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 138

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 138

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In 1888, Mrs. Madelaine Mccullough DeWitt deeded her thirty-acre tract, now known as Corona Vineyard, to her daughter and her son-in-law, namely, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Say, who added to it another thirty acres, which they purchased, so that they soon owned sixty acres north of the town, and subsequently they bought 160 acres of land south of the city, eighty acres of which he devoted to the culture of grapes, and eighty acres to the raising of alfalfa. At the present time he is the owner of four ranches, aggregating 460 acres, planted to vines and trees, which are in a high state of cultivation.

In 1898, Mr. Say joined the goldseekers making their way feverishly to Dawson City, Alaska, and there located at Grand Forks. He purchased Claim No. 6, above Discovery on the Bonanza Creek, and also Claim No. 48 on the Eldorado, and there busied himself with mining until October, 1901, when he returned to California. The next spring he went back to Alaska, and on May 24, 1902, sold his claims, clearing the snug sum of somewhat less than seventy-five thousand dollars. By June 12, 1902, he was back again in Fresno County. Since then, with characteristic enterprise, Mr. Say has been fore- most in promoting the best interests of the California Raisin Growers As- sociation, and also the California Peach Growers, Inc. In these various en- terprises Mr. Say has always had the encouragement and support of his equally brave and resourceful wife, who made three trips to Alaska. On her first journey, in 1899, she took her five-year-old boy with her, but in the fall of the next year she came back to California, arranged for the schooling of her son and returned north the same year, arriving at Dawson on Decem- ber 30. In October, 1901, she came with her husband to Selma, and subse- quently accompanied him on his trip to and from Alaska in the spring of 1902. Like her wide-awake husband, Mrs. Say is highly esteemed in Selma and vicinity for public-spiritedness and generous support of all movements for the advancement of the community, and she was the first president of the Improvement Club at Selma, and directed the club work when the beat- tiful Lincoln Park was established.

Mr. and Mrs. Say are honored members of the Presbyterian Church, and were members of the Building Committee when in 1917 and 1918 they erected the splendid new edifice at the corner of Selma and Mill Streets.

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Fraternally, Mr. Say is a member of Selma Lodge, No. 309, I. O. O. F., and also of Selma Encampment, No. 176, and Mr. and Mrs. Say are members of the Rebekahs; and he is also a member of the Woodmen of the World. When the Centennial of Odd Fellowship was celebrated on April 26, 1919, that order honored itself as well as Mr. Say by appointing him Grand Mar- shal to head the memorable parade at Fresno; and in all the long line of favorites, none was more wildly acclaimed than good-natured Henry Say.

MRS. LAURA J. SAY .- After a life of strenuous work and pioneering, Mrs. Laura J. Say, the widow of the late James H. Say, an honored pioneer of southern Fresno County, is living a quiet and retired life at her beautiful cottage home, 1819 Young Street, in the city of Selma. Cal. James H. Say was born in Venango County, Pa., on February 14, 1834, and died at Selma on October 15, 1902. Like many other young men of his time, he was en- thused by the glowing reports of gold-mining in California and decided to seek his fortune in the Golden State. Arriving in San Francisco in 1852, he soon engaged in placer mining which he continued awhile but later became interested in merchandising and storekeeping.

In 1863, James H. Say was united in marriage with Laura T. Coates, a native of Platteville, Wis., the daughter of George I. Coates, who was a miller in the early days of southwestern Wisconsin. Her mother, in maiden- hood, was Loretta Jones. Mrs. Say is the seventh child of a family of nine, five of whom are still living ; an older sister of Mrs. Say is the wife of Uncle Billy Berry whose sketch appears on another page of this history. George I. Coates was a man of considerable wealth, in Wisconsin, and after selling out his interests there, he came across the plains in 1862, to California. ac- companied by his wife and family, including Mrs. Say, who was then an ac- complished young lady, having been a school teacher at Platteville, Wis. An older brother, Henry Coates, who was a soldier in the Union Army of the Civil War, migrated to California after the war had ended.

