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 76
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 76
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On Christmas day, 1882, Mr. Domonoske was married in Oak- land to Miss Clara Jane Price, a native of Provo, Utah, who came with her parents, James B. and Sarah (Sykes) Price, to Dixon, Solano County, and from there removed to Oakland. Her death, in 1894, was mourned by a large circle of friends. She left three children. Arthur Bouguer is a graduate of the University of Cal- ifornia, class of 1907, with the degrees of B. S. and M. S. He taught in the mechanical engineering department of the university for five years, and then taught for two and one half years in the University of Illinois at Urbana. He then spent several years with different manufacturing companies as engineer and draughtsman, but is now assisting his father with his large farming operations. He was married to Gladys Boydstun, a native daughter, born at Dayton, Butte County, a graduate of the California School of Arts and Crafts. They have one child, Henry Arthur. Hazel Pearl and Clara are the other children of Mr. and Mrs. Domonoske. Both are graduates of the University of California, and are successful teachers. Mr. Domonoske is a Republican in national politics ; and the family are members of the reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints.
JOHN STICKNEY THOMPSON
A resident of Colusa County for over sixty years, John Stickney Thompson was born at Dallas City, Henderson County, Ill., on May 21, 1851. His father, John I. Thompson, was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he met and married Ruth Jane Graham, a native of Massachusetts, who was engaged in teaching school in Cincinnati. Soon after their marriage, they moved to Henderson County, Ill., where they pur- chased and improved a farm. Dallas City was afterwards laid out on a part of this farm. John I. Thompson was a very suc- cessful man, and was in independent circumstances at the time of his death, in 1851. At that time John Stickney Thompson, the youngest of the three children in the family, was a baby;
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and he is the only one of the three now living. His mother's brothers-James, Benjamin, Hiram, John and Edward Graham- had crossed the plains to California in 1849. A sister, Mrs. Jos. Tully, also accompanied them. They settled in Colusa County, and there became prominent ranchers and office-holders. They were also engaged in mining in the early days, and at one time were owners of the Eureka mine. Edward Graham had returned to Illinois, where he married Asenith Stanton; and in 1856 Mrs. Thompson, with her three children, accompanied him and his bride across the plains. They came by ox-team train, Mrs. Thompson having six teams of two yokes each. The train con- sisted of one hundred wagons, and had two captains, E. R. Graham and Leonard Crane. They arrived safely in Colusa County, on October 4, 1856. The mother bought a large ranch on Grand Island, but subsequently lost it by the Whitcomb and Hagar grant's claiming title to it. With it she lost all of her investment. She then settled west of the grant, locating one hundred sixty acres of land, and farmed there until 1870, when she sold and located at Venado (meaning "antelope"), a place in the southern part of Antelope Valley. There, with her children, she purchased a ranch, on which she continued to live until her death in 1876, at the age of seventy-nine years and eight months. She was a well-educated, refined and cultured woman, and left, besides her relatives, many warm friends to mourn her loss. Her three children were James, a farmer, and a deputy sheriff and constable, who died in Colusa County; William, a farmer, who also died here; and John Stickney.
John Stickney Thompson was five years of age when he crossed the plains with his mother and uncle. He received his education in the public schools of Grimes .. The two industries in California at that time were mining and stock-raising; and John S. Thompson was raised in the latter business. As a lad he rode the range and learned to care for cattle. When he was nineteen years of age, the family moved to the ranch at Venado. After his mother's death, he administered the estate. They sold off some of the land, retaining six hundred thirty-seven acres. John S. Thompson purchased the interest of his brothers in this ranch, and here he has since resided. His cattle brand is the well- known J. T. He still has the same strain of Tecumseh cattle they brought across the plains from Henderson County, Ill. He also has in his possession the copper kettle they used in cooking while crossing the plains. This kettle has a remarkable history. It was purchased in Scotland by his great-great-grandmother Graham, and was brought by his great-grandmother Graham to Massachusetts. It is an heirloom he prizes very highly.
