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 58
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 58
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JAMES EWING MITCHELL
One of the last remaining of the old pioneers of the northern part of what is now Glenn County, and a man who has always had the respect and confidence of all his acquaintances, is James Ewing Mitchell, who was born in Roane County, Tenn., September 4, 1830. His parents, George and Sarah (Ewing) Mitchell, were also natives of that state, their parents having been among the earliest pioneers there. In 1837 the family moved to the new ter- ritory of Missouri, and settled on a farm in Polk County, which the father worked until his death in 1847.
James Mitchell attended the public schools of Missouri and took a conrse in Ebenezer College, near Springfield, that state; and when not in school, he worked on the farm. In 1854 he
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crossed the plains with a band of cattle that he had bought in In- dian Territory, now Oklahoma, and only lost seven per cent. of them in the long drive to California. He located in Butte County, on the Sacramento River, opposite St. John, where for three years he was engaged in cattle-raising. In 1857 he returned to Missouri, and in partnership with an uncle, Col. Adam C. Mitchell, engaged in horse- and mule-trading at Bolivar, in Polk County. In 1864 he again came to California, by way of New York City and Panama. For six years he managed the John M. Montgomery ranch on the Sacramento River, known thereafter as the Montgomery & Mitch- ell ranch, on the Tehama and Glenn County line, near Kirkwood. They owned eighteen thousand sheep, which they sold on the hoof in bands of from one hundred to three thousand; they bred fine stock, and paid at one time six hundred dollars for one sheep; an- other time they paid one thousand dollars for two ewes and three lambs. After the death of Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Mitchell sold out in 1876, and purchased six hundred forty acres of land five and one half miles northeast of Orland, in what is now Glenn County, where for thirty years he ranched with very gratifying success. He has always been recognized as one of the pioneers in the sheep business, as there were no high-grade sheep here before his time, but only the Spanish variety, with little or no wool. This gave Mr. Mitchell the idea of importing some good stock. He found that it took about seven years to get a high-graded animal; but he persevered until he had a splendid flock-so much so, that John S. Wise of San Francisco, and other prominent sheep men and buy- ers, said that Mr. Mitchell had the highest-graded band of sheep in the Sacramento Valley. Later he traveled and sold sheep all over the state, and in Nevada, being particularly well and favor- ably known all over Tehama, Butte, Colusa and Glenn Counties. He has made many trips East and back to California, making the trip twice across the plains and back, twice by way of Panama, and once by the Nicaragua route.
Mr. Mitchell was married in Willows, Cal., his wife being Miss Eliza Cleek, a native of Shelby County, Mo. Her father, An- drew Cleek, a native of Virginia, crossed the plains in 1849 and became a pioneer of Colusa County. He was a member of the first jury in Colusa County to pronounce the sentence that hanged a man. This was at Monroeville, then the county seat. He was also a member of the first board of supervisors. Mrs. Mitchell was educated in the public schools of this state and in the college at San Jose.
Mr. Mitchell is a Democrat. IIe was tendered the office of sheriff of Glenn County upon its organization, but declined the honor. He later regretted his action, as the proffer was made by
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his friends in both Republican and Democratic circles, who as- snred him he would have no opposition. On account of his natural diffidence, however, he has always refused public office. He is said to be the oldest living Mason in California, having been made a Mason in Polk Connty, Mo., in 1857. He now belongs to Chico Lodge, No. 111, F. & A. M., of which he is Past Master; Chico Chapter, No. 42, R. A. M .; and Chico Commandery, No. 12, K. T. For a man of his age Mr. Mitchell is wonderfully well-preserved. Though in his eighty-seventh year, he is hale and hearty, with a memory as keen as when he was a young man.
LINDLEY P. FARNHAM
The name of Farnham has been associated with Glenn County since the year 1876, when Rev. Moses Pember Farnham settled on land near Germantown, where he farmed for many years. He was born in New York, Jannary 20, 1838, and was educated in the pub- lic schools and academies of that state, and in Northwestern Uni- versity, in Illinois, of which he was a graduate. In 1861 he en- listed in the Thirteenth Wisconsin Regiment for service during the Civil War; and when he received his discharge at the close of hostilities it was with the rank of first lieutenant. He married Mary M. Cromwell, who was born in New York on March 10, 1841. With his wife, he came to California in 1867, by way of the Isth- mns of Panama. He was a Methodist minister, and Methodist ministers have been pioneers since the days of John Wesley.
