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 42

Author: Vandor, Paul E., 1858-
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1424

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 42

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Edward and James Pugh were made Masons in Selma Lodge, No. 277, F. & A. M., and there they still have their memberships. In matters of national politics they are Democrats.

THEODORE DONALD BILLER .- To be able to superintend the business of two successful oil companies requires ability of an unusually high degree and especial adaptability for such a responsible position, but the sub- ject of this review, Theodore Donald Biller, who is familiarly known as "Ted" Biller, has proved himself equal to the task. Mr. Biller has been the efficient superintendent of both the Ward and the Seneca Oil Companies since February, 1913.

Ted Biller is a native of the Old Dominion State, born near Forestville, Shenandoah County, Va., March 4, 1875, a son of Simon and Emma (Bowers) Biller, both of whom are natives of Virginia. The father was born at Moores Store, and followed farming at Forestville, where he was married and where he and his wife and family still reside. Of their family of seven children, Theodore is the oldest and he was reared on the farm until he was sixteen years old when he began to make his own way in the world, working on farms and at saw mills, also operating a stationary engine used in running a threshing machine.

In the spring of 1896, Mr. Biller took a trip to Illinois, where he secured work on a farm at Petersburg, Menard County, remaining there five and a half years after which he returned East and was employed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as brakeman ont of Connellsville, then on the Morgan- town and Kingswood Railroad as fireman. Later he returned to Illinois where he went with the Chicago, Peoria & St. Louis Railroad as a brake- man, which he followed for a while, when he again resumed work on a farm. In October, 1906, Mr. Biller took a trip to the Golden State and after his advent in California he was employed for eight months on a ranch at Hanford, after which he came to the Coalinga oil field on August 7, 1907. At first he was employed by the Traders Oil Company, then by the Ward and the Seneca Oil Companies as a pumper. In 1908, he entered the employ of Pierson & Son and was sent by them to Coatzacoalcos Point, Mex., where he worked as a tool-dresser for eight months, when he returned to Coalinga and again resumed his place with the Ward and the Seneca Oil Companies. At first he filled the position of pumper, later he became foreman and so ably did he discharge his duties, that in February, 1913, he was promoted to the responsible position of superintendent of both oil companies and has retained his post ever since.

Mr. Biller is also a stockholder in the Seneca Oil Company. The Ward and the Seneca Oil Companies together own 160 acres on which they are operating about sixteen oil-wells. Since taking full charge of affairs Mr. Biller has equipped the wells with twenty-five horsepower gas-engines, utiliz-

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ing the natural gas from the wells for fuel to produce the power and light to operate the business. Ted Biller is regarded as one of the most enterpris- ing and progressive superintendents in the field and employs the most up-to- date methods in operating the wells. He is a genial, kind-hearted man who possesses the happy faculty of making and retaining many friends.

On December 27, 1911, in Spokane, Wash., Mr. Biller was united in marriage with Margaret G. Swisher, a native of Virginia, born near Staunton, Augusta County, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Showalter) Swisher, natives of Virginia, and who were farmers. William Swisher served in the Confederate Army in the Civil War for four years; he and his esti- mable wife are now both deceased. Mrs. Biller is next to the youngest of their twelve children and is the only one in California.

Mr. Biller was a member of the Coalinga District War Fund Association and took an active part in making a success of the various drives for war funds and Liberty bonds, and with his wife is an active member of the Red Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Biller are members of the Presbyterian Church, while fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Coalinga, and the Knights of Khorassan of Fresno. Mrs. Biller is a member of the Pythian Sisters of Coalinga and of the West Side Welcome Club.

JACOB ULRICH JOHNSON .- Jacob Ulrich Johnson was born in the southern part of Sweden, on May 7, 1860, and was brought up on a farm and attended school until he was sixteen years of age. He came to this country at the age of twenty years, made his way to Henry County, Mo., in the spring of 1881, and then, attracted by the alluring prospect Fresno County held forth for energetic young men of thrifty habits, located here in 1882, working on a farm for the succeeding six years. In 1888 he bought a home place of forty acres in Scandinavian Colony, upon which he set out and began raising Malaga grapes. This place he owned until 1918, when he sold it.

In June, 1902, Mr. Johnson was married in Fresno to Rosa Thonen, a native of the state of Washington, who came to California with her parents. Two children were born of this union, Teddy and Sam.

