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 87
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 87
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On March 10, 1875, while living in St. John, Mr. Williams and Mary Alice Browning were united in marriage. She was born at Sycamore, Colusa County, Cal., a daughter of Richard S. Browning, a pioneer of Colusa County, who was born in Indiana, and crossed the plains in 1849, settling near Sycamore. He mar- ried Sarah Christmas in Indiana, and left his wife and three chil- dren there when he came to California. In 1855 he went back after them; and thereafter they lived in California, where four more children were born in the family. The children born in Indiana are: Mrs. Anna E. Nelson, of Colusa; J. W. Browning, of Grand Island; and George W., who was killed by the kick of a mule. The others, born in California, are: Mary Alice, Mrs. Williams; Henry, who died in early childhood; Martha, wife of Mortimer Millis, of Spokane; and Francis, Mrs. Cain, living in San Francisco, with her two children. Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Williams five children were born: Albert E., who mar- ried Miss Pearl Cameron and lives north of Colusa; George E., engaged in the real estate business in Los Angeles; Earl H., who married Hilda Anderson, of Oakland, and who is now assisting his father on the ranch; Lloyd Bruce, who married Evelyn Lamphre, and is the father of one child; and Floyd R., at home.
Mr. Williams has been a Republican since casting his first vote. He has never sought office, though he has served as school trustee, and has taken an active interest in the maintenance of good schools. He is the best-posted man on crop conditions in Colusa County, and for fourteen years has served as United States government crop reporter for the county, thereby rendering val- uable service to the public. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have a very large circle of friends in the Sacramento Valley. They are people of warm hospitality, always ready to aid those less fortunate than themselves; and they cooperate heartily in all movements for the betterment of their community and the upbuilding of the county and the state.
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ROSCOE STINSON
Roscoe Stinson, the efficient and attentive overseer of Road District No. 5, Colusa County, has by hard work brought the roads in his district to rank well with any in the county. The district takes in some of the most difficult roads in the county, and constant attention to their needs has made a reputation for the overseer. Mr. Stinson is descended from two prominent families in the state of Maine. He was born near Bangor, Decem- ber 14, 1855, the son of Ira W. and Esther (Moulton) Stinson. When he was but three years of age, his parents came via Panama to California and took up their residence in Grass Valley, where they lived for some years. Later they came to Colusa County; and there they made their home until they passed away.
Mr. Stinson rents twenty acres of land, which he farms. He has never married, and lives alone on the ranch, on the east side of the Sacramento River, about half-way between Colisa and Princeton. He is well known in his section of the county, and has many friends, in whose homes he is always a welcome guest.
LUCIUS HUBBARD FITCH
The leading painter and decorator in Colusa is Lucius Hub- bard Fitch, founder of the firm of L. H. Fitch & Sons, whose place of business is on Market Street. Besides doing general con- tracting, the firm handle paints, oils, varnishes, glass, mouldings, etc .; and the business that was started on a small scale in 1890 has been growing steadily until today the firm is the leading estab- lishment of its kind in the county. Mr. Fitch and his two sons are conscientious and capable workmen; and by their courteous treatment and square dealing they have built up a large patronage in the surrounding country.
Lucius Hubbard Fitch, founder of the business, was born in Griffin, Ga., January 31, 1866. His father, Col. Fayette S. Fitch, was born in Pawlet, Vt., June 17, 1832. He was a college graduate, and studied law, being admitted to the bar. Removing to Georgia, he there engaged in the practice of his profession with success, and became a prominent Southerner in his day, serving in the Confederate army. He was on the editorial staff of the Atlanta Constitution and for a time owned and published a daily paper at Griffin. He was prominent in politics, and never
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missed attending a state convention. He won fame as a stump speaker, and was intimately acquainted with Jefferson Davis, Alexander Stephens, and other Southern leaders. During the reconstruction period, after the war, Mr. Fitch promoted many of the leading enterprises of the South. He was one of the best- known men throughout a wide section of the Southern country. His wife was Letitia J. Austell, a member of one of the wealthy and very old Georgia families. Grandmother Austell was married a second time, to Dr. Hornsby ; and they resided at Campbellton, a suburb of Atlanta. When General Sherman took Atlanta, he had their place for headquarters; and the place is now main- tained by the state as state property. Both Colonel Fitch and his wife are now deceased.
