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 53
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 53
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91
J. D. Griffin
Florida Sprigs Griffin
601
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
tain Meadow massacre. The Indians were on the warpath most of the time; and his party had considerable trouble with them, en- gaging in many skirmishes. However, the party arrived at their destination in October. En route they saw many herds of buffalo roaming the plains, and large numbers of them crossed their trail, an incident which greatly interested the son, Thomas D., who was then a lad of twelve years. Upon reaching this state, Mr. Griffin stopped a year in Solano County and engaged in the cattle busi- ness ; and the following year he went to Knight's Landing, took up some government land, and developed a farm, with the aid of his son. He spent ten years in that location, after which he sold out and moved to Winters, where he bought nine hundred sixty acres and farmed until his death, in 1886, aged sixty-eight years. His wife, Nancy Ely, was born in Missouri. She gave birth to twelve children, eight of whom grew to years of maturity. She died at Winters in 1911, aged eighty-two years.
In Woodland, T. D. Griffin married Florida A. Spriggs, a na- tive of Blairsville, Union County, Ga., and a daughter of John M. Spriggs, of South Carolina, who went to Georgia when a young man and engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1849, when he came around Cape Horn to California. The following year he re- turned to his eastern home for his family, again coming to Cali- fornia in 1852. This time he crossed the plains with ox teams. Mrs. Griffin was then four years of age. He located at Knight's Landing for a short time, and then went to St. Helena, Napa County, where his wife died, and later to the San Joaquin Valley, where, near Newman, he engaged in sheep-raising and general farming. He died while on a visit to a daughter in Oregon. Of five children Mrs. Griffin is the eldest. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Griffin: Lita, the wife of James Lucas of Elk Creek; Pearl Belle, who married L. A. March and lives at Wil- liams; Earl David, who married Irene Smith and resides at Co- lusa ; and Clifford Milton, who has charge of the home place.
Mr. Griffin has always been active and enterprising. He has shown himself to be thoroughly efficient as a rancher and stock- man, and has won wide appreciation throughout the valley for his ability and public spirit. In the county where he has lived for these many years, he stands second to none in the promotion of worthy enterprises for town and county. With his wife and fam- ily he has the respect of all who know him; and he has done his part towards making California history. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.
602
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
CLAUS F. JANSEN
A pioneer of California, and one of Glenn County's substan- tial citizens, Claus F. Jansen was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Ger- many, December 24, 1850. He is a son of Claus F. and Margaret D. (Rohwer) Jansen. The father, deciding that the New World held brighter prospects for himself and family, set sail for New York, and landed there in 1860, with his wife and five children, of whom Claus F., Jr., was the oldest. They left that same year for California, via Panama, and upon arrival settled near Dixon, So- lano County, where the father homesteaded a government claim of one hundred sixty acres, three miles northeast of Dixon. He farmed the land for many years, finally selling out in 1908. He has now reached the venerable age of ninety-one years, and makes his home with his daughter in San Francisco. Five of his children are now living: Claus F., Jr .; Margaret, wife of Claus Frahm, of San Francisco; Annie, wife of Henry Gruppe, of San Francisco; Katie, wife of Earnest Rohweder, of Spokane, Wash .; and Gil- more, of Dixon, Cal.
Claus F. Jansen, Jr., was educated in the Sam Pitts school, southwest of Dixon. He assisted his father on the home farm un- til 1870, when he decided to start out for himself. Coming to what is now Germantown, he bought three hundred twenty acres of land, putting the first plow in the soil. He fenced the land, planted trees and a family orchard, and was here engaged in rais- ing grain for many years, with success. He also devoted consid- erable attention to the raising of cattle and hogs, specializing in the Berkshire breed of hogs. The farming land is now rented to his son-in-law, Carl Peterich, who is raising grain, while Mr. Jan- sen still devotes his time to his hogs and cattle.
Mr. Jansen has always taken an active part in the develop- ment of his section of the state, being interested in all things that make for the betterment of the community. By his efforts the first school in that section was started, Mr. Jansen realizing that the educational advantages a community affords are one of the important factors in its development. He was also one of the founders of the German Lutheran Church of Germantown, which has been a power for good throughout this section, and has well repaid its founders for the time and thought given it from their busy lives. Together with other citizens he started the Rochdale Store of Germantown, of which he is a director.