In 1910 Mr. Johnson became associated with the Olson Winery in the capacity of director, having previously been a stockholder in that institution. In 1913 he was elected its president. The old Olson Winery was founded in 1878 and was one among the first wineries in the county, operating an eighty- acre vineyard. Starting with a few barrels for the manufacturers' own use, it grew to such proportions that in 1896 they built their present place of business, where in late years about 100,000 gallons of wine have been pro- duced annually. In January, 1919, having bought out the balance of the stockholders and having thus become sole owner, Mr. Johnson disincor- porated the company.

In politics Mr. Johnson is independent, voting for the best man. His success in his business ventures demonstrates what can be accomplished by energy, thrift and attention to business.

JOHN WEBSTER .- A natural-born mechanic who is at the same time a successful viticulturist and a lover of music, is John Webster, who came to California in the early nineties. He was born at Stavely, Derbyshire, Eng- land, in 1861, the son of James Webster, also a native of that section, who was a merchant and who died there, where he had made a good name for himself in the mercantile world. Mrs. Webster was Sarah Dewsnap before her marriage; and she also died there. Eleven children were born of this union, and ten are now living.

The second oldest in the family, and its only representative in the United States, John Webster, removed with his parents to Rotherham, York- shire, while only a child, and was there reared, receiving his education at the public schools. He assisted his father in his store, and also learned to be a cloth-finisher and a machinist.

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At Gomersal in Yorkshire, Mr. Webster was married in September, 1890, to Miss Elizabeth Sutherland, a native of Caithness, Scotland, daughter of John and Jane (Clark) Sutherland, who passed their entire lives there. After setting up his own household, Mr. Webster worked as a cloth-finisher and mechanic, remaining in his native land until he concluded to come to Cali- fornia. In 1901 he arrived in the Golden State and soon was settled in Clovis, Fresno County. He entered the employ of the Fresno Flume and Lumber Company, and later went into the service of the Copper King Mining Com- pany as a machinist and engineer. Then he worked for the Fresno Copper Mine and helped put in and start the plant.

Four years after his arrival here, Mr. Webster gave up the line of activity he had been pursuing and came to Fresno to engage in viticulture. He leased Miss Sutherland's vineyard of forty acres in the Scandinavian Colony, experimented with the different phases of the work, learned all about grafting and propagating, and finally had thirty-five acres in vines and the balance in alfalfa. He put in a pumping plant, his own boy, John Web- ster, Jr., having made the engine, which was of nine horse-power. Through his participation in the viticultural industries of Central California, Mr. Web- ster became a member of the California Associated Raisin Company.

Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Webster. The son, John Webster, Jr., mentioned above, is a graduate of the Fresno High School and has concluded two years of his college course. He is now in the United States Army, Company D, Three Hundred Sixteenth Engineers, Ninety-first Division, serving over seas, where he participated in the Ar- gonne campaign and later saw service in Belgium. The daughter, Maude, is a graduate of Heald's Business College, and a bookkeeper for the Kings County Packing Company. The family attend the Catholic Apostolic Church of San Francisco, of which they are members, when in that city.

ORIE ODELL OLIVER .- One of the prosperous and enterprising hor- ticulturists and viticulturists of Centerville, Fresno County, is O. O. Oliver, whose ability as an expert has been recognized by the State of California by his appointment to the important post of Deputy Horticultural Inspector, under Mr. Rouillard. Mr. Oliver is a native of the Buckeye State, having been born there on July 12, 1866, a son of William G. and Sarah Jane (Rada- baugh) Oliver, who were also natives of Ohio but became residents of Cali- fornia in 1893, where the father died. Mrs. Sarah J. Oliver is still living. Of the two children that came to bless the Oliver home, O. O. is the sole survivor.

