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 II > Part 11
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N. P. NIELSEN .- To the permanent settlement of California, the citizenship of European countries has made heavy contributions, especially is this true of Denmark.
N. P. Nielsen, the subject of this sketch first saw the light of day near Viborg, Jutland, Denmark, on July 28, 1872, his parents being P. C. and Hannah Nielsen, also natives of Denmark, and whose family consisted of eight children, six of whom are living, two being residents of Fresno County : N. P., and his brother P. C. His parents were farmers, the father being deceased, while his widow is still living. N. P. Nielsen was reared to a farmer's life, receiving a good education in the public schools. Having com- pleted the local schools he learned the grocery business at Sparkar, con- tinuing for a period of five years when, having decided to come to California, he quit and made his way, arriving at Fresno on September 1, 1891. Here he worked in both vineyard and orchard and soon learned the art of viti- culture and horticulture and then became superintendent of ranches which he followed for three years, and then he purchased twenty acres which he improved and sold in 1904.
Mr. Nielsen then bought his present forty-acre ranch on which he has lived since 1904; at that time it was unimproved, but today it is a highly culti- vated and productive ranch, improved with appropriate buildings and is devoted to raising grapes that vield on an average one and one-half tons of raisins per acre of malaga, Thompsons and muscats as well as peaches and oranges. Mr. Nielsen is an enterprising rancher and by hard work, per- sistency of purpose, thrifty habits and a definite aim, he has surmounted difficulties and gained substantial success.
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In 1900, Mr. N. P. Nielsen took a trip to his native land which proved a pleasant respite after years of hard toil in his adopted country. His vaca- tion lasted a year and the most pleasant remembrance of it was the winning of the affections of Miss Katie Andersen, born in Copenhagen, who immi- grated to the United States the following year and became his wife in 1902.
Of this happy union two sons were born: Earl C. and Carl J. June 16, 1914, Mr. Nielsen was bereft of his loving companion and the children of a devoted mother.
Fraternally, N. P. Nielsen is a member of the Danish Brotherhood, and is highly respected by a large circle of friends in his community.
P. C. Nielsen is also a native of Denmark, where he was born in 1877, and came to California in 1901. In the year 1904 he was united in marriage with Miss Metha M. Sorensen, a native of Schlesvig, who immigrated to the United States in 1902. One daughter, Allie has come to bless and brighten the home circle of Mr. and Mrs. P. C. Nielsen.
N. P. Nielsen has always supported all cooperative movements of the fruitmen and is a member and stockholder of the California Associated Raisin Company and California Peach Growers, Inc. He is a trustee of the Fairview school district.
OLEN LEE EVERTS .- The Everts family, represented in Fresno by Olen Lee Everts, a prominent attorney, was a distinguished one of New England. The first of the name to seek a new location was Gustavus Everts, Sr., who came as far west as Indiana, settling at La Porte, where he followed farming. He was also a resident of Ohio for a time, and in that state his son, Gustavus A., the father of Olen Lee, was born. Gustavus A. settled in Putnam County, Ill., in young manhood, and was engaged in farming until his removal to La Porte, Ind., where he continued the same calling. In 1884 he removed to California, and at Fresno engaged in the real estate business until a year before he died, in 1897, at the age of sixty-three years. He was a Mason and politically adhered to the policies of the Democratic party, in whose interests he served one term as public administrator of Fresno County. His wife, formerly Rena Newport, was born in Bureau County, Ill., the daughter of P. N. Newport, an extensive farmer and large landowner of that county. Mrs. Everts died in Illinois early in life.
The only child of his parents, Olen Lee Everts was born in Putnam County, Ill., February 11, 1870, and, after the death of his mother, went to Kewanee, Ill., where he made his home with an aunt, Mrs. H. E. Woodruff. He attended the public schools and in time was graduated from the Kewanee high school. In 1887 he came to Fresno County, Cal., and was engaged in the real estate business with his father. Before he came west, Mr. Everts had read law during his vacations and the desire to make that profession his life-work was so strong that in 1889 he returned east, and became a student in the law department of the University of Michigan, two years later graduating with the degree of LL.D. The year previous he had been ad- mitted to the bar of Michigan. During his college life he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi fraternity. Upon his return to California, Mr. Everts was admitted to the bar of the Golden State and at once opened offices in the First National Bank Building at Fresno and ever since then has practiced law in this city. In 1893 he formed a partnership with David S. Ewing, the firm being known then as Everts & Ewing, the same as it is today, and as such has won distinction at the bar of the state, and a place among the prom- inent attorneys of Fresno; it is one of the earliest established law firms in the San Joaquin Valley.
