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 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129 | Part 130 | Part 131 | Part 132 | Part 133 | Part 134 | Part 135 | Part 136 | Part 137 | Part 138 | Part 139 | Part 140 | Part 141 | Part 142 | Part 143
Having thus so long been active as a practical and highly successful viticulturist, it is a matter of some pride to Mr. Lindsey that he attended the first meeting of a raisin association held in Armory Hall in 1892; since which time he has always been interested in and an active supporter of every similar movement. He was a member of the original raisin association and is now a member and a stockholder in the California Associated Raisin Com- pany. He has seen the county grow from a few sections to its present strength and importance as a part of the very prosperous Central California; and all that he has seen he could and did prophecy, for it was evident from the first that Fresno and its environs had an exceptional and promising destiny.
A public-spirited citizen always desirous of doing his full share of civic work, and a Republican who has served on the county central committee. Mr. Lindsey was for several years school trustee in the Scandinavian school district, and most of the time was also clerk of the board. In every way, he has done what he could to raise the standard of social life in the com- munity, and it is safe to say that he enjoys the esteem of his fellow-citizens to a high degree.
During his sojourn at Rockland, Me., Mr. Lindsey was made a Mason in Aurora Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., and on the night when Jewel Lodge No. 42, I. O. O. F., was instituted at Antigonish, N. S., he joined that order.
A. C. McVEY .- A member of the managing board of directors of the Anchor Line Auto Stages, Mr. McVey may be found at the depot of this organization, 1031 I Street, Fresno, at any time during business hours. This organization is duly incorporated, and was formed for the convenience of the public in order to have one office where all the stages might arrive in Fresno and whence they might depart for all important points in any direc- tion from that city. It cooperates with the Western Auto Stage Company, at Bakersfield. The Inter-Urban Auto Stage Association was incorporated December 28, 1915, the officers being : President, J. C. Walling, of Madera ; vice-president, C. C. Allen, Sanger; secretary, F. Roberson, Fresno: treas- urer, Union National Bank of Fresno. The board of directors are: A. C. McVey, Fresno; J. C. Walling; C. C. Allen; F. Roberson ; W. R. Miles, Fresno. Mr. McVey ran his busses for three years independently before join- ing the association, and even now all the members own and operate their own stages.
Mr. McVey comes from a prominent family. His father. W. H. McVey, a farmer near Sedalia, was born in Georgetown, Mo., in 1840. He married Miss Katherine Elliott at Sedalia. Her people came from Kentucky about the year 1840. She was born in Missouri in 1843. His grandfather, Absalom McVey, was born in Maryland, and went to Missouri about 1833, being one of the pioneers of the country west of the Missouri River. At one time he was the owner of 1,300 acres of land near Sedalia, upon a part of which the city of Sedalia was built.
albert Boswoich
Sommaks Bosworth
1527
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
A. C. McVey was born at Sedalia, June 21, 1882, and grew up on his father's farm. He attended the country school and Sedalia high, from which he graduated in 1901. He farmed for two years thereafter and then entered the employ of the Missouri Pacific as clerk in the office at Sedalia. On May 28, 1906, he came to Brawley, Cal., and after working on a ranch for six months went to Selma, Cal., where he engaged with the Selma Fruit Com- pany for three years under the superintendency of his cousin, T. H. Elliott. The next three years were spent with the Elliott-McVey Company, of Selma, as a partner. This firm was burned out, and Mr. McVey quit the fruit busi- ness and bought a ranch of twenty acres, which he still owns. It is a fine fruit farm, and this he now rents out. He lived here for two years, when he went to driving bus for S. E. Roberts, of Selma. In August, 1915, he began business on his own account, running stage from Selma to Kingsburg, later to Fresno and then another from Fresno to Sanger.
Mr. McVey married Miss Chloe Good, of Selma, a graduate of Selma high and of the Normal of San Jose. She was a teacher at Selma, and is the daughter of W. B. and Carrie E. Good. Mr. and Mrs. McVey have two children; Laurell and Claire. The family are members of the Christian Church, at Selma.
ALBERT BOSWORTH .- From early life identified with the oil indus- try, and at the youthful age of sixteen years employed by the Standard Oil Company, at Bradford, Pa., Albert Bosworth, has gained a broad and varied experience and is one of the best posted oil superintendents in the Coalinga field. A native of the Empire State, Albert Bosworth was born at Limestone, Cattaraugus County, N. Y., a son of Lon and Sarah (Adams) Bosworth. The father was a farmer and sawmill man and passed his last days in New York State ; the mother was a native of Olean, N. Y., and is also deceased.