Lucius Hubbard Fitch was educated in the public schools of Georgia and Alabama, growing to young manhood in the latter state during the period of reconstruction in the South. At the age of seventeen he went to Austin, Texas, where he learned the trade of painter and decorator, during the three years that he spent there. He then came to California, and in 1887 located in Colusa, where he worked at his trade for three years. He made many friends; and deciding that he would branch out for himself, he began taking and executing contracts, thus establishing the nucleus of his present business. He invested in land adjoining the town, first purchasing two acres, where he has erected a beautiful residence, valued at five thousand dollars. He bought five acres at a later date, and upon this he has built a comfortable house. He also owns two hundred sixty acres of good cotton land near Birmingham, Ala., which he leases. His Colusa prop- erty, together with his shop, which he also built and owns, has been acquired through his own personal efforts.
In 1890, in Colusa, Mr. Fitch was united in marriage with Miss Melvina Roberts, born near Council Bluffs, Iowa. She was brought to California by her parents, Eli and Clarissa Elizabeth (Johnson) Roberts, who crossed the plains with ox teams to Cali- fornia, when she was only a child. Mrs. Fitch was reared and educated in this state, and has spent practically her whole life here. She has no recollection of her birthplace. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Fitch are Fayette H., who married Elsie Landis; Elton C., who married Myrtle Landis; and Alberta Austell, wife of Henry Schmidt, a rancher near Colusa. The two sons are experienced workmen and are partners with their father in busi- ness. Although a Southerner by birth and education, Lucius H. Fitch is descended from ancestors who represented the true Yankee type, and who were history-makers in Vermont in colonial days, as is shown by the Fitch genealogy.
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JAMES F. MALLON
James F. Mallon was born in Pleasanton, Linn County, Kans .; and in that state his parents still reside, in Saline County, where he grew to manhood and received his education in the public schools. When he was of age he went to Colorado and became a foreman on a large ranch in Garfield County. There he was married, in 1902, to Miss Jacquelin Chatfield of Eagle County; and in 1904 they came west to California and settled in Princeton. They had but three hundred fifty dollars with them on their ar- rival here.
Mr. Mallon began in this state as a day laborer, sewing sacks on a harvester, and doing any kind of work to make a living. The longer he was in the community, the better opportunities he saw for an energetic man; and in time he invested in thirteen and sev- enty-two hundredths acres of land for a home place. Later this tract was platted as an addition to Princeton, the lots selling at two hundred dollars each. From this beginning, Mr. Mallon has advanced step by step until today he is one of the solid, substan- tial men of the county. He has demonstrated his ability in many ways.
In 1906 Mr. Mallon began work for the Sacramento Valley Land Company. He so applied himself to the work that he was soon made foreman, and in 1909, when the company sold out to the Sacramento Valley Irrigation Company, a Pittsburg syndicate, Mr. Mallon was made general superintendent of all construction work. Part of the time he had fifteen hundred men and nineteen hundred mules under his supervision.
During 1911 and 1912 Mr. Mallon leveled, checked and planted to alfalfa one thousand acres for a Chicago syndicate that had purchased these lands from the Sacramento Valley Irrigation Company with the understanding that Mr. Mallon was to do the development work. During this time, also, he and Mr. Yohe, son of the president of the Pittsburg and Lake Erie Railroad, were awarded the contract for building the Colusa and Hamilton branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad, from Harrington, on the South- ern Pacific main line, by way of Grimes to Hamilton City. The yardage in this work was something like one million two hundred thousand cubic yards. So closely did he confine himself to the work, that his health gave way, and. he was compelled to spend two years recuperating. During this time he gave much thought to the possibilities of rice culture and the irrigation of thousands of acres of so-called goose lands, which were then considered good
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for nothing but sheep pasture, and on which the owner only realized a rental of from fifteen to twenty cents an acre. In 1914, in company with R. E. Blevins of Colusa, Mr. Mallon started the project for building an irrigation system and preparing a tract of four thousand four hundred acres for the growing of rice, the first tract developed for this purpose on the west side of the Sacramento River. This work was successfully completed, at a cost of some sixty thousand dollars; and later the project was sold to a San Francisco syndicate. In 1916, Mallon and Blevins developed a second project of fourteen hundred acres; and in 1917 they added to this project until, at the beginning of 1918, their holdings amounted to some ten thousand acres.