After their marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Say operated a hotel at the placer mines, for a short time only. Later they moved to Mendocino County, where Mr. Say followed the trade of a carpenter and joiner, having learned this vocation in Pennsylvania. Four of their children were born in Mendocino County. Hearing that the United States Government was offering free home- stead lands in the great San Joaquin Valley, Mr. Say removed his family to the southern part of Fresno County and there, near Kingsburg, he pre- empted 160 acres, and later homesteaded 160 acres more. This ranch he im- proved and farmed to grain. Learning that cheap railroad lands were to be had in the vicinity of Parlier, he sold his 320 acres and moved near Parlier where he purchased 160 acres from the railway company and improved it by building a home and setting out fruit trees. Mrs. Say still owns eighty acres of this tract, which is now very valuable.

In 1884, Mr. Say built the Renfro House, at Selma, which he owned and operated for several years until it was destroyed by fire. During its day it was the chief hostelry in Selma. He moved back to his ranch near Parlier, but later returned to Selma in order to give the children better school facil- ities.

Ten years ago Mrs. Say built her beautiful Colonial cottage at 1819 Young Street, Selma, where she is happily ensconced and surrounded by her children, relatives and old-time friends. Mr. and Mrs. Say were the parents of six children: William H. is a rancher near Selma and is perhaps the largest farmer in that neighborhood, as he is the owner of several ranches; he married Miss Mary DeWitt, and they have one child, Lyle H., who is also married, his wife having been in maidenhood, Miss Ethel Stoker, of Parlier. Lyle H. enlisted in the navy, and an interesting account of him is elsewhere to be found in this work. Grant is the second child; he resides in Fresno and is the owner of the remaining eighty acres of the James H. Say ranch at Parlier. Elnora is now the wife of W. L. Matlock, a dealer in ice at

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Selma and an extensive landowner and farmer; the Matlock home is located on the corner of Third and Young Streets, Selma, and Mrs. Matlock is the president of the Woman's Improvement Club at Selma. Luther was the fourth child in order of birth ; he is a fruit-grower in the Parlier district; his wife in maidenhood was Lina Tremper, and they are the parents of two chil- dren : Harry, a student in the University of California, and Kenneth. Maude, the fifth child, is now the wife of George F. Otis and she is the mother of three children, Buell, Bernice, and Lawrence. James Halton is the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Say ; he married Miss Blanch Coates and they are the parents of two children, Glenn and Esther. Mr. James Halton Say is a rancher and fruit-grower and is located between four and five miles from Selma.

After meeting and conversing with this very interesting and intelligent pioneer woman and listening to her reminiscences of early days in Califor- nia, one cannot fail to be impressed with her unusual business ability and can readily understand how, through her thrift and self-sacrificing efforts, she greatly aided the accumulation of the wealth of the Say family in Fresno County, and also to appreciate the influence for good which she has exerted upon the community where she has resided for so many years.

MARIE ARIEY .- Since the foundation of the great commonwealth of California. France has given freely of her sons and daughters, especially in the swelling of California's agrarian population. A splendid type of Ameri- can of French extraction, honorable to a high degree in his personal charac- ter, and industrious, progressive and successful as a viticulturist, is Marie Ariey, a native of the Hautes Alpes, France, born near Gap, on September 16, 1850. His father was Jaques Ariey, a prosperous and honored farmer of that region, who died in 1859. His mother, who passed away three years later, was Marie Jousselme before her marriage. She was the devoted mother of nine children, only three of whom are still living. Marie and his brother Julius, now deceased, were the only ones of this worthy family to come to the newer and more promising land of America.

Marie Ariey passed his boyhood on a farm in the Sampsaur Valley, France, a most fertile agricultural country ; so that, having finished with the public school, he had a good chance to learn farming as the French practice it. When he came to America, he first went to Boston, where he remained for a time before coming on to the Pacific Coast. It was the day before Christ- mas, 1873, when he arrived at San Francisco. Tarrying but a short time in the metropolis, he pushed on to Virginia City, Nev., and tried his luck in the mines; but he was not particularly pleased with the novelty, and so came back to the Sacramento Valley, where, near Georgetown, he found employment on a farm for five months. At the end of that time, in 1875, he came to Modesto, where he worked for nine years at one place-the well- appointed dairy farm of Mr. Clark.