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Mr. Thompson was married at Venado, in 1874, to Miss Alma Lillie, who was born in New York State and crossed the plains with her father and sisters to Butte County, Cal. Later they moved to the vicinity of Venado. She died in 1910, at fifty-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had six children. Edwin, a deputy sheriff of Colusa County under Claude Stanton, a man of unusual quickness and an unerring shot, is assisting his father in his stock-raising; Lillie J., Mrs. Charles Moss, resides in Colusa; John Graham, a farmer near Venado, is ex-game warden of Colusa County; Mary Alice, Mrs. Thomas Coleman, presides over Mr. Thompson's household; Warren Hiram is constable at Taylor, Plumas County; and George Washington resides in Colusa, Mr. Thompson has been solicited to become a candidate for supervisor, but has always declined. He has, however, con- sented to serve as school trustee, being interested in educational work. For twenty-one years he was trustee of Venado district, and for eight years trustee of the Williams high school district. Mr. Thompson is an enterprising and highly respected citizen, and is now the oldest living resident in these parts. Politically, he has always been a Democrat.
CHARLES EMMETT KING
A progressive and successful stockman and farmer in western Colusa County is Charles E. King of Venado, a native son of the county, born near College City, September 25, 1860. His father, Thomas Carrol King, was born in Buchanan County, Mo., and was raised a farmer's boy. Fitting himself for a teacher, he followed that profession in Missouri. He crossed the plains to California in the fifties, making the journey overland with ox teams, and spending six months on the way. He taught school on the Sacramento River in Colusa County for a couple of years. After coming to this county, he married Miss Martha Shearer, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of William Shearer, who brought his family from Missouri across the plains to California the same year Mr. King came. Indeed, the young people met in the same train. Mr. King located on a farm on Sycamore Slough; and after his marriage, he gave his attention to grain and stock- raising. Meeting with success, he purchased more land, acquiring a ranch of almost a thousand acres; and there he resided until the time of his death, a few years since. For twenty years he served as justice of the peace. An ardent supporter of good
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schools, he served as a trustee for many years. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and fraternally was a Mason. His wife survived him, and passed away in May, 1915. The old home farm was divided up between the seven children, and is still owned by them. Of the family, Charles Emmett is the eldest. The others are W. J., of Colusa; Mary, Mrs. Moore, also of Colusa ; Susie, Mrs. Cobb, of Oroville; John S., of Colusa; Alva, the present district attorney of Colusa County; and Annie, Mrs. Dobroskey, of Redding.
Charles Emmett King received a good education in the public schools; and as a youth he learned farming and stock-raising. After reaching his majority, he engaged in farming in partner- ship with his father on the home place, also leasing land adjoin- ing and in the tules. They operated at one time over ten thousand acres of land, using nine eight-mule teams to put in the crop, and two combined harvesters to gather the grain. One year the yield was thirty-six thousand sacks of grain; but the price was so low that there was very little profit in the crop. They were also raising stock, however, which netted them a substantial income.
Wishing to engage in the stock business on his own account, Mr. King left the farm on Sycamore Slough and in the fall of 1903 purchased his present ranch of eighteen hundred acres, lying in the south end of Antelope Valley, near Venado, and known as the old Michael place. It is one of the old places in the district. The old barn, built sixty-six years ago out of hewn timber grown in the vicinity, still stands, and is kept in repair. He has added to the original acreage, and now has about four thousand acres. The ranch is watered by Freshwater Creek, as well as by numerous springs, which makes it a most excellent cattle ranch. About eight hundred acres is plow land; and he has two hundred fifty acres in alfalfa, which he raises successfully without irriga- tion, cutting two crops, and gathering one crop of seed. He is thoroughly experienced in cattle-growing, and is making a marked success.
In Sacramento, on January 26, 1910, Charles Emmett King was united in marriage with Frances E. Benton. She was born in McDonald County, Mo., the daughter of J. S. F. and Nancy E. (Pool) Benton, and came to California in 1907. She is of the same family as Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri. Of this union three children have been born : Kathryn Ruby, Charles Benton, and Thomas Carrol. Mr. King served as a school trustee of Webster district, now Pine district ; and Mrs. King was trustee of Jefferson school district for one term. She is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church of Maxwell. Mr. King is well and favorably
O.J. Bickford
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known in Colusa County; and he and his estimable wife are held in high esteem by a wide circle of frieuds. Politically, he has always favored Democratie principles.
