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 86
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 86
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
Some years ago Mr. Behr was married to Miss Bess Mattison, a native of Pasadena; and one son now brightens their home, Fitch Arno.
THE SPALDING RANCH
The Spalding ranch is located seven miles southeast of Willows, at Norman, and consists of eleven thousand acres. It is owned by the Spalding Trust Company, of Los Angeles, of which Col. Z. S. Spalding is the head; and it has been in the possession of the present owner for about twenty years, although it is only since 1910 that a part of the ranch has been under cultivation. Some two thousand eight hundred acres was enltivated in 1917. Two thousand three hundred acres is in rice, while the balance is devoted to alfalfa and grain. Of this area, thirteen hundred acres is rented out. In the development of this wonderful ranch, a private irriga- tion system was constructed. This system covers three thousand five hundred acres at the present time; and it is so built that it can be enlarged to cover the whole tract. What the ranch is doing, and what one may expect it to do in time to come, may be judged from the fact that, in 1916, it produced twenty-five thousand sacks of rice, together with a large number of hogs. Moreover, the quality of the output is considerably above par.
H. P. SLOCUM & SON
In the front rank of those who have done much to advance the already high standard of hog-breeding in California, are Messrs. H. P. Slocum & Son, proprietors of the Uneeda Glenn County Herd, in the Bayliss district, to which they came on April 5, 1912, to take possession of their one hundred twenty acres of land, on which they are developing one of the best hog ranches in the Sacramento Val- ley. Harlan P. Slocum is a native of New York State, born on May 14, 1852, and came to Nebraska in 1880, where he was soon engaged in breeding hogs and shorthorn cattle. Through his extensive en- terprises he became a member of the board of managers of the Nebraska State Fair, and his was the responsibility of passing on much of the stock exhibited there ..
52
1014
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
Harlan P. Slocum married Miss Lucy Stocking, of Michigan, by whom he had the following children: Clayton N., Alva E., Fred H., Rose F., Minnie L., and Ollie A.
Clayton N. Slocum, associated with his father as the junior member of the widely known firm, was born on March 12, 1884, in Butler County, and was reared in Washington County, Nebr., in which state he attended the grade schools, completing his educa- tional courses at the University of Nebraska, where he specialized in agriculture. For four years thereafter he had charge of hogs, developing them especially for exhibition at state fairs; and later he went in with his father in the raising of hogs and shorthorn cattle. In 1912, he jndged all of the breeds of hogs at the Oregon State Fair; and he was one of the organizers, and the acting chair- man, of the Western Duroc-Jersey Hog-Breeders' Association of California, in 1916, and in 1917 was elected one of the directors. H. P. Slocum & Son are members of the National Swine Growers' Association. They have long been identified with the raising of fine hogs, in which field they have made a specialty of Duroc- Jerseys, exhibiting at varions state fairs in Iowa, Nebraska and California. They have at their Uneeda Ranch, in addition to hogs, a fine dairy of forty cows. Among their registered stock are the following swine of more than market valne:
Sow Colonetta 3d, No. 472,068. Three-fourths sister to the world's champion sow.
Sow Grand Lady, No. 525,596. Sired by Grand Model Again, by Grand Model; he heads one of the best herds in Iowa.
Sow Uneeda, H. A.'s Queen Again, No. 532,030. Sired by Crimson Wonder Again; this is one of the most noted boars of the Duroc-Jersey breed.
Sow Uneeda's Golden Queen, No. 537,292. Sired by Golden Wonder I Am, by I Am Golden Model 2d.
Herd Boar Uneeda Wonder, No. 204,051, after which the ranch is named; first-prize boar and grand champion at the Butte County Spring Exposition. His grandsire was Crimson Wonder Again.
Model Lady, a noted sow recently imported from Nebraska; first-prize sow and grand champion at the Butte County Spring Exposition.
Sow Elberta 3d, No. 324,754. Sired by Chief Sensation, Jr .; this is the second-prize boar of Iowa.
Sow Broken Hip, No. 274,234. Sired by Kruger's Chief. Grand-dam of some of the best hogs at the Davis University Farm.
The sow Queen's Danghter, sired by Crimson, The Wonderful, the grandson of the Junior Champion, was exhibited at the Pan- ama-Pacific Fair, at San Francisco, in 1915, where it was the ad- miration of thousands of visitors.