Mr. Mallon and his family have a pleasant suburban home near Princeton, where they reside in comfort, surrounded by many friends. Their three children are James DeVere, Marjorie and Neva, who further add to the happiness of the home. Mr. Mallon is a true type of the Westerner, large-hearted, kind and consid- erate of others. He is the personification of the self-made and self-educated man; and, like the late Will S. Green, he is a man who has caught a vision of the great possibilities of the Sacra- mento Valley, and is always ready to shoulder large responsi- bilities and undertake big work to further its development.
CHARLES F. SANFORD
As "ditch rider" of the district east of Orland, for the new irrigation project that has done so much to develop that section of Glenn County, Charles F. Sanford holds an important position under the employ of the United States government. Mr. Sanford is a native Californian, born in Red Bluff, September 16, 1886, a son of Ansel and Charlotte (Elam) Sanford, natives of Ohio and Iowa. His father came to this state in 1860, and farmed in the vicinity of Red Bluff, Tehama County, until his death.
Charles F. Sanford attended the grammar school at Hunters, on the south fork of Cottonwood Creek, and there gained a knowledge of the ordinary branches that enabled him to start out for himself. His first venture after leaving home was with a brother in the cattle business, when he rode the range as a cow- boy. He early became an expert rider, and could throw a rope with the best of the men. He was next employed by the Northern California Power Company, and remained with that company until 1910, when he came to settle permanently in Orland. The following year he took the United States government civil service
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examination, passed easily, and was appointed ditch rider, the position he now holds.
The marriage of Mr. Sanford united him with Miss Pearl Wise, a native daughter. Their union has proved a mutually help- ful one. Mrs. Sanford has cooperated with her husband in every way, and through their united efforts they are meeting with suc- cess. They have two bright children, Alvin F., and Nelda. Mr. Sanford owns seven acres of land, which is seeded to alfalfa, and also has five acres near by, planted to onions. He is a self-made man in every sense of the word, for upon his arrival in Orland he had only a team of horses and just twenty-two dollars in money. He believes in living and letting live, and bears a fine reputation as an upright citizen. He belongs to Orland Lodge, No. 218, I. O. O. F.
BANK OF PRINCETON
One of the most substantial financial institutions in the north- ern part of the state is the Bank of Princeton. It began business in its own building-modern in every detail, with up-to-date fit- tings of every character-and under the laws of the state govern- ing state commercial banks, on August 15, 1912, with a capitaliza- tion of $60,000, and a created surplus of $6,000. Its officers, who have never been changed since its incorporation, are Tennent Har- rington, of Colusa, president; W. A. Yerxa, of Princeton, vice- president; and Foster M. Porter, of Princeton, secretary, treas- urer and cashier. The directors are T. Harrington; W. A. Yerxa ; B. H. Burton, of Colusa; P. H. Green, of Willows; C. G. Picknell, of Princeton; Edwin Barham, of Butte City; and Frank Moody, of Willows.
This bank had its inception in 1911, in the growing demand for some convenient method to handle the money that naturally accumulated in the fast-growing section about Princeton, drawing from both Glenn and Colusa Counties. Some of the financiers of Willows and Colusa were contemplating such an organization, when, in the year above named, Foster M. Porter, then assistant cashier and paying teller of the Chickasha National Bank of Chickasha, Okla., made a visit to California. During his sojourn in Colusa and Willows, B. H. Burton of Colusa and P. H. Green of Willows, with other financial men, got together and perfected the organization of the Bank of Princeton. Mr. Porter was engaged as cashier, after which he returned to Chickasha, resigned his position with the bank, and returned to California to make his home. During the six months in which the building was being
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erected, he was employed in the Bank of Willows, meanwhile making frequent trips to look after the construction of the build- ing at Princeton. When it was finished and completely furnished, he opened the doors for business, and has since retained his position with the institution. It met with success from the start; and through the adoption of a policy of mutual helpfulness to its patrons, it has been constantly growing in strength and prestige. Prompt attention is given to every detail, and courteous treatment is accorded to all.
The statement rendered on June 4, 1917, shows the rapid development of this institution. The statement follows:
Loans and discounts.
$ 63,769.98
Bank premises and fixtures.
21,504.98
Bonds and warrants.
43,448.75
Cash and sight exchange
68,626.29
$197,350.00
Capital
$ 60,000.00
Surplus and undivided profits.