Upon the arrival of the Reverend Farnham and his good wife in this state, he went at once to Weaverville, Trinity County, then a booming mining town, and preached the gospel to its people. Later he went to Chico, Butte County, where he preached on Snn- days, and tanght school on week days for a living. In 1876 he settled in what is now Glenn Connty, and farmed a section of land near Germantown. In that neighborhood he taught one school for nine years, meanwhile preaching the gospel whenever the call came to do so. On July 17, 1896, this Christian soldier passed to his reward. It was such men as he who "carried the cross" in Cali- fornia when the paths were trails; and the present generation, worshiping in the fine church edifices of today, owe inch to these godly, fearless pioneer ministers who unselfishly preached for the Master's sake, and meanwhile taught school, and plowed and sowed the land like other men, for a living. His widow is still liv- ing at her home in Willows. Reverend and Mrs. Farnham were the parents of four children: Daniel C., an osteopathie physician
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in San Francisco; Olive M., a teacher in the schools at Willows; Mrs. Amy P. Thomas, of Orland; and Judge Lindley P., of this review.
Lindley P. Farnham was born in the Germantown district, January 15, 1878. He received his education in the public schools of Glenn Connty, and was gradnated from the high school at Wil- lows with the class of 1902. He later read law in the office of Jndge O. Pirkey, was admitted to the bar of the state in 1904, and began the practice of his profession in Willows. From the start he began to build up a good practice, and to take part in all move- ments for the public good. He is a prominent factor in the Repub- lican ranks, and was a candidate, in 1906, for Justice of the Peace from the fourth judicial township, which comprises two supervi- soral districts, including the town of Willows. This is a strong Democratic district, but Judge Farnham won by a handsome ma- jority; and so satisfactorily were the duties of the office dis- charged that he has been returned to the office twice. He is also serving as city recorder of Willows, and maintains an office in the city hall on Bntte Street. His private practice is confined to civil actions. He is a member of Monroe Lodge, No. 289, I. O. O. F., and of the Rebekahs. He has passed all the chairs of the former, and is now a Past Noble Grand. The judge has won his own way, and is accorded a prominent place among the leading men of Glenn County, where his entire life has been spent.
JOSEPH C. EUBANK
Among the leaders who have guided the public affairs of the progressive town of Willows, is J. C. Enbank, the town clerk, who was born in Kentucky, December 13, 1847. When he was seven years old, the family moved to Texas, where he grew up on a farm near Anstin. He attended the public schools, getting such educa- tion as he could, and meanwhile devotedly assisted his father on the home ranch. Later, when grown, he began to farm on his own account ; and having a natural liking for agriculture, he pursued it for ten years, and with success. He then studied for the ministry of the Christian Church, and having satisfied the high standards of that communion, he was ordained at Salado, in Texas. He preached the gospel in Central and Northern Texas, and through his ministry many were bronght to repentance. While in that state he became a member of the Texas Christian Missionary Association.
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Deciding to migrate further West, the Reverend Mr. Eubank came to Willows in December, 1912, where for two years he was the acceptable pastor of the Christian Church. In the work of his ministry, however, he became impressed with the urgent need of more earnest endeavor along civic lines; and resigning his pulpit, he was elected town clerk in 1913, the choice being a decided vote of confidence on the part of his fellow citizens. About the same time, he opened an office for the real estate and insurance business.
In 1913, Mr. Eubank displayed his business sagacity by open- ing up an entirely new field in the poultry business, through the adoption of a unique method of fattening turkeys for the holiday market. He leased twenty-five acres south of town, and there he has erected sheds and pens for his broods. Mr. Enbank's method of procedure in this important enterprise is very interesting. He commences in the summer to look about him for choice opportuni- ties to buy turkeys ; and by fall he has a thousand or more ranging and fattening in the hills in one immense flock, under the care of a herder, who is employed to look after them on their range, like a shepherd tending a flock of sheep. When the turkeys are killed, they are shipped to the market in San Francisco and Oakland. By a method all his own he has built up a lucrative trade; and he expects to increase the size of his flock each year. In addition to carrying on this enterprise, he also raises hogs on the premises.