1015
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
Elberta 4th took the second prize at the Sacramento State Fair, 1916.
Since October, 1916, the Sloenms have imported from Nebraska and Iowa two car loads of stock, all blooded and of the best quality. They imported two prize boars, in the same year, from the Nebraska State Fair, and these are today the best in all California. This enterprise, on their part, has brought them wide recognition. Clayton N. Slocum made several trips back East and bought up stock to bring to California. Not long ago the firm received a whole car load of Duroc-Jerseys from Iowa and Nebraska, not less than twenty-nine head in all. They were from the best-known breeders in the country. Two sows imported by them were bred to the first boar Giant Colonel, for which one thousand dollars was refused, and for whose sire, King's Colonel, three thousand dol- lars was refused.
WILLIAM DURBROW
Closely and honorably identified with the development of im- portant interests, both private and public, in and around Willows, and therefore entitled to an enviable place in the history of this, one of the most attractive sections of the Golden State, is William Durbrow, who was born in San Francisco, December 10, 1876. He was the son of Alfred K. Durbrow, who came to the Coast in 1856, and the grandson of Joseph Durbrow, a pioneer banker of San Francisco. His mother was Clara (Pierson) Durbrow, who came to California in 1852, bnt two years after the admission of the state to the Union. Her father was Joseph Pierson, an Argonant who landed in San Francisco in 1849, from a sailing vessel that came around Cape Horn. On both sides Mr. Durbrow is descended from an old New York family, and on the maternal side from an old Knickerbocker family. .
Educated at the local public schools in the northern metropolis, William Durbrow graduated from the University of California in 1899 as a mining engineer, after which he was for some time con- nected with the Mountain Copper Company, of Shasta County. He also made a trip to South America, representing Pacific Coast smelters. For five years he was engineer and manager of the water and power properties in Oroville, building at that time a number of ditches and power plants in Butte County. From 1908 to 1915, he was established as a consulting engineer, with head- quarters in San Francisco.
In the fall of 1915, Mr. Durbrow came to his present ranch, a fine tract of seven hundred fifty acres, eight miles sonthwest of
1016
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
Willows, which he is developing into an exceptionally attractive alfalfa, dairy, and hog ranch, conducted along advanced lines and by the most modern methods. A modern irrigation plant furnishes an excellent supply of water. He has one hundred ten acres in rich alfalfa, and this amount will be increased in the near future. He also has a dairy with sixty cows; and for the herd of hogs pro- vision is made in modern houses such as are not generally seen on a California ranch. He also has some very fine turkeys, and planned to raise about six hundred of these in 1917. A large acre- age will later be planted to fruit.
Mr. Durbrow was the first man in his section to install a pump- ing plant and to check the land for irrigation. He is a director in the Water Users' Association, and has taken a very active part in the solution of the water problems for his district. At the present writing he is secretary of the Land Owners' Committee, who are negotiating with the proprietors of the Central Canal for its purchase.
Some years ago William Durbrow and Miss Blanche Terrill were united in marriage, the bride being a native of Yolo County and the daughter of Robert Terrill, a California pioneer of 1849 and an early settler and farmer at Davis, who later farmed the well- known Glide ranch near Willows. Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Durbrow : Terrill, Katharine, William, Jr., Robert T., and Blanche Cecile. Mr. Durbrow is a well-known mem- ber of the Engineers' Club in San Francisco; and fraternally he is a Mason.
EL RIO RANCHO
The El Rio Rancho, situated in Colusa County, is one of the show places which it is a delight to mention. The property com- prises two hundred fifty-eight acres located about two miles south of Princeton, and is owned by Dr. C. E. Congdon, of Jamestown, Tuolumne County, in whose possession it has been for the past thirteen years. It has been developed to a high degree as a fruit ranch, there being ten acres of heavily bearing prune trees, twenty acres of four-year-old trees, and seventy-five acres of year-old trees set out by the present manager, who has brought scientific methods to bear in developing the ranch. Large crops of barley are raised annually, averaging some forty sacks to the acre. Black- eyed beans are raised between the rows of trees, and these also bring in a satisfactory revenue.
Each year sees many improvements made on this already highly developed property. There is a modern bungalow-style
1017
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
house, banked on one side by one of the finest oleander hedges, of the red and white variety, to be found anywhere in the county. A driveway lined with palms leads from the highway to the house; and fences, buildings and lawns are kept in the best of condition. Visitors are always made welcome at El Rio Rancho. The manager of the ranch, Charles Weilenman, has held the position since 1915. The scientific development undertaken by him immediately upon his arrival has already brought most gratifying results.
