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 53
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Ernest G. Griffin started his career as a deputy, or under sheriff, in 1894, and in 1906 commenced his services in the employ of the Standard Oil Company. In 1916 he joined the United States Army and was sta- tioned for a time at the Mexican border. During the World War Mr. Griffin served over seas and was in charge of the 3rd Battalion, 159th Regiment, United States Infantry, and while in France saw active service on the offensive at the Battle of the Somme, which continued from August 8 to Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. Mr. Griffin remained with the same battalion throughout his entire service in the World War, and when they returned to the United States he mustered them out at the Presidio in San Francisco. He then resumed his work with the Standard Oil Com- pany, where he had formerly been employed since 1906 until he organized the first guard for the identification of the employees of the corporation and protection of the oil industry. After his return from the war and to the employ of the Standard Oil Company, he was promoted to the post of general foreman of labor at Richmond, where he is still located.
On September 6, 1900, Ernest G. Griffin was united in marriage with Miss Geraldine M. Delano, of Sacramento, a daughter of Joseph P. Delano, master mechanic of the Southern Pacific Railway. Her mother, whose maiden name was Jane Stanton, a native of Michigan, died when Mrs. Griffin was a little child. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin are the parents of one
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child, Blossom Griffin, a graduate of the University of California, Class of 1926, and now a teacher in the Richmond schools. Mr. Griffin is a fine marksman, and while a member of the National Guard of California won the United States championship for superior marksmanship. He is very fond of hunting and the life of the great out-of-doors.
ROBERT B. LOVE .- A representative of one of the pioneer fam- ilies that helped to make history in California and Contra Costa County is R. B. Love, who was born at Somersville in 1868, the son of John and Margaret (Thomas) Love, natives of Illinois and Scotland, respectively. The father was one of the pioneer stage drivers and was well known to all the old timers in this section of the county. He came to California in the late fifties and was interested with his brother in the cattle business in Inyo County. Later he took up ranching and cattle-raising in the Diablo Valley and on Marsh Creek, where he had valuable holdings. Both parents have passed away, Mr. Love in 1876, and Mrs. Love in 1912, both in Contra Costa County.
R. B. Love attended the common schools and at the age of eleven be- gan working with stock on his father's ranch. He became an adept with the rope and could ride with the best of the vaqueros on the range, and he practically lived in the saddle for many years. He next tried mining coal; but for the past twenty-five years he has lived in Antioch, where he owns the Santa Fe Hotel and has run it for many years. He has always been a booster for Antioch and has great faith in its future prosperity.
Mr. Love was united in marriage with Miss Anna Lewis, born at Tacoma, Wash., and they have had four children: Dr. E. L. Love, a dentist of Colfax, Cal .; Mrs. Arthur Manter, of Hayward, Cal .; Clyde, a machinist in Berkeley, Cal .; and Jessie, wife of Stanley Marlin, of Hay- ward, Cal. There are several grandchildren to brighten the Love home circle. Mrs. Love belongs to the Eastern Star and the Rebekahs of An- tioch. Mr. Love erected one of the most beautiful country homes in the county, out of the native stone, on Marsh Creek. It was for many years the show place of the section. Both Mr. and Mrs. Love have always been hard workers for the upbuilding of the county. They have made many friends and are highly esteemed.
JOHN THEOPHIL STRENTZEL, M. D .- A man whose name will go down in the annals of Contra Costa County as the pioneer or- chardist, is Dr. John Strentzel, who located in what is now the Alhambra Valley and for the balance of his life made this his home. He was born in Poland in 1813 and received his schooling in that country and in Hungary, obtaining his M. D. degree in Budapest. Early in life he de- cided to take up the profession followed by his father, that of medicine, and accordingly all his energies were thereafter bent in that direction. The breaking out of the Polish revolution in 1830 changed his outlook, and when the Polish army was disbanded a year later he was given the
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choice of joining the Russian army or exiling himself in some foreign land. Like thousands of his countrymen he chose the latter course, and his first thoughts were of America. He landed in New Orleans, stopping but a short time, and then pushed westward to Texas with the Peterson Colony that was formed in Louisville, Ky. In 1840 he built his cabin on land now the site of Dallas, Texas; and after several years spent on the Trinity River he purchased a homestead in Lamar County and prac- ticed medicine and surgery for several years.