Some years ago Mr. Enbank was married to Miss Rebecca Barton, of North Carolina, by whom he has had five children: Otis, Louise, Elizabeth Eva Dena and John-the latter a girl, who is now the wife of W. G. Edwards, of Willows. Mr. Eubank is happy in his home circle. He enjoys the social life of the Masons, in the Blne Lodge at Willows. He was formerly a member of the Royal Arch Chapter in Texas.
HENRY GROVE RAWLINS
The Rawlins family in Glenn County now numbers about fifty. Henry Grove Rawlins, educator and man of business affairs, and for some years past the principal of the Willows grammar school, is a native of Texas, and a son of the Rev. Thomas Franklin Raw- lins, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this history. He came to California when he was sixteen years old, learned the printer's trade at Fresno, and set type on the Fresno Republican. In 1889 he came north and located in what is now Glenn County, when the family settled in Butte City. Always thirsting after knowledge, he attended Pierce Christian College at College City, Colusa
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County, and also took special courses in education at the Univer- sity of California. For a time he followed ranching, and then be- gan his career as an educator, teaching his first school in the Grindstone district. He then taught at Edison and Fruto, and later became principal of the Orland grammar school. In 1907 he was made principal of the Willows grammar school, and has since filled the position with satisfaction to the entire community. For the past sixteen years he has been a member of the County Board of Education, of which he has served five times as chairman. He has also acted as one of the trustees of the Willows Public Li- brary, and in 1916 was elected trustee of the city of Willows.
Naturally interested in scientific farming, Mr. Rawlins has invested to a considerable extent in ranch properties. For four years he owned and farmned a ranch of considerable size near Butte City; and he now owns an eighty-three-acre ranch in the Elk Creek district, twenty acres of which is planted to apples. This mountain orchard, planted at timber line, has been developed by him into one of the best in the state.
On November 4, 1894, Mr. Rawlins married Miss Nancy S. Small, a native daughter of California, and the granddaughter of Henry Small, California pioneer and prominent cattle man of Co- lusa County. Three children have blessed this union: T. Ells- worth, who is taking a special course in soil chemistry at Berke- ley, and who is in charge of his father's apple orchard; Aubrey G., also attending the University of California; and G. Allen, a student in the public schools of Willows.
WILLIAM R. ZUMWALT
One of the chief elements in the attractiveness of any town is found in the artistic design and stable quality of its architecture; and when the finest edifices in a community are the product of one of its own gifted and experienced citizens, as is the case with Wil- lows, there is special reason for local pride and satisfaction. W. R. Zumwalt, the prominent contractor and builder of Willows, is a native son, born near Colusa, Colusa County, on February 27, 1885. Mr. Zumwalt's parents are John H. and Fannie (Craigmiles) Zumwalt, natives of Illinois, who came to California in 1880, and in 1890 located at Willows, where the elder Zumwalt followed the carpenter's trade. John Zumwalt is held in high esteem in his community. He is a member of the Masons.
One of three children-the other two being Grover and Eva Zumwalt-William R. Zumwalt was educated at the Willows public
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schools, and afterwards learned the carpenter's trade with his father. He then took a course in architectural drawing in the In- ternational Correspondence School of Scranton, Pa., and as a result he is able to make his own plans for buildings. He has erected many fine residences here, among them being the homes of Frank Glenn and Frank Weinrich; and many others also have been de- signed by him. Since 1906, Mr. Zumwalt has been engaged in con- tracting and building throughout Glenn County. He has made a specialty of schoolhouses, having erected the following very credit- able buildings : the high school at Willows, the Plaza school near Orland, the Cherokee school west of Orland, the Butte City school at Butte City, and the Union school at the east of Butte City. He was also the builder of the new library at Bayliss. He recently completed three reinforced concrete bridges in the county, and previously erected five of the same kind; and he has built a number of reinforced concrete culverts.