Albert Bosworth was brought up at Limestone, and attended the public school of his district. At the early age of sixteen he was employed by the Standard Oil Company at Bradford, Pa., in the pipe-line department. Later he was engaged in lumbering for L. D. Whitmore, in Wayne and Warren Counties, Pa. When he quit lumbering it was to take up work in the oil fields, entering the employ of Mr. Shear of Sheffield, Pa., when he became a driller and by loyal and efficient service he was promoted to the position of superintendent, having three different properties under his charge, with forty- three producing wells. As proof of Mr. Bosworth's capability, dependability and satisfactory service, it is with pride that he points to the fact that he held this position for nearly fifteen years, or until 1906, when he resigned and took a trip to California, visiting the Coalinga oil field, but remaining only two weeks, when he returned to Warren, Pa. In 1908, Mr. Bosworth made his second trip to California, coming again to Coalinga, where he secured a position with George D. Roberts of the Stockholders 28 Company, where he filled the responsible position of superintendent for seven years. When Mr. Roberts sold his stock in the Stockholders 28 Company he became inter- ested in the United Development Company, which is now the Oil Exploration Company, and Mr. Bosworth came with Mr. Roberts to the new concern, where he was placed in charge as general superintendent of the property, which now has seven producing wells on Sections 17 and 19-15-20.
In San Francisco, Albert Bosworth was united in marriage with Emma Ingram, a native of Mason City, Iowa, but reared and educated in the Golden State. Mr. Bosworth has been an active member of the War Fund Association and active in its work, and with his wife is also a life member of the Red Cross.
Mr. Bosworth is a man of executive ability, a very enterprising and prog- ressive oil-man, with an enviable reputation as an oil superintendent. Mr. and Mrs. Bosworth are justly popular and have many friends in Fresno County.
1528
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
HUGO S. STANGE .- Though not a native son, Hugo S. Stange has spent most of his life in Fresno County since reaching the age of maturity, and has been identified with the business life of the community since that time. Born in Berlin, Germany, September 26, 1880, he is a son of Godfrey and Ann (Teal) Stange, both natives of Germany, the father now passed to his reward. In 1883 the family emigrated to America and located in Neills- ville, Clark County, Wis., and Hugo S. was educated in the public schools of Neillsville. He later worked in a furniture factory there. In 1900 he came with his mother to Fresno, his father and brother, Paul T., having arrived the year previous. Here he secured work in the logging camp at Millwood, and later worked on the construction of the Northern Pacific Rail- way between Ukiah and Willits, Mendocino County. Returning to Fresno Mr. Stange learned the plumber's trade, with the firm of Donahue & Emmons. In 1908 he went to Oakland and worked at his trade there with Groff & Leonard, and also with E. O. Dryer of that city. On his return to Fresno. in 1909, Mr. Stange again entered the employ of Donahue & Emmons. remaining with them until 1911, when he was employed by Nudt Johnson and Kutner-Goldstein, for a few months.
At this period Mr. Stange formed a partnership with George T. Elli- thorpe, and engaged in the plumbing business under the firm name of Elli- thorpe and Stange, with shops at the corner of N and Fresno Streets. They installed plumbing in fine residence buildings, principally. In September, 1914, this partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Stange has since that time been in business for himself. Among other work he installed the plumbing in the Hotel White, a three-story brick building on I Street; two residences for H. B. Ashton : a number of fine homes in North Fresno: the Peach Growers Packing Plant. Reedley : the Brewer Hotel, Selma: Arwandon Hotel and Yarrington Hotel, Mendota : a fine residence for A. A. Channell on White's Bridge Road. He was foreman in charge of the plumbing on the first addi- tion to the high school building, also in the pumping plant of the Associated Oil Company at Coalinga.
The marriage of Mr. Stange united him with Mrs. Alice Elkins. Mrs. Stange has two children by a former marriage, Clara, and Phylis. Fraternally Mr. Stange is a member of Fresno Lodge, No. 343, I. O. O. F., and of the Hermann Sons.
