History of Fresno 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, Volume I, Part 113

Author: Vandor, Paul E., 1858-
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1362

USA > California > Fresno County > History of Fresno 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, Volume I > Part 113

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Charles G. Bonner was educated in the schools of San Francisco and in the University of California, which he entered in 1885 and from which he was graduated four years later with the degree of B.S. It was that same vear that he came to Fresno County and purchased an interest in a tract of some 640 acres of land, from his stepfather Mr. Frank Locan. Of this tract 400 acres was set to vines and trees, and on the balance stock and alfalfa were raised. In 1892 the property was incorporated as the Bonner Vineyard, with Mr. Bonner as president, the existing partnership with Mr. Locan having been dissolved. From a modest beginning the Bonner Vine- yard became a business of large proportions. Mr. Bonner began buying and shipping raisins and as the business expanded he erected a packing house suitably equipped to fill his demands, the machinery being operated by steam power.

In 1899 Mr. Bonner formed an association with James Madison, then of San Francisco, in the packing and shipping of fruit, the firm being known as Madison and Bonner, under which title it was incorporated in 1903, with Mr. Bonner as secretary and manager. The company own five acres at Locan's spur where the packing plant is located. In 1911 Mr. Bonner suc- ceeded to the ownership of the business, the Bonner Packing Company being among the largest of its kind in the county and having a large volume of business. The same year the entire plant was destroyed by fire and the following year Mr. Bonner rebuilt and today owns one of the best equipped plants in the entire valley. The business extends throughout the United States and Canada.

The first marriage of Charles G. Bonner took place in Boston, in 1893, when Louise Tripp, a native of Fairhaven. Mass., became his wife. She died in San Francisco in 1895 leaving one daughter. Beatrice Louise. The second marriage was celebrated in 1903 in San Francisco, Marie Wolters. born in Sierra County, becoming his wife. Her father J. C. Wolters, was one of the founders of the Wolters Colony in Fresno County. Two chil- dren have blessed this union, Doris and Charles G., Jr. Mr. Bonner is a member of Fresno Lodge No. 439, B. P. O. Elks: holds membership in the Chamber of Commerce of Fresno; is a charter member of the University and Sequoia Clubs, also the Sunnyside Country Club : and belongs to the Commercial Club. He is a stanch Republican, a booster for Fresno County and a man who has made and retained friends wherever he has been.

During the World War he served on the Exemption Board in Fresno. District No. 2.

ROBERT D. CHITTENDEN .- An enthusiastic promotor of good roads and kindred advancements, and a student with wide experience of public transportation, is Robert D. Chittenden, the enterprising President of the California Road and Street Improvement Company. His parents, now both deceased, were J. W. and Mary C. Chittenden, farmer folk of the sturdy, honest sort so helpful to our expanding country; and it is probably as a farmer's lad, in the days when American country roads were none the best, that he first had his attention directed to the great gain in store for the agri- culturist if he would but solve the problem of a quicker, perhaps shorter and, therefore, more economical route between his outlying farm and the city market.

Born in Indiana February 30, 1870, Robert was educated in the public schools of the East. When he came out to the West, in November, 1887, he

834

HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY

engaged in the fruit business and he helped install and operate the first raisin seeding outfit in this country. In 1903 he was elected on the Demo- cratic ticket to the office of public administrator, for a term of four years, and from 1907 to 1911 he was sheriff of Fresno County. Mr. Chittenden's next move was to experiment with street paving and road construction, and in the years intervening, his company has come to do much work in Cali- fornia. This manifestation of enterprise has been responded to by state and county authorities, and Mr. Chittenden has frequently employed large forces of men.

In 1907, Mr. Chittenden and Corynne L. Jones were united in matri- mony, the ceremony being solemnized at Fresno; and today two children- Russell and Catherine-brighten the Chittenden home. The family worship as Protestants.

He is a stanch advocate of good roads everywhere, and believes there should be at least one good road built into the high Sierras, in order to give the people an opportunity to enjoy the fine summer climate to be found there, and enable them to maintain summer homes in the mountains.

H. MADSEN .- One of its original settlers, H. Madsen located in Cen- tral California Colony, where the first canal system of importance was con- structed and the real beginnings were made in the small-farm development of the county. Water had been brought from Kings River far out upon the plains, but the project was largely experimental in character. The story of the vicissitudes of these early day farmers, who were ignorant of what to plant and were greatly handicapped in marketing the crops they raised, makes one of the most interesting chapters of the history of Fresno County.