As a man of business affairs, Mr. Zumwalt's interests are va- ried, including among others an interest in a drug store. He is a member of the firm of Crete & Zumwalt, proprietors of the Willows Pharmacy. Fraternally, he is a Mason, a member of Laurel Lodge, No. 245, of Willows. As a citizen, he is a supporter of all worthy enterprises that have for their aim the upbuilding and betterment of the community.
LARS HANSEN TWEDE
Another illustration of the interesting and valuable contribu- tion made by Denmark and the Danes to the agricultural develop- ment of California is afforded in the career and accomplishments of L. H. Twede, the present manager and half-owner of the Twede Ranch & Land Co., of Willows, and one of the leaders in ranching and land development in this section of the state. Born in pas- toral Denmark, on June 13, 1852, he did his full duty by his fath- erland in three years of exacting service in the army, and then fol- lowed general farming in his native country until 1879, when he migrated to the United States. He came almost directly to Cali- fornia, and rented five hundred acres in Alameda County, near Mills College. After a year, however, in the fall of 1881, Mr. Twede removed to Lake County; and for ten years he farmed there with fair success. In 1891 he went to Fresno County, and near Parlier set out eighty acres in an orchard and vineyard. This venture proved to be a success ; but he sold out in 1895. He then began contracting for orchard and vineyard work, having
LOwede
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several good orchards to his credit. At the same time he engaged in raising grain. He leased two thousand acres in the Elk Horn district of that county; but a great flood came and wiped away all the fruits. of his labors, and in 1903 he removed to Berkeley, where for six years he was active in the hay and grain trade.
In the fall of 1909, Mr. Twede settled on his ranch southeast of Willows, and at once began energetic and notable improve- ments. Ile brought the first traction engine seen in the district, for the development of land, and was able to accomplish much with it for both himself and his neighbors. Having attended the agricultural school in Denmark, and spent six months on a dairy ranch, he was unusually well equipped for the work of a farmer; and he has been more than successful with his piece of land, which in the opinion of many was almost worthless when he took liold of it.
The domestic life of Mr. Twede has been particularly happy. He married Miss Maren K. Erlandsen, a native of Denmark, by whom he has had four children: Erland, Mrs. Ellna Barnhouse, Herbert, and Meta.
In 1909 the Twede Ranch & Land Co. was incorporated with the following members: L. H. Twede, his son Herbert, and John F. and Charles A. Schroth, of San Francisco. They own twelve hundred eighty acres of land, which was undeveloped when they secured control of it, but is now well fenced in and provided with houses, barns, hog sheds, and other buildings. An altogether dif- ferent appearance has been given the place, which had not been farmed for twenty years. Grain, corn and rice are raised, as well as hogs, which are all thoroughbred Berkshires. They started with twelve registered sows and one registered boar; now there are in all nearly two hundred fifty head on the place. Eighty acres are planted to alfalfa; while three hundred acres, in 1916, yielded nine thousand sacks of rice. About four hundred acres have been planted in 1917. As a separate enterprise, Mr. Twede and his son have rented four hundred acres of land near German- town, which have been planted to rice.
Mr. Twede came to Glenn County to develop the property he had purchased, and has been a busy man ever since. Every im- provement seen on his place today has been placed there under his own supervision. He was the first man to harvest a good crop of rice in the county. His first crop was harvested in 1913, when he had fifty acres. His experiment proved a success, and others fol- lowed his lead. In 1917 there were some twenty-five thousand acres in rice within the county confines. He introduced the first tractor in the county, a twenty horse-power machine, which at that time was a wonder to all the other ranchers, who shook their 35
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heads, saying mules were better. He prospected for water, struck a fine well, put in a centrifugal pump, and got an abundant supply. He is progressive and public-spirited, and supports all good meas- ures for public improvement. He is a member of the Clampers organization, and a booster of Glenn County's possibilities.
AMIEL D. PIEPER
No one will deny the great debt of the New World to the Old. Among those from foreign lands who have contributed of their brain and their brawn to the making of California is Amiel D. Pieper, of the well-known department store at the corner of Butte and Walnut Streets, in Willows. He was born at Hamburg on May 12, 1870, and when a lad came to the United States, and to Willows, arriving with his parents and brothers on May 4, 1882. For four years he attended the excellent grammar schools here, and for two years thereafter worked on various ranches in the county. He was always wide-awake and ready to take the next step forward, and there were not wanting those who early per- ceived in him the possibilities of an energetic, successful busi- ness man.
