History of Humboldt 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, Part 109

Author: Irvine, Leigh H. (Leigh Hadley), 1863-1942
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Los Angeles, Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1328

USA > California > Humboldt County > History of Humboldt 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 > Part 109

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the days gone by, and nothing is more delightful than to listen to the tales of early days as they are related by Mr. Young.

MRS. LYDIA MILLER GODFREY .- To the pioneer women of a state, no less than to the men, is due honor and credit for carving a great commonwealth out of the wilderness, and it is they, in reality, who make the establishment of new governments possible, for without homes there would be no stable .government, and without women there can be no per- manent homes. Often, too, the hardships in new lands weigh more heavily upon them, and this is especially true where marauding savages are a con- stant menace, for in addition to her own peril, the danger to her children was an ever-present care. One of the best known of the pioneer women of Humboldt county is Mrs. L. M. Godfrey, now the proprietress of Travelers' Inn, at Cuddeback, on the road from Carlotta to Bridgeville. Mrs. Godfrey is a woman of much charm and in her youth was very beautiful, and still possesses much of her former grace and attractiveness, although now well along in years. She is the widow of J. P. Godfrey, who was a gold miner in Yuba county in an early day, and who is well known in that part of the state. He was a native of Vermont, born at Bennington, September 18, 1844. He came to California in 1859, when he was a lad of but fifteen years. His father and an older brother had made the journey to the coast by way of the Isthmus of Panama in 1850, and his mother, who was Achsaph Sibley, made the journey in 1860. She also was a native of Vermont, and a descendant of an old Massachusetts family. J. P. Godfrey was engaged in gold mining near Comptonville, Yuba county, for eighteen years, and while there he met his future wife, who was then Miss Lydia Miller Eddy, the daughter of John E. and Anna (Cooper) Eddy. The father was a native of Rhode Island, and the mother was an Englishwoman. They were married in Massachusetts, where they lived for a number of years. They were mar- ried in 1846, and in 1849 the father came to California, around the Horn, making the journey in the steamship Hopewell, sailing from Warren, R. I., January 17, 1849, and arriving at San Francisco, August 3, of that year. Two years later the mother came, being accompanied by her brother Solo- mon Cooper and his wife, who were also well known Humboldt county pioneers, Mr. Cooper having settled in Humboldt county in 1857, engaged in educational work in Eureka, then being for two years in the customs office, and then for twenty-two years was receiver of public money in the United States Land Office, at Eureka. The party sailed from New York City in the Anna Kimball on December 2, 1852, and arrived in San Fran- cisco, April 13, 1853. Mrs. Eddy at once joined her husband at Downie- ville, Sierra county, where he was then engaged in mining. He was at that time a partner of Mr. Downey, a famous California pioneer whose cabin was reproduced in facsimile at the Midwinter Fair at San Francisco, in 1894. The mother died at the home of Mrs. Godfrey several years ago, at the age of seventy years, the father having passed away in Marysville in 1869. Mrs. Godfrey was the only child of her parents who grew to maturity. She was born at Comptonville, Yuba county, June 18, 1854, and attended the country schools during her girlhood years. She was married to Mr. Godfrey, June 15, 1871, and for ten years they continued to reside in Yuba county, where Mr. Godfrey was then engaged in farming. In 1881 they came to Hum-

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boldt county, and immediately purchased the property which is now the family home, and there Mrs. Godfrey has since resided. They at once im- proved the place, and the apple orchard was planted at that time, and still is in bearing. The ranch is eighty acres, all meadow land. Since her hus- band died she manages the place, carrying on the farming and stockraising and running the Travelers' Hotel. Mr. Godfrey died January 23, 1912, and was buried in the I. O. O. F. cemetery at Hydesville, he having been for many years a prominent member of the Odd Fellows at that place, and passing through all the chairs.

Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey became the parents of twelve children, three of whom they lost in infancy, the other nine are still living, and are well and favorably known in Humboldt county. They are: Clara F., now the wife of F. P. Cooper, of Oakland, where Mr. Cooper is deputy state insurance commissioner, they have three children, Fay 1., Charles P., and Eula L .; John E., a blacksmith at Scotia in the employ of the Pacific Lumber Com- pany, he is married to Miss Mable Smith, of Blocksburg, and they have two children, Darrow E. and Frances E .: James R., residing at Cuddeback and married to Miss Ethel Wilkinson, a native of Humboldt county, they have five children, Beryl E., Clara J., Velda M., Ross E., and Nola ; Samuel W., residing in Eureka and married to Miss Jennie Langdon, who has borne him two children, Lydia V. and Heletta F .; Bertha A., now the wife of John E. Kemp, a merchant at Ferndale, where Mrs. Kemp acts as bookkeeper for the Hatch Hardware Company ; Fred W., who has charge of his mother's ranch ; Elleanora G., the wife of George H. Ackerman, a resident of Oakland, and the mother of three children, Bertha G., Malloa F., and Oliver W .; Wallace W., married to Miss Doris Bates, and residing in Oakland; and George H., who is employed on the home farm.

Mrs. Godfrey takes an active interest in all that concerns the welfare of the county, and especially of her community. She has been a member of the Rebekahs at Hydesville for many years, having joined with her husband soon after they came to Humboldt county. She is also a member of the Farm Center at Carlotta.

WILLIAM H. WAR .- Among the younger men of Blocksburg and vicinity there is none more highly esteemed than William H. War, the capable manager and operator for the local office of the Western Union Telegraph and Telephone Company. He has been in charge of this office for the past two years and has made many friends during that time, both because of his genial, pleasant personality, and of the efficiency of his service. Mr. War understands the telegraph business in every detail, having entered upon this line of work when he was twelve years of age, becoming at that time a messenger boy in the service of the company at Port Townsend, Wash., where his father was then manager of the Western Union office. Since then he has climbed upward through the various departments of the work, and is today one of the most trusted employes of this great company.

Mr. War is a native of Oak Point, Wash., born July 1, 1887, the son of Charles and Lena (Baber) War. His father has been in the service of the Western Union for more than thirty years in Oregon and California, and is still in their employ, having charge as overseer of the line from Ukiah to Eureka with headquarters at Laytonville. When he was twelve years of

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age William H. learned the famous Morse code and began his career as a telegraph service man. After his father left Port Townsend he removed with the family to Laytonville, Mendocino county, and there William H. took a position as equipment man for the Willits Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany, remaining in that place until 1909, at which time he went to Lovelocks, Nev., as manager for the Western Union, remaining there for about a year.

The marriage of Mr. War took place in Eureka, June 2, 1913, the bride being Miss Paula Thomas, of Eureka, but born in Gordon, Neb., and the sister of Robert Thomas, who was the city engineer of Eureka. Mrs. War was engaged in teaching school in Humboldt county until her marriage. They have become the parents of one child, Thomas Lloyd, born October 9, 1914. Both Mr. and Mrs. War have many friends in Blocksburg, and are very popular socially. Mr. War takes an interest in fraternal and benevolent affairs and is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose at Eureka. He is pro -. gressive and public spirited and is an enthusiastic booster for Humboldt county, and especially for Blocksburg and Vicinity.

WILLIAM HENRY MULLEN .- A western man, born in Virginia City, Nev., March 26, 1869, William H. Mullen, when about fifteen months old, was brought by his parents to Humboldt county, where he grew up on the old homestead on the old laqua road, near Lawrence creek. His father, Jeremiah Mullen, a native of Ireland, went to sea, going on a sailer as man before the mast, to Australia, thence to Boston, returning from there to Ireland. Next he came around Cape Horn to San Francisco, where he left the ship. While working in the Woodward Gardens in San Francisco he married Elizabeth Sullivan. Following their marriage they went to Virginia City, Nev., where Mr. Mullen was employed at mining on the Comstock and other lodes. He worked on the eleven hundred foot level. Wishing to en- gage in ranching, he came to Humboldt county with his family in the fall of 1870 and homesteaded one hundred sixty acres on Lawrence creek, twenty-five miles east of Eureka, where he engaged in stockraising. Encour- aged by his success, he bought land adjoining and acquired nearly a thou- sand acres. He died April 16, 1898, his wife having died April 20, 1896. Of their four children the eldest, Mary, died of black measles in Virginia City, Nev., when eighteen months old. William H. is our subject; John P. is a farmer at Kneeland; and Timothy J. is a farmer on Lawrence creek.

