USA > California > Contra Costa County > History of Contra Costa County, California; with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 24
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John N. Jones died at Nortonville. Saturday night, August 6, 1910. He was born in Wales in 1819, and came to America in 1848. He was married in Philadelphia in 1849 to Catherine Williams, who came from Wales to join him. About fifty years prior to his death they came West, and about two years later moved to Nortonville. Mr. Jones was ninety- one years old at the time of his death.
On May 12, 1905, John W. Jones, a pioneer resident of the county, died at the age of eighty-three years. He was born in Kentucky in 1822; in 1853 he crossed the plains with ox-teams to California, coming to La- fayette on his arrival here. In 1855 he bought a ranch, upon which he lived until he moved to Martinez. He had one son, Henry T. Jones.
January 13, 1900 .- Joseph P. Jones, who served on the bench as superior judge in Contra Costa County for thirteen years, was buried last Friday. He was born in Indiana in 1844, and accompanied his parents to Oregon in 1853. In 1865 he returned to Indiana and entered the University of Bloomington, graduating in law in 1867. He came to Mar- tinez in 1869; was elected district attorney in 1873, serving two years; and then served in the legislature. In 1886 he was elected superior judge. He was a prominent Mason.
Mrs. Mary A. Jones died on July 23, 1918, at her home in Alamo, aged ninety-three years. She was born in Tennessee in 1825, and came to California before the days of the gold rush, via the Oregon route, reach- ing Napa on November 10, 1846. She moved to San Jose in 1847, and in 1851 came to San Ramon Valley, where she had since made her home.
The death of Nathaniel Jones, who had been a resident of the county since 1847, occurred on January 31, 1899, at Walnut Creek. He was born in Eastern Tennessee in 1820. He moved to Missouri and in 1842 married Elizabeth C. Allen. In 1846, with fifteen or twenty others and their families, he crossed the plains, bound for Oregon, but changed his course and came to California, arriving here November 2, 1846. He served in the battle of Santa Clara under Capt. Julius Martin. He settled in this county in 1847. His was the first wagon to cross Carquinez Straits on Dr. Semple's ferry propelled by oars. At his death he was sev- enty-nine years of age.
Martin Joost, last of the pioneer Joost family, died at his Vine Hill home Sunday, November 11, 1917, aged seventy-four years. He was born in Germany, and came to California in the pioneer days. For eighteen years before his death he made his home with his sister.
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February 27, 1926 .- Infirmities due to advanced age closed the long life of Mrs. Mary Jane Joselin at her home at Antioch, Friday night. She was eighty-five years old and had resided in Antioch for fifty-nine years. She was born at Middle Point, Wis.
June 27, 1925 .- The last of the old '49ers in Contra Costa County, and one of the best-known and most highly respected pioneers of Central California, passed on to his reward Saturday evening at 8 o'clock when John Henry Keller of Concord succumbed to an attack of the heart. While members of the family realized that his passing might come at any time, on account of his advanced age, Mr. Keller's death was sudden and came as a shock to his sons and daughters and legion of friends through- out the county.
John H. Keller was a pioneer of California and a '49er in every sense of the term. Born in New Albany, Ind., July 2, 1844, he would have reached the advanced age of four score and one in another ten days. When a boy of five years he crossed the plains to California with his par- ents, a journey which took seven months and brought the family to Marys- ville in the fall of 1849. There they settled and resided for many years when Mr. Keller was growing to manhood. As a young man he joined that collection of fearless and intrepid men who made early-day history, as a Pony Express Rider.
Fifty-four years ago Mr. Keller came to Contra Costa County, and for more than a half century has resided in or near Concord and the Clay- ton Valley. He engaged in the butcher business, following that pur- suit until his retirement a few years ago. He was one of the guests of honor at the '49 celebration held in Sacramento recently, and with the passing recently of Charles Lohse of Ygnacio Valley, Mr. Keller was left the sole surviving member of the hardy '49ers in Contra Costa County. Now he too has passed on.
Nine daughters and sons mourn the passing of their pioneer father, the wife and helpmate of the years, Mrs. Celestia Keller, having died a little over a year ago. The funeral will be held in Concord Tuesday. Burial at Clayton.
Mrs. Harriet Baird Kellogg, a resident of Martinez for many years, died at the home of her daughter, May 15, 1918, aged eighty-two years. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1836, came to California in 1887, and for several years was president of the Women's Chamber of Commerce of San Diego. She came to Martinez in 1899.
