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 91

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 91

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risk were not of the highest, and he turned to teaming; and in that rather strennous line he was active for a couple of years.

In 1852 he first came to what is now Fresno County, and here he branched out into something new-the stock business. He took up Government land on Kings River near to what is now Sanger, and he also engaged in trade. Resuming carpentering, he had charge of building Fort Miller in 1854, and taking up teaming again, he drove between Stockton and Centerville for a number of years. About 1863, Mr. Fink began farming on Kings River, where the Fink homestead now stands, planting his acreage to grain ; and being very successful in this agricultural venture, he continued a farmer until his death, which occurred on March 7, 1912, when the community and county lost one of their most estimable citizens, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows one of its most active members.

On May 26, 1861. Mr. Fink was very fortunate in his marriage to Eliza Deakin, at Centerville, the bride being a daughter of William Deakin, who married Elizabeth Leasley, like himself a native of England. After their union in that country, Mr. and Mrs. Deakin came to the United States and Salt Lake City, and there they lived over two years. Pushing further West, they came over the Mormon trail to San Bernardino, and in that town they spent another couple of years. In 1855, they came to Fresno County and located on Kings River ; and when they had secured land favorable to such enterprise, they raised stock and farmed. Their land at first was Government acreage, and being a man of some experience, Mr. Deakin prospered through his choice. He also came to be looked up to as a man of leadership, and served his fellow- citizens two terms as Justice of the Peace.

About 1892, Mr. Deakin passed away, especially honored by the Masons of Visalia, of which lodge he was a member. In June, 1912, Mrs. Deakin died, mourned by all who knew her as a lovable woman, devoted wife, good neighbor. The only child in the family, Mrs. Fink has inherited the home ranch of 120 acres, which she now manages with rare business ability. Thus both her husband and herself have contributed to the proper and rapid develop- ment of this great commonwealth with its unequalled opportunities.

Of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fink there were born six children : Alice Nancy, wife of J. F. Hill of Sanger ; Julia Ann, widow of Harry Jacobs, living on O Street, Fresno; Augusta, wife of Thomas Street, of Clark's Valley ; Ro- sie, Mrs. John Deason, residing in Fresno; Mary Eliza, wife of Charles Hack- ett, in Fresno ; and Peter Elliott, who married Miss Emma Van Fleet, and resides on the Fink homestead.

After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fink the young folks rode horseback to the ranch where Mr. Fink had taken up ranching, located about two miles south from the present Fink home place. Here they kept house for two years, when they removed to the place that has been the home of Mrs. Fink for al- most sixty years, and is now owned by her son, at least forty acres of the property being still in the name of Fink. Mr. Fink became owner of about 1,000 acres before he died, but this has all been sold off by his widow, and a part of it is the site of the Fink Colony.

As Eliza Deakin was growing from young girlhood to womanhood, she witnessed the barren aspect of the country all the way from Millerton to Centerville, only a stage station marked the immense cattle ranges, and the cattle grazing on the plains and hills numbered into the thousands, where now are the homes of hundreds of contented and prosperous residents of Fresno County. Mrs. Fink is a member of the Reedley Study and Civic Club and is greatly interested in the preservation of local history.

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GEORGE W. TAFT .- A successful pioneer rancher who did yeoman service in advancing the science of agriculture in both the West and the East, and yet found it possible to serve his country as an intrepid and aggressive Civil War volunteer, was George W. Taft, a native of Vermont, now deceased. He was born at Starksboro, Addison County, on Independence Day, 1847, and was reared at Middlebury, near by, later the seat of the famous college, where he attended the ordinary public schools. He also learned to care for sheep, and was finally entrusted with a large herd of valuable wool-bearers owned by Hammond Bros., the noted sheep men.

As a true Yankee Vermonter, George from boyhood had been inspired with love for his native land; and when the war broke out, and he realized that the preservation of the Union was at stake, he was quick to enlist and do his duty. In 1861, at the first tap of the drum, and when he was only four- teen, George W. Taft ran away from home with his brother and walked thirty miles to join the Fourteenth Regular Vermont Volunteer Infantry, but being too young for mustering into service, he was refused by the recruiting officer. He insisted, however, upon remaining and helping in the service, and finally was made orderly to Dr. Gale, the surgeon. After roughing it for a while, he looked older and was finally accepted and mustered into the Fourteenth Regiment ; and for three years, or until 1864, he served in the ranks. Return- ing luckily safe and sound from the battlefields, he resumed the raising of sheep ; and in time he became one of the most experienced men in the service of the Hammonds.

