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 114

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 114

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In 1872, Mr. Hansen came from his home place to the United States and for two years worked in Iroquois and La Salle counties, in Illinois. His one desire was to come to California and when he had made enough money to de- fray his expenses he immediately made what he considers the best move he ever made during his life. He came to Fresno County and the first two years he chopped wood, then he bought a team and did a general teaming business ; in fact, for fifteen years he was busily engaged in that occupation and fortu- nately made money. He hauled the brick for the first school house, and for part of the court house, in Merced County, and from there he went to Bakers- field and hauled the brick for the first court house in Kern County. So well did he do the work he set out to do that his services were always in demand and he was kept unusually busy.

Mr. Hansen bought his first land, 320 acres in the Wahtoke district, in 1901. For a good many years he was a large grain farmer, right in the location where he now makes his home. He also raised cattle and hogs in the foot- hills of the mountains, where he had about 6,000 acres of range land. He con- tinued as a stockman for about nine years. He is now (1919) raising grain, fruit and alfalfa. He owned forty acres of good land in Tulare County which he sold at a good profit. He now has eighty acres that he intends to put in vines and trees, also another eighty nearby that he is developing for a home place.

When Mr. Hansen settled in this section of Fresno County there were but three houses between his place and Reedley, and the latter was just started and he little thought that it would grow to its present size in so short a time. Ever since he has been in the county he has helped to promote all enterprises for the building-up of his section of the county and for the better- ment of social and moral conditions. He is a booster for all cooperative asso- ciations among the ranchers and fruit-growers, believing them to be the salvation of the producers. He has fostered every movement of the raisin- growers and now is a stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Com- pany and the California Peach Growers, Inc. A friend of education, he helped organize the Mount Olive School district, and served for nine years as a trustee. When the time came for starting a bank in Reedley, Mr. Hansen came to the front and helped organize the Reedley National Bank, in which

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he is a stockholder ; also helped organize the Farmers and Merchants Bank, now the First National in Reedley. In politics he supports the Republican candidates but he has never aspired to any office.

Mr. Hansen is a practical rancher, using the most up-to-date machinery and implements to carry on his operations. He reads the best literature on the live topics of the day relating to viticulture and horticulture and his ad- vice is very often sought in these matters, for his experiences have been varied and in all his operations he has met with good results. He spent the summer of 1889 in Europe, visiting his old home and other places of interest on the Continent, but was glad to return to the land of sunshine and gold, and the county of the raisin and the peach. Mr. Hansen is a young-old man, easily taken for one-half his age. He makes and retains his friends, and when Hans Hansen says a thing is so it is considered to be so, for he is a man whose word is as good as his bond. He looks back upon a life well-spent and forward to the future without fear, for he has done his part in the making of this commonwealth.

GEORGE L. WARLOW .- A highly-honored member of the legal pro- fession. was the late George L. Warlow, a native of Bloomington, Ill., where he was born on July 1, 1849. His father was Jonathan B. Warlow, while his mother before her marriage was Catherine B. Hay. George attended the public schools of his locality until he had thoroughly prepared for college. and then he went to the Northwestern University at Indianapolis, Ind., where he remained until 1872. In that year he matriculated at Eureka College, in Eureka, Ill., from which he graduated with honors in 1874. Having a first- class general collegiate training, Mr. Warlow put it to the test by teaching school, in Bloomington, Ill., where he had charge of classes for a year.

Resolved upon prosecuting a professional career, he then entered the law office of Stevenson & Ewing, and read law under the late Adlai Ewing Stevenson, later Vice-President of the United States, and then again sought the lecture-room, this time registering in the Bloomington Law School of the Wesleyan University, at Bloomington, Ill., from which he was graduated in the Centennial Year. That same year he continued the study of law in the office of the well-known firm of Bloomfield, Pollock & Campbell, where his facilities were exceptionally good; and in July, 1876, he was admitted to the bar.

Mr. Warlow then went to Virginia, Cass County, Ill., and formed a partnership for the practice of law with State Senator A. A. Leeper, under the firm name of Warlow & Leeper; and this partnership was continued until 1889. Few men were better or more favorably known there at that time, and he served with general satisfaction as Master of Chancery at Virginia.