On December 31, 1843, Dr. Strentzel was united in marriage with Miss Louisiana Erwin, daughter of a prominent Kentuckian who had moved into Tennessee and later into Texas. The glowing reports of the wonderful Pacific Coast region so fired Dr. Strentzel's enthusiasm that he caught the fever of the Forty-niners and with a company of thirty- five persons set out across the plains, leaving his Texas home on March 22, 1849. For 800 miles the little party had to fight their way through an unknown country, as no pathfinder up to that time had blazed a trail to El Paso. The party suffered from lack of water many times, and upon reaching El Paso Mrs. Strentzel was taken ill from the effects of drinking alkaline water on the desert. They spent July 4, 1849, in El Paso, where the party broke up, some returning to their homes, some remaining in El Paso, and the remainder coming on to California. The trip of these last took them through the Apache Indian country. The Strentzels and party floated down and across the Rio Grande River above El Paso on a raft, and then by easy stages made their way westward. After crossing the Colorado River they struck out across the Mojave Desert and weary and worn arrived in San Diego, the gateway into Cali- fornia for their little band of Argonauts.
Dr. Strentzel had intended taking a boat at this port for San Fran- cisco, but he was unable to sell his horses for what he deemed them to be worth and hence decided to take the trail overland. This brought him through the great San Joaquin Valley, and when he got to the Tuo- lumne River they were so thoroughly in love with the country that they decided they would remain. He established a store and ferry about two miles south of La Grange, which he conducted for two years. It is said that one day Dr. Strentzel would entertain John C. Fremont or General Miller and other noted personages of those days, and the next he might act as host to a band of desperadoes who were plundering the country- side. As a result of the hardships Mrs. Strentzel had undergone, her health was greatly impaired and for three years she was confined to her bed, requiring her husband's almost constant attention, in consequence of which he gave up his business to take care of his wife. He bought 600 acres of land along the Merced River below Snelling and took up cattle raising and ranching until the floods of the winter swept away the work of years in a single night, flooded his home, and subjected him to exposure from which he never fully recovered. As soon as he was able to travel, Dr. Strentzel left the Merced River country for good.
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From Stockton the Strentzels traveled to Santa Cruz and then to Be- nicia, at that time the capital of the State, with the legislature in session.' Here the Doctor met a former neighbor from home, who was living in Martinez, and was so impressed with his friend's glowing account of the wonderful climate that he visited the Canada del Hambre Valley, which lay nestling in the hills and basking in the summer sun. He rea- soned that here he had found the proper spot for indulging in his hobby of orcharding and growing flowers and shrubs; and on April 4, 1853, he came to Martinez and purchased twenty acres of land two and one- half miles south of Martinez, paying fifty dollars an acre for it. Mrs. Strentzel did not like the name borne by the valley, and christened the Strentzel home "Alhambra"; and the valley soon adopted and has since been known under that name, taken from Irving's description of the Moor- ish paradise. On this twenty acres Dr. Strentzel gave full play to his hobby and began the propagation of fruits and vines. He secured trees, plants and vines from Eastern sources, even importing some from Scot- land, and planted them on his ranch. He set out the first pear orchard in Central California, which later contained sixty varieties of pears, and at this writing some of the trees are still bearing fruit profusely. With the help of his wife he raised fruits of all kinds. Some of the first Muscat grapes in the county were grown on his place, and it was through his success along these lines that the owners of the vast areas back in the hills and valleys that had been given over to grain and stock soon began to fol- low the Doctor's lead, so that grapes became one of the principal products.
Instead of succumbing to ill health, Dr. and Mrs. Strentzel regained their health and lived to enjoy themselves in their Alhambra Valley home. Their one child, Louise Wanda Strentzel, later became the wife of John Muir, world-famed naturalist, lecturer and traveler, from whom Muir Woods in Marin County were named. The home they first established in' 1853 remained their home until the marriage of their daughter. After her marriage they gave the old homestead to her and moved nearer Mar- tinez. On the commanding knoll in the center of the valley, this pioneer couple erected a comfortable home; and there they spent their declining years, surrounded by their many friends.