He was reared and educated in his native state, and while other oppor- tunities were afforded Mr. Oliver, as a means of livelihood, the vocation of a farmer appealed to him most. From Ohio he removed to Kansas where he remained for a time and in 1892, feeling the irresistible call of the Golden West, he migrated to California and soon after his arrival secured employ- ment with the General Electric Company, with which he remained until 1897, when he located at Centerville. There were but few settlers in the place at that time and the business section of the village consisted of a store and postoffice kept by Muller Brothers, and a blacksmith shop. Mr. Oliver bought seventeen acres of unreclaimed land which he set out to grapes and oranges, and ever since he has been very successful and has proven the wis- dom of his selection of land for the development of his chosen enterprise. He has since demonstrated his faith in this locality by purchasing 110 acres more, which surrounds his original seventeen acres, the ranch being located in the very center of Centerville; the additional acreage is also devoted to grapes and oranges. Land in this vicinity for which he paid fifty dollars per acre has greatly enhanced in value, selling in 1919 for $1,000 per acre. While Mr. Oliver still retains his residence at Centerville he conducts his business operations at Sanger, where he manages the Lucius Powers Fruit

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Company. He handles all kinds of green fruit and has shipped as high as 200 cars of grapes and forty-six cars of oranges in one season. The packing- house is 50x80 feet in size with a twenty-foot shed on either side and is con- veniently located for shipping by the Southern Pacific Railroad.

In 1891, O. O. Oliver was united in marriage with Miss Eve Dimmick and this union has been blessed with six children: William D .: Harvey W .; Leo. E .; Firman L .; Orion R .; and Evelyn J. They have had the advantages of the good schools of Fresno County and, with their parents, have the good will and esteem of the section in which they live. Mrs. Oliver is a lady of many accomplishments and is a true helpmate to her husband and with him is interested in all that promotes the social and moral uplift.

Fraternally, Mr. Oliver is a member of Orangedale Lodge, No. 211, I. O. O. F., at Centerville, and has held the office of Noble Grand at four different times, and served as secretary for eight consecutive years. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver are members of the Red Cross and he has served on the grand jury for one year. Mr. Oliver is a man of splendid business acumen and has demonstrated his ability by the accomplishment of his aims since coming to Fresno County. He is now the only one of the settlers of his day still remaining at Centerville.

DAVID FETT .- This gentleman, whose post office is Parlier, is one of the early and highly-respected citizens of that town. where he has made his residence since 1902. He has been a resident of the State since 1884, in which vear he came to Fresno County. While he spent some time in Tulare and in Kern Counties, the major part of his California experience has been in Fresno, and for this county he has a devotion and fidelity that would do credit to any native son.

His first property was purchased in Selma, where he dwelt from 1895 up to 1902, when he moved to Parlier. Here he purchased his present ranch consisting of 160 acres, all in its virgin state. In fact, there was no such place as Parlier, or Reedley, or Sanger. After some years, he sold forty acres, thinking that 120 would be quite sufficient for him ; but some time after this. in 1907, he met with an accident on the Santa Fe Railroad through which he lost one of his feet. This so discouraged him that he sold forty acres more. About this time Mr. Fett was contemplating a business trip to Africa, but this, too, was given up on account of his physical disability.

He now operates eighty acres, all in a high state of cultivation, devoted to vineyard purposes. His soil is very productive, his farm buildings are capacious and comfortable, and his dwelling house, a model of modern con- veniences, is almost palatial, built as it is on the highest order of California architecture.

Mr. Fett was born in Ohio in 1854, and was reared on his father's farm, while attending the common schools of his native state. He lived with his father until 1876, when he reached his twenty-second year. Then he left home and migrated to Colorado, where he engaged in mining and teaming until 1881. In that year he turned his face toward the setting sun, and before long found himself in the Golden State.

Among all the twelve children that blessed the union of his parents, Mr. Fett is the only one who came to California. This move meant much to him, however, in all its bearings, and much to others as well. In 1893 hie wooed and won Miss Eliza Catherine Parlier, the daughter of I. N. Parlier; and they had three children : Mabel, now Mrs. Bigger; Roy and Raymond. Roy died when two and a half years old. Mrs. Fett is a native of Illinois, from which state her parents removed in very early days, locating at the site of Parlier, where her mother now resides.

David Fett

Mrs . Eliza 6. Fett,

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This association with the Parlier family is one of which both Mr. and Mrs. Fett may well be proud ; for Mr. I. N. Parlier, the pioneer after whom the town was properly named, was a well-known Californian in his time, and his name and accomplishments, which are duly recorded in the Parlier section of this history, will be told with appreciation and pleasure for generations to come.

