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 93

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 93

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When the county seat was removed to the site now Fresno, Judge Winchell opened the first law office there, locating on the south side of Tulare Street near H Street, or, as it was then called, "Front Street." This was advantageously situated, being near the courtroom, which was on the upper floor of the building on the corner, the lower floor being utilized as a saloon. This propinquity of court and bar was a familiar and welcome ar- rangement for some of the old Millertonites, as in those cherished days fre- quent stimulation was needed. He afterward moved his office to the north side of Mariposa Street (this spot is now covered by the Union National Bank Building).

Acquiring a number of lots in the block bounded by I, J, Fresno and Mariposa Streets, he erected a large two-story brick building on the corner of J and Fresno Streets; in this he made his headquarters. The lower floor he fitted up for use as a postoffice, and contributed it to the government and people of Fresno, free of rent for five years. He also erected a business building on Mariposa Street near J. This later was destroyed by fire, which also ruined many other buildings, on the night of July 13. 1889, but was re- placed by a finer structure, which still stands. Other buildings were erected on J Street for business purposes. In 1876 he established a home for his fam- ily on the corner of K and Merced Streets (now the site of the Masonic Temple), where they resided until his departure from Fresno, in 1897.

Always public-spirited, this sturdy pioneer inaugurated many enter- prises, among others the street-car line running from the Southern Pacific depot up Mariposa, J. and Tuolumne Streets, and Blackstone Avenue to Bel- mont Avenue. He was the principal stockholder and president of this road, which he named the Fresno, Belmont and Yosemite Railroad. The construc- tion of this road led to the rapid development of the territory to which it contributed. In 1880 he organized a corporation which constructed the sec- ond large irrigating canal in Fresno County. The taking of irrigation water from the Kings River aroused autocratic opposition by the cattle-barons, who, as riparian owners, bitterly contested the settlers' efforts. Many years of litigation followed; and Judge Winchell, defending the claims and inter- ests of the settlers in many hard-fought legal battles, succeeded eventually

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in obtaining final decrees of the courts which left the farmers in the enjoy- ment of the free use of the water.

In this instance, as in many others, Judge Winchell ever defended the cause of the righteous and oppressed. Notable among these cases was one in which, during over five years as sole attorney for defendants against a series of malicious prosecutions, he not only obtained signal victory and final judg- ment and execution in the courts, but he carried the burden of the costs of the suits (which he was ill able to do), because of his faith in the justice of his cause and the inability of his clients to provide the fees necessary to keep the case in court. For his well-recognized attitude toward injustice and oppression, as for his high principles and consistent life, Judge Winchell held the esteem and confidence of those who knew him.

During the period between 1888 and 1892, he erected several business buildings on Mariposa Street and on J Street, but during the state-wide and nation-wide financial depression of following years he, with many others, suffered severe reverses. His increasing age and the serious condition of his wife's health required a change. Retiring from the active labors of his profession and disposing of his Fresno interests, he moved with his wife to San Francisco, hoping to benefit her health. They continued to live in that city until Mrs. Winchell's death, in 1908. He then moved to Berkeley, near the University grounds.

On the 24th day of July, 1913, rounding out exactly eighty-seven years Judge Winchell crossed the last frontier to that undiscovered realm of the Great Adventure. His ashes repose in the family plot in Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland.

LAURA C. WINCHELL .- The wife of Judge E. C. Winchell, and a pioneer with him in the early days, a history of. Fresno County would not be complete without a mention of this notable woman. She was born at Shepherdstown, Va. (now West Virginia), March 28, 1833. Her father, Joseph Alsip, a planter and mill-owner, also holding slaves, and her mother, Mary D. McKim, were natives of Maryland, and descendants of early colonial ances- tors who came from England and Scotland in 1635. The land upon which Shepherdstown stands was ceded by her paternal grandfather, who owned much circumjacent territory ; and the house in which she was born was used as a temporary hospital for the wounded soldiers of both armies, during the severe battles around Frederick and Shepherdstown, in the Civil War. The stone dwelling still stands and its walls bear the marks of cannon-balls and bullets. Her grandfathers fought through the Revolution, and the maternal grandparent through the War of 1812. Her father dying while she was a child, her mother continued to administer the work of the plantation until her daughter finished her education in Cincinnati Seminary, 1852.