Mr. Madsen came to Central Colony with his family from Alameda County in 1877. A few others had preceded him a year. All about Fresno was still a treeless plain. His faith was never shaken, he explains, because of the remarkable production that resulted from irrigation of the soil of the plains. Among other difficulties there were contests with riparian claimants to the water of Kings River: and convinced that orange culture was just what the Colony was suited for, a considerable area was planted to young trees brought from Southern California, only to encounter severe frosts that came the following winter and all that remained of this enthusiasm was the name of Orange Center, which had been given the school district; and there were other disheartening failures, but the joy of pioneering knew no dis- couragement. Grapes, deciduous fruits and alfalfa, it was finally demon- strated, were what Central Colony was adapted for, and soon it blossomed and flourished into a most beautiful and productive spot. The success of this Col- ony proved what irrigation would do, and exploitation of the plains for other than sheep-raising then began in earnest.

It was Mr. Madsen and the other Central Colony pioneers who led the way in the intensive cultivation of lands, which has been the basis of Fresno's upbuilding and prosperity. To these courageous early settlers considerable measure of the credit is due for Fresno's emergence from a frontier city and county into one of the great productive centers of California.

In 1906, Mr. Madsen sold his Central Colony holdings and located in the Fairview district, five miles north of Sanger. He is a native of Denmark and was one of the first to locate in Fresno County, of the great number of people from that country who have chosen this section for their homes.

FRANK M. LANE .- Identified with the educational interests of Fresno for more than a quarter of a century, during which time he has taught in the principal schools of the city, Frank M. Lane has made his influence felt for the good of the rising generations. He is a native son, born on Chow- chilla Creek, Mariposa County, November 3, 1864, a son of "Col." Joseph Parker Lane, who was born in North Carolina, a son of John Lane, who

A Madsen

Granne Madsen

837

HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY

removed to Tennessee. His mother was a niece of Nathaniel Macon, United States Senator from North Carolina.

Joseph Parker Lane was educated in Knoxville, Tenn., then took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in Tennessee, and when twenty- two years of age he went to San Antonio, Tex., where he practiced his pro- fession.

In 1849 he came to California, riding mule back the entire distance to Los Angeles, thence to Stockton, where he engaged in trading and packing to the mines in the mountains. In 1850, together with N. Fairbanks, he opened a wholesale liquor business on Main Street, Stockton. By his com- rades, and members of the train who had chosen him commander of their company, he was given the title of "Colonel," which he bore until his death.

In Stockton, "Colonel" Lane married Ann Mary Barnett, born in Ten- nessee, November 6, 1851, a daughter of Bird B. Barnett, who was a large planter and tobacco grower. Her mother was Martha (Walker) Barnett, a native of South Carolina. The Barnett family came to California in 1850, crossing the plains via Salt Lake, and arriving in California, Mr. Barnett opened a hotel in Stockton. In 1855 Joseph P. Lane moved to Monterey County where he farmed and raised stock for several years. During this time he served as justice of the peace, and two terms as county supervisor. He then engaged in the cattle business in Mariposa County till 1868, then was in the sheep business for two years in that county. He sold out and settled at Lane's Bridge, ten miles north of the present site of Fresno and during his busy life accumulated some seven thousand acres of land. He was ac- cidentally killed on December 16, 1878. Mrs. Lane carried on the business until 1897, when she removed to Fresno and lived until her death, on March 7, 1907. She had five children: Joseph A .; Mary, Mrs. Liddell; Edward; William H .; and Frank M. Politically, Joseph P. Lane was a Democrat and ready at all times to give his support towards the upbuilding of California, particularly Fresno County.

Frank M. Lane received his education by private instruction and at the San Jose State Normal, graduating from the latter institution in the class of May, 1888. He at once began his professional career as a teacher and has continued ever since. For twenty-six years he has been interested in ad- vancing the Fresno schools and during that period he has taught in the prin- cipal schools in the city, at this writing he is principal of the Washington Grammar school. During the quarter of a century that Mr. Lane has been teaching in Fresno he has done much toward advancing the high moral stand- ing of the schools.