William H. Mullen spent his childhood on the old home farm, where he acquired a knowledge of stockraising and farming. He was educated in the public schools of the district, and in Eureka, and remained at home, assisting his father until the latter's death. His brother Timothy was then in Alaska, and so William and his brother John ranched in partnership and purchased their Uncle David's ranch of about eight hundred acres adjoining the old home, operating both places. Four years later William bought John's inter- est in the two ranches, and since then has operated them alone.

For a while he ran both sheep and cattle, but later he sold the sheep and devoted his time to cattle growing. He at one time had sixteen hundred fifty acres, but sold off some, still owning, however, over twelve hundred acres. "Highland Acres," as the ranch is known, is well watered by Law- rence creek and Booth's run, as well as by numerous springs and creeks. It is wooded with redwood, pine, oak and madrone-and makes a splendid cattle ranch. His brand is his father's old brand, OO. Of Highland Acres

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about three hundred acres can be cultivated, the balance being stock range. There are four different orchards on the place. In May, 1914, his residence was burned and he has since built a new one, a large two-story bungalow, with basement. By his industry and energy Mr. Muilen has a well im- proved and valuable place, on which he can carry two hundred head of cattle.

Mr. Mullen was married in Eureka February 11, 1915. being united with Jennie Furman, a native of Tennessee. Fraternally he is a member of Fortuna Lodge No. 221, I. O. O. F., in Eureka.

For twelve years he served as road overseer in Supervisorial district No. 3, doing efficient and valuable work in his district. Politically he espouses the principles of the Republican party and is a man with a host of friends, who admire him for his uprightness, integrity and worth.

RODNEY BURNS REDWOOD NOVELTY CO .- About the beginning of the twentieth century Rodney Burns established a wholesale business in red- wood novelties and built a factory at Eureka, where in February of 1911 he formed a co-partnership with J. Earl Clark and established a retail depart- ment for local sales and for a mail-order business that since has maintained a satisfactory growth. The history of the business is an epitome of con- tinuous success most gratifying to the proprietors and to all the people of Eureka. At the San Francisco Land Show held in September, 1913. the com- pany had a large exhibit and received a gold medal, while their famous bowl has received awards at the California state and local fairs. A specimen of their products may be seen in the Field museum at Chicago as well as in the Ferry building, San Francisco, while department stores and curio shops in many of the Pacific coast cities carry a full line of their novelties.

The Stump House which was conceived and created by Rodney Burns and his associates in Eureka is a structure resembling a mammoth redwood log as it lies in the forest after being felled. A unique entrance adds to the attractive- ness of the institution. Within the strange building is an array of manufac- tured articles such as can be found nowhere else except in establishments directly supplied from the Stump House. All tourists visiting Eureka visit the factory and purchase a redwood burl souvenir, which they state is, in its varied forms, the most useful and least expensive of any souvenir to be found throughout the country. Magazines frequently publish articles descrip- tive of the interesting enterprise on the corner of Broadway and Clark street. Perhaps no story of the place lias roused a wider interest than that by Harriet Williams Myers published in the St. Nicholas of June, 1913, from which we quote as follows :

"One of the most interesting natural deformities is the so-called burl, a growth found on the walnut and other trees, among them the redwood trees of Northern California. It is said to be the result of disease and makes an ungainly lump on the tree. The largest that has ever been found grew around the base of the tree and measured twenty-five feet in circumference and eighteen feet in height. It was hollow, the walls being from two to six feet thick. The tree itself was only about six feet in diameter. A burl of this size is of rare occurrence. Only one tree in every four or five hundred in the forest is thus affected and only about one burl in every thirty-five is perfect, these perfect forms being beautifully marked with darker veins and spots, in

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circular patterns, reminding one somewhat of the curly birch or maple. The wood is susceptible of a high polish and is made into table tops, picture- frames, bowls, plates, napkin-rings, vases and other objects. There is in Eureka, Humboldt county, Cal., a unique house made for the sale of these burl articles. It consists of the stump and log of a giant Sequoia. The log, at the end of which one enters, is forty feet long and sixteen feet in diameter, while the stump standing beside it is twenty feet in diameter. From the log- room one enters the work-room of the establishment, while the big, circular stump-room contains the finished articles for sale."

