reared to the life of a farmer; and although he spent ten years mining in California, the balance of his days were spent on a farm, where he ultimately made his financial success. During the idle seasons on the farm, he superintended the building of river levees and engaged in the building of roads and bridges. He also did considerable carpenter work for others, as he was handy with all kinds of tools. In fact, he was just the right kind of a pioneer to aid in laying the foundations of a county and a state. He was prominent in politics as a conservative Democrat, and was elected treasurer of Colusa County in 1873 on the Dem- ocratic ticket, serving a two-year term, after which he once more took up farming and stock-raising. He was often called upon to make public speeches, which were always made impromptu. Fra- ternally, Mr. Stinchfield was an Odd Fellow. He joined Brooklyn Lodge, No. 46, at Red Dog, Nevada County, in which he served as
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Noble Grand; and when he moved away, his membership was transferred to Colusa Lodge, No. 133, which twice honored him with the office of Noble Grand, first upon its organization and again in 1888. He passed all the chairs of the subordinate lodge and served as District Deputy for Colusa County for eleven years. He was also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and was District Deputy Grand Master for Colusa County. Moses Stinchfield was a writer of poetry, and left a large collection of choice poems, two of which are reproduced herewith.
Mr. Stinchfield was twice married, first to Mary Newell, at Nevada City, Cal., October 16, 1862. She was born in Australia of Irish parents and was left an orphan at Red Dog, Cal., when quite young. She was a fine-looking and lovable woman, and was the mother of the following children: Edna Miriam, the wife of James Monroe Graham, and the mother of two children, Alex and Robert; George Edward, who married Willia Parr and lives at Healdsburg; Albert Sydney, who is specially mentioned below; Frank Emerson, who died at the age of thirty-three years; Wil- liam Elmer, who married Ann Wood and resides in Sacramento; Burdah, who became the wife of Albertus Goodin, of Dunnigan; Emma Lonise, the wife of Edward F. Burtis; Claude, who died in infancy; Stephen Herbert, also deceased; and Zoe Gertrude, who married Harry Hill, of College City. The second marriage united Mr. Stinchfield with Annie Stinchfield, who was born at Gold Springs, Tuolumne County, Cal., in 1862. She taught school for ten years, and became a well-known educator. She is the mother of two daughters: Harriet Asenath, the wife of William J. Wil- liamson; and Roxana Judkins, who married Gordon Ferris. Mr. Stinchfield passed away at College City, July 11, 1906, mourned by a large concourse of close friends and a wide circle of acquaint- ances. Mrs. Stinchfield survives her husband. She makes her home in Palo Alto, Cal.
Albert Sydney Stinchfield, the second son of Moses Stinch- field, was born on January 30, 1867, and was educated in the pub- lic schools. On February 20, 1901, he was married to Miss Lillian Geer, by whom he has had six children: Emma Gertrude, Alberta, Moses, Henry, Robert S., and Stanley Geer. Mr. Stinchfield has a very fine collection of photographs, taken throughout Colusa County and the Sacramento Valley, and in parts of Old Mexico. He is one of the representative ranchers of the Grimes district of Colusa County.
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THE LOVED AT HOME
I'm musing o'er the scenes of home; And a lonely, weary spell Has o'er my mind its mantle thrown, Like a solemn funeral knell; For o'er the billows' whitening foam, My heart is with the loved at home.
Home is the joy for which I sigh, The life-bud of the mind, Like the bright star I view on high Leaves shadows all behind. Where'er I be, where'er I roam,
My heart is with the loved at home.
I've wandered over many lands, For pleasure, wealth and ease; I've washed the gems from Afric's sands, And gold by northern seas. Now, sitting in the evening's gloam, My heart is with the loved at home.
I wear the laurels on my brow, Of honor, wealth, and fame; Have fought for glory, won my vow To gain the world's acclaini; And yet, beneath the heaven's dome I find no resting-place but home.
Though foreign lands be fair and bright, And friendly hands I press, Still, still I yearn for love's pure light And sigh for home's sweet rest. I know within that far-off home They watch and wait for me to come.
1849 WILL S. GREEN, THE PIONEER 1905
The Sacramento, pure and clear, flows down To wed the sea; and plowing up against the tide, Propelled by steam, a craft of olden style, Upon whose deck there stands a stripling boy With hand upon the wheel : he guides the boat Through unknown tides, where nature holds her court.