A Democrat in his political convictions, Mr. Everts was elected to the office of District Attorney of Fresno County in 1898, he took the oath of office the following January and served until January, 1903. During his term in this important position more than 500 criminal cases in the superior court of the county, many of them bitterly contested, were handled by his office,
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and the court records, showing the percentage of convictions in the number of cases tried, bespeak the ability and energy displayed by Mr. Everts in the interests of the people. The discharge of his duties was so efficient that he won the commendation of the citizens of Fresno County, regard- less of party affiliations. Mr. Everts thereupon resumed his practice with his partner. Mr. Ewing. For three successive terms, he has, with his partner, represented the public administrator of Fresno County. This enterprising firm is attorney for various banking institutions in the San Joaquin Valley, and for other corporations of like character. A great deal of oil litigation also has been handled by this firm.
The law firm of Everts & Ewing easily ranks as one of the foremost in the San Joaquin Valley. In the case of Zibbell vs. the Southern Pacific Railway Company, they secured a verdict for $100,000 damages, the largest amount ever recovered for personal injuries anywhere. This verdict was settled for $92,745.65 on the 24th of July, 1911. Mr. Everts has conducted defenses in many noted murder cases, among these the case of People vs. Orlean Howe, which attracted nation-wide attention. While this firm numbers among its clients many banking, oil, and other large corporations, it does a general law-business, and the individual client obtains the ad- vantage of its long and successful experience in legal matters, as well as the careful personal attention of the members of the firm.
In Kewanee, Ill., Mr. Everts was united in marriage, on November 1, 1892, with Flora Maul, a daughter of Frank Maul, a merchant of that city. One child has blessed this union, Frank Gustavus Everts, now a young man twenty-two years of age. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He had taken one year of law in the University when, in April, 1917, he volun- teered for the United States Armv, and received a commission as First Lieutenant in Company C, 145th Machine Gun Battalion of the Fortieth Division, and while in France received his Captaincy of that Company, and at this time is still serving in France.
Fraternally O. L. Everts is a Mason, having been made a Mason in Kewanee Lodge, No. 159, A. F. & A. M .; he belongs to Trigo Chapter, No. 69. R. A. M., having served as High Priest, and also belongs to Fresno Commandery, No. 29, K. T .; Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S .; and is also a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 186, I. O. O. F., the Modern Woodmen of America, and the Independent Order of Foresters. As an enterprising and liberal citizen, Mr. Everts takes a most active interest in all that tends to promote the general welfare of the people and county. He is a member of the Commercial, Sequoia, University, and Country Clubs, also of the Chamber of Commerce, and of the County and State Bar Associations.
JOHN HENRY BURNETT .- An esteemed citizen of Fresno who has made his influence felt in manufacturing circles of the state, is John Henry Burnett, owner and proprietor of the Burnett Iron Works, the largest foun- dry and structural steel plant in the San Joaquin Valley. He was born at Hellston, Cornwall, England, December 10, 1859, a son of Evan Burnett, a native of Truro, England. His grandfather, Evan Burnett, was a native of Wales and an iron moulder by trade, being engaged in that business at Truro. John Henry's father, also named Evan Burnett, was engaged in the foundry business at Truro, and later at Hellston. He came to the United States in 1867, and for three years followed his trade in Chicago, then came to Cal- ifornia in 1870 and was engaged with the Union Iron Works at San Francisco for several years. He died at his home in Alameda at the age of seventy-six years. His wife, formerly Catherine Rule, was a native of Red Ruth, England, a daughter of Captain Jack Rule, who was superintendent of the gas plant at Red Ruth, where his death occurred. Mrs. Burnett died in Alameda on Jan- uary 25, 1905, aged eighty-five years. There were fifteen children born of this union, eight of whom reached their majority, and three boys and one girl are living as follows: Mrs. J. J. Atkins of Alameda; Evan, proprietor
Anna J. Burnett
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their four children, but two grew up: Mrs. J. A. Darby of Stockton, who had two sons in the World War; and Mrs. Burnett. The latter was educated at the Academy and is well-versed in the early history of Fresno County. She is an active member of the Fresno County Pioneer Society.