OCTAVIUS FREELAND BICKFORD
A sturdy pioneer, whose life and character will long be re- membered and appreciated, is Octavius Freeland Bickford, who was born on April 22, 1848, in Penobscot County, Maine. The father, Jabez Bradbury Bickford, was born in Biddeford, Maine, of an old family. Some of the ancestors served in the Revo- Intionary War, and are traced back to the Mayflower. Jabez Bickford was a Inmber contractor. He married Anna Dolliff, also of Revolutionary stock. Both parents died in Maine. James R. S. Bickford, a brother of Octavins, came to California in 1861, and died in San Mateo County in 1910.
Octavius F. Bickford attended the country schools of his time and neighborhood; and after completing his schooling he worked in the great forests of Maine-a schoolroom from which have come some of the best-known of successful Americans. On coming to California, in 1877, Mr. Bickford located at Elk Creek; and in keeping with his early training, he went into the mountains and forests, and again engaged in getting ont and handling timber. After three years, he took up a place in Oriental Valley, consist- ing of one hundred sixty acres; and there he began carefully and systematically to improve the property, building up for himself the home place on which he still resides. At Stonyford, also, he rented a stock ranch for fourteen years; but in 1910 he gave up the stock and discontinued the venture.
Mr. Bickford bought out the general merchandise store at Elk Creek, and for two years conducted a good business there; but he was burned ont in 1912, with a loss of seventeen thousand dollars' worth of stock. He then came to the old Miller place and opened a livery stable and a blacksmith business, at the same time looking after the home place of one hundred sixty acres. He brought the first threshing machine to Elk Creek, and long oper- ated it there. For six years, also, he conducted a harness shop, which he gave up to engage in stock-raising. A prominent Demo- crat, he is at the same time popular with all parties. He was con- stable for eight years at Elk Creek. Always active in Christian work, Mr. Bickford's personal example and influence have made for the moral uplift of the community.
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In 1874 Mr. Bickford was married, in Brown County, Wis., to Miss Emma Frances Smith, also a native of the state of Maine; and by her he had eleven children. Five of these are deceased: Eva, Ervine, James, Elsie, and Amelia. The living are: Myrtle, Mrs. Skidmore, who resides in Sacramento County; Delia, Mrs. Walkup, of Stonyford; Alonzo, a merchant of the same place; Luella, Mrs. Killebrew, of Fall River; Cora, Mrs. Heard, of Butte City; and Floyd, a member of the firm of Mulford & Bick- ford, at Elk Creek.
WILLIAM BARHAM
A prominent native son of California, who first saw the light of day in Chico, Butte County, on May 20, 1874, William Barham has made his influence felt for the good of the community where he lives. William Barham is the son of Marcus L. and Angeline (Finnicum) Barham. Marcus L. Barham was one of the well- known men of Glenn County, and acted as foreman of the Glenn ranch for years. He was born in Kentucky, May 7, 1847, the son of Lewis Barham, a Kentuckian who migrated to Missouri at an early day and located in Dade County, where he farmed till his death. He was survived by his wife, who afterwards married Wil- liam Dunn, and with her family came to California in 1857, locat- ing in Butte County, where Mr. Dunn engaged in the hotel busi- ness at Honent, and where Mrs. Dunn passed her last days. By her first marriage she had six children. Marcus L. Barham, the youngest of the family, remained at home until 1864. He then went to Nevada City, and from there to Virginia City, and was en- gaged in teaming and as a cowboy for twelve years. In 1876 he came back to California and engaged in teaming in Chico. Four years later he went to Glenn County and became foreman of the Tehama County ranch, holding the position five years. He then accepted a position on the Slager ranch, at that time a part of the Glenn estate, and remained for ten years. In 1901 he purchased a farm ten miles east of Willows, and was there engaged in rais- ing hogs and cattle until his death.
When the canal company came through this section, they bought the old school lot; and Marcus Barham then supplied the lot for the new location of the school, and served as trustee for several years. He was a Mason, a member of Laurel Lodge, which conducted his funeral. He was a man who was always ready to do a good act for those less fortunate than himself. In national politics he was a Democrat; while in local matters he cast his vote for the best man, regardless of party affiliation.
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Marcus L. Barham was married on October 8, 1871, in Chico, to Angeline Finnicum, born in Carroll County, Ohio, March 7, 1851, a daughter of James Finnicum, also a native of Carroll County, who came to California in 1857, sailing from New York on the Star of the West for the Isthmus, and from Panama on the Golden Gate for San Francisco, and was for some years engaged in the sawmill business in Placer County. Mr. Finnicum later was engaged in running stage lines to various places, and finally settled down in Chico. Mr. and Mrs. Barham had six children, of whom William was the second oldest.