In 1889 Mr, Warlow first came to Fresno; and here, until 1914 he practiced for himself with flattering success. Then he took into partnership his son Chester, and the firm,- now so widely and favorably known - became Warlow & Warlow.

While residing at Virginia, in Illinois, Mr. Warlow was married, on September 23, 1880, to Ella Knowles, by whom he had four children. Trenna died in Fresno, at the age of ten, of the black diphtheria ; George, when seven years old, also died here a week after, of the same malady - Trenna's case being the first known in the community. Zoe died in Virginia, Ill., an infant. All four children were born at that place.

George L. Warlow died on October 17, 1918, and was buried privately at Mountain View Cemetery. He left his widow and son, Chester, as his only heirs. He also left a will making his son, (who had been associated with him in practice and was already a rising attorney,) his executor. At the time of his father's death, however, Chester was in the United States Air Service at Kelley Field, San Antonio, Texas, and it was impossible for him

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to act; so an uncle, W. T. Knowles, well known to Fresno and the oil in- terests at Coalinga, was duly appointed administrator with the will annexed.

Chester H. Warlow, the youngest of the four children, was born on June 3, 1889 and was only six months old when he came to Fresno with his parents. He attended the grammar schools and then went to the Kemper Military Academy at Boonville, Mo., one of the best military schools of its size in the country, from which he was graduated in 1906. He then entered the Leland Stanford University and took the prelegal course and was gradu- ated in 1911 with the degree of A.B .; and in the fall of that year he matric- ulated at the Harvard Law School, at Cambridge, Mass. For a year there he specialized in law, and the following year returned to Leland Stanford and completed the Stanford Law School course. When he graduated, as a member of the Class of '13, he received the degree of Doctor of Law.

Returning to Fresno, Mr. Warlow entered the law office of his father, and father and son formed the partnership of Warlow & Warlow. At the opening of the World War, Chester volunteered in the regular army, and was sent to Kelley Field, Texas; and later on he was assigned to the One Hundred Fifth Aero Squadron there, where he attained to the rank of First Lieutenant. He was honorably discharged on December 24, 1918, and arrived home on the following New Year's Day. The first of February he opened his law office at 812 Griffith-Mckenzie Building, and since then has been busy at the commencement of his independent career in which, it is safe to say, he will ably and conscientiously maintain the enviable traditions of his honored father.

MRS. MYRA SHIMMINS .- A place among the women who have left their impress on the development of Fresno County should be accorded Mrs. Myra Shimmins, a native daughter of California, born in Yorktown, T110- lumne County, and a resident of Fresno for the past twenty-eight years. She is a descendant of pioneers of the state from both sides of the family. Her father, Samuel Platt, a native of Maine, came to California in early days, and was a miner in Tuolumne County, having discovered one of the suc- cessful and productive mines there, known as the Platt and Gilson Mine. He lived all his time in Tuolumne County, and died there. Mrs. Shimmins' maternal grandfather was Fred Klein; he came around the Horn to Cali- fornia in '49, and arrived in San Francisco when it was a city of tents, with all the excitement and lawlessness of a new frontier town. He went to Tuolumne County, established a store at Yorktown, planted a vineyard and orchard, and died there.

After the death of Samuel Platt, his widow moved the family to a ranch in the county. Later the family removed to the Livermore Valley, and there Myra Platt married William F. Shimmins, a native of Wisconsin, who had come to California in 1885, and located in Livermore Valley. He was a railroad man, and later was baggage man in the Southern Pacific depot, at Los Angeles. In 1890 Mr. and Mrs. Shimmins moved to Fresno, and here Mr. Shimmins was in the employ of the San Joaquin Light and Power Company for many years. His death occurred in February, 1915. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shimmins: William F., a sergeant in the United States Army; Mrs. Ida A. Perry, of Chicago; Mrs. Hazel R. Paul, of Hanford; and Olen L., who has charge of his mother's florist shop in Fresno.

Always fond of flowers, and a great lover of the beauties of nature, Mrs. Shimmins decided to put this talent to practical use, and in 1902 started a florist shop in a small way, locating at 1145 I Street. With a natural in- centive for the work from the beginning, she soon built up a fine business, and now occupies one of the stores in the Griffith-Mckenzie Building, on I Street. In 1900 Mrs. Shimmins bought two and one-half acres in the Sierra Park tract, on Belmont Avenue, near Van Ness. This property she let re-

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main idle for a few years, then subdivided the land, and it is now all built up with fine homes. She was a pioneer in that district and the first to build a lionne there, the land being originally in orchards and vineyard.