Mr. and Mrs. Burnett became the parents of two daughters, Maude E., Mrs. Roy Pugh of Fresno, and the mother of a son, Jack Montgomery Pugh ; and Winnifred, who died at the age of seven years.
Mr. Burnett is prominent in fraternal circles and is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was made a Mason in Las Palmas Lodge, F. & A. M., Fresno, and is a mem- ber of the Royal Arch Chapter; the Commercial Club, Chamber of Com- merce, and is an officer of the Humane Society. Politically he is a stanch Republican. Mr. Burnett is recognized as one of the upbuilders of Fresno County where the most active years of his life have been spent, and where he has won a large circle of friends and business associates. He is fond of hunting and fishing and each year he goes into the mountains and is familiar with every part of the county. He built his residence at Ninth and Mono in 1898 and improved the grounds, which comprise a city block.
EDWARD EARL SLATER .- An enterprising Californian who has be- come deservedly prominent because of his leadership in various movements for the building up of his section, and especially on account of his beneficent activity in favor of an irrigation project whereby the people may handle the business of their own water-supply, is E. E. Slater, president and manager of the Kern Pucheu Oil Company, who resides at Tranquillity. He was born at Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio, March 4, 1878, the son of Joseph Slater, a native of Staffordshire, England, from which country the elder Slater came with his parents, when he was fifteen years old, to the United States and Ohio. Grandfather Slater was an early settler in the Hocking Valley, where Joseph grew up in the coal region and became a self-made man interested in the coal industry. In time he became one of the largest coal operators, as well as one of the oldest in the Hocking Valley, having his headquarters for many years at Nelsonville. There he was one of the organizers of the John- son Bros. Coal Company; and when he sold his interest in that concern, he started the Maple Hill Coal Company, which became one of the most exten- sive coal managements in all that region. He was also interested in the Keever Starch Company, of Columbus, Ohio, and the Scioto Stone Company, at the same place; and he was a partner with C. L. Kurtz in mining in Guanaxuato, Mexico. An energetic Democrat, he was a councilman in Nel- sonville, and a member of the Water Commission; and he was a prominent Mason, Knight Templar and Shriner. He chose for his wife and life-compan- ion Barbara Ann Coulter, and she was born at Logan in Hocking County, the daughter of John A. Coulter, a native of Pennsylvania, and a manufac- turing cooper. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Slater are still living, the parents of five boys and a girl, among whom Edward Earl is the second eldest.
After graduating from the Nelsonville high school, E. E. Slater entered the Ohio State University at Columbus and there studied until he joined his father in business. He was made superintendent and manager of the coal mines and stores at Nelsonville, and in that capacity he served with excep- tional ability until his father sold out and located in Columbus. Then he entered the employ of the Keever Starch Company, as a traveling salesman in the Fast, introducing starch, and later solicited for the Columbus Public Service Electric Light and Heating Company, established by his father, purveyors of electric light and heat. After that, for several years, he was a wholesale coal merchant at Columbus.
In 1910, Mr. Slater became interested with his father in 163 acres of land at Tranquillity, Cal., and he sold his Ohio holdings to move to Califor- nia. He leveled and checked the land for alfalfa, and erected the necessary
E. E. Slak
Mrs E.E Slater
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buildings and made other improvements. He also leased land and raised grain. The property owned by Mr. Slater was reclaimed land at time of purchase, and it was owing to his short residence in this state and his igno- rance of irrigation laws of California that led him to sign up with the San Joaquin Valley Farm Lands Company to put their land into a reclamation district, thus subjecting them to frequent assessments. Upon investigation he found that conditions were different than he had been led to believe and he got out a remonstrance, took the matter before the board of supervisors, who set the reclamation project aside and gave him permission to organize an irrigation district, which he did. The result was, after careful study, that he originated the idea of a water-supply project and was successful in getting the irrigation district established under the Wright Law. He carried the election to go on with the work, and was elected by the people as their asses- sor, collector and treasurer. This project has been the making of the district, so that Mr. Slater feels well repaid for all the labor in connection with the matter.