When Mr. Ariey came to Fresno, in February, 1885, he bought forty acres of the Easterby rancho and set the same out as a vineyard, adding forty more as soon as he was able. The first trees he set on the place he bought at a nursery located on the corner of Mariposa and Kay Streets, the present site of Holland's grocery store. In 1900 he sold the eighty acres on account of his poor health, and for a year went back to San Francisco. At the end of the twelve months, however, he concluded that there was no better place, at least not for him, than Fresno, and to this city he came again, this time determined to make it his home. He built a place at R Street and Fresno, on four lots, and at the same time secured sixty acres of land in the Colonial Helm tract, two miles west of Clovis. As rapidly as he could, he made every needed improvement, building a residence and setting out vines and trees, and has since set and reset them, until now he has ten acres of wine grapes, with the balance devoted to muscatels, a few malagas, and about seven acres in alfalfa. His ranch is half irrigated from the Gould Ditch, and half from the

Marie Ariey

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Enterprise Ditch. His residence and buildings are equipped with electric lights, and he has installed a pumping plant and has an electric motor to work his pump.

Mr. Ariey has had much experience in grape-growing, but not all his recollections as a ranchman and a viticulturist are of the most pleasant sort. He has seen the time when he has sold raisins for one and a half cents a pound, and has been glad to get even that price for what he had; and he has gone through some very hard times, when he found it necessary to work out- side to pay the bills and keep up his vineyard. He has been in all the dif- ferent raisin associations as both a member and a stockholder; and now be- longs to the California Associated Raisin Company.

In May, 1885, Mr. Ariey was married in San Francisco to Miss Alexan- drina D'Gastervigne, a French belle from the same valley in which he him- self was born, who came to California to seek her fortune, and found it-in Mr. Ariey. Four children have blessed their union, but one, Emma, died in her ninth year. Albert is assisting his father; Andrew, a graduate of the high school, is in France, a member of the aviation corps; and Helen, also a graduate of the high school, is with her parents. The family attend the St. Alphonse Catholic Church. Independent in political affairs, Mr. Ariey is a decidedly public-spirited citizen, ready to help along any good cause and, with his good wife, always willing to make a special effort for anything that will advance the interests of Fresno. He has served one term as trustee of the Easterby school.

ANDY D. FERGUSON .- The distinction of being not only a native born son of California, but of having parents who were pioneers in the truest sense of the word, belongs to Andy D. Ferguson, who was born at Kings River, January 14, 1868, the son of Ed. C. and Louisa (Neiveling) Ferguson. The father crossed the plains in the memorable year of 1849, the party taking three years to make the journey to their destination, for their outfit was raided, and nearly everything of value was taken, including their ox team. The mother came with her parents at a later date. Upon his arrival in Cali- fornia, E. C. Ferguson went directly to the mines in Mariposa County, where he was fortunate in "making a stake;" and then, in 1856, he came to Fresno County and engaged in the cattle business. In the early sixties he acquired large land holdings in the vicinity of Reedley, and while living there in 1866 he was married. This land was put to use as a cattle range until 1882, when it was disposed of to good advantage. Mr. Ferguson was prominent in business and financial circles until his death, on December 24, 1882, and will long be remembered for his substantial aid in the upbuilding of the county. During the October just previous Mrs. Ferguson had passed away.

Andy C. was the eldest of five children, all of whom were given such educational advantages as the times and their environment afforded; and after attending the public schools of Santa Rosa and Fresno, he completed his studies at Lytton Springs College. Returning to Fresno, he first engaged in general insurance for three years; then, upon attaining his majority, with ranches in the Wild Flower district, he entered the profitable field of cattle raising. He was also associated for four years with H. Clay Austin in the raising of horses.

The energy and executive ability characterizing Mr. Ferguson, whose interests multiplied, found many and varied channels for expression. For eight years he was successful in farming in the Del Rey district ; for one year he acted as confidential agent and buyer of grain; he held the responsible position of superintendent of construction for some time ; for seven years he devoted much time and effort to oil interests; while for four years he held the office of field agent and chief patrol of the state fish and game commission for conservation, and was game warden of the county. In 1909, he was per- suaded to establish a district office in Fresno, which was to include nine counties, and he took the position with the understanding that it would

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occupy only a portion of his valuable time. However, the work increased so rapidly that he was obliged to devote his entire time to it; and as a result, on March 1, 1916, the Fresno office was merged with that at San Francisco, and he was appointed field agent for the California Fish and Game Commis- sion, with supervision over all the deputies of the state. His wide experience in different enterprises peculiarly fitted him for this responsible position, which he fills with fidelity and intelligence. His resourceful ability and tire- less energy have been displayed on more than one occasion. During the fight in Coalinga against county division he took charge and by wise judg- ment and inherent ability to manage men, the affair was amicably adjusted.