Mrs. Shimmins recall's her early days in Fresno, when irrigating ditches ran through the heart of the city and all the important corners in the busi- ness district were occupied by blacksmith shops. The courthouse park was as popular then as now, and the mothers took their children to the park in summer to enjoy the shade and flowers. Mrs. Shimmins has cheerfully done her share in building up the city to its present prosperous condition, has shown much business acumen and public spirit, and withal has been an ex- cellent mother, giving her children a good education and fitting them for the battle of life.

LEWIS O. STEPHENS .- As a native son of California, this well-known member of a well-known pioneer family has had ample opportunity not only to witness the growth of the state, but to contribute to it a large share him- self. His father, Joseph J. Stephens, left his home in Missouri in 1854 and crossed the plains to seek his fortune in the land of golden opportunity. By dint of hard work and close economy, in two years he was able to return to Missouri to claim his bride. Elizabeth Davis. A year later, accompanied by his wife, he again made the slow journey across the plains. Arriving in Yolo County, he engaged in stock-raising near Madison, and was well known in this section for many years as a progressive, honorable citizen. He estab- lished his family in a home in Woodland, where he and his wife enjoyed the fruits of their early labor through a long and useful life. until death claimed them.

Such were the parents of L. O. Stephens, and from whom he received the early training which prepared him to take a prominent place among his fellow citizens. Born in Yolo County on May 31, 1859, he was one of a family of eight children and he was educated in the public schools. then took a course in Hesperian College at Woodland. As a young man he spent a number of years working with his father. Later, he devoted some time to the study of architecture, and for two years he operated a farm on his own account. Finally he decided to enter the commercial world and engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in his home town, Woodland, where he continued until his removal to Fresno in January, 1891. Here a partnership was formed with W. A. Bean, under the firm name of Stephens & Bean, since which time, until the summer of 1919, when Mr. Bean retired from the firm, a successful business has been conducted by this enterprising firm. They started in bus- iness at 1141 I Street, and remained there until they erected, in 1912, one of the finest buildings of its kind, and with every modern convenience, to be found in the entire west, and they have always enjoyed a well-deserved patronage. When Mr. Bean retired from the firm the ownership and man- agement was taken over by L. O. Stephens and his son. J. D. Stephens, and at that time. June 1, 1919, there was a complete reorganization on the profit- sharing basis, all profits being shared with employees. This was the first firm in Central California that was known to take this progressive and pop- ular step.

In 1886, Mr. Stephens was married in Missouri to Miss Bettie Bean, daughter of the late Daniel Orr Bean, who died in August. 1919, aged eighty- six years. Of this fortunate marriage one son, J. D. Stephens, was born. After attaining his majority he became a member of the firm of Stephens & Bean. Mrs. Stephens was born in Paris, Monroe County, Mo., and was edu- cated in the public schools of that place, finishing at the Music Institute of Professor Dana, near Chicago, Il1. In Fresno, Mrs. Stephens has always been active in the First Christian Church, and also in the Women's Club work, and with three other ladies organized the first kindergarten work in Fresno City.

К.О. Вtopheus.

Mrs. L.Q. Stephena

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L. O. Stephens adheres to Democratic principles, and was elected Mayor of Fresno for a term of four years, 1901-1905. In several different capacities he has faithfully served the city and county, as well as holding the office of County Coroner for two terms while residing in Woodland, Yolo County. He has not only filled the office of Coroner for Fresno County four years, but was elected a member of the Board of Education, and under Mayor Rowell he served on the police commission for four years, and also served in the same capacity under Mayor Snow. All of these varied duties were per- formed with tact and ability, and he holds an enviable place in the esteem of the people of Fresno City and County.

Mr. Stephens attends the First Christian Church. Fraternally he is a Mason, holding membership in Fresno Lodge; Trigo Chapter; Fresno Com- mandery ; Islam Temple; and the Eastern Star; he also is an Odd Fellow, Knight of Pythias, Fraternal Brotherhood, Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen of America, Independent Order of Foresters, and Fresno Parlor Native Sons. He is a member of the Commercial Club, Chamber of Com- merce and the California Associated Raisin Company. In 1906 he was re- quested to conduct the Raisin Growers' campaign and reorganize the associa- tion, which he did, and he has the satisfaction of seeing the successful com- pletion of his work, with the association in a flourishing condition.

