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 50
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In 1902 Mr. Stairley came to Richmond to engage in the banking business. At that time there was only an old barn on Barrett Street, and a grocery store had been started near by. The East Yard postoffice had been created by the Santa Fe at what is now Richmond. When the Stan- dard Oil Company located at Point Richmond there was no bank to han-
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dle their pay roll and men from the Standard and from the Santa Fe were sent to San Francisco to pack money over here to meet the demands of the employees. On April 25, 1902, the Bank of Richmond was estab- lished with William Mintzer, president, William F. Belding, vice-presi- dent, and Waverley Stairley, cashier, manager and secretary. The bank filled a natural place in the order of things and did a thriving business. He continued his connection with this bank until 1915, when he disposed of his interest to become postmaster of Richmond, to which position he had been appointed, and he served from 1916 until 1921. During his term in the office he instituted many projects for expansion to meet the needs of the fast-growing city. Since the above date he has lived retired.
Mr. Stairley was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ridgley Tilden, born in Maryland and a relative of Samuel J. Tilden of national repute. This union has been blessed with two children: Marmaduke Hamilton; and Louise Elizabeth, wife of George Lee, a financial broker of Rich- mond. There is one grandchild, Virginia Louise Lee, to brighten the family circle. Mr. Stairley is a member of the Legion of Honor, Sixth Degree. He has always taken an active interest in the upbuilding of Rich- mond and Contra Costa County and has won a very large circle of friends.
GEORGE PETERS .- A pioneer of 1881 in California, George Peters has seen a wonderful growth in the Pacific Coast country since that date. He was born in Germany on September 29, 1853, the son of Fred- erick William and Elizabeth Peters, the former a grocer. There were seven sons in the family, of whom our subject is the only one who came to America. Three of his brothers were living when he left home in 1877. As a young man he followed the sea and landed in San Francisco in 1881 and worked as a longshoreman and on vessels plying up and down the coast for several years. In 1887 he left the water and came to work in the Selby smelter, in the department where the gold is separated from the silver, continuing until 1918, when he was pensioned off by the com- pany after many years of faithful service. He is now living retired in Crockett. He belongs to Selby Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and to the Woodmen of the World, having held minor offices in both lodges. He was formerly a member of Valona Fire Department No. 1.
On June 29, 1882, Mr. Peters was united in marriage with Miss Anna Sturneburg, a native of the same part of Germany as her husband and who came to California in 1882 to marry Mr. Peters. Her father was Peter William Sturneburg, manufacturer of tobacco, and her mother was Amelia Revenda in maidenhood. This marriage resulted in the birth of three children. William Frederick, a machinist with the California and Hawaiian Sugar Refinery, learned his trade at the Selby Smelter and was there four years; since then has worked his way up in the refinery. He is a member of Carquinez Tent No. 98, I. O. R. M., having passed through the chairs and represented his lodge at the Grand Lodge; he also belongs to Crockett Lodge No. 329, I. O. O. F., having joined in 1911;
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and a member of the Valona Fire Department No. 2, and of the C. & H. Fire department. The second child was Arthur George, who died in early childhood. The only daughter is Mrs. Elsie Ravenda Vondercheer of Los Angeles; she has two children, Louise and Alfred. The Peters family have many friends in Contra Costa County and are among the most highly respected citizens of Crockett.
JOHN BAPTISTE GEMETTI .- One of the best-known men in the Alhambra Valley is John B. Gemetti, a foreman on Hill Girt, the historic ranch founded by the late Prof. John Swett. Since 1897, when Mr. Gemetti came here, he has proven a distinct adjunct to the develop- ment of this part of the county, and his knowledge has always been at the disposal of his friends and neighbors, to aid them with their problems in horticulture and viticulture. Born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on August 12, 1871, he is the son of John B. and Margaret (Rigoni) Ge- metti, farmers of that country and both now deceased, the father after having reached sixty-seven years of age, and the mother having died on the old home place in Switzerland, aged eighty-three, in 1926.