Frank M. Lane was united in marriage in December, 1892, with Miss Mamie Balthis, born in Stockton; a lady of culture and refinement who died September 7, 1914, mourned by a wide circle of friends. Professor Lane's second marriage took place in Fresno, June 29, 1918, when he was wedded to Miss Mary L. Hines, a native of Tennessee, who came to Fresno with her parents in 1890. She graduated from the Fresno high school and at the time of her marriage she was a teacher in the Fresno city schools.

Professor Lane has ever taken an active interest in agriculture, especially in grain and alfalfa raising, in which he is an expert. He has been interested in developing lands in Fresno County ever since his graduation, and has im- proved several farms, among which may be mentioned the F. M. Lane ranch, near Lane's Bridge. It consists of ninety acres, seventy acres of which he has leveled and checked and has also installed a pumping plant, pumping water from the river to irrigate seventy acres of alfalfa. Mr. Lane was one of the first to install a pumping plant, for alfalfa. He raises six tons per acre per year, in six cuttings. He also owns a valuable grain farm of two hundred forty acres, one and one-fourth miles east of the ninety acre place which he operates under a system of dry-farming. Mr. Lane well remembers when 46

838

HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY

there was not a house where the city of Fresno now stands, and rightly feels that he has materially aided in the development of one of the most important cities in the state. He has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce for twenty-two years, and is a prominent member and an ex- president of Fresno Parlor, No. 24, Native Sons of the Golden West. He was one of the organizers and is now president of the Grammar School Prin- cipals of Central California. For the past two years he has served on the State Council of Education as a representative from Central California. Politically Mr. Lane is a Democrat and a stanch supporter of President Wilson in his conduct of the World War.

GEORGE F. WILLIAMSON .- One of the sturdiest, most experienced, aggressive and progressive of pioneers who have contributed so much to make California the real Golden State, and a pioneer who has long been blessed with a companion who is a genuine native daughter, was the late George F. Williamson, who died at his country home near Riverdale, July 11, 1919. He was a successful farmer and a good business man, capable of driving his twenty-four horses when need be, and the proprietor and the manager of a very fine ranch, such as gladdened the eye to see.

Mr. Williamson had been in California since he was five or six years old, having landed in San Francisco on January 24, 1854, after a very event- ful trip by water and the Nicaragua route. His father was Philander L. Williamson, and he had already crossed the great plains once in 1849-50. He had made good as a gold-miner, and had returned to the East. He was born and reared in Tompkins County, New York, and moved to Michigan with his parents. There he married Ann F. Inwood, a native of England, who came to Michigan with her parents, both of whom were born in England. They settled in Romeo, Macomb County, near Albion and not far from Detroit ; and as the father was a blacksmith and machinist, and a good one, he was never in want of plenty of profitable work. The mother lived with William French, the editor of the Detroit Tribune, and was brought up in that family. William French later came out to California, and he and Philan- der Williamson conducted a hotel just above Sacramento. Mr. and Mrs. Williamson were married in Michigan, just before coming out to California, and Mr. Williamson had a large blacksmith shop in Detroit, equipped with several trip hammers, and he installed a number of steam engines in various parts of that city. Originally, his family was of Scotch blood, but he was American " 'way back," his forefathers being here in Colonial times. He was, in fact. a descendant from Colonel Samuel Williamson, a Colonel in the Revolutionary War. Tradition says that three Williamson brothers came to America from Great Britain, and that the descendants of one of these brothers settled in Tennessee, while those of the second settled in Michigan, and those of the third in the Far West.

Philander Williamson was married in the latter forties, and George F. was born at Albion, Mich., on April 23, 1849. In that town Mr. Williamson left his wife and child and, as a typical, doughty, and far-seeing '49er, he crossed the plains to California. Here he staked his luck in mining for gold ; and having been one of the fortunate chaps who struck vein after vein, he returned to his home by way of Panama, in 1852. After he had been in Albion long enough to get his bearings again, he took his wife and child and moved to a place near Gaine's Mills, Va., attracted there by an offer to install the machinery in the new flour mill. At that time he was still subscribing to the New York Tribune, which proved a red flag to the Southern bull ; and find- ing that the people around him, with their strong pro-slavery views, were more and more unsympathetic and uncongenial, he resolved, on finishing the work at the mill. to leave that neighborhood and to come to California with his family. The student of American history who recalls the Battle of Gaine's Mills, in the latter part of June, 1862, and the fierceness with which the Confederates fought here, will understand the unreasonable, bitter preju-

839

HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY

dice entertained in the South against anyone who would commit such an unpardonable offence as to have in his possession a copy of the "Whig" New York Tribune.