By 1888, he had entered the mercantile establishment of Ep- pinger & Company, at Germantown, where he began at the bottom and learned each stage in the business. With this firm he remained until 1902, when he formed a partnership with H. J. Somers, and opened a store in Willows. Two years later, however, he sold out to his partner and bought the store of J. T. Harlan, located at the corner of Tehama and Walnut Streets, where the Bank of Willows now stands. Business flourished from the day the shop passed un- der the new management, and soon the store-room was too small for the trade. In 1900, therefore, Mr. Pieper moved into his new and up-to-date department store, now familiarly known to both cit- izen and visitor in Willows. At the same time his brother, J. F. Pieper, and his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Laura Pieper, became part- ners in the business ; but two years later he bought them out, and is now the sole owner of the concern. This superb department-store building, although not belonging to Mr. Pieper, was built for him under his own supervision. The business has continued to increase, and now the Pieper department store is the second largest in Glenn County. Built up by the best of business methods and honest deal- ing, this well-known store draws trade from miles around.
An evidence of the confidence and esteem in which Mr. Pieper is held is found in his election, in 1910, as director of the Willows
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Chamber of Commerce. This responsible position he continued to hold for two years. But he has enjoyed other marks of good-will and confidence on the part of those who have come to know him more or less intimately. From 1912 to 1916, he was a trustee of Willows, serving for the first two years as chairman of the board; and under the excellent business administration of the town dur- ing his incumbency in office, the public indebtedness of twenty thousand dollars, which stood against the town when he became a trustee, was reduced, by the time his term expired, to the sum of five thousand dollars. For the past eight years, too, Mr. Pieper has been a member of the Willows school board.
The marriage of Mr. Pieper united him with Miss Sybil A. Weisman, a charming native daughter whose parents were early settlers in the county, and who, in the work of the Women's Im- provement Club and in other channels, has become very active in public affairs. Two children, Arline and Donald, have blessed their union. While always giving freely of their time to advance what is best in civic life, Mr. and Mrs. Pieper have by no means neglected the calls to church endeavor. For several years Mr. Pieper has been a trustee of the Willows M. E. Church, of which Mrs. Pieper is also a faithful member, always ready to do her share in the work of the church.
BAYARD KNOCK
Few things are more stimulating to the rising generation than the example of those who, like Bayard Knock, the popular sur- veyor of Glenn County, have made good in the very district or section in which they were born and raised. Bayard Knock first saw the light of day at Orland, December 22, 1882, and attended the Willows public school, later pursuing a course in civil engi- neering. From 1903 to 1913 he was in the employ of the United States Geological Survey, and was one of the party who ran the first spirit-level line into Death Valley to establish the official depth of that famous depression. In 1910 he made the topo- graphic survey of the Butte City area of Glenn County, for the government. His proficiency having thus been attested, he was employed by the Mississippi Drainage Commission, and the Beach Survey of Porto Rico, and then worked on the Washington State and International Boundary Survey, and on the Hydraulic Survey of the Pacific Coast rivers in Washington. He also had a part in the Bay Shore Survey at San Francisco, and measured land, in fact, all through the Middle West. During his work in Tennessee,
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he had many thrilling experiences with the moonshiners, whose secluded districts he was compelled to invade in the prosecution of his official duties, and who naturally resented the intrusion which threatened to lay bare their haunts.
In January, 1913, Mr. Knock resigned from the government service. Taking up his residence in Willows soon after, he con- tinned in the practice of his profession until he was elected county surveyor, in the fall of 1914. On January 1, 1915, he entered upon the administration of his office; and he has prosecuted its duties with such vigor that now some seven or eight concrete bridges are being erected each year in Glenn County.
Fortunate in possessing personal traits which make him af- fable and easy of approach in matters of business, Bayard Knock is also especially popular in social circles. He is a prominent figure among the Masons. He was made a Mason in Laurel Lodge, No. 245, F. & A. M., of which he is a Past Master, and is also a member of Colusa Chapter, No. 60, R. A. M.
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