When only nineteen, Mr. Taft made his way to California, having readily found employment with Flint, Bixby & Co., to bring a bunch of fine-blooded, Merino sheep to California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Each animal was crated and carefully provided for, and he brought them successfully to San Juan, and then continued for a time with the well-known ranch pro- prietors. When he left them, he was employed by J. B. Hoyt, in Solano County, to care for their extensive herds, and then he had charge, for a number of years, of the Pierce property in the Suisun Valley.

Coming to Fresno, Mr. Taft became manager of the Eggers Vineyard, in August, 1880, and soon set out, for the owners, that valuable acreage. This work, complicated in many ways and involving the breaking into new paths, took him four years and was one of considerable responsibility ; but he was fortunate in having clearly before him a definite idea of what was needed, and following out his plans, boldly and conscientiously, he produced one of the model properties of Central California. His reputation was ex- tended far and wide, and he was next called to Yolo County to care for the Charles F. Reed place on Grand Island, at Knight's Landing. After that, he put in over two years on the Pierce estate, already referred to, in the Suisun Valley.

His ownership of property, requiring some personal supervision, brought him back to Fresno, and in 1888 he took charge for three years of the Forsyth place ; and then for seven years he directed the improvements in the Estrella vineyard which he developed from a grain stubble-field. With each suc- ceeding contract, new experiment and increased responsibility, his experience widened, so that he was steadily preparing for his greatest success, on his own farm.

In January, 1898, Mr. Taft came onto his own place, which he had bought in 1883, and began to improve the raw land. It then consisted of eighty acres, but he added to it, so that today it comprises over two hun- dred acres of very choice soil. It was Mr. Taft's way, when undertaking to do anything, to do it thoroughly, and his long years of success in enhancing the value of property for others added to his ambition to do the best he could with what he himself controlled. About 1905, however, his health began to fail; in 1908 he had a stroke of paralysis; and on St. Patrick's Day, 1916, he

Surge . W. Jaff

DANS L. t. Jaft.

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passed away, mourned by many friends, among them his brother Odd Fel- lows and Elks. His death was the more regretted because it is to men of Mr. Taft's laudable ambition and restless energy that Fresno County owes so much of her present greatness. Were it not for their foresight, discerning the wonderful possibilities of soil, climate and water, their faith in the future, their indefatigable labors and unceasing energy, the county would not so soon have reached its present productivity and wealth. These facts should be treasured by all who love justice and truth, and who would really do honor to the memory of George W. Taft.

In Fairfield, Solano County, on December 25, 1876, Mr. Taft was mar- ried to Miss Emma M. Walter, a native of pastoral Devonshire, England, through whom he has had two children, both now deceased. Mrs. Taft came to the United States and to California when she was eight years old, travel- ing with her parents, Charles and Susan E. (Wilton) Walter, and settled at Suisun, Solano County, where they spent the remainder of their days. She was educated in the schools at Suisun, and in all of their years in Fresno County was closely associated with her husband in his viticultural and horti- cultural undertakings, so that at the time when he was called upon to pass from temporal to eternal scenes, she was familiar with the many details necessary for the successful conducting of their large ranch. As a life-long Republican, Mr. Taft took a live interest, like his distinguished namesake, in politics and civic affairs, and was an enthusiastic supporter of all that makes for the public good ; and this enthusiasm was shared by his good wife, one of whose notable attributes has always been versatility of mental equip- ment. Most of her life has been passed within the boundaries of the common- wealth, and her education reflects the training offered by its schools, while her refinement of taste indicates a cultured environment from earliest years. Thus it was that, being intensely interested in her husband's work, she kept in closest touch with him and maintained herself abreast of the times, and was well fitted to take up the management of their large affairs. Mr. and Mrs. Taft were members of the Raisin Association and active workers in its campaigns, believing it the only way to make a success of the raisin industry. and as a matter of course, they belonged to the present California Associated Raisin Company.

Since Mr. Taft's death, Mrs. Taft has continued to reside on her vine- yard, managing her extensive interests there, and continuing to improve the place. In this she naturally strives to carry out the ideals of her husband, who was among the best-posted viticulturists in the Valley; and the well- kept Taft vineyards demonstrate the length and breadth of her accom- plishment.