With his wife and only child. George, therefore, Philander Williamson sailed from New York on January 1, 1854, and on the very first lap of the journey, on the Atlantic, they all came within an ace of going down in a storm. George has a vivid recollection of that terrible gale, and often today, when the elements rage, he imagines that he is living over again this trying experience. His father went up to Sacramento and ten miles beyond, where he ran a hotel; but later he came back to Stockton, and that pleasant town continued to be his home and headquarters. He built up a large machine shop, and created a good business ; he was highly respected. and he pros- pered. His good wife died, however, and left four children. George F. was the oldest in the family : Dean S., who died in 1894, came next and was the father of two children ; Charles lives at Martinez ; and there was Letta, now Mrs. Long, at Lodi.

George attended the public schools at Stockton, but his education was limited, owing to an affection of the eyes. Whooping cough and measles weakened them, and for a long time he could not study books. Therefore, while yet a mere youth, he went to work in his father's blacksmith shop in Stockton. The glow of the fire again hurt his eyes, and, threatened with blindness, he began to work around by the month on ranches, principally at dairying and in caring for stock. Through this experience, he became a good horseman.

While at Lathrop, he was married to Miss Sarah Ann Ballard, the attractive daughter of Simeon M. and Amy E. (Dye) Ballard, well-known representatives of a family that came originally from Wales, but which had been several generations in America,-in the East before coming to California. On the mother's side, the forefathers were German. Her father was a gold miner in Tuolumne County, although he was married back in Missouri. He had been born in Kentucky, while her mother was born in Ohio. He crossed the plains with his wife in 1852, and for a while settled near Sonora, on Shaw's Flat, in Tuolumne County ; and in 1860 they moved to San Joaquin County, where they engaged in dairy-farming. Eleven chil- dren were born to these worthy parents, six girls and five boys: John B. died suddenly on March 26, 1918; and the others were Mary F., Sarah Ann (now Mrs. Williamson), James Leander, Thomas, Martha, Simeon M., Ver- dir D., Eliza E., Alice V., and Noah W., who died December 13, 1918, at Coalinga. The remarkable vitality of the family is shown by parents and children. The father died in 1890, aged seventy-nine years and seven months ; and the mother passed away six years later, having attained to sixty-five years and five months.

George Williamson and his good wife went to live near Stockton, where he worked on a large dairy-farm. In 1881 they moved to Oakdale, Stanislaus County, but three years later they settled in Fresno County, south of Caruthers.

In 1892 they came to Riverdale, and rented and dairied ; and seventeen years later, they bought their present place. It is a fine dairy ranch of eighty acres, and has two fine barns and large yards. Their house was un- fortunately burned on April 16, 1912: they then built a large modern bunga- low, with all up-to-date appointments and conveniences.

Mr. and Mrs. Williamson are the parents of eight children: Simeon Edgar, whose biography and portrait appear elsewhere in this volume, mar- ried Alice Hatch, and they had six children; Amy A., who was married in 1902 to Donald Esrey, died in 1913 and left three children-Amy L., Donald S. and Douglas W .; Jesse F., a rancher southwest of Riverdale, married Theresa Taylor, and they have five children-Claude, Lloyd, Ruth, Pauline and James ; George Freeman died in 1882, aged sixteen months; Leslie A. is

840

HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY

at home, unmarried, as is also Ethel; while Raymond C. and Gordon F. both served in the army. Raymond C. was in the Twelfth Infantry, and did clerical work in a statistical bureau of the War Department, before the war he was manager of the Riverdale Mercantile Company. Gordon F. served in the cavalry at Camp Joseph Johnson in Florida; before entering the ser- vice, he was employed by the Oakland Meat Company, and now he breaks horses for the government. He is a Rough Rider in the true sense of the word, being an expert "broncho buster," and has given exhibitions at fairs and carnivals. He gave an exhibition at Salinas in June, 1918, and another at the district fair at Fresno, the same year. Owing to his excellent daredevil work at Salinas he received the title of "The Pride of Salinas."