DAVID A. SPENCE .- The importance of vineyarding, and the high- water mark to which that agricultural science may attain, is demonstrated in the career and accomplishments of D. A. Spence, the well-known vine- yardist who long ago entered upon productive paths for himself. A native of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland, his father was Alexander D. Spence, a school-teacher who came to the United States in 1886 and located here. Doubtless the fact that he had purchased a place four years before in the Scandinavian Colony at Fresno had much to do with his coming, and once here, he wished to see his land yielding as well as that of others about him. He got a vineyard well under way, and then brought out his family; and he continued a pioneer vineyardist until his death in 1892. Alexander's wife was, before her marriage, Christiana Young; she survived her husband about sixteen years.

Born on July 25, 1875, under the gray but alluring skies of beautiful Scotland, David A. Spence grew up with his brothers and a sister, and en- joyed the best educational advantages in his native and his adopted coun- tries that came his way. He helped his father on the home place, and after the death of the latter took charge of, and finally sold out, the old homestead. With his brothers, William Y. and John Y., he purchased eighty acres north- west of Clovis, which they set to vineyard, the first in that section, which has become splendid for grape-growing. This ranch was improved from a stubble-field. They incorporated as the Spence Vineyard Company, Mr. Spence being assisted in its management by his brother, John Y. Since 1913, he has been employed in the contract department of the California Associated Raisin Company.

A Republican, but too public-spirited to be partisan when it comes to local issues, Mr. Spence is a veteran of the Spanish American War, having been a member of Company C of the Sixth California Volunteers. After being mustered out, he returned to civil pursuits. Fraternally he is a member of the Elks, Red Men and St. Andrews Society. The latter expresses, also, his Protestant principles and preferences.

MATT. COPPIN .- A rancher who, by close, scientific study of the many and perplexing problems of the vineyard, has become a noted viticulturist, and who has succeeded in developing one of the most attractive and produc- tive vine ranches to be found anywhere, is Matt. Coppin, who came to Fresno in the late eighties, when the great California boom was in full swing. He was born near Eugene,. Ore., on the last day of December, 1868, the son of Charles Coppin, a native of England, who early came to the United States and made for the inviting Northwest. By the aid of ox teams he crossed the plains to Oregon, which he reached after adventures with the Indians and Mormons, and there he engaged in farming. There, too, he was married to Miss Hettie D. Shell, a native of Iowa, who crossed the plains to Oregon with her parents. In 1874 Charles Coppin moved to Chico, and there his good wife died. For years he engaged in the raising of sheep and grain, but in 1886 he came to Fresno and embarked in the vineyard business. He was living in Long Beach in well-earned retirement where he died in September, 1918, aged eighty-six years. He was the father of seven children, six of whom are still living.

The eldest of the family, Matthew Coppin was brought up in California from his sixth year, and attended private schools, topping off his education at the Woodman Academy in Chico. For a while he assisted his father in

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teaming and farming, and then he hauled lumber for the Sierra Flume and Lumber Company. When only twelve years of age he drove a team of eight mules or horses into the mountains. Later he went into general ranching and grain farming. In 1889 he came to Fresno, to help in the vineyards, and soon after that he started in for himself. From Jerry D. Musick he rented a vine- yard in the Wolters Colony and ran it for five years; but the low price of raisins-only one and a half cents for muscats-made the venture unprofit- able, and he rented another vineyard of forty acres in the same colony, which he also managed for five years. In 1901 he bought his present place of ten acres on National Avenue, two miles from the city limits, and this he has set out to Sultanas and Thompson Seedless raisins. As the property of one of the first settlers here, this vineyard is a source of pride to its owner. Mr. Coppin is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company, and has been active in all the previous raisin societies that have sought to advance the interests of the ranchmen hereabouts.

On October 30, 1892, in the Scandinavian Colony, Mr. Coppin was mar- ried to Miss Emma Anderson, a native daughter of San Francisco, whose father was Fred Anderson, the well-known pioneer. They have one child, Ruth, who is a general favorite and their home is a center of hospitality. They have been active in local movements designed to uplift the community, and Mr. Coppin has served as a trustee of the Wolters school district and clerk of the school board.