JOHN HENRY GATTSCH
Born on May 5, 1838, near Hamburg, Holstein-then in Den- mark, now in Germany-and educated in the excellent Holstein public schools, John Gattsch was apprenticed to the carpenter's trade; and at the conclusion of his appreticeship, he served the required time in the Danish army. He then followed his trade in various parts of the old country, adding materially to his technical knowledge through the thorough drill there given young journey- men.
In 1869, Mr. Gattsch came to the United States; and almost immediately after landing in New York he pushed on to California by way of Panama. He settled near what is now the town of Wil- lows, and built the first frame house seen there. He also erected many other buildings in the early days; and several of these are still standing in good condition, as evidences of his careful handiwork.
In farming, however, John Gattsch made his greatest success in California; and during his career here he owned no less than four ranches. The first was a farm of one hundred sixty acres near Orland. The second was a three-hundred-twenty-acre ranch east of Willows. There was another tract of three hundred twenty acres north of Willows, and a fourth ranch of four hundred eighty acres, three miles north of Germantown. Mr. Gattsch made it a practice to buy a piece of property, improve it with barns and out- buildings, and various other equipment, and then sell it at a good price. He was a large raiser of grain in those days, and always had bumper crops. His close application to things material did not prevent him, however, from giving a thought to things spiritual. He was the founder of the German Lutheran Church at Germantown, and has ever since been a faithful adherent.
John Henry Gattsch was united in marriage with Miss Mar- garet Runge, also a native of Holstein, born in November, 1837, who still enjoys life with him. Of their seven children, one died in
1018
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
Holstein; and five-Catherine, Fred, Albert, Carrie, and Celia- died of diphtheria in September, 1881, leaving an only child, Anna, who was a baby in arms when her parents came to California. She married August Lohse, who was born in Holstein, and had come to California in 1885, settling as a farmer in Glenn County. There he spent the greater part of his later life, although he is now in business at Willows. Mrs. Lohse is an active member of the Rebekahs, and holds the office of treasurer of the lodge.
For some years Mr. Gattsch has lived retired, having sold his ranch in 1912. With his good wife he now lives with Mrs. Lohse, enjoying the comforts of her home and the companionship of her family, all of whom manage each year to spend some time with him. Mrs. Lohse is the mother of three children. Carl is in the insurance business in San Francisco; Norma is the wife of Herbert Snowden, and has one child, Elizabeth Ann; while Volie is still a member of her mother's household.
AMOS JAMES MOREY
Amos J. Morey, a successful dairyman and rancher of the Orland district, has shown by capable management and unabated industry what can be done on a twenty-acre ranch in this fertile valley. Mr. Morey is a native of Pike County, Ill., where he was born on September 28, 1862, and where he received his education and training until twenty years of age, getting practical farming experience on the home farm. At the end of this time he entered railroad life, in the train service of the Chicago and Alton Rail- way, between Roodhouse, Ill., and Kansas City, Mo. After spend- ing four years in this position, he went to Spokane, Wash., where he was with the Northern Pacific Railway and the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company for sixteen years. At the end of this period of faithful service, Mr. Morey decided to take up farming as an occupation. For five years thereafter he was engaged in ranching in the Imperial Valley, near Imperial; but while the re- sults were satisfactory, the heat in that section proved detrimental, and he decided to remove to Oregon. Locating in Klamath County, he farmed there for two years, after which, finding the heavy frosts a disadvantage, he returned to California.
In 1910, Mr. Morey settled in the Orland district, Glenn County; and here he has found conditions eminently satisfactory. Like other progressive ranchers in the valley, Mr. Morey special- izes in Jersey cattle. He has a herd of thoroughbred registered cows of that breed.
1019
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
In Colfax, Wash., Amos James Morey was united in marriage with Mrs. Nellie (Doney) Mackey, a native of Minnesota, who has been his able assistant in all his undertakings. She is a half owner in their ranch property, and is a woman of progressive ideas and gifted with the ability to carry them out; and their joint efforts have met with merited success. To such citizens as Mr. and Mrs. Morey much credit is due for the upbuilding of the state. The future development of the commonwealth depends in no small degree upon the practical application of the principles of intensive farming; and in this line of endeavor Mr. and Mrs. Morey have been exceptionally successful.