An injury to the trees, such as forest fires, insect attacks, gnawing of animals or excessive pruning, stimulates the growth of dormant buds or gives rise to a great many new ones which cannot develop into branches, but do form a gnarly and interwoven mass of woody tissue of very intricate design. The wood thus formed is very dense and hard. Inside the bark the burl is covered with spiny warts at the points where the buds emerge. The largest and most beautiful of all burls occurs on the redwood tree. At rare intervals in a redwood forest is found a tree bearing this growth, either around the base of the tree or high up on the trunk. Most of these are plain grained wood and but a small proportion possess the beautiful figure that makes the burl so valuable. The beauty of the redwood burl lies in its diversity of grain and richness of color. The variety of figuring in this wood is remarkable. Nearly every burl has a distinct pattern and this varies greatly in different parts of the same burl. The color varies from a rich dark red to a light pinkish shade. Much of the burl has a strong brownish cast resembling walnut, but some parts are light in color and others will match the deepest shades of mahogany. Redwood burl is handled and sold by board measurement and each one averages as a rule from five hundred to fifteen hundred board feet, but occasionally there is found a very large burl. In 1911 the Rodney Burns Redwood Novelty Company cut one scaling over ten thousand board feet. On account of the irregular shape and the small size of the ordinary burl, it is very difficult to get large pieces, and when found they are valued very highly. The products of the company include nut bowls, serving trays, fruit bowls, vases, cribbage boards, gavels, candle sticks, natural edged picture frames, pedestals, tabourettes, tables, match holders, napkin rings, pin cushions, cigar jars, pin trays, canes, pipes, ash trays, darners. paper weights and darning eggs, all of them very ornamental and many of them also to be valued for their practical utility.

JEFF PETERSEN NISSEN .-- The early settlers of California's counties are frequently composed of men from the countries of Europe, and they are good, hard-working, substantial people and loyal to the land of their adoption. This is particularly true of Humboldt, whose citizens point with pride to Jeff Petersen Nissen, a native of Germany. Mr. Nissen was born in Schleswig, Germany, and is a son of Christian and Katrina (Jeffsen) Nissen, the former a native of Germany and the latter a native of Denmark. Christian Nissen spent the greater part of his life in farming in Germany, dying there in 1878. Jeff Nissen attended the public schools of Germany up to the age of fifteen years, when his mother decided he should begin to help with the care of the family. He found employment and continued in it for two years. A brother had heard the call of America and had come to Ferndale, Cal., and had been writing such glowing accounts of the opportunities for the man

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who was willing to undertake the trip to California, the land of promise. He seemed favorably impressed with Humboldt county, and so wrote his family to join him there. Jeff Nissen started directly for Ferndale in March, 1889, arriving there shortly after his brother. They saw the possibilities of dairy- ing, so Mr. Nissen obtained employment on a neighboring ranch, continuing in the service of others until 1901, when he decided to go into business for himself. He had gained a practical knowledge of the business by closely observing the methods of those with whom he came in contact, so he rented two hundred acres of land at Pleasant Point near Ferndale and entered the dairying and farming business. In the seven years that Mr. Nissen managed this ranch he was unusually successful. He next leased one hundred fifteen acres of fertile bottom land near Arcata, where he moved all his stock from Ferndale and continued dairying. The farm consists of one hundred fifteen acres of rich land and he milks about sixty head of cows.

In politics Jeff Nissen is a stanch Republican, entering whole-heartedly into anything for the advancement of the county. He is a member of the Danish Lutheran church in Arcata and is actively engaged in all good work pertaining to his church.

Mr. Nissen married Miss Christina Johansen, a native of Schleswig, Ger- many, who was born July 1, 1878. Of this union there have been born seven children, of whom five are now living: Raymond, Arnold, Cecilia, Clyde and Jeff Petersen, Jr. Mr. Nissen is a progressive, intelligent farmer, alert for the advancement and upbuilding of his business. He has devoted his entire time to his dairying and farming interests, and his success may be attributed to his own hard, painstaking labor and indomitable perseverance.

CAPT. PETER JENSEN .- Since 1897 the lighthouse off Cape Mendo- cino has been under the care of Captain Jensen, well known to mariners along the northern California coast for many years, who had the honor of being appointed by the government to take charge of the lighthouse exhibit at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific exposition held at Seattle, Wash., in 1909. A lifelong seaman, his experience as a mariner included voyages to all the waters of the globe and visits to well known and obscure seaports in all its quarters, and he gave up sailing for his present calling in 1891. His courage no less than his efficiency make him one of the most trustworthy men in the dangerous coast service.