Mr. Slater was also clerk of the board of trustees of the Grammar School for six years, and he first proposed that a Union High School be established, and a building therefor be erected. Indeed, he was made president of the board of directors. He was always interested in the Pine Flat scheme for the conservation of water, and was elected a member of the executive com- mittee having the matter in charge. In 1918 he was the candidate for super- visor against the present incumbent, and he came within twenty-four votes of being elected.
Mr. Slater promoted and sold the stock in the new bank, known as the First National Bank of Tranquillity, which opened its doors for business on August 20, 1919, in temporary quarters until their new and modern bank- building, costing $20,000, is completed. The community felt the need of a local bank to handle the business, which had grown to such proportions that it was very unhandy to handle transactions at long distances, which caused delay and expense to the customers, and in consequence Mr. Slater put his shoulder to the wheel and started an institution that will reflect to his credit in the future. The bank is capitalized at $50,000, and the officers of the concern are: E. E. Slater, president; J. E. Tuttle, first vice-president ; W. J. Williams, second vice-president; A. S. Fuqua, cashier. These gentlemen, together with J. N. Daniel, C. F. Goodrich, K. O. Whitson and John Davis, make up the efficient board of directors. All of these men have been promi- nent and progressive citizens of this section for a number of years and have the entire confidence of the people of this part of Fresno County.
During the various Liberty Loan drives of the war period Mr. Slater was chairman of the committee for the Tranquillity district, and it was through efficient organization of his forces that the district went "over the top" in record time in each drive, as they did in the Thrift Stamp sales and all other allied drives in Fresno County.
While at Nelsonville, Mr. Slater was married to Miss Celia Anna Dane, a native of Hocking County, and a charming lady who has done much to make him successful. Mr. and Mrs. Slater attend the Methodist Church. Mr. Slater brought his nephew, Donald C. Slater, out to California, sent him to the Fresno High, from which he graduated. He then enlisted in the United States Navy, and was one of the boys from the Fresno High that was selected to go to Stanford, where he studied under the direction of the government, until the armistice was signed and he received his discharge.
Always popular in whatever circle he has moved, Mr. Slater is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Mendota, and the Columbus Chapter, No. 37. of the B. P. O. Elks, and he belongs to the Fresno Eagles. Both Mr. and Mrs. Slater have a host of friends who are glad that they were drawn, as by the beckoning of Destiny, to Tranquillity.
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WILLIAM A. COLLINS .- Aside from the honors associated with the office of county supervisor, Mr. Collins has the distinction of being a native son of Fresno County. Not only has he been instrumental in the upbuilding of the county, but his father, J. D. Collins, was also actively identified with public work, being well known as an educator and a former sheriff of the county, a sketch of whom will be found on another page in this history.
William A. Collins was born August 6, 1877, at Dry Creek, Fresno County. His education was gained in the public schools and the high school, after which he pursued a business course. Upon the completion of his schooling, he tried a venture in which only a young man of pioneer grit and determina- tion could have succeeded. Out near Sanger he took up a tract of 800 acres of raw land. To the hard task of improving it, he devoted all of his time and the energy and ambition with which he was abundantly blessed. Years of industry have carried the days of worry into a remote past, and now Mr. Collins can view with pleasure his successful achievements. Instead of bar- ren waste, he now owns a fine tract of cultivated ground, producing grapes and various fruits.
Since making a study of political questions, Mr. Collins has been identi- fied with the Democratic party, and while he personally superintends the management of his ranch, he is still able to devote the necessary time to the office of county supervisor, to which he was elected, first in 1912, and re- elected, in 1916, for a second term of four years. This honor demonstrates how capably he has looked after the interests of the people. Since being a member of the board he has been chairman of the County Farm and Fair- grounds committee, during which time the Farm has been brought to its present high state of efficiency. He is a charter member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and representative of the commissioners in the Raisin Day Festival since 1913. The Methodist Church receives his hearty support.