GILLUM BALEY .- Among the men from all sections of the country who thronged to California during the excitement following the discovery of gold was a young American of Scotch ancestry, Gillum Baley, who was born in Pettis County, Mo., June 19, 1813. His youth and young man hood was spent in Sangamon County, Ill., where at the age of nineteen he was an or- dained minister of the Methodist Church, although he never held an itinerant pastorate. At the age of about twenty-one, he chose Missouri as his place of residence, settling there in 1834. He was admitted to the bar in Missouri but never practiced, although he served for sixteen years as Associate Justice in the counties of Andrew, Jackson and Nodaway, in that state. In 1849 he crossed the plains to California with his two brothers, Caleb and W. Rite Baley. Leaving their home in April they arrived at their destination in Sep- tember, and worked in the mines with more or less success for several years. In 1852 young Baley returned to Missouri via Panama, but the memory of California's charms lingered with him in his eastern home and he was not content until he was again en route for the Golden State. In 1858 he gathered 200 thoroughbred Durham cattle and with his wife and nine children and his

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brother W. Rite in the party, again started for the Pacific Coast. Near Fort Hardy the party was attacked by Indians, and losing their cattle and sup- plies were obliged to return to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a new outfit, starting again for the coast in August, 1859, with six mules and wagons. This time they were more fortunate and reached their destination, arriving at Visalia in November, 1859. January 17, 1860, Mr. Baley moved to Miller- ton, Fresno County, leaving his brother, W. R., in Visalia. He made a num- ber of trips from Stockton to Millerton, driving a six-mule team with sup- plies, and also mined on the San Joaquin River three miles above Fort Miller, and on Fresno River, until 1866, when he moved to Fort Miller on account of the school advantages for his children.

In 1867 he was elected County Judge of Fresno County and served twelve years on the bench. When the county seat was moved to Fresno in 1874 he located in that city and was elected and served two years as treasurer of Fresno County. For a time he was engaged in the grocery business in Fresno with his son Charles C. He owned 160 acres of land at Tollhouse, Fresno County, also 1,000 acres in small tracts in different parts of the county. He was a charter member of Fresno Lodge No. 186, I. O. O. F., and with his son Charles C., contributed largely in founding and building the Methodist Church South, at the corner of Fresno and L Streets. An active member of this church, he contributed generously to its up-keep and to charity. He was among the leading public-spirited citizens of Fresno, and after retiring from active life resided at his comfortable home on M Street, where he died in December, 1885.

Mr. Baley was twice married, his first wife was, in maidenhood, Cather- ine B. Decker, who died after two years of wedded happiness, leaving a son, William Moses, now deceased. By his second marriage, August 16, 1836, in Jackson County, Mo., he was united with Permelia Myers, a native of Green County, Tenn., who died at Fresno in 1906. The children by his second mar- riage were: Rebecca M., deceased, who married J. M. Shannon ; Catherine, deceased, married William Krug; A. Frances, the wife of Charles A. Yancy, of Tollhouse; Elizabeth, wife of J. Scott Ashman, is now deceased ; George W., who resides near Academy : Ellen G., the widow of James McCardle of Fresno ; Charles C., deputy sheriff of Fresno County ; Nancy J., wife of H. P. Black, of Academy ; S. Bertha, wife of Charles R. Mckeon of Los Angeles ; and Louis L., who died at the age of seventeen, being the only one born in California.

Charles C. Baley, deputy sheriff of Fresno County, was born in Nodaway County, Mo., March 24, 1853, and came across the plains with his parents in 1859. In his youth he attended the old Dry Creek Academy and learned the printer's trade but never followed it. He engaged in the occupation of mining and worked in lumbercamps and sawmills. He served as deputy sheriff under his brother-in-law, Sheriff J. Scott Ashman, for four years, afterward follow- ing the occupation of mining and prospecting. He spent the season of 1887 in Alaska on the Yukon, then mined in Fresno and Tuolumne Counties and prospected in Utah, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona. He has served as deputy in nearly all the county offices in Fresno County at different times. Bv his marriage June 28, 1916, he was united to Mrs. Della (Hough) Yale, a native of Mississippi, who has resided in California since the age of five years.