DAVID S. EWING .- Among the professional men who occupy positions of prominence in the esteem of the citizens of Fresno County, David S. Ewing has proven his worth as an attorney and has won popularity throughout the San Joaquin Valley. He was born in Fulton, Callaway County, Mo., October 24, 1866, a son of Henry Neal Ewing, a native of that same locality. The grandfather, James Ewing, was born in Kentucky and migrated to Missouri in 1820, following in the footsteps of his father who moved westward from Virginia into Kentucky. The Ewings are of Scotch-Irish ancestry and in- herited the sturdy traits which have made of these people some of our most desirable citizens.

Henry Neal Ewing was reared in Missouri and educated at Yale Uni- versity, after which, in 1849, he crossed the plains to California with ox teams. and upon his arrival engaged in mining for several years, after which he re- turned to Missouri. He again crossed the plains, and once more returned to Missouri during the Civil War. In 1874 he moved to Kansas City, where for six years he was engaged in business, then, in 1880, he brought his family to California, locating in Fresno. He was the third colonist of Fresno Colony. where he purchased a farm, set out a vineyard and a forty-acre orchard, and made many other valuable and permanent improvements. In 1887 he sold this property and moved into Fresno, where he died in 1890. His wife was formerly Carrie Martin, born near Fulton, Mo., the daughter of William Martin, a Virginian who was a pioneer of Missouri, settling on property ad- joining that of James Ewing. He was of French and German ancestry. Mrs. Ewing died in Kansas City, in 1878, leaving a family of six sons and two daughters, David S. being the second son.

David S. Ewing was reared to manhood in Fulton, Kansas City, Fresno and on the paternal ranch in Fresno County. In 1883 he was employed in the surveying corps on the survey of the tipper San Joaquin canal, where he remained for about two and one-half years. In 1887 he attended the Pacific Business College in San Francisco, and upon returning to Fresno, he was employed in the office of the city tax collector, and the following year became deputy county school superintendent under B. A. Hawkins. In 1890 and 1891 he served as chief deputy in the county tax collector's office. In all his official positions Mr. Ewing acquitted himself honorably. From carly boy- hood he had an eager desire to study law, and was not content even with the good positions he so easily secured. At every opportunity he read law from the books he could obtain and in 1893 he was admitted to the bar to practice in the superior courts of California, and entered upon the practice of

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his profession. He formed a partnership with O. L. Everts, under the firm name of Everts and Ewing, and together they built up a good general practice. This partnership still exists and is the oldest legal firm in the county. In 1895 Mr. Ewing entered the University of Michigan as a senior in the law department, being graduated therefrom in 1896, with the degree of LL. B., and again taking up his practice with his partner in Fresno.

David S. Ewing was united in marriage, in Fresno, on May I, 1898, with Grace Maul, a native of Illinois. She was the daughter of Frank Maul, a native of Germany and a prominent merchant of Kewanee, Ill. He even- tually retired to Fresno, Cal. Mrs. Ewing is a graduate of the Kewanee high school. To Mr. and Mrs. Ewing, August 15, 1901, were born two daughters, Blanche and Mildred, both of whom are students in the Fresno high school. In his fraternal relations Mr. Ewing is a member, and Past Exalted Ruler of Fresno Lodge, No. 439, B. P. O. Elks; a member and past officer of Manzanita Camp, No. 160, W. O. W. He is a Scottish and York Rite Mason and a member of Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. of San Fran- cisco. Socially he is prominent, holding membership in the following clubs : Sequoia, Commercial, University, Sunnyside, Country and Elks, of Fresno ; Sierra Madre Club of Los Angeles ; and the Bakersfield Club. He is a member of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce and the Fresno County Bar Associa- tion. Since 1897 Mr. Ewing has been directly interested with the oil industry of Fresno and Kern Counties and is a member of the executive committee of the Independent Oil Producers Agency, since 1912. The selection of Mr. Ewing, by the Democratic State Central Committee at their committee meeting in San Francisco in September, 1918, as chairman, is but another tribute to his standing throughout the state in political circles. As a pro- gressive citizen Mr. Ewing has been associated with the development of California, particularly the San Joaquin Valley and Fresno County, for many years and is always ready and willing to lend his aid to all worthy projects for its upbuilding. He is well and favorably known throughout the entire San Joaquin Valley.