John Baptiste Gemetti grew up on his father's farm in the old country, and there learned horticulture and viticulture, farming and stock-raising, dairying and cheese and butter making, as did many other youths in Switzerland. The oldest of four children born to his parents, he stayed and helped on the home ranch until nineteen years old, when he came to the United States, with San Francisco as his destination. Upon coming to the Alhambra Valley, in 1897, he was soon singled out by John Swett and son, Frank Swett, themselves horticulturists of note, and was induced to enter their employ. Mr. Gemetti became a foreman in 1901, and it is needless to say that his work has done much towards making Hill Girt the finest and most productive of all the excellent ranches in the Alhambra Valley. He is an expert in viticulture and understands the making of wine, and had charge of the winery on the ranch as well, operating it suc- cessfully until the days of war prohibition, when all wine-making ceased on this ranch. Mr. Gemetti continues as a foreman of the property, which is now the residence and under the management of John F. Swett, son of the old pioneer teacher, author and rancher.
The marriage of Mr. Gemetti, at Santa Rosa on August 25, 1900, united him with Miss Delia Cotta, daughter of James and Modesta (De Carli) Cotta. The mother is still living near Nicasio, Marin County, where they owned a large cattle ranch; the father passed to his reward in 1918, aged eighty-seven. Five children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gemetti. Robert Eugene is a graduate of the Alhambra Union High School and is now employed by the Shell Company ; he married Miss Dora Mantel, of Oakland, and has one child, Robert Eugene, Jr. Walter is a graduate of Alhambra Union High School and is working with his father on Hill Girt ranch. Adeline married Russell Lake and resides at Menlo Park. Flora was chosen May Queen for the May Day Festival at Mar-
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tinez in 1925 ; and she and Elsie are attending the Alhambra Union High School in Martinez. All of the children were born at Hill Girt with the exception of Robert Eugene, who was three months old when the family came to the ranch. They are exceptionally intelligent young folks and are all favorites in the community life.
Fraternally, Mr. Gemetti belongs to the Ancient Order of Druids and to the Swiss Mutual Benevolent Society at San Francisco. While regis- tered as a Republican, he votes for the right man for the right place in local affairs, having cast his first vote for Mckinley in 1896 in Mar- tinez, after being naturalized in Judge Angelotti's court, in San Rafael, California.
JOHN SWETT .- American educator and author, John Swett was also recognized as the "Father of the Public School System of California." He was born in Pittsfield, N. H., on July 31, 1830, and grew up in the environment of a New England home. His parents were also born there amidst the hills and rolling swells of glacial morraines, where the land was hard to clear, but when so cleared was productive. Lumbering was the principal industry, and the tall white pines were used for masts and ship timbers.
In tracing the genealogy of the family it is found that John Swett, of Devonshire, England, was admitted to the freedom of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on May 18, 1642, and was granted tracts of land in the town of Newbury, Mass. His son, Benjamin Swett, was chosen one of the selectmen, and he drilled the militia and fought the Indians. He was killed in 1677 in Maine. He left five boys and six girls, among them Joseph Swett, who was elected to the provincial assembly in 1708. He married and had three children, of whom the next in line of descent was Thomas Rogers Swett. When he was three years old his father died and the lad was put out to learn the trade of the clothier and fuller. He served in the militia when he was sixteen, in the Revolutionary War under Captain Joseph Parson's command in a New Hampshire regiment, and was mustered out in January, 1779. Going to Pittsfield, he operated a mill and later farmed. He was twice married, having two children by his first wife and eight by his second wife, Betsy Knowlton Swett. He died in 1847 at the age of eighty-eight. Eben Swett, father of our subject, was the fifth child, and was born in 1799. On the maternal side, Abraham French, grandfather of our subject, was born in Stratham in 1758, was a carpenter, served in the Revolutionary War, married Hanna Lane and died in 1850.
John Swett attended the schools of his day and in 1836 moved with his parents into Pittsfield, where his mother ran a boarding house and his father continued farming. The boarding house was unprofitable and the family returned to the farm. The lad was surrounded by liberal home influences; his father always looked upon the sunny side of life, but trained his boys to work, never failing to give them ample time to play.