Died, at Vine Hill, April 30, 1910, James Kelly, aged seventy-three years. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1837, and came to the United States in 1847 with his father, and in 1854 came to California, crossing the plains with his brother Samuel. Arriving in Contra Costa County, the brothers engaged in the dairy business at Pinole. In 1864 James Kelly went back to Wisconsin and married Margaret Dowd, and in 1887 he bought a ranch near Martinez. He served as 'supervisor from 1887 to 1891.
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Capt. George W. Kimball, one of the Forty-niners of Antioch, died November 18, 1879. He had been a resident of Antioch since his arrival as captain of a ship built in Maine, of which State he was a native, born in 1806.
Died, at his home near Clayton, January 7, 1918, Nicholas Kirk- wood, aged eighty-seven years. He was born in Scotland and came to California via the Horn in 1852, and to this county in 1857. He had never married.
On April 9, 1921, W. A. Kirkwood, former superintendent of schools of Contra Costa County, died in Oakland, aged sixty-three years. He left a widow, one son and three daughters.
March 5, 1926 .- Concord, March 2. Charles W. Klein, prominent business man and resident of Concord for many years, and mayor of this city for a number of years, passed away at his home this morning. He was born and reared in this valley and was one of the successful and sub- stantial citizens. He was about fifty-three years of age. He leaves a widow and two daughters.
John C. Kouse was born in New York in 1828; came via Panama in 1853; and in 1861 located in this county, where he mined, ran a hotel, and engaged in the lumber business. He died in 1907.
November 8, 1923 .- E. R. Lamb, for forty-three years a resident of Ygnacio Valley, passed away at the age of seventy-five years. He was born in Connecticut, came to California via Panama when he was twenty- one years of age, locating in Napa County for a short time, and then came to Contra Costa County. A widow and two children survive him.
Mrs. M. B. Lander, one of the best-known and most highly respected ยท women of Martinez, died on December 10, 1903. She was born in Illinois and came to this county very early. She was sixty-five years of age.
October 15, 1921 .- B. P. Lanteri, owner of the Lanteri Shipyards at Pittsburg and ex-mayor, met death by drowning on October 9, while re- turning from a duck-hunt. He was riding in the bow of his launch, which was operated by William Whitlied, and as they approached Dutton's Landing a cable used in drawing a barge was suspended, and as the launch passed underneath it it caught Mr. Lanteri and hurled him into the stream. He was killed by the blow from the cable. He was thirty- eight years old.
Died, near Walnut Creek, August 4, 1891, John Larkey, aged sixty years. He was born in Ohio in 1831, came to California across the plains with horse teams in 1853, and in 1857 located on his 730-acre ranch near Walnut Creek and engaged in farming. In 1864 he married Martha E. Spore, and they had six children.
May 29, 1923 .- Judge R. H. Latimer passed away after being strick- en with paralysis while trying a case in his chambers. He was born in Missouri in 1854 and came to California in 1879, locating in Concord. Later he moved to Walnut Creek and engaged in the drug business, dur- ing which time he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1884. In
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1886 he moved to Martinez and engaged in the practice of law, and in 1909 he was elected superior judge. He was survived by his widow. Judge Latimer was a member of the Masonic lodge.
December 13, 1924 .- Charles H. Lohse, pioneer of Contra Costa County, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. H. C. Thomas, in Oak- land. He was over the century mark, having celebrated his 100th anni- versary on April 27, 1924. He came to Ygnacio Valley over fifty years ago.
Died, January 5, 1915, Henry Loring, pioneer of Contra Costa Coun- ty, first hotel-keeper of Pacheco, and builder of the first hotel in Concord. He was born in Germany, and came to Contra Costa County in 1852. He was eighty-one years of age.
George P. Loucks was born in New York in 1819; married Ann Lie- bre in 1841, and had four children; came to California in 1851, and in 1857 located in Contra Costa County, where he engaged in farming and warehousing. He served as county clerk and as supervisor.
Peter G. Loucks, pioneer of Pacheco, died at the home of his son in Sonoma, July 4, 1917, aged seventy-three years.
October 1, 1921 .- After being a resident in California for seventy- five years, J. G. Lucas passed away at Richmond at the age of ninety- three years. He was born in the Azores. When eighteen years of age he went to sea and made his first visit to California, in 1846, on the sailer Magnet; he returned in 1850, and in 1863 bought land of the old San Pablo Grant.
June 30, 1921 .- C. H. Ludden, a pioneer of 1876, died at the age of sixty-seven years. He was born in Massachusetts and engaged in the contracting business. He is survived by a widow, one daughter, and three sons.
Mrs. Mary Lynch, a resident of Contra Costa County for sixty years and owner of one of the largest ranches in the San Ramon Valley, died at her home December 26, 1915, aged seventy-eight years.