NIELS PETERSEN .- The life of Niels Petersen, which this narrative sketches, began on October 30, 1869, in Hadeslev, Schleswig. His early childhood was spent on a farm, and when but a boy of fifteen years he was apprenticed for four years to a blacksmith, during which time he received no salary for his hard labor, but board only, as is the custom in that section of the world. Having an aversion to the military oppression of that country and a desire to seek a home under a flag of freedom, Mr. Petersen emigrated to the United States in June, 1888, and located at Woodbridge, N. J., where his brother and sisters were living. While residing there, working at his trade, he studied the English language diligently evenings, and soon learned to speak and read English, continuing thus employed until 1894, when he journeyed farther westward, arriving at Fresno, Cal., in June of that year.
After locating at Fresno, Mr. Petersen secured employment at his trade with H. Ahrensberg; but after only two weeks he became sick and was obliged to leave his work, and went to the mountains for a month's rest. Upon returning to Fresno he resumed work as a blacksmith, being employed by George Larsen for two years. Later, he formed a partnership with Peter A. Borg and they opened a shop at the corner of I and Inyo Streets, con- tinuing the business there for about three years, when he purchased his partner's interest. Mr. Petersen conducted the business in the same location until 1912, when he entered in partnership with H. Ahrensberg. On January 13. 1917, Mr. Ahrensberg passed away and Niels Petersen bought his in-
1529
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
terest and became the sole owner of the establishment which is located at 702 I Street. In addition to conducting a general repair shop, Mr. Petersen does wagon-making, horseshoeing and various kinds of machine work. He is very enterprising and industrious, and by hard work and satisfactory service has built up a large and paying business.
Mr. Petersen owns an alfalfa ranch of fifteen acres, located on Pierce near White's Bridge road, three and a half miles west of Fresno. On this ranch he now resides with his family, where he is engaged in dairying.
In 1898, at Fresno, Mr. Niels Petersen was united in marriage with Andrea Schmidt, also a native of Hadeslev, and of this happy union six children were born, all of whom are natives of Fresno County: Roy, asso- ciated with his father in business; Harry, Walter, Edna and Erna (twins), and May. Religiously, the family are Lutherans, and fraternally Mr. Peter- sen is an honored member of both Dania and the Danish Brotherhood. He is a man of sterling integrity and worth, and is held in high esteem by his many friends and business associates.
J. C. HINTON .- Every branch of business has its representatives in the prosperous and progressive city of Fresno. J. C. Hinton, manager of the Fresno Plumbing Supply Company, is one of Fresno's energetic business men. He is the son of J. S. and Margaret (Hobbs) Hinton, and was born in Missouri, January 15, 1888.
Educated in the public schools of his native state, his good judgment appreciated the benefits of a high school education, of which he availed him- self. After leaving school his life was spent on the farm until he reached his majority, when he came to Fresno, following the occupation of farming for a time, afterwards being in the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad.
His next business venture was with Mr. Cox in the plumbing business. He made rapid strides in his chosen occupation, taking his present responsi- ble position in August, 1914.
On August 27, 1913, Mr. Hinton married Miss Catherine McAlpine, who has borne him two children : Catherine Margaret and Virginia R.
Mr. Hinton is a member of the Christian Church ; has been identified with politics ; and fraternally is an Odd Fellow and a member of Las Palmas Lodge, No. 366, F. & A. M. He is also associated with the Chamber of Commerce, the Merchant's Association and the Traffic Association.
CAPT. HERBERT A. SESSIONS .- A worthy descendant of his fore- bears of early Colonial days, Herbert A. Sessions, Fresno County's very com- petent probation officer, was born in Berkshire County, Mass., July 17, 1866. He was the son of Samuel Alanson and Olive (Hibbard) Sessions, who, after leaving the old Bay State, lived in the states of Ohio and Michigan. Both are now deceased. On the Sessions' side of the house his ancestry in America dates back to 1633, the year that Connecticut Colony was founded and three years before Roger Williams founded Providence. On the maternal (Hib- bard) side his ancestors came to America in 1631, eleven years after the Puritans landed on Plymouth Rock. His forebears on both paternal and maternal sides were prominent in the Revolutionary War, in which they served with distinction.