HONORABLE ALVA E. SNOW .- In the person of Alva E. Snow, Fresno has a citizen of sterling integrity and worth, a lawyer of skill and ability, who, as district attorney for four years rendered excellent service to the county, and whose administration as mayor of the city was marked as one of the most progressive the city had experienced. He comes from dis- tinguished ancestors, being a descendant of the Pilgrims who came to Ameri- can shores in the Mayflower. This immigrant ancestor was Nicholas Snow, who came from England and married at Plymouth, Mass., prior to June I. 1627, Constance Hopkins, who came over with her father, Stephen Hopkins, on the Mayflower in 1620. Nicholas Snow died in Eastham, Mass., November 25, 1676. His descendants were for many years active in the management of public affairs of Plymouth County, Mass., which was the birthplace of Alva E. Snow and his father, the late Harvey Snow. Capt. Prince Snow, grandfather of Alva E., was born, lived and died in Plymouth County. He was a seafaring man and to some extent was also engaged in farming pursuits.

Succeeding to the occupation to which he was reared, Harvey Snow was a New England farmer, and was engaged in mercantile pursuits at Matta- poisett, Plymouth County, where he reared his family. He died at the age of sixty-five years. He was held in high esteem as a citizen, serving as select- man and ás school trustee ; he was liberal in religious beliefs, and a member of the Universalist Church. His wife, whose maiden name was Bridget Marron, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, makes her home with her son Alva E., in Fresno. He is the oldest and the only one living, of the children born to his parents.

Alva E. Snow was born at Mattapoisett, Plymouth County, Mass., Octo- ber 13, 1860, was reared in that county and educated in the public schools, and at Taber Academy at Marion, Mass., then at Tufts College, from which

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he was graduated in 1887, with the degree of A. B. He then entered Harvard Law School and was later admitted to the bar in Massachusetts in 1889. Coming at once to California, he stopped for fifteen months in San Francisco, where he was with the law firm of Herman & Soto. He located in Fresno on January 1, 1891, practiced his profession two years and then served two years as deputy district attorney, under Firman Church. As the nominee on the Republican ticket, Mr. Snow was elected to the office of district attorney of Fresno County in 1894, serving for four years, and having the distinction of being the first Republican district attorney of Fresno County. As deputy district attorney, Mr. Snow succeeded in convicting the train robber, Chris Evans, securing life imprisonment; he also conducted the prosecution of Sanders, the noted forger. He was successful, as district attorney, having conducted several cases of importance, and established an enviable reputa- tion as an able prosecutor. In 1909 Mr. Snow was elected to the city council and in 1912 was appointed mayor. In 1913 he was elected to that office for a term of four years and ably filled the position, reflecting great credit to himself, his constituents and to the city. During the term many necessary improvements were made in the city government, new methods instituted and new problems worked out, in all departments the administration was one of progress. After his term expired, Mr. Snow resumed his law practice, which has grown to be of large proportions.

On December 12, 1891, Alva E. Snow was united in marriage with Miss Dora P. Colson, born and reared in Plymouth County, Mass., where her father, Owen D. Colson, was a prosperous merchant. In 1903 Mr. and Mrs. Snow visited their old New England home county, afterwards made a trip to England and the continent, traveling throughout Europe. Mr. Snow was made a Mason in Marion, Mass., but is now a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 274. F. & A. M .; of Fresno Lodge B. P. O. Elks; and is a member of the County Bar Association. He is a member of the Congregational Church. Socially he is a member of the University Club, of Fresno and in politics he is an unswerving Republican.

JUDGE SAMUEL A. HOLMES .- How much California owes to the best blood of the South, and especially, perhaps, what inestimable contribu- tion has been made to the California Bar by the commonwealths of the so- called Southern States, may be seen in the splendid career of the late Judge Samuel A. Holmes, who was a native of North Carolina, born at Wilmington, in 1830. He was educated in the same State, first at the well-known academy at Chapel Hill, and then in the University of North Carolina, from whose law department he was graduated with special honors.

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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 114

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