Mr. Ferguson's marriage took place in February, 1889, when he was joined in wedlock to Miss Arza Patterson, a native daughter whose parents were John A. and Rebecca Patterson of Visalia, both pioneers. Mr. Patter- son came to Fresno County as early as 1848, and was thus one of the organi- zers of the county and was also instrumental in the organization and de- velopment of Tulare County. Until his death he was a prominent factor in county affairs, and he further aided in public progress by serving in the State Legislature. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are the parents of five children : Maude is now Mrs. Edgar C. Smith; Edgar C., was on the border in Ari- zona with the First Arizona Infantry when war with Germany was declared. and he immediately volunteered and saw active service at Chateau Thierry, St. Mihiel Salient, Verdun and in the Argonne in an infantry division. He was honorably discharged in July. 1919, and is now at home; Edith is now Mrs. Kenneth Hughes; Thomas P., left the Fresno High on April 17. 1917, at the age of nineteen, enlisted in a machine gun battalion and served through the war: although never in active service at the front, he was overseas five months. While in France he was transferred to the Twenty-seventh Division of New York Infantry, machine gun battalion. He was honorably discharged in New York City, in May, 1919; and Andy D., Jr. Six grandchildren have come to gladden the hearts of this family, upon whom fortune has bestowed many a smile.

Mr. Ferguson is of the Protestant faith, and strongly favors Democratic principles. Since assuming the arduous duties of his present office, he has devoted time, money and energy to his public duties, and has little time for social activities. He is particularly interested in the conservation of the flora and fauna of California, and as a well-known newspaper and magazine writer, he has dealt with California's great out-of-doors and contributed in partic- ular to the San Francisco Bulletin. the Fresno Republican and eastern and western sporting periodicals.

E. B. ROGERS .- One of the interesting things that strikes the student of early California history most forcibly is the facility with which the pioneer, face to face with untried problems. made a success of his endeavor just be- cause he had mastered the great task before him. Such a man was the late E. B. Rogers, owner of the famous Margherita Vineyard, one of the show- places of Fresno County, to which favored spot he came in 1882. He was a native of Troy, N. Y., and was educated in the Troy Polytechnic, where he made a specialty of mining engineering ; and so thoroughly was he prepared, and so well-equipped was he naturally for that important and difficult line of work, that, after coming west, he was engaged as mining engineer in various places from Canada to the Central American States. Returning to New York City, he followed his profession in the great metropolis for years and was much sought for his expert knowledge.

Recalling Central California with favorable impressions, Mr. Rogers came to Fresno in 1882 and soon after inspected the property now so per- manently identified with his name; and the next year he purchased it from M. Theo. Kearney. The site was in the heart of the Easterby Colony, four miles east of Fresno, and Mr. Rogers began at once to improve and beautify the place. His wide travel contributed much to the experience and taste

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necessary ; and the results show how well he had profitted from his jaunts about the western hemisphere.

With his brother-in-law, M. T. Sickal, he set out the row of palms along the westerly line of the 320 acres, a mile in length, and so handsomely have these palms grown in height and symmetry that the Margherita Palm Drive has attracted attention the world over, appearing on postal cards not only in the United States, but in Europe as well.

Mr. Rogers and Mr. Sickal were very companionable and found much enjoyment in each other's company. Mr. Sickal's little daughter, Margherita, spent much time with her uncle Rogers, and manifested more than ordinary interest in the place ; and it was after her that the vineyard was named.