CHARLES C. SHELDON
Prominent among Glenn County's leading citizens, a progres- sive and public-spirited man, Charles C. Sheldon is a man to be counted on when any project for the development of his section is under way. Born in Norway, March 11, 1847, he was brought to the United States by his parents when two years of age. His early childhood was spent in Iowa, and his education was re- ceived at Fayette, in that state. After completing his studies, he taught school for about ten years in the same locality.
Desiring a change in both occupation and environment, Mr. Sheldon moved to Fillmore County, Minn., and located in Spring Valley. Here he engaged in the hardware business for thirty years, becoming an important factor in the upbuilding of the town. A Republican in politics, he served as deputy sheriff of Fillmore County, and also as town trustee of Spring Valley; and during his residence there he helped materially in all move- ments for the advancement of the community.
From Minnesota Mr. Sheldon went to Madison, S. D., and there he also established a hardware business, which he carried on successfully for six years. He then came to California, arriving in Orland in June, 1910, and purchased eighty acres of land east of the town, on which he made extensive improve- ments, fencing and leveling the land, and seeding a considerable acreage to alfalfa. Here he built a finely appointed house and suitable farm buildings, making a first-class ranch of the prop- erty. At the same time, he purchased two acres in Orland, on East Walker Street; and there he built a home which ranks as one of the best in the vicinity. His ranch is now rented, and he has retired from active business interests and takes time to enjoy life.
1020
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
The marriage of Mr. Sheldon united him with Mary T. Sal- verson, a native of Chicago, Ill .; and five children have been born to them: Clarence B .; Elmer S .; Laura M., a teacher in Berkeley, Cal .; Inez, the wife of Leland S. Drew, of Orland; and Bertha.
Since his arrival in Glenn County, Mr. Sheldon has taken an active interest in its development. He served as a director of the Orland Unit Water Users' Association, being far-sighted enongh to see in it the most important factor in the development of the district ; and it is proving to be all he anticipated, turning what was formerly desert land into productive ranches and bringing settlers from all parts of the country.
IRWIN NELSON McVAY
Irwin Nelson McVay, the youngest son of the late Joseph McVay, one of the Argonants of 1850, who was well and favorably known as a pioneer of Colusa County, is reaping his reward by following in the footsteps of his father. He was born in Colusa County, May 20, 1877. He attended the public schools, and finished his edneation in the Oakland high school, from which he was graduated. From early boyhood he assisted his father on the ranch, where he became used to hard work and constant applica- tion. His father was a thoroughly competent farmer, and from him he learned the methods best suited to running a farm suc- cessfully. He lives on the old family homestead, on the east side near the road, three miles south of Princeton. The place is one of the finest in this section of the county. He has four hundred seventy-five acres of his own land, leases four hundred fifty acres in Glenn County, and also farms seventy-five acres of the Nelson place, which he inherited from his mother. In all his farming operations, Mr. McVay has been uniformly successful. He feels amply repaid for the efforts he has put forth; and today he is recognized as one of the representative farmers of the Sacra- mento Valley.
The late Joseph McVay was born in Franklin County, Tenn., December 12, 1828, a son of Joseph McVay, a large landholder in Tennessee and Alabama, who moved to the new territory of Missouri in 1838, where both he and his wife passed away. Joseph MeVay, Jr., remained in Missouri, working as a farm hand. nntil 1848, when he went to Illinois, and in Jersey County engaged in chopping wood until November, 1849, earning enongh money to bring him to California. He went back to Missouri
1021
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
and stayed until May, 1850, when, with his brothers, Thomas C. and John, he left for California with ox teams and wagons. On his arrival here, he mined in the vicinity of Grass Valley until the fall of 1852. In 1851 he had formed a partnership with Henry Nelson, with whom he engaged in mining. This partnership con- tinued harmoniously for almost thirty years. They made a trip back to Missouri by way of Panama, and while in that country bought up a large band of cattle, which they brought back across the plains in 1854. They settled on land in Colusa County, near Princeton; and when the land came into the market they bought it and continued their stock-raising interests until 1871. That year they moved their cattle interests to Modoc County, where they bought thirteen hundred acres of land. All these years they did business without keeping books, and without a scratch of a pen between them. At the end of nearly thirty years, in 1875, this partnership was dissolved, one of the partners making the divi- sion, and the other taking the choice. Mr. McVay took as his share the land owned by the heirs in Colusa County, and the Modoc property. He sold his interests in Modoc County; but later a company was formed known as the Modoc Land & Stock Com- pany, in which he was interested, and which carried on the stock business successfully. Mr. MeVay was one of the original stock- holders, and a director until 1901, when he sold out and retired, going to San Francisco, where he and his wife lived until their death. He passed away on November 27, 1905; his wife lived until 1909. In all these years, Mr. McVay never used his pre- emption or homestead rights.