Dr. Strentzel was the founder of the first Grange in the county, a branch of the Patrons of Husbandry, and took a very active interest in the Grange movement in the State. He was a Republican in politics. Of a saving nature, he accumulated considerable property, both in the country and in Martinez, which, upon his death in 1890, passed to his wife and daughter. Some years after he died his widow gave to the city the site for the Martinez Free Library building. After her death the Strentzel property passed to the two daughters of the Muirs, one of whom, Mrs. Wanda Muir Hanna, lives in the original Strentzel homestead. The name of Strentzel is one to conjure with in Contra Costa County, and ranks along with the names of Sutter, Bidwell, Broderick, Terry and other strong and forceful Western characters.
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MRS. ELIZABETH M. SHAFER .- The life of Mrs. Elizabeth M. Shafer has been so closely interwoven with the pioneer history of Contra Costa County that her name calls up to the old generation a past replete with incidents, the events which laid the foundation of the county's present prosperity, the hardships, the trials, the dangers and privations which accompanied every effort of the first settlers of this then practically unknown section. When William Shafer brought his bride to Contra Costa County in 1867, the wild oats grew in profusion and the wild cattle and horses roamed at will over the vast domain; wild flowers of every hue and variety grew upon the hillsides and in the valleys. Life in a new country is not all pleasure, however; but the indomitable spirit of the pioneer prevailed and for fifty-two years this pioneer couple labored and their courageous spirit was rewarded in seeing the wilderness of 1867 turned into a veritable garden spot. To the present generation Mrs. Shafer is equally well-known, and her interesting description of her life in the early days is listened to with rapt attention, for she still retains her wonderful memory for details of the pioneer settling of eastern Contra Costa County.
The parents of Mrs. Shafer were John T. and Sarah J. (White) Pearce, both natives of Ohio. Their parents removed to Indiana in 1842, and in that State Mr. Pearce met and married Miss White. The week after their marriage they moved by horse and wagon to Illinois, settling ten miles southwest of Chicago; and there, on May 26, 1843, their daughter Elizabeth M. Pearce was born. The following June her parents moved to a farm near Knoxville, Iowa, where she grew up and attended the country schools. On April 6, 1858, when she was fifteen years old, the family began their journey across the plains to California in a covered wagon, reaching their goal in September of the same year. The journey was not accomplished without hardships and privations, but owing to the courage and fortitude of the leaders and captain of the train, they crossed the plains successfully, with no serious results. The family first settled in Yolo County, where they remained for one year, and then moved to Rio Vista, Solano County, where Elizabeth M. at- tended school.
On January 26, 1861, Elizabeth M. Pearce was married to William Shafer, who was born on February 8, 1836, in Pennsylvania. Mr. Shafer grew to young manhood in his native State and when nineteen years old came to California and settled near the present site of Isleton, on the Sacramento River. The young couple farmed on the Sacramento River from 1861 to 1867, when they came to Contra Costa County and took up their residence in what is now the Eden Plain school district, so named by Mr. Shafer; this section is now known as Knightsen. Mrs. Shafer today relates the incident of crossing the river by means of scows and bringing their house with them. They settled in eastern Contra Costa County and became successful farmers and stock raisers; finally owning about 900 acres of tillable land. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer became
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the parents of five children: Adrian H., a rancher near Marsh Creek, Contra Costa County; George H., of Brentwood; Hannah J., who married Cyrus Harris, and passed away in 1922; Mabel E., the wife of George Geddes, a rancher in the Knightsen Precinct; and Winifred, the wife of Mott C. Preston, of Brentwood. Mr. and Mrs. Shafer retired from active farm life in 1913, after a happy and successful life of fifty-two years on the farm. They removed to Brentwood, where they built a fine residence and where Mrs. Shafer now resides. Mr. Shafer passed away at the family home on March 10, 1915, after a very useful life. He had been an Odd Fellow for many years, affiliating with An- tioch Lodge. To such people as the Shafers, California, and Contra Costa County in particular, owe much, for their courage and industry helped to bring to eastern Contra Costa County its present prosperity.