The park around the house was laid out, and all the trees planted by Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, and it is largely due to their intelligent care that it has become one of the most beautiful private places in the valley. So in- tensely interested was Mr. Rogers in obtaining the rarest trees, that on a trip to Europe and while in Rome, he no sooner saw the "pinus pina" (stone pine) in the parks of the Eternal City (a tree that appears in some of the paintings by the old masters) than he arranged to have some seed sent him when it was ripe and cured. They were despatched, in due time, to the Bureau of Agriculture at Washington, which kept some of the seed, and sent the balance to Mr. Rogers: and the latter sent them to the University of California. The Agricultural Department there planted the seed, and when they had grown to young trees, they sent the best specimens to Mr. Rogers, who planted them on his place.

Mr. Rogers set out the vineyard, watched the growth, and reset and replanted when it was necessary. During these busy years, Mr. Rogers continued interested in mining, and for his mining interests, he maintained an office in San Francisco. At the time of the mining excitement in Gold- field, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers resided there while he maintained an office here. After the fire in San Francisco-1906-they resided on their ranch, and no little was done by both of them in the building up of Fresno County. Mr. Rogers died on December 23, 1912, widely mourned by the many who knew and appreciated his personal and professional worth.

Since her husband's death Mrs. Rogers has carried on viticulture, and has conscientiously followed out the plans they made together for maintain- ing the Margherita Vineyard as one of the splendid places of the county.

GEORGE FINIS CRAIG .- George Finis Craig is the popular and suc- cessful dealer in general merchandise at Lanare, in the Summit Lake coun- try, which is the western terminus of the Laton and Western Railway, being a part of the Santa Fe system. He occupies a new store building 30x40 feet, with a wareroom 20x30 feet, which was built by Joe Prandini, and there keeps on hand a clean and well selected stock of general merchandise. Lanare has experienced a splendid growth of late. Mr. Prandini has built a garage, general store building, a shop for a meat market and a confec- tionery store. Mr. Craig's previous long and honorable career in this county as ditch tender, rancher and business man gives him a wide range of acquaint- ances and an enviable reputation for square dealing.

He was born near Vinita, Craig County (then Indian Territory), Okla. His father, Granville C. Craig, moved thither in 1869 and Craig County, Okla., was named after him. Granville C. Craig was born in Johnson County, Mo., while grandfather Craig, helped move Cherokee Indians from Ten- nessee to Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, in 1835. The grandfather moved back to Missouri where the father was born and where the grand- father died. The father was but twenty years old when he came out to Indian Territory in 1869. He was a farmer and stock-raiser. George Finis Craig grew up on his father's farm in Craig County. When only eighteen years of age he went to Vinita and there accepted a position in a grocery store for about a year. He then went back to his father's stock farm, and

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continued at agricultural pursuits until 1905, when he came to Kingsburg, Cal., where he bought a thirty-acre ranch and improved it, planting it to vines and trees and for six years prospered well as a horticulturist. Dispos- ing of his Kingsburg fruit-ranch he went to Alpaugh, Cal., where he bought and operated a ranch for some time, living, however, in Riverdale. His next venture was to buy the Riverdale Meat Market which he successfully operated for thirteen months, when he sold it. He then took a position as ditch tender for the Burrel and Riverdale Ditch Company holding that posi- tion satisfactorily for four years.

From August of 1918 until February 1, 1919, he was employed as a clerk in Hamilton's large general merchandise store at Riverdale, and on February 1, 1919, he came to Lanare and started up his present business which is now the main general merchandise store in this promising town. He is an excellent level-headed business man, who makes and keeps friends and customers.

Mr. Craig has twice been married. His first marriage took place in Oklahoma in 1896 when he was united with Miss Anna Jones by whom he had one child-a daughter, Anna Jewell-who resides with him at Lanare. His first wife died March 19, 1899, in Oklahoma. His second marriage also occurred in Oklahoma, when he was wedded to Miss Minnie Grantham.

Mr. and Mrs. Craig are both prominent members of the Rebekah Lodge at Riverdale. Mr. Craig does not neglect the social side of life, particularly among the Odd Fellows is he prominent. He has twice held the office of Noble Grand, and has taken an active part in the upbuilding of Riverdale Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 341.

Aside from his other activities, Mr. Craig bought and improved a forty- acre alfalfa ranch, two miles northeast of Lanare, which he disposed of to good advantage before embarking in business at Lanare. Mr. and Mrs. Craig are now nicely domiciled at Lanare-Riverdale's loss is Lanare's gain.

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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 138

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