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 119

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 119

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GUST RICKTER .- As road overseer for one of the largest road districts of this county, and one in which the road conditions are of the very best, Gust Rickter has made for himself a warm place in the hearts of the people of his district. He resides at Rio Dell, where he owns two fine farms, and his road district includes, among other places, Scotia, the principal lumber town of Humboldt county, which is admittedly the best ordered and ar- ranged, the most orderly and beautiful of all the lumber towns in this part of the state. To be road overseer in such a district gives evidence of a scientific knowledge of road-making, and above all, of not being afraid of hard work. Mr. Rickter comes from a highly respected family of Sweden,

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where his father, Lars Anderson, was a well-to-do farmer, owning three valuable ranches. He is a man of great ability, a capable financier and man- ager and is very prosperous. He is liberal and public spirited and contributes freely, both in time and money, to what is for the best interests of his com- munity. VHis sons now manage his two farms. Gust Rickter has recently erected a handsome residence at Rio Dell where he resides with his wife, who is a woman of ability and charm, and a delightful friend and hostess.

Gust Rickter was born in Skaane, Sweden, March 20, 1869, the son of Lars and Louise Anderson. Like many others of his nationality he took an old family name, Rickter, on taking naturalization papers, instead of the name Larsen. He received a common school education in his native place and when he was sixteen was apprenticed to learn farming, dairying and cheese-making, receiving a diploma as a cheese and butter-maker. His father was engaged in the nursery business, and lived to be seventy-two years of age. Gust was the youngest of a family of eight children, and when he was eighteen years of age he determined to come to America, making the journey directly from his native land to California, and going at once to Eureka, where an elder brother, Lewis Larsen, was already established. He was for a time employed at Fay's Shingle Mill at Eureka, but soon re- turned to his former occupation on the dairy farm, and was employed on various places in the county for a number of years.

The marriage of Mr. Rickter and Miss Matilda Youngberg was sol- emnized in San Francisco, October 5, 1889. Mrs. Rickter is a native of Sweden, like her husband, born in Skaane, and is the youngest of a family of twelve children. Her father was a farmer and owner of valuable property in his native land. She has borne her husband three children, two sons and a daughter: Lillie Aurora, now a graduate nurse in the county hospital in Eureka ; Gustav E. and Oscar, the two sons being farmers and now engaged in the conduct of their father's two ranches at Rio Dell. This property con- tains about two hundred forty acres, and they are following diversified farm- ing, and are raising large numbers of cattle, sheep and hogs for the market.

Mr. Rickter has been road overseer in the Rio Dell and Scotia districts for a number of years, and has made for himself an enviable record for effi- ciency and thoroughness. He has brought the condition of the roads up to a high standard, under very adverse circumstances, by much labor, time and careful thought. He is a Republican in his political views, and takes a deep interest in all that concerns his home district; he is a member of the Humboldt County Farm Bureau, and of the Farm Center at Eureka. In fraternal circles he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Scotia Lodge, No. 310, of which he is a charter member. Mr. and Mrs. Rickter have been married over twenty-five years, and on October 5, 1914, they celebrated their silver-wedding anniversary, attended by a large number of invited guests, among friends and relatives, being entertained by a big dinner, and the silver couple were recipients of many valuable presents and remembrances. He has by his industry and ability accumulated a snug fortune and his place shows evidence of refinement and wealth.

FRANCIS MARION BRUNER, M. D .- The descendant of genera- tions of keen and talented ancestors, including men and women of unswerv- ing integrity, strong individuality, high culture and not a little literary ability,

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types of the best class of the pioneers of the east and the middle west, Francis Marion Bruner, M. D., of Ferndale, Humboldt county, was born in the city of Monmouth, county of Warren, in Illinois, September 21, 1865. Possessing the keen desire for intellectual development that came as a her- itage from past generations, he was not satisfied with such advantages as common schools and academies made possible, but aspired to university training and classical studies. Partly through his own efforts it was pos- sible for him to spend two years in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the completion of the literary course marked the beginning of profes- sional studics. Of these he enjoyed the very best, for he is a graduate of Bellevue Medical College in New York City, one of the most famous schools of the kind in the world.