William Lynch died on August 28, 1910, at his home in San Ramon Valley, aged eighty-two years. He was born on Long Island in 1828, and came to California in 1849, and in 1850 to Contra Costa County, where he worked at the carpenter's trade and at farming.
September 16, 1899 .- The funeral of the late Joseph McCabe, who died in Oakland, was held at Brentwood on September 2, 1899. He came to California in his early boyhood, crossing the plains. He left a wife and three children.
Thomas McCabe was born in Ohio in 1810, crossed the plains in 1850 as captain of a train, located in this county in 1865, and died in 1910.
Died, July 8, 1915, at Walnut Creek, Daniel Mccullough, aged sev- enty-three years.
Thursday evening, October 17, 1901, James McDermott, an old and highly respected resident of Somersville, was struck and killed by the east-bound train at Martinez. He had come down to attend the funeral of his friend, James Rankin.
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William P. McGuire, one of the pioneers of the county, died Monday, December 28, 1914, aged eighty-one years. He was born in Kentucky and came to California in the early days. He left a widow, Mrs. Sarah Mc- Guire, and seven children.
James McKenna died at his home at Vine Hill, April 8, 1913, aged sixty-five years. He was born in Ireland in 1848 and had been a resident of the county thirty years.
T. A. McMahon, well-known county official and business man of Mar- tinez, died on April 28, 1914. He was born in this county in 1856, and was educated in the Martinez grammar school and in the University of California. He served sixteen years as county surveyor. In 1890 he was elected mayor, and served for six years.
Job C. McMaster was born in Maine in 1822, came to California on the brig Forest in 1849, located where Antioch stands in 1851, and with W. W. Smith laid out the town of Antioch. He was one of the first to engage in the dairy business, and in 1852 organized a company to make brick. In 1853 he was elected supervisor, and again in 1873.
George W. McNear, the grain king, who had large warehouse in- terests in this county, died in Oakland December 31, 1909, aged seventy- two years. He was the owner of a large part of Port Costa and built and owned the Port Costa Water Works.
December 16, 1922 .- J. J. McNamara, ex-mayor, the moving spirit of the Martinez-Benicia Ferry & Transportation Company, and an active spirit in the development and progress of Martinez, died at his home at the age of fifty-five years. He was born here and engaged in the mercan- tile business for a number of years. He left a wife and two daughters.
Died, on August 16, 1913, Mrs. Mary McNamara, a native of County Louth, Ireland, aged sixty-five years.
December 31, 1904 .- On Monday, D. R. McPherson, a pioneer of the county, where he lived for over fifty years, passed away at Walnut Creek. He was a native of Kentucky and crossed the plains in 1849. He leaves eleven children, four sons and seven daughters.
W. A. Maltby, a capitalist of Concord, died November 29, 1919.
On May 7, 1922, at his home in Martinez, O. L. Marsh died at the age of eighty-one years. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1841, and served in the Civil War with the 105th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In 1876 he came to Martinez and followed the carpenter's trade. He left a widow and three children.
April 19, 1924 .- Mrs. Elizabeth O. Marshall died, aged seventy- five years, at Antioch. She was born in Maine in 1849, married Perry Marshall in 1869, came to California in 1875, and since then has resided in Antioch. She leaves three children.
Died, in Martinez, February 16, 1894, Vicente Martinez, a native of California, aged seventy-five years. He was born in Santa Barbara in 1818, and in 1838 came with his father to Contra Costa County, the lat. ter having been granted the Pinole Rancho. In 1849 he came to Martinez.
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March 13, 1926 .- Walnut Creek, March 11. Vicente Martinez, scion of one of the oldest families in the county, the county seat being named for his father, died last night at 10 o'clock. He was born at Pinole seventy-two years ago.
June 17, 1916 .- L. R. Mead, thirty-five years owner of Byron Hot Springs, died in San Francisco, aged sixty-eight years. He was born in Michigan and came to California in 1860. In 1881 he bought Byron Hot Springs.
Died, at San Ramon, May 27, 1899, William Meese, a native of Ohio, aged seventy-four years, nine months and twenty-five days. He was born in 1824. In 1850, with eight others, he came by pack-mules to California; and in 1852 he located in Contra Costa County, in the San Ramon Valley. He married and raised a family.
Felix J. Mette, retired mining man and operator of the first stage line between Martinez and Oakland in the early days, died in Oakland on May 6, 1912, aged eighty-three years.