A Dane by birth, Captain Jensen is a native of the seaport of Aarhuus, Jutland, born March 9, 1856. His father, Capt. Cort Jensen, of Copenhagen, was a Danish sea captain, and was lost while piloting a ship into Aarhuus during a heavy snowstorm, in 1857, being shipwrecked and drowned. His wife, Marie (Weil), was left with a family of four children: Elizabeth, Mrs. Flemming, who died leaving two children; Ernestina, widow of Christian Jensen, who was a mason contractor and builder of Copenhagen (she has three children) : Emma, Mrs. Christensen, a widow, living at Aarhuus; and Peter. Fortunately the mother had some means and was able to give her children good advantages and rear them well. She remarried, but had no children by her second union.

Peter Jensen has no recollection of his father. He attended excellent public schools until fourteen years old, at which time he shipped as a cabin boy on a sailing vessel, spending the next six years on the water in minor

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capacities. Meantime he visited ports in England, Spain, Russia, and on the Mediterranean and Black seas ; had been around Cape Horn, up to San Fran- cisco ; around the Cape of Good Hope : to Sydney and other Australian ports, and cruised in the South seas. When twenty years old he entered the Danish navigation school at Aarhuus to supplement his practical training with scientific study, to which he devoted himself four years, graduating in the year 1880. He resumed sailing as second mate on the Danish steamship "Frederick," of the United Danish Steamship Company, became first mate in a year and a half, and eventually captain, having a number of responsible commands. He made voyages to the various ports of the Baltic, North and Mediterranean seas, and in 1886 came to San Francisco, engaging with the Charles Nelson Company. He was assigned to the bark "Forest Queen" as first mate and subsequently made captain, and during the last five years of his experience on the water made twenty-two voyages to Honolulu, in the Hawaiian islands, which he visited long before they came under United States rule.

In the year 1891 Captain Jensen was appointed assistant keeper of the light station at Fort Point, Golden Gate, off San Francisco, where he re- mained for fifteen months, at the end of that period being transferred to the Point Bonita lighthouse, where he was first assistant keeper for four years. In 1897 he received his present appointment, beginning his duties at the Cape Mendocino lighthouse June 15th of that year, and he has held the position continuously since, except for his absence during the exposition of 1909. A trusted and faithful employe during his sea-going years, Captain Jensen has proved equally reliable in the important work he is doing now, safeguarding lives and marine property along this perilous stretch of coast. His high sense of the responsibility and intelligent comprehension of the many services he can render to shipping are grateful security to those familiar with him and with the duties intrusted to him. The lighthouse is located off the west slope of Cape Mendocino, in latitude forty degrees, twenty-six minutes, twenty-six seconds north, and longitude one hundred and twenty- four degrees, twenty-four minutes, twenty-one seconds west, and the seventy-eight-thousand-candlepower flash is visible in clear weather for twenty-eight miles. The height above mean high water is four hundred and twenty-two feet, and there is a white flash every thirty seconds. This station was built in 1868, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. There is only one lighthouse in the United States situated farther west, that on Tatoosh island, on the south side of the entrance to the strait of Juan de Fuca, at Cape Flat- tery, Wash., the longitude of the latter being one hundred and twenty-four degrees, forty-four minutes, six seconds. Captain Jensen is widely known among seamen, and he has made many warm personal friends among them, his knowledge of navigation and exemplary record of service commanding the confidence and sincere respect of all who have had occasion to be inter- ested in his ability. He and his good wife extend a hearty welcome to all who visit their snug quarters, visiting sailors, neighbors and many strangers to the coast enjoying a trip out to the light and a friendly call on the keeper. The scenery at this point is wild and romantic, but the severe, cold winds have no terrors for the fearless captain and his companion.

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Captain Jensen was highly complimented by the government for his services during the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific exposition, which he found. a welcome diversion from the routine of his duties at the light, having the opportunity of greeting hundreds of his former comrades among seafaring men as well as other visitors, all of whom appreciated the courtesy he ex- tended as well as his intelligent assistance in inspecting the exhibit.

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History of Humboldt 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, Part 109

Author: Irvine, Leigh H. (Leigh Hadley), 1863-1942 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Los Angeles, Historic Record Company Number of Pages: 1328

Author: Irvine, Leigh H. (Leigh Hadley), 1863-1942
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Los Angeles, Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1328