The marriage of Mr. Jansen united him with Miss Fred- ericka Rohweder, a native of Germany; and they have one daugh-
603
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
ter, Martha, who has received a good education, and is a very in- telligent and progressive woman. Her husband, Carl Peterich, is one of the rising young farmers of the Germantown district, where he was born and raised. A biography of his father will be found in another part of this book. Mr. and Mrs. Peterich are the parents of four children, three of whom are living: Edna F. C., Lillian A., and Herman J. F. Mr. Jansen has served for one year as Justice of the Peace. He has always had the best inter- ests of the community at heart; and he holds the esteem of a wide circle of acquaintances and friends.
WALTER M. HENNING
Among the most successful scientific ranchers in the region of Willows, and one of those who, while developing the business side of their farm operations, are advancing the study and practice of agriculture in the state, is Walter M. Henning, who was born at Willows, on August 16, 1881. He is the son of a pioneer, August Henning, a sketch of whose interesting life is elsewhere given in this book. Educated in the excellent schools of Willows, he began at the age of eighteen to earn his own living, first working for his uncle, Henry Henning, on the James Talbot ranch west of Willows.
After a thorough apprenticeship of seven years under his unele, Mr. Henning was engaged on several other ranches in the county, and in the course of time leased his father's ranch of three hundred acres on the Sacramento River, near Ord. He has been cultivating this rich and productive farm for ten years, raising wheat and barley; and for the last three years he has not gathered less than three thousand five hundred sacks of grain. In 1917, the Henning ranch yielded a bumper crop, producing over four thou- sand sacks. In 1916, Mr. Henning leased his unele's ranch of nine hundred eighty-four acres, four hundred fifty of which he immedi- ately seeded to wheat and barley. He is also leasing one hundred acres on the Miller ranch. He raises cattle, turning off forty to fifty head yearly; and his live stock also includes a fine lot of Berkshire hogs, to which he has recently added a fine registered Berkshire boar. In this department he has met with exceptional success, marketing about two hundred hogs a year.
In 1916, Mr. Henning married Miss Emma M. Appleby, a na- tive of San Francisco, and established a cheerful and hospitable home, whose welcome is immediately felt by friend and stranger alike.
604
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
DAVID C. TUCKER
If there be any department of business activity in which a community is bound to feel a direct interest, and where the char- acter of the individual conducting the same, as well as his tech- nical and professional experience, always counts for much, it is the expert, artistic and considerate work of the undertaker. The community of Willows has followed carefully the career of David C. Tucker since he first came here several years ago, and now gladly reposes in him the confidence which is so often one of the best assets of a business man. A native of Tennessee, in which state he first saw the light on March 15, 1860, he attended the schools of his neighborhood, and at the age of nineteen went to Texas and topped off his education at Turners Point College. Five years previously, he had become associated with his uncle in the undertaking business; and under his careful instruction he laid the foundation for his later proficiency.
In 1883, he pushed on to the Pacific Coast, and located in Fresno, Cal., where for a time he was with the undertaking firm of Hall Brothers, and later in the employ of Stephens & Bean, of that city. While in Fresno he took a course in the United States School of Embalming at Chicago, and later returned for a postgraduate course, finishing his work there in 1891. His next important move led him, in 1899, to enter the service of the United States government, when he sailed for the Philippine Islands, where he was stationed for two years at the First Reserve Hospital in Manila, as a government embalmer. On his return to this country, Mr. Tucker resumed his position in Fresno with Stephens & Bean. With his wide exeprience and his credentials, it was easy for him to become associated with some of the leading undertaking firms in California, prominent among which may be mentioned the Craig-Cochran Company, at San Francisco. In Tonopah, Nev., also, Mr. Tucker had charge of the establishment of Wonacott & Hall.
On September 4, 1908, Mr. Tucker moved to Willows, where, with C. E. Chearin, he bought out G. W. Orr, and with his new partner began to conduct the undertaking firm of Tucker & Chearin, undertakers and embalmers. Three years later, how- ever, he purchased Mr. Chearin's interest; and since then Mr. Tucker has been sole proprietor of the well-known parlors. He has developed the work on the broadest and most tasteful lines, and employs a Winton Six automobile hearse, the only one in Glenn County and the first in northern Sacramento Valley.