In April, 1872, Joseph MeVay and Ella Nelson, a niece of his partner, and a Virginian, who had come to California with her parents in the fall of 1860, were united in marriage. During the trip, via Panama, her father, John Nelson, died on board the boat, when almost in sight of the Golden Gate. Her mother lived until 1893. Mrs. McVay was descended from an old English family, of which Lord Nelson, the great English admiral, was a member. Thomas Nelson Page, minister to England, and a mem- ber of the firm of publishers of the World's Work magazine, is another of the Nelson family connections. 'Mr. and Mrs. McVay's children were: Virgie Nelson, Mrs. J. G. Donaldson, of Oakland; William Nelson, owner of a part of the MeVay property ; and Irwin Nelson, of this review. Mr. McVay was a Democrat. He belonged to.the Methodist Church.
Irwin Nelson MeVay was married in 1902 to Miss Dolly Rawlins, a native of Texas and a lady of many accomplishments, who presides over their home with gracious hospitality. They have one daughter, Helen. Mr. McVay is a Democrat, and is
1022
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
prominent in the councils of the party. He was made a Mason in Colusa Lodge, No. 240, F. & A. M., and is a member of Colusa Chapter, No. 60, R. A. M .; Colusa Commandery, No. 24, K. T .; and Islam Temple, N. M. S., in San Francisco; and with his wife he is a member of the Eastern Star. Mr. McVay is a stockholder in the Bank of Princeton. He is recognized as a public-spirited citizen, and is highly respected by all who have ever had any business or social relations with him.
SOLOMON HASBROOK WILLIAMS
A self-made man and one of the most successful and highly esteemed ranchers of Colusa County, Solomon Hasbrook Williams has a high standing as a public-spirited and progressive citizen. He was born in the Hoosier State, near South Bend, April 1, 1852, the youngest of five sons and one daughter born to his parents. The father died when his son was an infant; and in 1860 the mother brought her daughter and three sons to California, by way of Panama. They settled in San Francisco for a time, and then came to Princeton, Colusa County, where they engaged in the stock business. It was while living here that Mrs. Williams married Dr. Bradley, her third husband. Her first husband was a Mr. Van Sickle, to whom she bore three children, all of whom are deceased.
Solomon H. Williams received his early education in the schools of Colusa County, and supplemented his studies by a course in Vincenhaler Business College in San Jose, where he prepared himself for the successful prosecution of his later activ- ities along business lines. After finishing his schooling, he at once began farming some rented land on Stony Creek, near St. John, where he raised grain and stock, with very satisfactory results, for seven years. His success there enabled him to buy some land of his own near Orland. This proved to be a good investment, and he sold the property at a profit in 1888. For the next five years Mr. Williams rented and operated the R. S. Browning place, on Sycamore Slough. Fortune smiled upon him, and success still attended his efforts; and looking about for a good investment, he selected a section of land where he now lives. To this he added a quarter section a few years later, and afterwards bought ten acres more, making a total of eight hundred ten acres of fine land. When he took up his home on the property, he began making improvements, transforming it, with the aid of his good wife and helpmate, into an ideal country home. He has eighty acres in rice,
1023
COLUSA AND GLENN COUNTIES
four hundred fifty acres in barley, and two hundred acres in wheat. In addition, he is leasing eight hundred acres of the Sutton place. To successfully operate this body of land, Mr. Williams employs the most modern equipment. He has a Best tractor of one hundred ten horse power, and a Best combined harvester and thresher with a thirty-five-foot cut, making it possible to cut and thresh one hundred twenty-five acres per day, at a nominal expense. The cost of this outfit was ten thousand dollars, in 1910. Previous to this he had worn out two Holt combined harvesters, propelled by thirty-two horses and mules; and before this, he had run a header for sixteen seasons.
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.