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His heart beats high with young ambition's fire, As he beholds unfolding beauties rare, The mirrored wonders in the placid stream. The graceful trailing vines on either bank Droop down from sheltering arms of oak And willow, ash and broad-leaved sycamore. At turn of every curve, new scenes appear To fill his joyous heart with thoughts sublime.
The trill of birds-sweet messengers of love --- With songs of welcome greet his joyous ear; From grapes in bloom sweet fragrance soothes his soul; And wild fowl, scared by rush of steam and wheel, Arise from every bend and soar away. The mild-eyed deer, pausing to slake their thirst Down at the river's brink, affrighted, flee. A savage growl, a sudden crash of brush, Points where the grizzly huge has made his lair.
Through rifts of foliage dense, the phantom Buttes, Like jack o'lanterns in the starless night, Now flit from side to side, from stem to stern, Recurrent to the river's tortuous course; While naked Indians, peering through the brush, With frightened eyes behold a monster shape: Yelling with fear, they flee away and hide Where giant oaks encroach upon the tide. Where brush and thicket disappear, he lands ; And calling to his mates, they climb the bank.
Transcendent beauty crowns the wondrous scene, From river's brink to mountain's blue. The deer, The antelope, the elk, by thousands roam, O'er plains with verdure rich, and flowers; While noble oaks, with bossy heads, stand forth To guard the plain. "My tent-pins here I drive," He said. "An empire here will grow; and here Shall be my home till God shall call me hence." And when his mates had turned the steamer's prow Adown the stream, he stood upon the shore, Sole monarch of an empire yet to be.
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Where sits Colusa by the river's side,
The fairest of fair daughters of the vale, Bedecked with flowers and robed in living green,
Here five and fifty years, with voice and pen, He freely gave his talents, means, and time, To labor for the commonwealth; and here We laid him down to rest,
Beneath the soil he loved so well.
VINCENT A. PETERSON
The proprietor of the V. A. Peterson Alfalfa Seed Co., of Arbuckle, has gained an enviable reputation in this part of the Sacramento Valley, and has been identified with the best interests of Yolo and Colusa Counties for many years. A native son of California, Vincent A. Peterson was born in San Diego, May 15, 1875, and when eight years old was taken by his parents to So- noma County, where he attended the Pacific Methodist College at Santa Rosa. On reaching his majority he went back to San Diego County and became interested in the cattle business and in min- ing, meeting with good success. For a time he carried on a furni- ture business in Los Angeles. Coming back to Sonoma County, he married Lulu H. Pearson, a native daughter of Stanislaus County ; and in 1898 they located in Stockton. There he engaged in raising potatoes on the delta lands, being the pioneer potato-grower in that section. That was at a time when potatoes were selling for thirty cents per sack of one hundred pounds-a marked contrast with the prevailing prices in 1917.
Not being satisfied with the results obtained in this venture, Mr. Peterson came to Yolo County and, near Blacks, leased the Clansen ranch of twenty-six hundred acres, and embarked in the raising of thoroughbred Holstein cattle and Berkshire hogs, im- porting some of the best strains from the East, which he intro- duced into California. In 1913, finding a good opening in the growing town of Arbuckle, he settled there and engaged in grow- ing, buying, and selling alfalfa seed. He raises from three hnn- dred to six hundred acres per year on leased land and buys all over the valley, as well as in the San Joaquin Valley and in South- ern California. He furnishes many of the large companies in the state with alfalfa seed. All the seed handled is carefully inspected before being put on the market. Colusa County produces about one hundred twenty tons of seed every year, most of which Mr. Peterson handles, shipping it in carload lots to Mexico, Canada,
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South America, and the Eastern States. He does a large mail- order business, furnishes all the farm bureaus with seed, keeps thoroughly posted on the alfalfa crop conditions in the state, and leases and operates four hundred acres of land southwest of Ar- buckle. In this extensive enterprise, Mr. Peterson is meeting with deserved success.
While a resident of Yolo County Mr. Peterson took an active interest in Democratic politics, and was chairman of the County Central Committee. As statistician of Yolo County he gathered data on all the products grown. He is now acting as United States Government crop reporter for Colusa County and part of Yolo County. He is a man of wide information, and is looked upon as an authority on agricultural matters. He believes in the future of the county and the state in general, is public-spirited to a marked degree, and is always found on the side of advancement and good government. He is a member of the Arbuckle Chamber of Commerce, and is recognized as one of the "live wires" of Co- lusa County.
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