11,254.62
Dividends unpaid
80.00
Deposits
126,015.38
$197,350.00
JOHN M. LEONARD
The boyhood days of John M. Leonard were passed in the State of Illinois, where he was born, in Sangamon County, the home of the illustrious Lincoln, on April 28, 1862. At the age of twelve, however, he went with his people to Pratt County, Kans., where he finished his schooling and was reared to manhood. There, also, he was united in marriage with Luella Russell, like- wise a native of Illinois. The Leonard family were pioneers in Pratt County, and endured many hardships while developing a farm there and rearing their family.
After his marriage, Jolm M. Leonard took up a government claim of one hundred sixty acres, proved up on it, and farmed it to grain for fifteen years, with good success. He next moved to Mesa County, Colo., where he met with further financial success · in the cattle business and in the raising of hogs, until he sold ont, in 1910, to come to California. Upon his arrival in this state, Mr. Leonard settled in Orland, in the fall of the year, and bought a piece of land. He was one of the first to have his land watered 53
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under the new government irrigation project. He owned eighty acres, but sold off half of it, still retaining a fine alfalfa acreage, and an orange, lemon and pomelo orchard. On his place he maintains a dairy of twenty-five Jersey cows; and he is also working into the sheep industry. In the spring of 1917, from seventy-five ewes, he got over one hundred per cent. of lambs. In connection with his other stock interests, he raises thorough- bred Berkshire hogs. He has become well known for his high- grade stock. Taking it as a whole, Mr. Leonard has one of the most productive small ranches in the Orland section. He gives his undivided attention to his ranching interests. Recently he purchased fifteen acres, situated near by, and is setting out another orchard.
Mr. Leonard is a director in the Orland Creamery Company. He takes an active interest in educational matters, and in all things pertaining to the welfare of the community and the indus- trial development of the county.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard are: Roscoe J .; Chester, who married Fern Sievers; Ovid; John; Opal, wife of Elmer Hawkins; Grace, who married Charles Ashley; Lula; and Benlah. Roscoe J. Leonard was a member of the American Expe- ditionary Forces in France, where he died of pneumonia, Jannary 23, 1918. Mr. Leonard is a member of Orland Camp, No. 555, W. O. W., and has passed through all the chairs; and he is the possessor of a beautiful jeweled badge presented to him by the Camp. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
LUNDY LLOYD GRIEVE
A successful farmer, real estate operator, and all-around upbuilder of Princeton and vicinity, L. L. Grieve belongs to that large class of energetic and optimistie men who have elected to make this section of California their home within the last decade, and who are doing much to bring the many advantages of this par- ticular section of the Sacramento Valley to the attention of prospective investors who wish to realize a profit on their invest- ment. A native of Iowa, born at Davenport, August 10, 1878, Mr. Grieve was but three years of age when his parents moved · to Western Iowa, where they settled amid pioneer conditions in the vicinity of Kingsley. There the lad grew to manhood, mean- while receiving his education in the public schools; and there, also, he later became a very successful farmer. His parents, John and Georgiana (Morrison) Grieve, were natives of Iowa and
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Scotland respectively. They later came to California; and here, in their home newly erected on a ten-acre tract near Princeton, the mother died in 1912. John Grieve is still living on his place, which is located near that of his son.
Upon settling in California in 1905, L. L. Grieve had plenty of means, as a result of his years of successful farming in Iowa; so he bought some land and, entering heartily into the spirit of the West, at once began making permanent improvements. His purchase comprised forty-three and three fourths acres of land two miles south from Princeton. He erected a comfortable house opposite St. John's Park, set out twelve acres of peaches and thirty acres of prunes, and a fine family orchard and garden. Besides his ranching operations, he is engaged in the real estate and insurance business in town and has done much to show his confidence in the county by inducing many to settle in the vicinity. Mr. Grieve brought with him a goodly stock of energy and pluck ; and by constant and consistent application to the task in hand, he has won recognition from his fellow townsmen.
In Iowa Mr. Grieve married Miss Chloa R. Southam, of Waterloo, that state; and they have been blessed with five chil- dren : Naomi L., Illma M., Anona E., Bernardine, and Lu Verne. The family are members of the Christian Church. Mrs. Grieve is a member of the Eastern Star. Both Mr. and Mrs. Grieve support the candidates of the Republican party.