Gold having been discovered in California, and an older sister and brother having already crossed the plains in 1850, her mother sold the farm, freed her faithful servants and sailed from New York to Nicaragua, crossed the Isthmus on mule-back, thence by steamer to San Francisco, and by river boat to Sacramento, where they made their home with those of the family who had preceded them. July 7, 1853, Miss Alsip married E. C. Winchell, a young lawyer of Sacramento, who had come across the plains in 1850. The house in which she lived and was married, was brought around the Horn in sections, by raft and ship, from Indiana in 1850, and was erected in Sacra- mento by Ledyard Frink, her brother-in-law. Four children were born of the union (see sketch of Judge Winchell on another page of this work).

By instinct and temperament a teacher, and fitted by education for this work she taught in Sacramento (where teachers were few), both before and after her marriage, and until domestic and maternal demands required her resignation. In May, 1859, she came to Fresno County with her husband and young son. They made their first residence at Fort Miller-where, at

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the time of her arrival, there was but one other family living-James Mc- Kenzie, his wife and two children. In November of the same year, Mrs. Winchell became the mother of her second son, Ledyard Frink Winchell.

E. C. Winchell having been appointed, by the supervisors, as superin- tendent of public instruction (the first in the county) and a district having been organized, it was with difficulty that a teacher could be found. But Miss Rebecca Baley, recently arrived with her parents from Missouri, and living at the Fort, was accepted by Mr. Winchell, after some questioning by him, and employed for a month at a salary of fifty dollars. No schoolroom being available either at the Fort or at Millerton, Mrs. Winchell gave up her dining- room, and provided tables and benches for the use of teacher and pupils. On Monday morning, March 19, 1860, in the western room of this building, which was built by the government for a hospital, school was opened with eleven attendants, and Miss Baley, with the advice and supervision of Mrs. Winchell. who lived in the house, taught here three months. This was the first public school in Fresno County. The pupils were John C. Hoxie, Sewall F. Hoxie, Ellen Baley, Charles Baley, John Parker, Mary Parker, Jane Richards, Allen Stroud, Arza Stroud, Nevada Clark and brother, and the small son of Mrs. Winchell.

In the fall of 1861 the Winchell family moved to a new home half a mile south of Fort Miller, situated in a picturesque valley, through which ran a stream, since then known as Winchell Creek. During the residence at this place Mrs. Winchell in 1864-1865, conducted a private school, for advanced as well as primary pupils. The public school having been discontinued from the summer of 1861, for lack of competent or available teachers, Mrs. Winchell, at the earnest solicitation of parents from the Chowchilla on the north to Dry Creek on the south, consented to give herself to what she con- sidered as her duty to the young people of the region. A school building was erected and furnished near Mrs. Winchell's home; and, devoting her entire time to the advancement of education, she was instrumental in giving to her pupils much that, owing to the absence of opportunity and the peculiar en- vironment of those times, they otherwise would have failed to receive. Not only was she teacher, but friend, counsellor and companion as well.

As a matter of historical interest, a list of the names of the pupils of Mrs. Winchell's classes is here given. Including her two sons, Lilbourne and Ledyard, there was a class of twenty-one: Mary J. Mckenzie, Fort Miller (now Mrs. John C. Hoxie), Ellen G. Baley, Fort Miller (now Mrs. James McCardle), and Elizabeth Johnson, Stonehouse, Merced County (now Mrs. H. C. Tupper)-all now living in Fresno County ; Mary Daulton, deceased, and Minnie Rea (now Mrs. Brock of Kings County), both from Buchanan Hollow; Tillie Gilmour (Mrs. Dr. Brown, of Madera), and John W. Gil- mour, on Saginaw Creek, Madera County, both children of the late Mrs. R. P. Mace of Madera, then of Fort Miller; William H. Mckenzie, late of Fresno, and Edwin P. Mckenzie, deceased, both of Fort Miller ; Allen Stroud and Arza Stroud (now of Phoenix, Ariz.) : Sewall F. Hoxie, Fort Miller (now of Pasadena) ; George W. Baley and Charles C. Baley, both in Fresno County ; Maggie Carroll (the late Mrs. B. S. Boutwell, of Dry Creek) ; George and Belle Winkleman, from Crane Valley; and two of the children of Henry Glass.