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He served as town clerk of Pittsfield and as a selectman. The family lived on the products of the farm; even their clothing was of domestic make, the mother being an expert with the spinning wheel. Young John lived on the farm, went to school and tended the cattle in winter. He entered Pittsfield Academy in the fall of 1844, and studied reading, arith- metic, algebra, grammar, composition and declamation. Later he had one term at Pembroke Academy, after which he was offered a position as a teacher in the Buck Street school at ten dollars a month "and board 'round." He was now seventeen. In 1848 he began a three-months course in manual training on the farm. Always a great reader, he bought what books he could and borrowed whenever possible. In 1849-1850 he taught at West Randolph, Mass., for sixteen dollars a month, and during this time he made up his mind to come to California, but failed twice to make it possible.
On September 15, 1852, he bought passage, for $200, on the Revere, sailing from Boston Harbor, and after 135 days landed in San Francisco on February 1, 1853. Here he met Rev. S. H. Willey, a Presbyterian minister, then went to Marysville by water, outfitted for the mines and prospected and mined five months. Finding mining was not his forte; he returned to San Francisco and secured a position in the Rincon school in November, 1853. He entered into the spirit of the times and soon had built up a fine school system, and took an active part in educational affairs. During all this time he had been contributing to Eastern newspapers to help out with his finances. At an expense of $250 he made a trip back East via Panama, taking passage on the Golden Gate from San Francisco. After a visit with his family and friends he returned to California. In 1860 he became superintendent of the First Unitarian Society Sunday School in San Francisco.
The first political campaign entered into by John Swett was when he ran for superintendent of public instruction of California in 1862, being elected by a majority of 139 votes. He began his work in December and worked strenuously for the advancement of the public school system in California. For four years he edited the California Teacher. In 1867 he entered upon his duties as a teacher in the Denman School in San Fran- cisco, and one year later was elected a teacher in the Lincoln Evening School, where he built up a fine system. He was appointed deputy school superintendent in 1869 by J. H. Widber. During this period in office he wrote Swinton's Word Book of written and oral spelling, receiving a one- half interest in the copyright; and also wrote Swinton's Word Primer, but did not have any interest in the copyright.
Upon leaving the office of deputy superintendent he became the principal of the Denman School. In July, 1876, he became principal of the Girl's High School and Normal Class in San Francisco, which had 400 pupils and twelve teachers. In 1875 he had published the first school his- tory of California, an edition of 1000. From 1876 to 1889 he was the principal of the San Francisco High School, but resigned and went to
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Contra Costa County and settled on a farm, where he remained two years. He was again induced to enter the political arena and was elected the superintendent of the city schools of San Francisco by an overwhelming majority, taking office on January 11, 1891, continuing until 1895.
His mother had died on March 5, 1896, at the age of ninety-two years. In 1898 he made a trip back East over the Canadian Pacific and thoroughly enjoyed the relaxation. Returning to his Contra Costa home he gave up educational work and devoted himself to raising fruit and farming on his Hill Girt Ranch, which he had bought in 1881, paying $7000 cash for 185 acres. In 1901 he was active in organizing the Alhambra Union High School; in 1906 he was appointed trustee of the San Francisco State Normal School by Governor Pardee. During his term as State superin- tendent of public instruction he had the law passed creating the State Board of Education, providing for teachers' institutes, organizing schools into grades and establishing school libraries; and he had the tuition charges abolished, making California schools absolutely free. Since then the trend of the school system has been upward, characterized by better buildings and with modern equipment, complete curriculum and competent teachers.
On May 8, 1862, John Swett and Miss Louise Tracy were united in marriage, the ceremony being performed at the Methodist Church on Powell Street, by Rev. M. C. Briggs. Mrs. Swett was the daughter of Frederick Palmer Tracy, a prominent lawyer and politician in the Bay city and a close friend of the late Leland Stanford. He came from a well- known California family, the town and station of Tracy on the main line of the Southern Pacific and the State Highway being named after Judge Tracy. He was an able lawyer and was a member of the committee on platform, and submitted the first draft of the Republican platform which was adopted at the convention in Chicago, and which nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. Mr. and Mrs. John Swett became the parents of four children who grew to maturity, viz. : Emily Tracy, who married John W. Parkhurst and died in April, 1892, aged twenty-nine, leaving a daugh- ter Ruth Emilie, who was reared by the grandparents ; Frank Tracy, pres- ident of the Pear Growers' Association of California and a resident of Berkeley; Helen Swett Artieda, a resident of Oakland and secretary of the Public Welfare League of that city; and John French, of Hill Girt Ranch. Mrs. John Swett died in 1919 at the age of seventy-nine years.