EDMUND WESLEY FOWLER .- Prominent among the honored pioneers of the San Joaquin Valley who sturdily cast their lot there when the great destiny of Central California lay in the minds and hearts of the trusting, is Edmund Wesley Fowler, now one of the most esteemed citizens of River- dale. His father's family had lived several years in both Stanislaus and Solano Counties before coming to Fresno County, when they settled on a farm four miles southeast of Hanford, at that time in Tulare County. He rode across the range and traversed the site of Hanford long before there was to be seen a

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single building of the town. His father was Edmund I. Fowler, who had married Kizziah James, a native, like himself, of Indiana; and in that state they were made man and wife. A Mr. Fowler, an uncle of our subject, who was six feet seven inches tall, compiled the genealogy of the Fowler family which came originally from England and was prominent in Indiana in early days. Edmund I. Fowler, who had followed farming in Indiana, brought his wife and three children, among whom Edmund W. was the youngest, a baby of three months, across the great plains in 1854. There were ninety souls in the train, and they were drawn by ox teams. His birthday was the eighth of February, and when a year had passed the family was settled in the Golden State. The parents pulled up at Oroville, and the father mined awhile on the Feather River and did very well for a new-comer. In fact, he was encouraged to stay there for five years. He then moved to Woodland, where he re- mained four months, and after that to Solano County, in which district he farmed for seven years. The parents next lived seven years near Los Banos; their next move was to Hanford, where they lived sixteen years.

At Hanford, therefore, Edmund Wesley grew up to vigorous manhood. He was sound of body, but most sadly afflicted through an accident which had happened far back in Indiana when one eye was destroyed in a corn- field, so that later the other was affected through sympathy, and at thirty he was almost blind. Unfortunately, also, he had only a poor schooling, because he had to work. From his fourteenth year, therefore, he was harnessed to daily toil, and each day did a man's work, sharing the burden with his brother, James Marion, who has been deceased for the past twenty-five years. Four children were born to the parents in California. The father died on the farm at Hanford at the ripe old age of eighty-four, and the mother outlived him, dying in her eighty-sixth year.

Mr. Fowler was married at Hanford, on January 21, 1883, to Miss Mattie Kirby, a native of Hydesville, Humboldt County, and one of the nine children of Samuel A. and Sarah C. (Cox) Kirby, both of whom were born in Salem, Il1. When she was two years old, her parents moved to Garberville, Cal., and there she grew up and went to school. She was a girl of fifteen when her folks came to Hanford, and she was married in her seventeenth year. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have three children: Fred A. served in the United States Army, at Fort Baker, in the heavy artillery, and was honorably discharged and came home December 24, 1919; he is now a plumber and electrician and makes his home at Riverdale. He is single, and up to the outbreak of the war, he had served a year as justice of the peace, and he was the first peace officer in Fresno County to enlist in defense of his country. For seven years he had done business as a plumber at Laton and Riverdale, and his reputation for square dealing was well established. Lloyd F. married Ethel May Splawn of Riverdale. He is a tractor engineer and a tinner by trade, and resides with his family, which includes a child, Glenn A., six months old, at River- dale. Floretta May is the wife of W. P. Bourne, the electrician, formerly with the Santa Fe at Bakersfield, but now a resident of Oakland; they have one child, Jack Wallace Bourne, now two years old.

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Fowler farmed for six years at Han- ford, and then removed to Bakersfield, where they took up a homestead in the Weed Patch southeast of that town, later proving up. In 1891 they moved back to Hanford and farmed for eight years, then they farmed at Laton, and afterward, in 1911, came to Riverdale, where Mr. Fowler engaged in plumbing. The son Fred A., commencing at the age of eighteen, had learned that business in Laton, and now he is a practical, competent plumber. In fact, the father and his two sons, Fred and Lloyd, were in the plumbing and tinning business, Lloyd being equally clever as a tinner. When Fred enlisted, the business was broken up, and the firm retired, with excellent credit and reputation ; and they rented the large building, owned by them and which they had used, for a garage.

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In 1915, Mr. Fowler built a beautiful bungalow at Riverdale; and there he and his wife, kindly disposed toward others and highly respected by every- body, live a simple Christian life, committed to the faith known as "The Jesus' Way." Mr. Fowler is well preserved, and his wife is bright and well as ever. At sixty-four years of age, in 1919, Mr. Fowler put in sixty-two days of hard work in the harvest fields on the West Side, on a combined harvester and thresher, and came out strong and vigorous as a man of forty.