D. C. Tucker
607
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
A Republican deputy county coroner under Coroner J. N. Reidy, Mr. Tucker was elected, in the spring of 1914, to be county coroner and public administrator; and most satisfactorily has he attended to the peculiar duties of this public trust. In his pro- fessional work Mr. Tucker observes esthetic and ethical standards, believing that the remains of the deceased, no matter of how humble a station in life, should be treated with the greatest respect and deference; and it is this dignity in his profession that has endeared him to the people of Glenn County, who admire him for his straightforwardness and sterling worth.
WILLIAM T. RATHBUN, M. D.
As the leading physician and surgeon of Colusa County, Dr. William T. Rathbun has made his influence felt in professional and social circles. He was born in this county, on October 17, 1869, a son of Jesse Perrin Rathbun, who owned and operated a large farm near Williams. Jesse Perrin Rathbun was a Califor- nia pioneer of 1852, and settled in Petaluma on his arrival in the state. His first trip to the Coast was made with his father, who came in the late forties from Missouri. He brought one of the first herds of cattle into the state. Dr. Rathbun's parents are now living at College City, aged seventy-five and sixty-eight years, re- spectively. They had eight children, five of whom are now living, as follows: Mrs. C. W. Cockerill, of Princeton; J. E., of Los An- geles; Wm. T., of this review; Mrs. M. T. White, of Los Angeles; and Jessie, the wife of Dr. Ernest Foster, of Hanford. One son, Earl, was accidentally killed by an explosion of dynamite at Round Mountain, Washoe County, Nev .; and Julia and Harry are also deceased.
Dr. Rathbun was reared on his father's ranch until he was sixteen years of age. He then learned telegraphy, and was an operator for three years, holding positions on the Southern Pacific and the Mackey-Bennett lines. He matriculated in 1889 at the medical department of the University of California, in San Fran- cisco, where he pursued the regular three years' course, graduat- ing on December 13, 1892, with the degree of M. D. The following year was spent as interne in the City and County Hospital in San Francisco; and in 1894 Dr. Rathbun came to Dunnigan, where he began a general practice. Two years later he went to College City, Colusa County ; and there he was engaged for eight years in a very successful practice. He then located in Colusa, and opened an office in the Brooks Building. Since coming to this city, he has
608
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
built up a large practice, which keeps him busily occupied. Dr. Rathbun spent five or six years as city and county health officer, with the result that many of the causes of ill health in the com- munity were removed and the standard of health was raised con- siderably. In appreciation of his past services, the supervisors appointed him to the office of county physician in January, 1917. In 1914, he took a course at the New York Postgraduate College.
In 1895, in San Francisco, Dr. William T. Rathbun was mar- ried to Miss Emma C. Holmes, of that city; and one son, Stanley HI., has been born to them. He graduated from the Colusa high school, and is now a student in the College of Physicians and Sur- geons, in San Francisco.
Dr. Rathbun is a conscientious physician, thoroughly versed in up-to-date medical science. He has given special attention to preventive medicine. He is a Mason of the Royal Arch degree, and belongs to the various medical associations of the county and state.
BENJAMIN HOWELL BURTON
The president of the Colusa County Bank, B. H. Burton, was born in the Hoosier State, at Aurora, October 26, 1857, and when a babe in arms was taken by his parents to Arcola, Douglas County, Ill., where his father, B. H. Burton, Sr., opened a general merchandise store and "grew up with the country," remaining there until his retirement from business cares. B. H. Burton, Sr., was a Democrat, and was a delegate to the convention that nom- inated Horace Greeley for the Presidency in 1872. His last years were passed at the home of his son in Willows, Cal., where he died in 1898, aged seventy-seven. While a resident of Indiana, where he opened a mercantile establishment at Aurora, in 1837, he mar- ried Janet Conwell, who was born in Ripley County, that state. She, like her husband, was descended from Quaker stock. Of their six children, three sons and one daughter came to California, the daughter and mother living together at Nordhoff, Ventura County.
B. H. Burton, of this review, attended the grammar and high schools in Arcola, during his vacations assisting his father in the store until 1875, when he came to California and took up his home at Colusa to begin life's battles for himself. His first employment was in the store of M. Nicklesburg & Company. On July 1, 1876, his banking career began, when he became assistant bookkeeper in the Colusa County Bank under its first president, W. F. Goad, who was followed by Col. George Hagar and W. P. Harrington in turn.