George F. Williamson made four trips back to the East. The first was in 1859, when he went to New York by way of Panama, and returned in 1861 by the same route. He later made three different trips overland to Texas, traveling in 1869 by the Southern Route through Arizona, and re- turning that season by the same route. In 1870 he went to Texas with an- other band of horses, and that time he took the Northern or Salt Lake Route. And in 1871 he went to the Lone Star State again, and once more journeyed by way of Salt Lake.

An honored pioneer, he was followed to his grave on the 14th day of July, 1919, by a large concourse of friends and neighbors, and his remains were interred in the Washington Cemetery. Few men have had more or better friends.

FRANK COLEMAN .- Though not a native son, Frank Coleman has lived most of his life within the state, having been brought here in pioneer days by his parents. He was born in Jersey City, N. J., April 19, 1857, while his mother was there on a visit. His parents, Patrick and Ann (Grogan) Coleman, were both natives of Ireland and had settled in Rochester, N. Y. upon arriving in the United States and there they lived and prospered until in 1864, when the father brought the family to California, via the Isthmus of Panama, and settled in Contra Costa County near San Pablo, and later located near Martinez, where he followed farming and dairying. Both he and his wife died in Martinez. Frank Coleman was educated in the schools of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and worked on his father's dairy ranch. He was later in the employ of Bray Bros. Company, and Blum Company, owners of grain warehouses in Martinez, as foreman of their warehouses.

In 1888 Mr. Coleman went to San Francisco and secured employment on the Market Street cable railway as gripman, remaining in that position four years. He was sent to Fresno, in 1893, to recover from an attack of lagrippe, and has been a resident here since that date. Soon after his arrival he found employment with the Madary Planing Mill Company, as driver of a lumber wagon. For the past fourteen years he has been foreman of the yard and tallyman, in all having put in twenty-six years with the company, a record for steady application in which any man might well take pride. Mr. Coleman is a member of the Moose and in politics is a Progressive.

The marriage of Mr. Coleman united him with Mrs. Nancy Pitts, whose maiden name was Gift. She was born in Memphis, Tenn., and came with her parents across the Isthmus to California in 1856, and was raised and educated in Contra Costa County. She has two sons and a daughter by a former marriage, William F. Pitts, and Robert Pitts. William F., the eldest, was born in Antioch, Contra Costa County, September 18, 1871, and attended the public schools of Martinez. He later took up the study of telegraphy and was operator for the Western Union Company in San Francisco. In 1892 he was sent by that company to Fresno, and later became telegraph operator for the Associated Press in the office of the Fresno Republican. In 1900 he left Fresno and became salesman for the Pacific Paint Company of

Han Samen

843

HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY

San Francisco, later becoming sales manager for the Standard Paint Com- pany of Chicago. In 1915 he returned to California and became business manager of the Burbank Seed and Nursery Company of San Francisco. At present he is traveling salesman for the Cutter Laboratory of Berkeley, Cal. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Columbus; the B. P. O. Elks; the Woodmen of the World ; and the Native Sons of the Golden West. His marriage united him with Winnie Hodnett, a native of San Francisco, and they have two sons, W. F. Jr., and James H. Both boys are graduates of the Morgan Potts Military Academy of Chicago, with a captain's rank, and are now in the service of the U. S. Army. W. F. is lieutenant in Battery A, One hundred and Forty-fourth Field Artillery, (The Grizzlies) ; James H. is in the Aviation Corps, U. S. A.

HANS HANSEN .- A pioneer of the Mount Olive district, Fresno County, and one who has made a decided success of his life work, is found in the per- son of Hans Hansen, who has always been ready and willing to lend a help- ing hand to those less fortunate than himself and to give valuable advice as well as encouragement to the homeseeker and home-maker. A native of Den- mark, he was born at Bornholm, March 6, 1845, a son of Hans and Ingburg (Kofoad) Hansen. They were parents of eight children and Hans is the only member of the family now living. He was educated in the public schools of his native land and was reared to hard work from a lad, so that when he struck out in the world for himself he was able to handle almost any kind of a job where strength was a requirement.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Fresno 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, Volume I, Part 113

Author: Vandor, Paul E., 1858- Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company Number of Pages: 1362

Author: Vandor, Paul E., 1858-
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1362