December 12, 1925 .- On Monday death claimed Mrs. Isabella Mills, ninety-three years old. The third white woman to settle in San Pablo, she came from Michigan in 1857 and was one of the earliest settlers to develop the soil in the San Pablo section. She was the widow of Walter Mills, and is survived by four generations of descendants, all of whom were born, reared and educated in Contra Costa County.
January, 1921 .- Died, near Clayton, Isaac Mitchell, aged ninety-two years. He came here in 1849. Mitchell Canyon, at the base of Mount Diablo, is named for him.
The pioneer editor of Contra Costa County, Charles F. Montgomery, of the Antioch Ledger, died in that town on February 17, 1899. He was the oldest male white child born in Shasta County, his birth taking place on April 24, 1851. He learned the printer's trade in Chico when sixteen years of age, and came to Antioch in 1884 and revived the Ledger. He served as justice of the peace and as secretary of the Democratic con- vention at San Francisco that nominated J. H. Budd for Governor. He was a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West, Masons, Odd Fel- lows, and the California Press Association.
April 16, 1921 .- At ten o'clock Saturday morning, Edwin Morgan, a pioneer merchant of Contra Costa County, died at his home in Martinez, aged seventy-one years. He was born in Texas in 1850, came overland in the sixties, located in Ygnacio Valley, and in 1870 came to Martinez, where he opened a hardware store. He left six children. Mr. Morgan was an Odd Fellow.
Died, in Martinez, June 2, 1884, Elizabeth Morgan, widow of Daniel Morgan, a native of County Louth, Ireland, aged seventy-eight years, two months and three days.
Jeremiah Morgan died on January 23, 1906. Jerry, as he was fa- miliarly known, was born in the Cherokee Nation, Alabama, in 1819, but later became a resident of Illinois. In 1849 he crossed the plains with
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oxen to California. He returned to his Illinois home and again crossed the plains in 1853 and located in Ygnacio Valley. In 1856 he located in what is known as Morgan Territory, where he had 2000 acres of land.
Watkins P. Morgans was born in Wales in 1842, came via Panama in 1864, and in 1868 located at Nortonville.
Died, in Brentwood, May 4, 1895, Dr. H. V. Mott, a native of New York, aged seventy-three years. He was born in 1822, came to California in 1850, and settled in Contra Costa County in 1866, where he followed his profession until his death.
John Muir, the world-famed naturalist, was buried from his Alham- bra Valley home at Muir Heights, Contra Costa County, on Sunday, De- cember 27, 1914. The short, simple but impressive sermon was delivered by Rev. William F. Bade. Mr. Muir's principal books are "The Moun- tains of California," "Our National Parks," "Stricken," "The Story of a Dog," "My First Summer in the Sierras," and "The Yosemite." He was an enthusiastic writer and speaker on the preservation of American forests. In 1880 he married Louise, daughter of Dr. Strentzel, who owned a large tract of land near Martinez. It was on this ranch that Mr. Muir lived the last thirty years of his life. He was born in Dunbar, Scotland, in 1838.
Dr. F. E. Neff, for thirty-two years a physician of Concord, and well- known throughout central Contra Costa County, was instantly killed at seven p. m., June 18, 1923, at Minert Station in Ygnacio Valley. He was riding alone in a Chevrolet coupe, and as he was crossing the electric track his car was hit by the Sacramento-San Francisco flier. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1862, and in 1896 married Miss Anna Williams who sur- vived him. He also left five sons and one daughter.
June 18, 1921 .- At the advanced age of eighty-eight years, John S. Netherton died in Santa Cruz. He was born in Missouri, April 30, 1833, crossed the plains in 1850 with oxen and mined for a time, then came to Contra Costa County and settled down to ranching in the Tice Valley in Point of Timber. He was the third settler east of Mount Diablo and west of Stockton, the other two being A. Richardson and C. J. Preston. In 1859 he married Matilda Estes, and they had nine children.
Mrs. Matilda Netherton, one of the pioneer residents of the Byron district, died at the home of her son Delbert, October 30, 1912. She was born in Missouri in 1839, crossed the plains in 1850 with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Joel Estes, and settled in Moraga Valley. In 1859 she married J. S. Netherton, and they moved to Point of Timber, where they lived for fifty years. They celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in 1909. She left five sons and her husband.
John Nicholl, one of the founders of Richmond, died in the fall of 1914 at the age of ninety-one years. He was born in 1822 in Ireland and came to America in 1849, and to California in 1853. He accumulated $6000, with which he bought 200 acres of the San Pablo Rancho, and later added several hundred acres more. He started the first school in
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his district and hauled the lumber for it. He left a fortune of between $3,000,000 and $4,000,000.