609
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
Under these men Mr. Burton passed through the various grades of promotion until, in 1889, he was made assistant cashier. At this time the bank bought a controlling interest in the Bank of Willows; and Mr. Burton was selected as cashier, and elected a director of that institution. As manager he proved his worth by his careful consideration of the interests of the stockholders and patrons, and by his conservative investments and keen business ability. In December, 1903, he was made president of the Colusa County Bank, and of the Bank of Willows the following January, W. P. Harrington, his predecessor, having died in office. While he was cashier of the Bank of Willows, its capital stock was increased from $200,000 to $300,000, and dividends were regularly declared. The Colusa County Bank enjoyed the same degree of prosperity. Both banks are members of the American and California Bankers Association.
When Mr. Burton became president of the Colusa County Bank, he removed from Willows to Colusa, where he has since made his home. He has been married twice. His first wife was Miss Anna Tarleton, born in Waverly, Ind., to whom he was mar- ried at Martinsville, that state. She died at Willows, Cal., June 10, 1896, leaving a son, Benjamin Howell Burton, Jr., a student in Stanford University, who enlisted in March, 1917, for enrollment in the French Ambulance Corps, and has been decorated for val- iant service. The second marriage united him with Miss Myra Kelly, who was born and reared in California, Mo., where they were married. Two children were born of this union, John Kelly and Ruth.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK AND FIRST SAVINGS BANK OF COLUSA
These two banks are separate institutions, although allied in interests, officers and directorate, and occupying the same build- ing. The First National Bank was organized under the Federal banking laws, in 1911; and the First Savings Bank was organized that same year under the banking laws of California. Their first home was a brick building that had formerly been occupied by E. C. Peart, a pioneer merchant of Colusa, and that stood on the site of the present building. The old building was remodeled in 1912, when it was enlarged to forty by one hundred feet and made two stories high. The building is of sandstone from the Sites quarry. The interior is modern and well lighted, and amply meets the needs of the business. One part of the building is occupied by a store; and the second floor, by the Antlers Club of Colusa.
610
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
When the demand was made in Colusa for another bank, the First National Bank took over the commercial department of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, while the First Savings Bank took over the savings department. Both show combined assets of over $700,000. Upon its organization there were about sixty stock- holders; and the following officers and directors were the first incumbents in office : U. W. Brown, president; R. E. Blevins, vice- president ; F. Monsen, J. J. O'Rourke, and John C. Ahlf, com- pleting the directorate; H. F. Osgood, cashier; and Everett Bowes, assistant cashier. In 1914 the directorate was increased from five to seven members, and consists today of U. W. Brown, president ; R. E. Blevins, vice-president ; and Mrs. Clara C. Packer, Ira L. Compton, E. M. Gordon, E. B. Vann, and E. V. Jacobs; while Mr. Osgood and Mr. Bowes are cashier and assistant cashier. The officers and directors of the First Savings Bank are U. W. Brown, president; R. E. Blevins, vice-president; and Clara C, Packer, Ira L. Compton, and J. J. O'Rourke. The First National Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank in District No. 12.
ROBERT BRUCE BALLARD
A West Virginian who has found a good place in which to invest his money is Robert Bruce Ballard of Colusa, who is now the owner of sixty-eight acres of as good land as is to be found in the county. Upon this tract he makes his home, in the western part of the city of Colusa, while he also owns thirty-seven acres one mile to the south. On all of this property he has been engaged in general farming along intensive lines.
Mr. Ballard was born in Logan County, Va. (now W. Va.), on March 24, 1847. At the time of his birth, the state had not been divided. He was sent to the subscription schools, for up to the time of the state division and the Civil War there were no free schools in that part of the state. During the progress of the war the schools were abandoned. People had to go in hiding many times to avoid conflict with raiding parties, who took cattle, horses and foodstuff wherever they found them. The settlers had to bury their money and food in order to preserve them for their own use. Five of Mr. Ballard's brothers were in the Union army. One was killed during the war, and two died of fever. Of the two that returned, one was wounded at Cross Keys. After the organization of the state of West Virginia, free schools were instituted; and in these Robert B. Ballard com- pleted his schooling, working on the farm until he married and
roe
613
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
struck out for himself. On March 15, 1877, Miss Leatha A. Cook became his wife. She was the daughter of Thomas and Jane Cook, Virginians of English descent, and pioneers of Logan County-now Wyoming County, W. Va. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ballard: Robert Hngh, Blackburn Wirt and Henry Rush.