Herbert A. Sessions received the best education the common schools and high schools of Michigan afforded, and afterward taught school for six years in that state. His inclinations then turned toward newspaper work, in which he successfully engaged in Michigan and Iowa. During the Spanish War he served as a volunteer in Company F, Fifty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, for one and one-half years, part of this time in the Philippines; at the end of that time he returned to the United States and was honorably discharged from military duty at the Presidio. In 1904 he came to Fresno, and in July of that year he was united in marriage with Miss Gertrude Steele. Their union has been blessed with the birth of four children, three boys and
1530
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
one girl. He has three children by a former marriage, two girls and one boy.
Mr. Sessions was instrumental in the organization of the Juvenile Court in 1904, serving as its officer without pay until 1911, and was then appointed on a salary for four years. For three years, while out of probation work, he took care of his own farming interests, improving over a section of tree and alfalfa land, and at the same time was manager of the Riverside Vineyard Company, after which he was appointed to his present position. The Parental Home was built under his supervision, and after its completion he was given charge of it. The new detention house was built according to his plans and designs, and he was a member of the Citizen's Relief Committee which built shelter for the unemployed, as well as a member of the Municipal Employ- ment Bureau. For two years he was a director of the Fresno County Fair Association, and inaugurated the Better Babies Contest exhibits, for children. He also inaugurated the stock-judging contest for boys in connection with said Fresno County Fair. Mr. Sessions is now serving in his ninth year as probation officer. In the performance of his official duties he has three able assistants: Oliver M. Akers, Ella M. Towle and Mrs. O. S. Hecox, all of the city of Fresno. Some 500 cases are on record each year. Of this number about 100 deal with adults and 400 with juveniles. As a probation officer Mr. Sessions is guided by the voice of Him who said: "Go, and sin no more." That his lofty idealism is bearing good fruit is attested by the fact that ninety-five percent. of those paroled "make good."
During the recent war Mr. Sessions organized the Fifty-eighth Company of California Military Reserves, sometimes known as the Home Guards, and is Senior Captain of the Fresno Battalion, consisting of three companies. During the war he was also appointed and served as an associate member of the Military Training Camps Association of the United States, the field of his activities being the San Joaquin Valley. This board selected many candidates for the Officers' Training School.
In his religious views Mr. Sessions is an Episcopalian, in politics a Re- publican. He is a Mason, and has passed the third degree in that order. He is also a member of the Woodmen of the World, and a charter member of the Commercial Club.
JAMES P. HARTIGAN .- Through his long association with the various phases of the raisin industry, James P. Hartigan has gained an en- viable reputation as an expert judge of the products of the vine and is known as the "quality man" in the extensive packing houses of the California Asso- ciated Raisin Company. James P. Hartigan passes judgment on the quality and grade of the raisins packed by this large corporation, and is careful that nothing is shipped that will not maintain the established high reputation of the brands packed by the California Associated Raisin Company. He is the superintendent of warehouses for the company and is regarded as one of the best posted men on the raisin industry in the San Joaquin Valley.
James P. Hartigan was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., on April 25, 1864, a son of John and Ann (Trainor) Hartigan, who were both natives of the Emerald Isle. In 1869, John Hartigan brought his family to California by the Isthmus of Panama, and after his arrival located in Davis, Yolo County, where he followed farming and in 1878 passed away. James P. Hartigan received his education in the schools at Davis, Cal., and it was in the same town that he gained his first experience in the raisin industry, while he was in the employ of G. G. Briggs, at Davis. In 1885, he located at Oleander, Fresno County, where he was employed in the packing house of the Curtis Fruit Company for three years. Afterwards he engaged in contracting for the planting of vineyards and orchards in the San Joaquin Valley and in which business he continued up to 1898. Many of the famous vineyards and orchards in Fresno County were planted under the instruction of Mr. Hartigan. In the year 1900, he entered the employ of the J. B. Inderrieden & Company, fruit
tas. P. Hartigan
1533
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
packers, at Fresno and continued with this company until 1912, when the California Associated Raisin Company was formed and he was offered by the corporation the important post of superintendent of their packing plants. By his long and varied experience in the fruit packing business, Mr. Hartigan is especially fitted to fill this important position, and is performing the many responsible duties that devolve upon him in a very efficient manner and to the satisfaction of the managing stockholders of this large corporation.