The year subsequent to graduation from Bellevue was passed by the young doctor in professional work at El Paso, Texas, whence in 1891 he removed to St. Louis, there to engage in private practice, as well as in special professional labors in the interests of the health department and the Asso- ciated Charities. Between 1894 and 1899 he was located in Des Moines, Iowa, going there to be near his father during the last years of his life, after whose death he fulfilled a long-felt desire to come to California and removed to Santa Ana, Cal., where for eleven years he enjoyed a growing patronage. Meantime he assisted in the organization of the Santa Ana hospital and became a physician on its staff. During a service of two years as health officer he drafted a new health ordinance for the city for the care and preven- tion of contagious and infectious diseases ; this law is now being enforced and is proving a great benefit to the city.

Arriving in Ferndale, Humboldt county, on the 2nd of January, 1911, Dr. Bruner has since built up an important practice in the community and in addition, since July of 1913, he has owned one-half interest in the Ferndale general hospital, a well-known institution of great value to this section of the county.

Dr. Bruner was first married in St. Louis to Miss Sadie E. Murray, a native of Rochester, N. Y. She died on their return to St. Louis two years later, leaving an only daughter, Frances, a graduate of Drake University, Des Moines, and now engaged in kindergarten work in the Ferndale gram- mar school, making her home with her father. After coming to Ferndale Dr. Bruner married Mrs. Lela Worthington, a native daughter born in Blue Lake, Humboldt county. She is a graduate nurse and is ably assisting the Doctor in the conduct of the Ferndale Hospital. In the different places of his residence he has been prominently identified with county, state and the American Medical Associations. Shortly after his removal to the west he became attached to the National State Guard of California as a surgeon with the rank of major and he continued in that office for five years. During the latter part of the time he filled an appointment as major-surgeon of the Sev- enth Infantry, N. G. C. to which he was appointed by Governor Gillett. He was made a Mason in Santa Ana Lodge F. & A. M., but is now a member of Ferndale Lodge No. 193, F. & A. M. He is also a member of Ferndale Chapter No. 78, R. A. M., and Eureka Commandery No. 35, K. T., transferring to all of these bodies from Santa Ana. He is a member of Active Lodge, I. O. O. F., in Ferndale, and is past grand of the order. Although he has

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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

not been long established in Ferndale, his reputation for skill in diagnosis and accuracy in the use of remedial agencies had preceded him here, so that he has been fortunate in quickly winning the confidence of the people. Years of painstaking preparation, followed by practice in various centers of popula- tion, have qualified him to fill a high position in the medical profession and to maintain a deserved reputation for skill and proficiency.

DANIEL JAMES TURNER .- One of the prosperous and respected citizens of Humboldt county is Daniel James Turner, thrifty and energetic farmer of Arcata, whose handsome home place four miles northwest of town is one of the attractive as well as one of the most profitable farms in the valley. Mr. Turner is a native of the county, having been born in Eureka. His father was one of the pioneers of early days, coming to Eureka when it was only a straggling street with a few rough shacks, and settling in the midst of the towering forests. The enterprises of both the father and the son have been successful, and today Mr. Turner is one of the prosperous men of the community, with property of appreciable value, well improved and well stocked, and constantly. increasing in its value.

Born September 4, 1862, the boyhood days of Mr. Turner were passed in Eureka on the home farm, and he attended the public schools in Eureka. After finishing his schooling, at the age of sixteen, he began to assist his father on the farm. This comprised several hundred acres, and most of it was unimproved, being thickly covered with trees and brush. Father and son cleared this land and brought it under cultivation. It was exceedingly rich and farming thereon was profitable. Mr. Turner remained at home and assisted his father in managing the ranch until he reached the age of thirty- three years, when he married and purchased one hundred and forty acres of the home place from his parents. This land he cleared and improved and started the first farm crops. In 1895 he engaged in dairying and stock raising and has followed this special line since that time. He is also interested in the creamery business and is associated with the affairs of the United Creamery of Arcata.