HENRY CLAY TUPPER .- Easily distinguished among the men learned in the law who early chose Fresno for their forum and gladiatorial combats, to say nothing of their oratorical triumphs, is Henry Clay Tupper, the son of Tullius C. Tupper, also a lawyer of prominence who resided in Canton, Miss., from about 1835 until his death on August 14, 1866. Henry's mother was, before her marriage, Miss Mary Harding Drane.

Born in Canton on December 29, 1842, Mr. Tupper entered Princeton College, in New Jersey, and was graduated with the Class of '61, receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree. Four years later, the same institution honored him with the degree of A. M. In May, 1861, shortly after war was declared between the North and the South, young Tupper enlisted in the Confederate Army, and was made a lieutenant of a company in the Twenty-fourth Mis- sissippi Regiment. Before he was mustered out, he saw a great deal of hard service, first at Pensacola and Fernandina, during the first year of the war, and afterwards in the Battle of Corinth. In 1862 he was with Bragg in Ken- tucky, was wounded at Perryville, in that state, and was in most of the bat- tles in Tennessee. He was an aide-de-camp on the staff of Lieutenant-General John Clifford Pemberton in battles preceding and during the siege of Vicks- burg, was exchanged as a prisoner of war, and afterwards served in Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's command from Dalton to Atlanta, Ga., and in all the battles around Atlanta. He was severely wounded at Jonesboro, Ga., but recovering was with Lieut .- Gen. John Bell Hood in the famous Tennessee campaign. Again he was severely wounded at Franklin, while serving as inspector-general on the staff of General Brantley, commanding the Mis- sissippi Brigade, was afterwards commissioned major, and finally, in the spring of 1865, he surrendered with General Johnston.

Taking up the life and duties of a civilian again, Mr. Tupper was ad- mitted to practice law in Mississippi about 1872, and in July, 1877, he was admitted to practice law in California, and ever since that time, he has been in active practice.

On December 25, 1878, Mr. Tupper was married in Trinity Church, San Francisco, to Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of James and Jane Johnson, who came to Fresno County in 1853. Her father was a stockman, and she was born in Merced County, Cal. Several children resulted from this fortunate union. Hampton and Henry Walter are both deceased; James Tullius mar- ried Annabel, daughter of G. P. Cummings, and is in the real estate and in- surance business in Fresno. Then there are Roland Beatty, William Charles, Anna Elizabeth, Mary Helen, Donald Lewis and Sidney Johnston. Roland Beatty served in the World War in Europe, as surgeon in Navy Base Hospital Unit No. 2. He is married to Gertrude Lindgren and lives in San Francisco; William Charles served as ensign in U. S. N., and is still in the service ; Mary Helen was married March 4, 1919, to Dr. Niel Jorgensen, an active practitioner in Fresno; Donald Lewis qualified for a commission as ensign but, with Sidney Johnston who enlisted in the army, returned to the University of California.

For years Mr. Tupper has been one of the attorneys for the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company, which for a long time engaged in extensive litiga- tion ; and he has also served as bank attorney, and attorney for leading cor- porations. Under the Democratic banner, and with an eye for the enduring interests of the public welfare, Mr. Tupper has been a safe and inspiring guide in civic affairs.

Frank A Ball

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FRANK HAMILTON BALL .- Eulogy is often as grossly misdirected as censure, but if ever there was a man concerning whom it might well be said that the good he did was not "interred with his bones," but would assuredly live after him, that man was the late Frank Hamilton Ball, capital- ist, rancher, fruit-raiser and substantial upbuilder of both the city and county of Fresno, where he was esteemed for his astonishing versatility as an aggressive and progressive pioneer, and his ever accumulating successes in each field into which he ventured, heart and soul. He was one of the oldest and best-known citizens of Fresno, a city which from the beginning attracted pioneers, and which has come to number in its citizenry some of the most distinguished and influential of Californians. He was born at Grand Rapids, Mich., on September 13, 1855, the son of Sydney Silas Ball, who died in October, 1893, and who married Amanda Nancy Wood, also now deceased. In his native city Frank received the foundation of his educa- tion, and then he continued his studies at a military school and in well-known institutions of higher learning in eastern New York. As a boy and also as a young man, his character and mental alertness impressed those with whom he came into personal contact, and by many such acquaintances, among whom were often the most representative men and women, a distinguished career was predicted for him.

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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 91

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