In the Poppy Colony, Mr. Hartigan is the owner of a five-acre vineyard of Thompson seedless grapes, which he planted and developed. Near Olean- der he also planted a vineyard of muscat grapes, containing ten acres, which after developing he sold. On Blackstone Avenue, in Fresno, he has fifteen acres, ten of which are planted to apricots and the remaining five to Thomp- son's seedless grapes. Mr. Hartigan has bought, developed and sold other orchards in the county. He served as constable of Oleander and was a deputy sheriff of Fresno County, under W. S. McSwain until his death, and then under Horace Thorwaldsen until the close of his term. He has contributed to the development of the residence section of Fresno by building three houses on Washington Avenue.
Mr. James P. Hartigan was united in marriage on May 1, 1887, with Margaret S. Douglass, a native of Canada, who came when a small child to California, with her parents. Her father, Frank Douglass, was one of the early settlers of Fresno County and purchased land in the Washington Colony. At one time he was the master mechanic of the Pacific Woolen Mills at San Francisco.
Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Hartigan became the parents of one son : Lester F., who was born in Oleander, Fresno County, and received his education in the public school of Fresno, supplementing his early education with a special course in electrical engineering, at Heald's Business College, San Francisco. He is now in the employ of the California Associated Raisin Company, hav- ing charge of the installation and the repair work of all their various plants.
Fraternally J. P. Hartigan is a member of the Odd Fellows, Red Men and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Hartigan's first wife died in 1916. The second marriage of Mr. Hartigan was solemnized on August 10, 1917, when he was united with Miss Margine Sorensen, a native of Skive, Denmark, where she was reared and educated and in 1908 came to the United States.
ADOLPH BUTTNER .- Among the public-spirited citizens who have aided in the building-up of Fresno County and is counted as a representative and progressive business man we find Adolph Buttner, general manager of the California-Fresno Oil Company. He was born on July 21, 1875, the son of Christoph and Wilhelmina Buttner, who located in San Francisco in 1884 and in that city passed the remainder of their days. When they settled in the metropolis, Adolph was but nine years of age and his schooling was obtained in the public schools there. When he was twenty-one years of age he began business for himself by establishing a meat business in San Fran- cisco, this he continued successfully until 1910, when he sold out and became interested in the oil refining industry in Fresno County.
The California-Fresno Oil Company is a corporation, organized in 1901, under the laws of California. The officers of the company at that time were A. C. Ruschhaupt, president ; K. W. Ruschhaupt, treasurer, and Adolph Butt- ner, secretary and general manager; upon the death of the treasurer, Decem- ber 22, 1917, Mr. Buttner was made treasurer, along with his other offices in the company. The company is a strictly refining concern and was started in 1901, by Hart Brothers and a Mr. Spinks, on a small scale on land located about one mile south of Fresno on the main highway that is now known as the State Highway. In 1902 the concern was taken over by the present company and under the efficient management of Mr. Buttner the output has
1534
HISTORY OF FRESNO COUNTY
been trebled. The company uses about 100,000 barrels of crude oil annually, which is shipped in tank cars from the Coalinga fields. The oil is refined and sold under the brands of California-Fresno Gasoline; Bright Light Kero- sene; No. 1 Engine, White Top, and Stove distillates; and other fuel and lubricating oils, and by discriminating buyers and users these products are considered of a superior quality. The oils are delivered by motor trucks to all parts of Fresno County in a radius of forty miles of Fresno city. There are fifteen men employed the year round, working full time six days of the week. A filling station is also maintained at the plant, which is situated on five acres of ground, and is the only refinery in the county outside of the Coalinga fields. There is a complete machine shop and garage maintained also.
The marriage of Adolph Buttner, which occurred in San Francisco, in 1906, united him with Miss Clara Ruschhaupt, a native daughter, born in Los Angeles into the family of A. C. Ruschhaupt and his estimable wife. Of this happy union there has been born a daughter, Clarice W., a student in the Fresno State Normal School. The family home, erected by Mr. Butt- ner, is located at 1130 College Avenue. Mr. Buttner is a Scottish Rite Mason, and holds membership in Las Palmas Lodge No. 366, F. & A. M. in Fresno; and both he and his wife belong to Fresno Chapter No. 295, O. E. S. In his political affiliations he is a Republican on national issues but in local matters supports the men he considers best qualified for the office rather than adher- ing to party lines. In all matters pertaining to the public welfare he has always given his cooperation and support. The position he holds in business and social circles has been of his own making and among those who know him best he is considered a man of unquestioned integrity.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.