Howard Nichols was born in Massachusetts in 1799; came to Cali- fornia in 1849 via the Horn in the ship Oscar, of which he was part owner ; settled at New York of the Pacific in 1850, and bought a ranch at Mount Diablo in 1852. In his house was established the first Congregational congregation in the district.
John R. Nystrom, founder of Richmond and a pioneer of Contra Cos- ta County, died December 24, 1913, just as he was declared winner of an important lawsuit. He was born in Finland, and was sixty-five years of age. He came here in 1871 and settled near Stege, and began to build up a fortune. He acquired land, now the present site of Richmond, and when the town was founded began to sell off his property.
Died, in Antioch, November 4, 1885, John C. O'Brien, a native of Ireland, aged sixty-three years, nine months and twenty-nine days. Mr. O'Brien had been a prominent resident of the county thirty-two years. He was born January 6, 1822, came to California in 1849, and in 1853 came to this county. He was a member of the Odd Fellows and Masons.
James O'Hara, a pioneer of the Sand Lands district, died in Oakley on September 8, 1912, aged seventy-two years. He was born in Maine and came to California when young, and later to Contra Costa County.
Died, at Concord, May 11, 1884, Fernando Pacheco, a native of California, aged sixty-five years, eleven months and nineteen days. He was a son of Don Salvio Pacheco, who died in August, 1896, and who had filled every position of trust, except that of Governor, under the Mex- ican government.
At his home in Ygnacio Valley, October 8, 1907, H. P. Penniman died aged eighty-three years. He was one of the earliest settlers in the Valley, coming in 1852. He left a wife and three children.
Charles Bruce Porter, for many years a resident of this county, and for seventeen years one of the publishers and the chief editor of the Gazette, died in San Francisco on November 15, 1894, aged seventy-seven years. He was born in Massachusetts in 1817 and came to California in 1849, and to this county in 1855. He served in the Assembly in 1860, and was also elected to the Senate. He left a widow and six children.
Henry Raap, born in Germany in 1830, died July 3, 1914, at the resi- dence of his daughter, Mrs. V. Hook. Mr. Rapp came to America in 1851, and to California via Nicaragua in 1854. In 1862 he went back to Germany and married Marie Magdalene Classen. Four sons and one daughter were born to them. They settled in Alhambra Valley very early. In 1863 he bought a farm near Martinez.
Peter Raap, for fifty years a resident of Alhambra Valley, was found dead in his bed Sunday morning, October 12, 1919. He was born in Ger- many and was seventy-six years of age. In 1866 he came to California, and settled in Alhambra Valley.
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F. Rahmstorf, for over forty years a resident of the Byron district, died April 27, 1918, aged seventy-eight years. He was born in Germany. He was a member of the Odd Fellows for forty-five years.
S. F. Ramage was born in Ohio in 1836; he came via Panama in 1856 and located in this county, where he ranched and teamed and served as justice of the peace. He was married twice and had five children.
Died, at Lane Hospital, San Francisco, October 15, 1901, James Rankin, a native of Scotland, aged fifty-three years. Mr. Rankin was born in 1848, came to America in 1865, and arrived in Contra Costa County in 1870, where he made his home. He was elected sheriff in 1884 and served two terms. Then he was interested in coal mining at Somers- ville. In 1899 he was elected president of the Bank of Martinez. He was a Mason.
Dr. Frank Rattan, a pioneer physician of Antioch and Martinez, died January 3, 1917. He practiced in Antioch twelve years and then came to Martinez, where he bought the W. K. Cole drug business. He was fifty-six years of age at the time of his death.
Died, December 27, 1904, at Alamo, Hamilton S. Raven, sixty-five years of age. He was born in New York and reared in Michigan. Com- ing to California, he taught school for thirty years, twenty-five years in Contra Costa County, near Walnut Creek. In 1870 he married Almira Baker, who died in 1891. They had five sons and one daughter.
Charles Rhine was born in Poland in 1838 ; came via Panama in 1856; located in this county in 1857; opened a store near what is now Clayton in 1858; and in 1859 was one of the first to open up a business in Clay- ton, in partnership with Joel Clayton. In 1868 he married Celia Lobree, and they had eight children.
William Rice, a pioneer of 1860 of the county, passed away near Wal- nut Creek November 6, 1885, aged seventy-one years. In 1862 he built a schoolhouse and opened a private family school on his place.
Died, May 17, 1915, at Pleasant Hill, E. A. Rodgers, one of the oldest residents of the district, who came to California in 1859 and had lived on his ranch for forty-five years. He was born in Ireland and was seventy-six years of age. He left four children and a widow.
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