Although one of the successful farmers of the region and a man who is liked and trusted by all who know him, Mr. Turner has never taken an active part in the public affairs of the community, but has devoted himself ex- clusively to the care of his business interests. He has, however, a wide circle of warm friends who fully appreciate his splendid qualities and with whom he is justly popular. He is also a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias.

The marriage of Mr. Turner with Sarah Jane Robinson occurred at Eureka, October 23, 1895. Mrs. Turner is a native of Sierra county, Cal., born April 26, 1866. She is the daughter of John and Eliza (Rudd) Robinson, natives of England. The father came to the United States, where he fol- lowed the blacksmith trade in the east until he came to California in the early '50s. He followed his trade in Sierra county, where he became well known for his method of sharpening and hardening picks. In Sierra county he married Eliza Rudd, who had come to California in 1849. She died in Sierra county in 1892 and the father died in Humboldt county. Mr. and Mrs. Turner have four children, Mary Eliza, Ephraim Stimpson, Edna Hazel and Sophia Hannah, all of whom are well known in Arcata.

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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

The father of Mr. Turner was a native of St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, where he was born May 17, 1819. He was Ephraim Turner, as was his father before him, and was descended from a long line of English ancestry, of which he was justly proud. The father attended school but six weeks in all his young life, as in that period the teachers went from house to house, there being no regularly established schools. At an early age he went to work on his father's farm near St. Stephens, and later worked on the farms of the neighborhood in the summer and in the winter hauled logs. He varied this by other work in the woods, but either that or the farms claimed his attention until he came to California. He was twice married, the first time to Julia Laskey, of New Brunswick, in 1839. She bore him three children, but she died while they were very small. In 1845 he married again, this time to Mary Brown, born in New Brunswick, September 3, 1820.

It was in 1853 that Ephraim Turner determined to leave the east and come to California, as the wages were better and the opportunities for the establishment of a home greater on the Pacific coast. He left his wife and family (six children) and came to California alone, making the trip by way of the Isthmus, and landing in San Francisco March 4, 1854. From there he sailed north to Trinidad (Humboldt county) and from Trinidad he walked down the coast toward Eureka. At that time the land was in a wild state and in crossing the Mad river Mr. Turner stopped under a large spruce tree to rest, one of the largest trees that he had ever seen, it measuring over forty- five feet in circumference. Remembering the location of this great tree, · several years later he returned and bought the land where it stood. In 1854 he proceeded down the coast, through Eureka, then the merest village, to Elk river, where he went to work in the woods logging. Later he spent some time at work in the mines, but he was principally engaged in the lumbering industry, and was the first man to haul logs on wheels in the county, about 1857.

Up to 1873 Ephraim Turner followed logging in the Arcata bottom lands, and after accumulating a sufficient fund began purchasing land for farming purposes. His first venture was a purchase of two hundred eighty acres of land where the big spruce grew, after which he engaged exclusively in farming, always with fair success. In 1859 he went back to New Bruns- wick for his family, and returning with them settled on the home place. From time to time he purchased property and at one time owned seven hundred forty acres of bottom land and much range land. This he sold off at various times, and at the time of his death owned three hundred acres of land. An- other venture was in running a butcher shop, which he conducted for a few years, but soon gave up the idea to engage more extensively in farming. He was a very successful farmer and business man and was highly esteemed in Humboldt county as one of the splendid old pioneers. He was active up to the time of his death, which occurred in New Brunswick, August 23, 1900. After his retirement from business he desired to return to the home of his boyhood and made the trip cast. There he met with an accident, and never returned to his California home again, passing away at last where he had played as a happy boy. His wife survived him by three years, she passing away February 3, 1903. Mrs. Mary Turner was a very remarkable woman, industrious, brilliant and capable. Her son has inherited some of her splendid traits of character.