ELAM C. BROWN .- No man in Martinez was better posted on Contra Costa County history of the early days than Elam C. Brown, who died on December 30, 1925, at his home in Martinez. His father was the pioneer of Martinez, and his grandfather was the second American farmer to locate in Contra Costa County and actually till the soil; the first man to do this was Dr. John Marsh. Our subject was named after his grand- father and, like him, had always taken an active interest in the preserva- tion of historical material and relics pertaining to the pioneer days. He was a native son of Martinez and was born on February 5, 1853, a son of the late Hon. Thomas A. Brown, who is mentioned at length in another page in this history.
Elam C. Brown grew to young manhood and attended the public schools in Martinez, and afterwards took a classical course for a time at the University of California in Berkeley. His desire was to be a surveyor and civil engineer, and for one year he studied with and worked under M. C. King, at one time a surveyor of Oakland, before entering the uni- versity. After leaving college, equipped with a theoretical and practical knowledge of engineering, Mr. Brown did some of his first work in the mountain sections, and soon became interested in mining at Quincy, Plumas County. Returning to Martinez, he was elected county surveyor in 1892, took office January 1, 1893, and served over twenty years, retiring De- cember 31, 1914. At each election he succeeded himself in office, perform- ing his official duties to the satisfaction of all concerned. He also followed stock-raising in Briones Valley in this county, having 1700 acres of land at one time which he acquired from his father. His father helped to or- ganize two of the early banks of Martinez, and Elam C. Brown remained a stockholder in the Martinez Bank until his death.
In Denver, Colorado, Elam C. Brown was united in marriage with Miss Minnie Andrews of Minnesota, a lady of culture and refinement. Mrs. Brown had a wide circle of friends, who mourned her passing in 1921. Mr. Brown lived in the old Brown residence at 825 Ward Street and had a host of warm personal friends.
J.D. Nightman.
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JOEL DAVID WIGHTMAN .- Among the pioneers of Contra Costa County was Joel David Wightman, who made his influence felt for the best interests of the county he selected for his home and the scene of his activities. He was born at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on April 1, 1853, while his parents Reuben Oscar and Kate (Brezee) Wightman were en route to the West in covered wagons drawn by oxen. Mrs. Wightman had a brother living at Council Bluffs and about a week after their ar- rival there the baby was born. Mr. Wightman was not entirely satisfied with the train he had been with and decided to wait at Council Bluffs until another came along, and it was during 1854 that the family reached California. He had three brothers in the Santa Clara Valley, who had preceded him to California and thither he went to see them and to look about the country for a location. From there he went to Dutch Flat, Placer County, thence to Vacaville, Solano County. It was while they were living in the latter place that the father died in February, 1859, when his son was only five years of age. Soon afterwards Mrs. Wightman was married to Henry B. Reed, a harnessmaker of that town. Later they went to Car- son City, Nev., where Joel attended school for about seven years, in the meantime making himself useful to his stepfather.
Coming back to California the Reed family located in Vacaville and there Joel started to learn the trade of wheelwright with a Mr. Ewing. Some time later Mr. Ewing went to Antioch, taking Joel with him, and the lad was so well impressed with the place that he induced his step- father and mother to join him there. He completed his trade, then clerked in a store and worked at other employment until he went back to Carson City and helped to build the roundhouse for the railroad com- pany, remaining a year. It was while there he met the woman whom he afterwards married. Returning to Antioch he took up carpentering and in time began taking contracts. Many of the early homes in and about Antioch were marks of his craft. He became interested in politics and was a successful candidate for supervisor and served two full terms. Al- though he was a Democrat he received the endorsement of the Repub- licans as well. He was a member of the building committee when the pres- ent courthouse at Martinez was erected. During his terms in office he gave his best energies to promote the interests of his constituents. He served two terms as justice of the peace in Antioch and was fair in dis- pensing justice as he saw it. He was a member of the Antioch Lodge No. 175, F. & A. M., and held the esteem of all who came to know him.