The home of Mrs. Winchell was the center of attraction to the young people of the neighborhood, as many innovations in the way of social gath- erings, parties, picnics games and other entertainments were introduced. In these efforts she had the hearty cooperation of her husband. After coming to the new county seat at Fresno she continued to contribute to the pleasure and social elevation of the community. Here, again, her home was the ren- dezvous for the young people, and ever hospitably open for their entertain-

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ment. To the sick, needy or afflicted she gave her sympathy and attention. bringing hope and light into darkened homes. Her love and self-sacrifice en- deared her to many.

In after-years, her health being seriously impaired, she moved, with her husband and only daughter, to San Francisco. The terrors of the earth- quake and fire of 1906 hastened the breaking-down of her vitality, and on November 18, 1908, surrounded by her husband and children, she peacefully passed to that Great Beyond, where her reward awaits her. A noble, self- sacrificing and sympathetic woman, her ashes repose with those of her family, in the beautiful Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, Cal.

GIDEON BOWDISH .- Among the prominent early settlers of Central Colony, Fresno County, was the late Gideon Bowdish, who came to this county in 1882, although he had previously lived in Siskiyou County, as early as 1862. He was a native of the Empire State, born July 13, 1833, a son of William Bowdish, a native of Saratoga, the same state. The Bowdish family originally came from England and were members of the Society of Friends who settled at New Bedford. Mass., where some of the family were merchants.

Gideon Bowdish followed farming at Waterloo, N. Y., and in 1862. accompanied by his wife, came to California, locating at Scott Bar, Siskivon County, where he followed placer mining for four years. In 1866 Mr. Bow- dish returned to Waterloo, N. Y., going east via the Isthmus of Panama. After reaching his native state he engaged in farming for fifteen years when he yielded to the allurements of the Golden State, this time coming to Fresno County, where he located in the Central Colony and purchased a ranch. Afterwards he sold his ranch and bought eighty acres of raw land, which he improved.

In 1888. Gideon Bowdish located in the city of Fresno and operated a blacksmith shop on the corner of K and Fresno Streets two years. His next move took him to Ashland, Ore., where for three years he engaged in horti- culture. Again he longed for the old home state and from Oregon he returned to Rochester, N. Y., in 1895. The call of the Great West seemed to ring in his ears, for he did not remain long in the East, but in 1898 came again to the Pacific Slope, this time to Seattle, Wash., from where he went to Cook's Inlet, Alaska, where he engaged in mining. In the fall of the same year he returned to California, locating in Fresno, where he lived at 363 Glenn Avenue. During his trip to Alaska, Mr. Bowdish's health became impaired and on January 12, 1908, he passed away.

In Rochester, N. Y., on October 17. 1860, Gideon Bowdish was united in marriage with Miss Jenette Smiles, a native of that city and a daughter of Dr. John Smiles, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dr. Smiles was graduated from the University of Edinburgh and a medical college at Glasgow, after which he became a very eminent physician and surgeon, and for several years was surgeon in the British barracks in Demerara, Guiana, British West Indies. Afterwards he settled at Rochester, N. Y., where he practiced medi- cine until he retired, and passed away in March, 1882. His wife, in maiden- hood, was Isabella Wilson, a native of Scotland, born in Dalkeith, in Sep- tember, 1811. She emigrated to the United States in 1833, and was married to Dr. Smiles at Rochester, N. Y., although the young couple were engaged before leaving their native land. She passed away in Rochester, N. Y. Both Doctor and Mrs. Smiles were members of the Presbyterian Church.

Mrs. Gideon Bowdish continues to reside at the old homestead in Fresno, 363 Glenn Avenue, and, although advanced in years, still retains a clear mem- ory and talks very entertainingly about the early days in the Golden State. Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Bowdish were the parents of two children: Percival, a successful rancher at Kerman, whose sketch will be found upon another page of this history; and John Smiles Bowdish, who is also a rancher at Kerman.