William Barham attended the public schools in Tehama and Glenn Counties, and lived at home until he was twenty-two, when he went to San Francisco and was in the service of the Southern Pacific Railway for eight years. He then returned to the home place. His mother passed away on May 5, 1907, and his father on February 1, 1911. He has since run the place, raising grain and hogs with good success.
PATRICK S. QUIGLEY
Not every community has been so fortunate as Hamilton City in the appointment of its public officers, among whom is numbered Patrick S. Quigley, the genial and efficient postmaster, justice of the peace and notary public. Born in Beaver County, Pa., August 8, 1865, of Irish parents, he was reared and educated in the Key- stone State, and there remained until his eighteenth year. Then he went westward to Indiana, and for a time clerked in a store; after which he pushed on to Duluth, Minn., where for thirteen years he was a telegraph operator for the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad. In 1887 he became a member of the Railroad Telegra- phers' Association.
In 1901, Mr. Quigley came to the Pacific Coast and settled in Orland, where for three years he was in the service of the South- ern Pacific Railroad Co. He then clerked for the same period of time with the Orland Mercantile Co. On May 1, 1906, he removed to Hamilton City, where for four and a half years he was time- keeper and paymaster at the Hamilton City Sugar Factory.
At present, Mr. Quigley is representing a number of reliable fire insurance companies, and at the same time is acting as a no- tary public. He also represents the International Tailoring Co., and takes orders for the making of clothes according to measure, forwarding orders and measurements to the manufacturers. Since 1910 he has served as justice of the peace; and on July 21, 1912, he was appointed postmaster of Hamilton City, after the usual
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tests under the Civil Service Act. In both of these offices he has displayed a conscientious regard for the public weal. Since com- ing to Hamilton City he has erected three houses, which he owns, together with the building in which the post office is located. He is a public-spirited citizen, standing at all times for the progress of his town and county.
Patrick S. Quigley was married to Miss Elizabeth S. Tait, a native of Eastport, Maine. Mrs. Quigley is a lady of estimable personal and social qualities, and has proved an invaluable aid to her husband in his public career. Mr. Quigley is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose of Chico, and also of the Elks of that city.
HENRY E. REED
While California is second to no state in the Union in the un- bounded hospitality with which she has welcomed the settler from beyond her borders, it is always a matter of natural satisfaction when one of her own sons attains to a high position and to sub- stantial success. Prominent among such Californians, and espe- cially well-known and popular in the Ord district, is Henry E. Reed, who was born near old Sonoma, in Sonoma County, July 8, 1864, a son of Thomas Reed, a native of Sullivan County, Mo., who came to California with his father, Samuel Reed, in 1852, ac- companied by his mother and the other members of the family: John, Joseph, William, Ebenezer, and Elizabeth. The wife of Samuel Reed was a Miss Leach, in maidenhood. She died in So- lano County. John Reed was a resident of Shasta County, and died aged eighty; Joseph lives in Lake County; William resides in San Francisco, an employe in the United States post office; Eb- enezer is a resident of Orland; and Elizabeth is Mrs. Buhrmeister, of Santa Rosa. After his first wife died, Samuel Reed married Rachel M. Neff, in Solano County. He died near Orland. Henry Reed's mother was Miss Almeda Burnight before her marriage, a daughter of Lott and Sarah Ann (Vice) Burnight, both of whom are buried in the Odd Fellows cemetery at Orland. They came to this state in 1860, and became prominent in various lines of ac- tivity in the state.
When Henry Reed was but two years old, his parents moved to Solano County; and here his father died, when his son was in his seventh year. He left three other children: Elizabeth, Mrs. Deering, of Chico; Mrs. Sarah Johnson, of Hamilton City; and George Reed, of Chico. After the death of the father, the mother married Ebenezer Reed, a brother of her first husband; and by
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him she had two children. One of these, the son, Martin Reed of Oakland, is still living.