After spending many years in his native state, farming on a place of four hundred acres he owned, Mr. Ballard disposed of his interests, and in 1906 came to make a home under the sunny skies of California; and since taking up his residence here he has been well satisfied with the change. The sons are operating the ranch. They have thirty acres in prunes, and farm the balance. The water for irrigating the land comes from the Roberts Ditch Company, and affords an ample supply for their needs. They raise alfalfa, grain, and hay, and have a dairy of over twenty cows.
The chances for many years of life in California are in Mr. Ballard's favor; for his parents, Rhodes D. and Mary (Perry) Ballard, both Virginians of Scotch ancestry, lived to be eighty- four and eighty-six years of age, respectively. They died in the state where they were born. The father served two terms in the state legislature, and was a prominent factor in the develop- ment of the new state of West Virginia.
JOHN WILLIAM MONROE
A patriotic native son of the Golden State, and one who has spent his entire life in California, John W. Monroe ardently champions all measures looking towards the development of the commonwealth. A son of Daniel F. Monroe, he was born on No- vember 25, 1877, in Santa Barbara County, where he lived the first eight years of his life. He then accompanied the family to Glenn County, where he grew to manhood, meanwhile doing chores about his father's ranch as a boy, and attending the public schools when they were in session. After he had gradnated from the pub- lic schools, he took a commercial conrse in the Chico State Nor- mal, and then clerked for two years in a general store at Elk Creek. In 1902, when twenty-five years of age, he was appointed a deputy under Sheriff Bailey, who was also collector of the county taxes; and for eight years he ably discharged the duties imposed upon him.
There was a steady growth in the thriving community of Wil- lows, and here Mr. Monroe saw an opportunity to do some good business. As he was very handy with tools, he began taking build- 32
-
614
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
ing contracts, and built and sold many homes at a good profit. Among some of the more important houses erected by Mr. Monroe mention may be made of the homes of Raymond Greer, Mrs. Annie Frisbie, J. F. Garnett, John Johansen, Charles Belieu, and Marion Zumwalt; and besides these he erected many others.
From his youth Mr. Monroe has been interested in agricul- tural pursuits. He is the owner of a twenty-acre fruit ranch one mile west of Willows, which he has planted to lemons, olives and almonds. The place is improved with a two-story residence, of modern design; and here he makes his home. He also owns and looks after five houses in town.
In 1904 Mr. Monroe married Miss Mary St. Louis, a native daughter, whose father, Alfred St. Louis, born in Missouri, was a pioneer rancher of Glenn County. Mr. St. Louis owned a place at Norman, and later bought some property from the Glenn ranch near Sidd's landing; and besides these he leased large tracts of land and farmed on a large scale with very good success. He died in 1905, after a long and useful life. Mr. and Mrs. Monroe have four children: Mary Alfreda, Willamae, Daniel Edward, and James Arthur.
The years spent as a deputy county officer, and the proficiency with which the duties were executed, were not forgotten by the fellow citizens of John W. Monroe. He was tendered the office of county treasurer of Glenn County in 1910, and was elected by a good majority. His conduct of the office was pleasing to the peo- ple, and in 1914 he was reelected to the position withont opposi- tion. He won in the primaries over two opponents by a majority of sixteen hundred votes. Mr. Monroe is popular in fraternal circles. He is a member of Chico Lodge, No. 423, B. P. O. Elks, and of Laurel Lodge, No. 245, F. & A. M., of Willows. He is a fine example of the energetic men of the state who are building a great future for the commonwealth and who believe in pulling to- gether with others to make it the most favored spot in our whole country.
LEANDER S. BALLARD
One of the later arrivals in Colnsa County, where he is making good and is welcomed as one of its foremost home-makers, is Leander S. Ballard, who was born on July 30, 1853, in Logan County, in that part of Virginia which later became West Vir- ginia. The Ballards are descendants of sturdy Scotch ancestors who figured in the history of Virginia as farmers and landowners. There were no free public schools in that part of the state before
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.