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ALBERT ABBOTT ROWELL .- It would be difficult to find a man more emphatically in accord with the true western spirit of progress, or more keenly alive to the opportunities awaiting the industrious and intelli- gent man of affairs in Fresno County, than is Albert Abbott Rowell of Selma, who has built up a far-reaching reputation and identified himself with the best interests of his district until he retired from active life. The Rowell family is of English ancestry, coming originally from London. The grand- father was an officer in the Revolutionary War. Jonathan Rowell, the father of Albert Abbott, was born in New England in 1800. He farmed in that part of the country until the middle of the forties, then with his family he migrated to Illinois, going to Chicago via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes and settling in McLean County where he resumed his occupation and continued until his death. He married Cynthia Abbott, also born in New England, and upon his death she was left with a family of small children and no means of support; she had inherited $800 from her father. Grand- father Rowell lived to be ninety-seven, while Grandmother Rowell almost reached the century mark. In the family of Jonathan Rowell and wife there were eleven children. Two girls died aged sixteen and eighteen respectively; one child died in infancy; and eight sons grew to maturity, namely: Ira, who was a farmer in Illinois and died at Eureka, that state, and one of whose boys, Homer Rowell, is connected with the Fresno Republican; Hon. Jona- than Harvey, who served for twelve years as a member of congress from the sixteenth district of Illinois, and who was Captain of Company G, Seven- teenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, for three years, and who was the father of Chester Rowell of Fresno, and who died after a long and useful life; Charles Carroll, who was a grocer at Danvers, Ill., where he died ; William Franklin, who served as a private in Company D, Eighth Missouri Regiment of Infantry, and who after the war came to Fresno County and later moved to San Jose, where he died; Milo, who is now living in Seattle, Wash .. a retired merchant, and who also served in Company D, Eighth Missouri Regi- ment; George B., who crossed the plains to Montana with his brother, Chester, in 1866, and who later returned to Illinois (Chester coming on to California) and lived there a short time, then went to Montana again and taught school two terms at Egan Canyon, then came to Fresno County and was engaged in the sheep business with his brothers, Chester and our subject, and who died in Fresno County, in 1913; Dr. Chester, who was one of the best loved men of Fresno County, who studied medicine under his uncle, Dr. Isaac Rowell, a 49'er in California and a prominent politician and physician in San Francisco, and whose monument adorns the Courthouse Park in Fresno, who also served three years in Company G, Seventeenth Illinois Infantry, and who grew up with Fresno County, served as mayor of Fresno, and died about five years ago; and Albert Abbott, of this review.

Albert A. Rowell was born in Essex County, Vt., May 30, 1846, and at the age of four years was taken by his parents to McLean County, Ill., where he lived for several years. The year following their removal to Illinois the father died, leaving his widow with a large family of children and no means to provide for them. The education of Albert A. was very limited as his services were needed on the farm to help with the work and provide for the other children. At the age of fourteen he began working as a farm hand, continuing until the breaking out of the Civil War, some eighteen months later. He enlisted as a private in Company G, Seventeenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, was mustered in at Cape Girardeau and served in the Army of the Tennessee. He was taken ill with pneumonia and chronic diarrhoea and was discharged on account of physical disability, after a service of fourteen months. He returned to Illinois and remained until 1871.

In that year Mr. Rowell went to York County, Nebr., where he took up a homestead, proved up on it, and during the intervening time he worked at carpentering. In 1874 he arrived in Fresno County, Cal., where he en-

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tered the employ of his two brothers in sheep-raising. He took up a pre- emption claim of 160 acres, located two miles west of what is now the town of Selma, improved it and sold off all but eighty-seven acres, of which eighty acres is in vines and trees, in full bearing. In February, 1879, he became one of the first workers on the old Centerville and Kingsburg ditch, contracting for the woodwork. Soon afterwards he went to Washington Colony, assisted in laying it out, dug ditches and otherwise labored for the comfort and con- venience of the early settlers and for the profit of those who have followed later. Mr. Rowell cut the first stick of timber for the warehouses at Fresno, for the First Methodist Episcopal Church, Fresno, and for the water-works building in Fresno. He erected the residence for his brother, Dr. Chester Rowell, at Fresno, that stood where the Chandler-Rowell building now is. He built the Rowell Building in Selma, which bears the inscription "Pro- hibition Row;" also his own residence on Sylvia Street, and his handiwork is seen in many of the other residences in the little town of Selma. In 1901 he retired to live in Selma.

On December 22, 1878, Mr. Rowell was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Ann Booth, born at Stillwater, Minn., the daughter of the late Stephen Booth, who moved from Minnesota to Illinois, thence to Colorado, and back again to Illinois, and back again to Colorado, and from there he came to California. Her mother died when Nancy was a baby and she was brought up by her step-mother. She came across the plains with the family with cow teams. Her father was a carpenter and millwright by trade and became owner of a ranch in Central Colony, Fresno County. Mrs. Rowell has proved an able helpmate to her husband, encouraging him in his successes and help- ing him in every way to win a competence.