Henry E. Reed was reared by his stepfather from the age of seven. About that time the family removed to what is now Glenn County. Here he was educated in the common schools, and was early initiated in the work on the ranch, doing a boy's full share. When he was old enough to shift for himself, he entered the em- ploy of Martin A. Reager, working as a farm hand for wages. He had saved some money, and so began for himself, buying land in the Plaza district, which he farmed with fair results, raising grain and stock. While living here, Mr. Reed served as a member of the board of trustees of the Plaza school for six years, acting as clerk of the board for one term.
In August, 1908, Mr. Reed settled on his present ranch of one hundred thirty-five acres of fine river-bottom land at Ord. Here he improved a good ranch property, on which he raises grain, hogs and sheep. In 1912 he erected a fine two-story suburban home, modern in every detail, where he and his family are living. Here, as in his former place of residence, Mr. Reed has championed the cause of education, and is serving as clerk on the board of trustees of the Ord school. He is ready at all times to give his endorse- ment to every good cause promoted in his county, where he is rec- ognized as one of the successful and public-spirited citizens. He holds membership in Ord Camp, No. 10,300, M. W. A., and in Stony Creek Lodge, No. 218, I. O. O. F. He has passed through the chairs of the lodge twice, and in 1900 represented his lodge at the Grand Lodge in San Francisco.
In 1902, Henry E. Reed was united in marriage with Miss Delia Reager, daughter of Martin A. Reager; and five children have blessed their home: Cordelia, Phyllis, Martina, and Madge and Thomas, twins. Mr. Reed is a self-made man in every sense of the word. His success is of his own making; and the position he holds in the esteem of his fellow-citizens is in recognition of his personal worth. He is a deacon in the Baptist Church at Ord.
OBADIAH GOBEL
An honored pioneer resident of California for more than fifty-three years, Obadiah Gobel was born in Davidson County, N. C., on September 16, 1841. His father, John Gobel, was also a native of North Carolina, of an old and prominent family of Carolinians of Revolutionary stock. He was a planter in his native state until 1846, when he removed to Detroit, Pike County, Ill., where he was a farmer until his demise at the age of sixty-
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nine years. Mr. Gobel's mother, Sarah Wyatt, was a native of South Carolina, and died in Illinois. Of the six children born to this worthy couple, Obadiah Gobel is the third in order of birth. He was reared in Illinois, and received his education in the old log schoolhouse with the slab benches. However, he received good instruction; and his early training, and subsequent study and reading, supplemented by experience and observation, combine to make him an unusually well-informed man.
On April 3, 1864, Mr. Gobel started across the plains for the land of gold and sunshine, making the journey in an ox-team train, of which Eb Norton was the captain. One night on the Platte River, between Fort Laramie and Fort Kearney, the Indians drove off all their cattle. The next morning they started after them, being well armed and prepared to resist the Indians. However, they soon ran across the stock, which the Indians had left when they found they were pursned by a considerable force. Mr. Gobel arrived in Volcano, Amador County, on August 19, 1864. The journey had exhausted his funds, and he had only four dollars and forty cents left. For three months he chopped wood, and afterwards worked for a time in the mines. He then came to San Joaquin County and leased a farm, which he operated for two years. Coming to Woodland in 1869, he put in a crop; but this was a failure, and he lost all he had made. In the fall he worked at teaming in Sacramento, and hanled dirt to fill in the capitol grounds, on which he dumped the first load of dirt.
In February, 1870, Mr. Gobel came to Colusa County, locating six miles southwest of Williams. All he had to start with was his team. After farming on this place for a year, he leased a farm near Colusa for three years, and succeeded in getting a start; but at the end of the third year the levee broke, and he again lost all he had saved. He then moved to the present site of Corning, and farmed until 1881, when he returned to Colusa County and leased the Henry Eakle ranch of eight hundred acres in Glenn Valley school district. There he was engaged in grain- growing and stock-raising for a period of twenty-two years. For eight years of this time, Mr. Eakle was not on the place. During this time he purchased his present place of three hundred twenty acres in Glenn Valley, and began making improvements, farming the place in connection with the Eakle ranch. He now devotes his time to his own place, raising hay, cattle and sheep.
Mr. Gobel was united in marriage in Vallejo with Miss Hannah Clark, a native of Broadhead, Green County, Wis. To this worthy couple were born nine children: Charles, deceased; James, of Maxwell; John, residing in the State of Washington; Sadie. Mrs. Bashore, of Williams; Frank, of Stonyford; Mabel,
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