Mr. Collins' marriage occurred December 4, 1901, when Miss Myrtle Nelson became his wife. She is the granddaughter of Major T. P. Nelson, a well-known citizen of Fresno, and is proud of the fact that she is a native daughter. They have four children: James P., Thelma, Myrtle and Mary E.
EMMETT RIGGINS .- A building contractor who believes in doing things, and whose work, therefore, evident on every hand in the leading structures of Fresno and vicinity, speaks for him in no uncertain terms, is Emmett Riggins, who was born in Missouri on January 10, 1862. His father was George W. Riggins, and he married Miss Ann Dean. Both parents, having faithfully completed their earthly tasks and enjoyed the measure of days allotted them, in which they had the highest esteem of their fellow- townsfolk, are now dead. Growing up in Missouri, Emmett was sent to the public schools of his district, and later, to satisfy his ambition for learning. he attended the State University at Columbia, and there prepared himself for his later success in the world.
Putting aside his books for a while, he was apprenticed to the coach- building trade; and having served his time, he worked as a journeyman for several years. In 1886, however, he cast loose from his Missouri moorings and came West; and landing on both feet at the start, in a couple of years, he was well-established as a contractor.
The year 1888 found him moving into Fresno, then only a village, and yet even at that time an attractive place that anyone could see was full of promise. He at once engaged in building, and many of the early structures of the town, particularly the building blocks, were erected by him and after his designs. For a while he was in partnership with a Mr. Rehan, now de- ceased, and then he joined E. A. Palmer of Fresno and assisted him in carry- ing out his notable work in the San Joaquin Valley.
Among the edifices he thus built, adding much to the architectural attractiveness and modern convenience of the neighborhood, may be men-
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tioned the Hughes Block, the Braly Building, the Chance Building, the Kut- ner Building, the Fulton Hotel, and the Cory Building. He remodelled the First National Bank, working there a very agreeable renovation, and he had the contract for the new six-story, reenforced concrete Mason Block.
But Mr. Riggins has done much more than erect some of the most strik- ing business structures in this and neighboring towns. Repeatedly his taste and experience have been called for to help create of Fresno the City Beauti- ful. He has therefore designed and put up many of the most ornate private residences in Central California; nor can one doubt, who has followed the steady display of his ability, that his resources in invention or execution ever will fail, however rapid or extensive may be the development of the city.
NATHAN HENRY HAYS .- A California vineyardist who resides near Clovis, one of the most promising sections in Fresno County, is Nathan Henry Hays, whose career has been advanced through the companionship and in- spiration of his wife. He was born in Stephenson County, Ill., December 2, 1850, the son of Amos Hays, who came from Ohio and in his native state married Mary Howe, also an Ohioan, whose ancestors had an honorable part in the Revolutionary War. In time the father removed to Stephenson County, and in 1856 to Mineral Point, Wis., where he was a farmer. Then he removed back to Ohio for five years, and returning to Wisconsin died there at the age of eighty-six. Mrs. Hays had passed away in Wisconsin, the mother of two boys and four girls, of whom one boy and two girls are living. A brother of our subject, D. J. Hays, settled in Fresno County and bought a vineyard at Easton ; and returning to Fresno he died there in 1915.
Brought up in Wisconsin, Nathan Henry attended the public schools there and when seventeen returned to Bethel, Claremont, County, Ohio, where he continued his schooling. Arriving at the age of twenty-two he found him- self once more in Wisconsin, and there he engaged in farming.
On December 19, 1877, Mr. Hays was married at Willow Springs, La Fayette County, to Miss Emily Cork, a native of Staffordshire, England, and the daughter of Hugh and Ann (Brough) Cork, who had been born in that section. Her father was a tailor and later a Methodist minister, and in 1869 he brought his family across the ocean to Mineral Point. There he was a clergyman and also at Shullsburg and other places, and in time he came to California. He died at Modesto in his seventy-sixth year. Mrs. Cork died in Wisconsin. The couple had nine children, five of whom are still living. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hays remained in La Fayette County for twelve years, during which time they were actively engaged in farming. De- siring, however, to live in a milder climate they sacrificed what they had and, in 1889 came west to California ; and being impressed with the superior ad- vantages of Fresno, three months later they bought forty acres of alfalfa land in Easton and made plans to settle there.
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