Mr. Rowell is a Prohibitionist and has ever been in the vanguard in fighting the liquor element and kindred vices. He is a member of the Grand Army, Post No. 193, of Selma, of which he is Past Commander and now Chaplain. Mrs. Rowell belongs to the Ladies' Circle of the G. A. R. He attended the National Encampment of the Grand Army at Los Angeles. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rowell are members of the Christian Church, Mr. Rowell having served on the board of trustees and as superintendent of the Sunday School. In every way he has assisted to build up the town and county and is counted upon to do his share in all projects for the betterment of local conditions. When he landed in the county he considered it one of the "most God-forsaken" sections of desert he had ever seen and would have moved on to other fields if he had been able, but he was broke and had to remain, a circumstance that he has never regretted. He is a clean, moral man of generous impulses and practical common sense. He enjoys life and lends a helping hand to those less fortunate than himself.

MRS. MARY J. HATCH .- The distinction of being the oldest living pioneer of the Elkhorn school district, of Fresno County, belongs to Mrs. Mary J. Hatch, widow of the late Dennis Hatch. Mr. and Mrs. Hatch home- steaded 160 acres, where Mrs. Hatch now resides, and which has been the home place since September, 1881, when they secured it from the Government.

Dennis Hatch passed away May 18, 1900, his death being mourned by many who through years of association had learned to honor and highly re- spect him. He was born on April 4, 1849, at Eaton, N. H., and was reared and educated in that state. His father, Ephraim Hatch, was a New England farmer ; his mother, in maidenhood, was Jane Bean, both families tracing their ancestors back to Revolutionary Days, who came originally from England.

Mrs. Mary J. Hatch, the subject of this review, is a native of Brownfield, Oxford County, Maine, her maiden name being Mary J. Hartford, daughter of George and Belinda (Wormwood) Hartford, both families being Maine farmer folks. Mr. and Mrs. George Hartford had seven children who reached maturity, Mrs. Hatch being the only one of the family now residing in Cali- fornia. She has one brother residing in Standish, Maine, H. B. Hartford, who

Cad Pierce

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is in the telephone business; a sister, Mrs. Belinda Newcomb, resides at Bridgton, Maine; another sister, Mrs. Cora B. Lewis, lives at Brownfield, Maine.

When Dennis Hatch was a young man he lived just across the state line of Maine, in the state of New Hampshire, and the young couple were married at Brownfield, Maine, on December 13, 1873. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hatch farmed for two years in New Hampshire, and in 1876 migrated to the Golden State, arriving at Merced, in May of the Centennial Year. At first Mr. Hatch farmed at Snelling, Merced County, and in September, 1881, moved to Fresno County, locating in what is now known as the Elkhorn school district. Mr. Hatch gave a plot of two acres of land as a site for a school, as long as it should be used for that special purpose. When he came to Fresno County, Mr. Hatch homesteaded a quarter section of land which he improved with a house and barn. He engaged in stock-raising and lived to see this section of the county developed into a prosperous farming dis- trict, and was proud of the fact that he had greatly aided in its development.

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Hatch were the parents of two children: Mabel E., born in New Hampshire, died in infancy ; Alice M., married S. E. Williamson, whose sketch appears on another page of this history, and she is the mother of six children, and the family lives with Mrs. Hatch on the old home place. Mrs. Mary J. Hatch is an estimable woman, loved and highly respected by the community, where she has lived for thirty-seven years, and in her home she still continues to dispense the good old California hospitality.

CHARLES S. PIERCE .- A truly great man, especially in the develop- ment of both the city and county of Fresno along broad and enduring lines, and one whose confidence in the locality and the future grew and kept pace with his own ever-increasing success, was the late Charles S. Pierce, presi- dent of the C. S. Pierce Lumber Company, who died at his home at 1509 Van Ness Avenue, Fresno, on April 18, 1919, after having built up and thoroughly established the largest lumber business in the county. He had lived in Fresno for over thirty-five years, or one-half of his life-time, and had he survived until November, 1919, he would have celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his fortunate marriage. Death came as a great surprise to his many friends, for he had been active in business until almost the last, and was sick with pneumonia only five days.

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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 93

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