Among the many interesting facts in the life of John Swett was one concerning himself and John Muir, his neighbor and most intimate friend, when in May, 1913, they were both given the degree of Doctor of Law at the commencement exercises at the University of California by Benjamin Ide Wheeler, president of that institution. These two life-long friends were often referred to as the "Two Johns." This honor, coming just a few months before the death of Mr. Swett, was a fitting finale to their years of ideal friendship. Mr. Swett passed to his reward in August, 1913, at the age of eighty-three years.
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JOHN J. SULLENGER .- In Contra Costa County there are many enterprising agriculturists who bring to their calling good business meth- ods and excellent judgment, and whose labors are crowned with success. Conspicuous among this number is J. J. Sullenger, who owns and occupies a finely improved ranch lying about seven miles from the town of Brent- wood, in a rich and fertile district known as the Lone Tree Precinct. He is a native Californian, his birth having occurred on January 7, 1858, in Oakville, Napa County, on the farm of his father, John C. Sullenger.
A native of North Carolina, John C. Sullenger went to Missouri when a boy, and in 1852, when eighteen or nineteen, crossed the plains via the Oregon Trail with a covered wagon train, and about that same year came on a schooner to San Francisco. He went to the mines and searched for gold, but not being especially successful in his quest he settled in Oakville, Napa County, where he was later married to Miss Annie Donahue. Our subject was the oldest of five children born of this union. His mother passed away when he was only eight years old; the father lived to be ninety-one years and eight months old, and died in Antioch.
John J. Sullenger was brought up by a stepmother, and his early edu- cation was acquired in the public schools of Rutherford, Cal. In 1882 he graduated from Heald's Business College in San Francisco. Then he engaged in farming in Napa County and later in Colusa County. After this he took up surveying as a livelihood and for a number of years did surveying work in Colusa, Butte, Mendocino and Sonoma Counties. In 1884 he came to Antioch, and four years later he purchased his present ranch of 206 acres, where he has since resided. He was in Brentwood be- fore there was any town; the property was then a wheat field and the rail- road had then just been completed.
In 1897 Mr. Sullenger was married to Miss Annie E. Love, a daughter of the pioneer Robert Love, who settled in Napa County in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Sullenger became the parents of four children: John, Archie, Robert, and Elsie, a teacher at the Iron House School. Mrs. Sullenger passed away on December 30, 1924, mourned by a large circle of friends. In politics Mr. Sullenger is a Democrat.
OTIS LOVERIDGE. - As superintendent of the Los Medanos Rancho, with his head office in Pittsburg, Otis Loveridge is making his personality felt constructively in the development of the city and the sur- rounding country. His long association with the C. A. Hooper interests, and his close contact with Mr. Hooper himself, brought Mr. Loveridge into an intimate understanding of the scheme of things as outlined by Mr. Hooper, and he has been carrying out the program thus formulated ever since the death of his friend. A native of Oregon, Otis Loveridge was born at Molalla, Clackamas County, on April 18, 1877. His father, Newton Loveridge, crossed the plains with his father and settled in Oregon in 1865. The mother was in maidenhood Miss Amanda Rob- bins, and was born in Breckenridge County, Ky., where her father was
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a planter. Grandfather Robbins first crossed the plains in 1848 in a covered wagon, later returning East only to come out again in 1852. Both Mr. and Mrs. Newton Loveridge died in Los Angeles, the latter in 1923 and the former in 1924, when he was eighty-three years old.
Otis Loveridge grew up in eastern Oregon, whither his parents had removed to engage in the cattle business. He was raised on a stock range, with but slim opportunities for going to school. When a mere youth he came to California, in 1900, and entered the employ of Governor Pierce of Oregon, on his ranch on Victoria Island in the delta country. From laborer he gradually rose to the position of superintendent, giving satis- faction to his employer and holding the confidence of those under his direction. In 1908 he came to Black Diamond to become superintendent of the Los Medanos Rancho for C. A. Hooper. After the death of Mr. Hooper, Wiggington E. Creed, his son-in-law, became managing head of the property. Through close contact with Mr. Hooper, Mr. Loveridge caught his clear vision of the future in store for this section of the country, and is gratified to see many of his plans brought to a success- ful termination. Ever since locating in this vicinity Mr. Loveridge has worked for the benefit of the community at large, and he is counted among its active and public-spirited citizenry.