WILLIAM JOSEPH LOHMAN .- The assured success of any insti- tution is the laying of a substantial foundation upon which to build a super- structure designed to stand the test of men and time. The principles by which it is to be governed must be clearly defined, and of a high character. . The mind that governs, controls, directs must be clear and far-seeing and forceful, to convince and sway other minds. When such are the conditions attending the establishing of an institution, all signs point to deserved suc- cess. Parlier, the center of one of the most productive regions of all Cali- fornia, has in its First National Bank such an institution, controlled by just such principles, and with a master mind, in the intellect and character of IV. J. Lohman, the cashier and director, to put in operation and enforce the standards once set up; and in the daily life of this accomplished gentleman, the citizens have an ample guarantee as to the prosperity of this bulwark of the town.

The bank was organized in 1911 by Mr. Lowman and I. N. Parlier, founder of the town, and on February 4, 1912, opened its doors to the public for business. It then had a capital of $25,000, and under the careful manage- ment of Mr. Lohman now has a surplus fund of $35,000. J. F. Hayhorst was the president, and J. C. McCord was the cashier.

In January, 1913, Mr. McCord was succeeded by Mr. Lohman, and in 1918 Mr. Hayhorst gave way to C. A. Parlier, as president. Under each suc- ceeding administration the bank has gained more and more favor with the public, until now, in busy seasons, it often does a business of $100,000 in a day. It acts in part for eastern buyers. The new home of the bank is under construction and will be one of the most modern bank buildings in the entire Valley. It will be equipped with every safety device for the protec- tion of the funds intrusted to its care, with up-to-date furnishings and accom- modations for its patrons, and will cost over $40,000. The bank will occupy its new home about September 1. 1919.

W. J. Lohman was born in Nevada County, Cal., May 2, 1869, and is one of two children, Peter H. being two years older and now city marshal of Selma. The father was Peter Lohman, born in Hamburg, Germany, Janu- ary 16, 1826, who came to the United States and to California, where at Forest City, Sierra County, he married Hanorah (McBride) Feeley. She was born in Dublin, Ireland, December 25, 1828, and died in Nevada County, in

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1901. By her first marriage she had four children, three now living: Nora Muller, of Selma; Mrs. Nellie Goodspeed of Palo Alto; and J. C. Feeley, of Parlier. The latter is the father of Capt. J. C. Feeley, Jr., who was with the First Gas Regiment in France during the World War, where he spent six months. He is a graduate of the University of California, engineering de- partment, and won his rank by meritorious service. He received his discharge in May, 1919, and has entered the employ of a big mining company in Mexico. Peter Lohman, the father, was a sailor and came to the United States in 1850, and after some wandering, arrived at San Francisco. He tarried only a couple of years in the busy city, and then went to the mines at Downie- ville in Sierra County. In his search for gold, he was very successful. He helped organize the Bald Mountain Extension Mining Company, was a chief investor in the You Bet at Nevada City but, like so many others, reinvested what he had won and lost a good deal of his fortune. He swore hearty alle- giance to the United States in 1865, and was made a full-fledged citizen. He was for years fortunate in his chosen pursuit, and promoted enterprises of great service to the miners. For years he operated a pack train from Marys- ville to Downieville, and he had in his employ Creed Hammond, who subse- quently became attorney general for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He re- tired from mining in 1882, and in 1903 he came to Fresno County and located with his son near Parlier, helping him to manage the twenty acres he then had there; and in 1917, aged eighty-eight years, he died, full of years and honors, and widely respected and beloved. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and belonged to the Royal Arch Chapter since 1856. He was buried beside his wife, in Nevada City, the Masons conducting his funeral.

W. J. Lohman who, like his brother, was educated in the California public schools, took a course first in the San Jose Normal School, and then in Heald's Business College at San Francisco, from which he was gradu- ated with honors in the Class of 1890. At San Jose he was a classmate with Senator J. B. Sanford, of Ukiah, later and now Collector of the Post at San Francisco; Thomas B. W. Leland, Coroner, of San Francisco; and George Cosgrave, the attorney of Fresno. Then he went to work with the Birdseye Quick Mining Company at You Bet, staying with them for ten years, and after that farmed and loaned money to others to help them to farm. Follow- ing. as it were, in the footprints of his father, he was also successful; and when John Muller of Selma invited him to come down and see the country, he was not long in concluding that he liked Fresno County very much, and Parlier in particular.

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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 II, Part 42

Author: Vandor, Paul E., 1858- Publication date: 1919 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company Number of Pages: 1424

Author: Vandor, Paul E., 1858-
Publication date: 1919
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1424