ROY MAXEY
The cashier of the Grimes branch of the Colusa County Bank, Roy Maxey, through his training in other localities, has gained a practical experience that enables him to cope with local conditions in California banking circles, and has helped to build up the insti- tution over which he has supervision. He was born near Mt. Ver- non, Ill., May 7, 1880, a son of F. J. and Belle (Morrow) Maxey, both natives of that same state, where also they were married. F. J. Maxey was engaged in the general merchandise business at Pierce City, Mo., for some years, but now gives his attention to farming near Springfield, that state. Of their family, four sons were born in Illinois; two, in Missouri; and a daughter, in Kan- sas. The only one of the family who lives in California is Roy Maxey.
Roy Maxey was graduated from the Pierce City High School in 1897, and then took up shorthand and bookkeeping; and after completing his preparation, he secured a position as a clerk in
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the post office at Pierce City. He next found employment as a bookkeeper at Hennessey, Okla., in 1900; and the next year he went to El Reno, that state, in the employ of the same company, where he remained for some time. A clerkship in the Citizens National Bank at El Reno was offered him, which he accepted; and this was the stepping-stone to his success in later years in the banking business. In 1902 he went to Chickasha, Okla., and began as a bookkeeper in the First National Bank. After eighteen months, he became assistant cashier in the Citizens National Bank of that city, in recognition of his ability, and his careful attention to details. He continued in the employment of this bank for nine years.
While in Chickasha, Mr. Maxey became acquainted with F. M. Porter, now cashier of the Bank of Princeton, Cal .; and in 1913 he himself came to California and accepted a position with the Colusa County Bank for three months, to familiarize himself with the California methods of banking. When the Bank of Grimes was completed, he assumed his present position, opening the bank for business on December 22 that year, since which time the bank has enjoyed a growing patronage.
Mr. Maxey was married at Chickasha, Okla., to Miss Lou M. Stratton, a native of Kansas; and they have two children, Mildred and Margery. Mr. Maxey is a member of the Elks in Chickasha. Since residing in this state, he has won a name for himself as a representative citizen of Colusa County, ever alive to the. possi- bilities of his section.
FRED M. HELD
The life story of Fred M. Held reads like a romance, full of varied and interesting experiences. He comes from a distin- guished German family. His father, Peter R. Held, was born in Germany, of a cultured family numbering among its members scholars, statesmen, musicians, doctors and literary men. The family name was originally spelled "Heldt." Peter R. Held was an ardent reformer, and took part in the German revolution of 1848. In common with Hecker, Carl Schurz, General Zeigel, and other revolutionists, he was forced to leave the Fatherland and come to America, about the middle of the last century. He devoted himself assiduously to music after his banishment, being a master of the violin and piano, and became a composer of note. It was while he was thus occupied, at Lewisburg, Pa., that his son, Fred M. Held, was born, on November 30, 1862. The mother was
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an orphan, and was adopted into the family of the Duchess von Nassau, at Weisbaden, Germany, by whom she was reared. The parents moved to Emporia, Kans., where they died and are buried.
Fred M. Held was educated in the public schools, and finished his schooling with a course at Rorer's Business College, at St. Louis, Mo. He enlisted in the regular army and was stationed for a time at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., after which he was sent over into Oklahoma. He served his term of service and was hon- orably discharged; but at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War he reenlisted, and served in the Quartermaster's Department as clerk, in Cuba, where he met the hero of San Juan Hill, Colonel Roosevelt. Having become immune to yellow fever, he passed through the yellow fever epidemic without fear of attack; and in consequence his services were particularly valuable.
After the close of the Spanish-American War, Mr. Held had a varied experience in Old Mexico as a miner, and later returned to the United States, locating at Salt Lake City a short while, before coming to California in 1906. In this state he worked as a farmer, and in the employ of the Crystal Cream and Butter Company, for several years before taking his present position as operator of the ferry at Grand Island, Colusa County, where his strict attention to his duties, and his helpfulness and courtesy, have won him many friends. The ferry crosses the Sacramento River, which at this point forms the boundary line between Colusa and Sutter Counties; and Mr. Held is employed by the super- visors of the two counties. Although it will be the means of dis- placing the ferry, and will consequently throw him out of his present position, Mr. Held is a most pronounced "booster" for a new steel bridge at this point, for the reason that the traffic is very great and is rapidly increasing. A year ago (1916) the average daily crossings numbered eighty-five; today they number ninety-five.
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