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CHARLES PRYDE CUTTEN .- One of the native-born sons of Hum- boldt county in whom she has reason to take pride is Charles Pryde Cutten, now of San Francisco, a descendant of one of the little group of men who laid out the town of Eureka. He is wearing a respected name worthily, for his achievements in his profession and in public life have strengthened its connection with the early history of this region, the usefulness to society of the present members of the family reflecting credit on their honored ancestors. Mr. Cutten's parents were David Page and Katherine (McGrath) Cutten, and it is a matter of family interest that his maternal grandparents, Ilugh and Jane (Gibson) McGrath, first met at the Admission Day ball in San Francisco September 9, 1850. They were married soon afterward, and removed to Humboldt county, Mr. McGrath having been one of the men who "discovered" this region. In company with James T. Ryan and Samuel Brennan, of San Francisco, he laid out the town of Eureka, and he and his descendants in turn have from that time to the present been prominent in the most substantial enterprises advanced for its upbuilding.

Charles Pryde Cutten was born May 8, 1875, and received his prepara- tory education in the schools of his native county. Then he took a course at Leland Stanford University, graduating in law in 1899 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of California in June, 1901. Returning to Eureka he began the practice of law, maintaining an office there until he removed to San Francisco in June, 1911, to enter a wider field. During those ten years he reached a position which few may hope to gain in so short a time. From 1904 until 1909 he was associated in practice at Eureka with Senator T. H. Selvage, and afterward until June 1, 1911, with Governor Gillett and Judge F. A. Cutler. The mere fact that he was admitted to these partnerships shows how highly his ability was valued by those most competent to judge. His work justified their confidence. Meantime, in addition to attending conscientiously to the de- mands of a growing practice, he had taken some part in public affairs, and was welcomed as a candidate whose possibilities the community could not afford to overlook. In 1907 he represented the northern Humboldt district in the lower house of the state legislature, and soon after the completion of his term was returned to the state legislature as a member of the senate, in which he served during the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth sessions, from 1909 to 1911. Mr. Cutten has the distinction of having been a member of the legislative holdover committee which in 1908 drew up the present Cali- fornia bank act, which has been praised by bank examiners and financial experts generally as "the best bank act in existence." In 1911 Mr. Cutten was chairman of the finance committee of the state senate, an honor which he well merited. As a member of the assembly he was instrumental in secur- ing the first appropriation for the Trinity state highway and during his last session in the senate secured an appropriation of $50,000 to complete this road. This magnificent highway is the only connecting link between the northern coast counties and the Sacramento valley. It is of great benefit to Humboldt county and its importance will increase as coast and valley con- tinue to grow in population and wealth. On June 1, 1911, he located in San Francisco, having been appointed attorney for the state commission in lunacy, resigning in August, 1913, in order to devote more of his time to the duties

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connected with his position as attorney for the Pacific Gas & Electric Com- pany of San Francisco, with which he became connected on March I, 1912. Mr. Cutten's record needs no comment. The heavy responsibilities which have been confided to him at what may be practically regarded as the outset of his career have not dismayed him, rather they have brought out qualities which might have lain dormant for years under less strenuous conditions. The vigor of his intellect, his clearness of perception, and instant grasp of the important features of all matters which come into his care, are apparent even to those whose acquaintance with him is only casual.

Mr. Cutten belongs to the Union League Club and the Commercial Club of San Francisco, and to Humboldt Lodge No. 79, F. & A. M., and Eureka Lodge No. 652, B. P. O. E., both of Eureka. He was married at Eureka September 18, 1906, to Miss Marjorie V. Barnes, by whom he has three chil- dren, Elizabeth, Ruth and Kathleen.

FRED WILLIAM SMYTHE .- As the pioneer automobile agent and owner of the second motor car brought into Humboldt county, besides being for some time the proprietor of the garage on J street opposite the court house in Eureka, Mr. Smythe had considerable prominence and prestige in the business prior to embarking in auto-stage line enterprises, which he has developed into large and profitable proportions. Having exceptional ability as a machinist and being fond of mechanical work of every kind, he is well qualified to manage the system. The maintenance of a close supervision over his large and powerful cars reduces tire troubles and engine defects to a minimum, while at the same time it prevents the accidents that so greatly annoy passengers and delay the speed of the stage over the customary route.