Otis Loveridge was married on Victoria Island to Miss Oliver and they have two children, Helen and Fay. Mr. Loveridge is chairman of the Pittsburg High School and Grammar School boards, of which he has been a member for years. He was one of the organizers of the present Union High School district and has watched its development with keen interest. Mr. Loveridge is a member of the board of directors of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce. Fraternally he is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Sciots.
FRED STEMMLE .- A pioneer of the Crockett-Valona section of Contra Costa County, Fred Stemmle recalls that when he first came to this place Valona had only four houses and one eight-room hotel; the lat- ter had 150 boarders, some having to sleep out on the hillside, in barns or any kind of a place they could find. Oftentimes they were chased out by the coyotes, which were very numerous in this section at that time. He landed here on May 18, 1885; and he secured work at the Selby smelter on July 5, of that year, and continued with that corporation, except five years, when he served as constable, until he was retired on a pension in October, 1923. Not many men so regulate their lives that they remain with one concern thirty-two years as did Fred Stemmle. He worked through various positions and was a foreman for twenty-four years, during which time he discharged only two men.'
Fred Stemmle was born in Massillon, Ohio, on February 11, 1862, and was a son of Joseph and Tacklaw (Kemper) Stemmle, both born and reared to their young man- and womanhood in Germany, leaving there in 1849 for the New World. They were married in Ohio and are both
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now deceased. Mr. Stemmle had a sister, Mrs. Josephine Shepherd, who died in Ohio in the fall of 1925. He attended the public schools in Ohio and when old enough to be self-supporting began working in coal mines until he came to California in 1885. His work here covers a long period and during that time many changes have been wrought in the communities in the entire state as well as in the business followed by our subject.
Mr. Stemmle was married on April 8, 1886, being united with Miss Mary Lovall, a native of Brazil, Ind. They had one child, John William, who married Miss Daisy Berryman, of San Francisco, and they have two children, Beth and Kenneth. Mrs. Stemmle died on November 2, 1925. Mr. Stemmle is a Democrat and a very progressive citizen and identified with the best interests of his community at all times. He is a close friend of ex-Senator Phelan and was influential during the Wilson administration in securing the present post office at Crockett. He was a member of the Democratic Central Committee of Contra Costa County for several years. His recreation is found in out-of-door sports and especially fishing and duck hunting. He recalls when some of the early hunters would kill some farmer's tame ducks and usually have to pay for them. He is now retired and enjoys a good story and usually can tell some of his own.
WILLIAM M. PENNINGTON .- Soldier, patriotic citizen and en- terprising business man-these are prominent characteristics of William M. Pennington, the well-known and successful cement contractor of Rich- mond, Cal. He was born on November 6, 1871, in Scott County, Tenn., a son of Daniel and Susie (Slaven) Pennington, natives of Tennessee, as were also Grandfather George and Grandmother Pennington; and all were farmer folks. The children are: George Pennington; Mrs. John West, the mother of ten children; and William M. Mrs. Daniel Pennington, the mother of William M., was married twice, her second husband being a Mr. Owen, who was the father of several children; and so William Pennington had several half-brothers and half-sisters.
William Pennington attended the local public schools in Tennessee and when twenty-one years of age enlisted in the United States Army, in 1892, at Cincinnati, Ohio. During his time spent in the Army he saw active service in the Spanish-American War as a member of the division in which Colonel Roosevelt commanded a regiment, and was a member of General Wheeler's Corps of the 6th United States Cavalry, Troop F, which was engaged in the Battle of San Juan Hill, fourteen days and nights. Mr. Pennington has an enviable reputation as a sharp-shooter. By the time he reached the age of twenty-two he was the proud possessor of many medals which he had won for superior marksmanship, and was recommended for others; and at the age of fifty he was presented with a coat-of-arms and won another medal. He served his country loyally and was honorably discharged in 1899. Locating at San Francisco, Cal., he was appointed provost marshal for the Presidio, remaining there two years and nine months. In 1902 Mr. Pennington located in Richmond,
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