Joel D. Wightman was united in marriage at Antioch on March 5, 1874, with Mrs. Sarah (Snead) Osborne, a native of New Jersey, but liv- ing in Carson City, Nev., where she first met Mr. Wightman. She had two daughters by her first marriage: Mrs. Adelia Sterm and Mrs. Helena Swinburne, both now living in San Francisco. By her union with Mr. Wightman the following children were born: Carleton E., contractor and rancher of the Oakley district; Charles Budd, operator of a service sta-
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tion at Diablo Auto Park; and Ray Snead, all three mentioned elsewhere in this volume ; Bessie B., wife of Fred Jasmann, of Dorris, Cal .; Percy S., in the garage business at Greenville, Cal .; and Minerva, a trained nurse and acting head of a hospital on the Island of Kaui, Hawaii. The family all grew up in this county and have made names and places for them- selves upon growing to maturity. Mr. Wightman was an invalid about twelve years prior to his death, on March 5, 1917. He was superintend- ing the raising of a flagpole at the Live Oak School when the staff slipped and pinned him to the ground, fracturing his spine, and for twelve years he was a patient sufferer. He was a man of high ideals and his passing was a great loss to the county. Mrs. Wightman makes her home with her son, Carleton E., near Oakley and is hale and hearty at the age of seventy-seven years.
CHARLES J. WOOD .- A native son of the Golden State whose life occupation has been that of a farmer is Charles J. Wood, the represent- ative of a pioneer family in the Danville vicinity. Since an early period in the history of Contra Costa County, the Wood family has been iden- tified with the agricultural interests of this locality, and it was on the ranch that he now owns and occupies that Charles J. was born, on No- vember 9, 1868. His parents were Charles and Cynthia A. (Rice) Wood, natives of Concord, Mass., and Syracuse, N. Y.
In 1852 Charles Wood, Sr., came to California by the Nicaragua route, and immediately upon his arrival engaged in mining. Later, he, with his brother William, established a pack train between the mines and Marysville, where he was interested in the mercantile business. Mr. Wood was married in Marysville on April 26, 1857, to Miss Cynthia A. Rice, and five years later they, with two children, removed to Sycamore Valley, Contra Costa County, which place has remained the Wood home until the present day. Two children were born here, completing the family of four, William Louis, Sarah Elizabeth, Charlotte E., and Charles J. all of whom, excepting Sarah Elizabeth, still survive, she having passed away January 13, 1924. Mr. and Mrs. Wood, Sr., celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary in April, 1907, only three weeks before the passing of Mr. Wood on May 20. Mrs. Wood survived until December 17, 1918. These pioneers were charter members of Danville Grange, instituted in 1873, Mr. Wood serving many years as Master. He was a progressive citizen, associated with various projects for the develop- ment of his locality and county, representing this district as assemblyman for two terms at Sacramento, and filling various offices of trust in Contra Costa County.
William Louis Wood lived for many years in Davis on the site of the present University Farm. He was married in 1900 to Miss Bertha Gaddis, of Woodland, and now resides with his family in Berkeley. He has two sons and one daughter: Henry C., Everett L., and Mrs. Rem- ington Wood, all graduates of the University of California. Sarah Eliz-
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abeth, for fifteen years secretary of Danville Grange, was gifted with a genial, self-sacrificing disposition which endeared her to a host of friends, in whose memory she will long live for her cheery words and unselfish deeds. Charlotte E. Wood, who lives on the home place, is a woman of much culture, and for thirty years was teacher in the Sycamore school. She is unusually gifted with the pen; her verses and writings are much appreciated by the community, and she has been specially chosen "poet laureate" of the Grange, at Danville.
Charles J. Wood early in manhoood assumed the management of the home ranch. Following the footsteps of his father, he has been active in various enterprises that have had for their object the improvement and upbuilding of the community. He and his wife have been specially inter- ested in providing for and encouraging better education. On October 24, 1897, Charles J. Wood and Kate F. Howard, daughter of Nathaniel S. and Elizabeth S. (Hitch) Howard, were married in Walnut Creek, Cal. Mr. Howard, a native of Massachusetts, came around Cape Horn, arriv- ing in San Francisco on January 1, 1850. He proceeded at once to the mining districts, but soon returned to San Francisco, where in 1852 he was joined by his wife, also from Massachusetts. Here he was engaged in contracting until 1856, when he and his family moved to a farm in Green Valley. In 1887 he sold his farm and purchased a home in Walnut Creek. There were three daughters in the Howard family: Elizabeth, Mrs. William Smith, of Alamo; Amelia S., Mrs. Ridgway, of Walnut Creek; and Kate F., Mrs. Charles J. Wood, of Danville. Mrs. Howard passed away in June, 1876; and Mr. Howard in January, 1899.
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