A native of Eureka, Greenwood county, Kan., born March 20, 1871, Mr. Smythe learned the trade of a machinist in Kansas City, Mo., where also he acquired skill in mechanical drawing. For a year after coming to California in 1888 he worked on mining machinery at Sutter creek in Amador county, after which he went to Benicia, Solano county, and engaged in drawing plans for ships in the drafting department of Captain Turner's shipyards at that place. More than once after he came to Eureka in the fall of 1892 he saw in the harbor of Humboldt bay vessels for which he had drawn the plans during the period of his employment at Benicia. For a time after his arrival in Humboldt county he engaged as a machinist with the Eureka Foundry Company. Later he started the California Iron Works, and after the concern had been incorporated he was chosen secretary and manager, but eventually disposed of his stock in the company for the purpose of attention to other lines of business. The first condensed milk factory in Humboldt county was built by him at Port Kenyon and later sold to Fred Smith, who removed the plant to Loleta. Meanwhile Mr. Smythe had become interested in a garage at Eureka, but this he sold in the spring of 1908 and then established an auto stage line, operating between San Francisco and Eureka, in time connecting with Northwestern Pacific trains at Fort Seward and Longvale, and there is probably no single enterprise that has been of more convenience and service to the people of Humboldt county and the bay section. The first year the line was developed from Eleanor to Harris in Humboldt county, where it connected with the horse stage. The next year the system was extended as far as Cummings, Mendocino county, on the south. During the

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third year the stage was run through from Holmes to Sherwood, Mendocino county, where connection was made with the railroad. In the following year a line was opened from Longvale to Holmes on the South Fork, during the spring and summer of 1913 the stage was run from McCann's to Longvale, and finally the stage was run from Fort Seward to Longvale. Meanwhile the business had increased from twelve hundred passengers during the first year to five thousand in 1913. At Fort Seward, the northern terminal, Mr. Smythe built a substantial garage and cottage and there he makes his head- quarters in the summer months, while in the winter he conducts the business from No. 1634 I street, Eureka. Both at McCann's and Fort Seward he has developed an electric lighting plant. For the convenience of his auto-stage line he maintains eight touring cars, mostly of the Pierce-Arrow high-powered type. These are equipped with telephones, so that in case of trouble it is possible to tap the wire at any place and secure the needed help from town. Although the road extends wholly through a mountainous country there has never been an accident and delays are very rare, this being due to the fact that only the most experienced and careful chauffeurs are employed, while at each end of the route the machines are carefully overhauled by expert machinists. Besides his large business interests Mr. Smythe owns a ranch of four hundred eighty acres on the Eel river near Fort Seward and is now developing the tract into a large apple orchard, certified dairy and sanitary hog farm. Fraternally he is identified with Fortuna Lodge, I. O. O. F. Through his marriage to Grace Morrison, formerly of the Ferndale district, and a daughter of Thomas Morrison, an early settler of that section, he is the father of two daughters, Helen and Edith.

DAVID D. PEEBLES .- Although a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, where he was born October 13, 1884, David D. Peebles came to Eureka when he was a lad of but sixteen years, and has since that time been well known here, although he has not always made this city his home. Since 1911 he has been established in business in Eureka, being a stockholder and taking an active part in the Pacific Oil and Fuel Company, in which concern he is heavily interested. Even in this brief time he has done much for the interests of the company and their business is rapidly expanding.

Mr. Peebles is the son of Rev. David Peebles, whose death occurred in Los Angeles in 1913, aged eighty-six years. He was born in Madison county, N. Y., and graduated from Oberlin College, Ohio. He served as a member of Company A, First Michigan Cavalry, in the Civil war. He became a minister in the Congregational church, and at the time of the birth of the present respected citizen of Eureka he was pastor of the Congregational church in Salt Lake City. He removed with his family to Eureka in 1900, being retired from the clergy, but is remembered with much love and affec- tion by the people with whom he came in contact. Mr. Peebles' mother was Alice M. Conley, a native of Virginia, and she now resides in Los Angeles. David Peebles attended the Eureka high school, after which he went to San Francisco and became apprenticed as a machinist at the Union Iron Works, where he remained for four years. During this time he took a course at night school at the Humboldt School of Mechanics in San Francisco, where he completed a thorough course in mechanics. He then became a partner in the firm of Wilson & Peebles in an automobile repair machine shop at San

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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 119

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