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 121

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 121

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Mr. Flint is a native of Milan, Coos county, N. H., born January 19, 1862. His father, Benjamin Flint, was a native of Maine, and for practically his entire life was engaged in farming and lumbering. He came to Coos county, N. H., when a boy, and there he later met and married Miss Electa Lary, a native of New Hampshire, and now residing at Ferndale, at the age of eighty- five years, making her home with her daughter. The father came to Cali- fornia in 1865, locating in Humboldt county the following year, making the long trip by way of the Isthmus of Panama. The family remained behind and joined him four years later, in 1869, at Capetown, Humboldt county, where he was engaged in farming. The father died near Ferndale in April, 1893. There were four children in the family, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, and all are well known in Ferndale and Humboldt county. They are: Carrie, the wife of H. D. Smith, capitalist and rancher, residing near Ferndale; Benjamin Franklin, the only son, and the subject of this article ; Phila, the wife of William Timmons, foreman of the slaughter house of Russ & Sons, of Eureka; and Alice, the widow of Robert McGlauchlin, residing in Ferndale.

The large stock ranch was the scene of the boyhood days of Mr. Flint, and there at an early age he assumed his share of the family responsibilities, caring for the stock, milking cows and doing all manner of labor while he was still a mere lad. He attended the public schools of his district, com- pleting his education in a private school in Ferndale, at this place learning bookkeeping, which he has since found a most valuable accomplishment. In 1890 he became foreman for the Russ and Robarts property, known as the Occidental Ranch, remaining in this capacity for five years. He then accepted a position as engineer and tester for the old Eel River Creamery, remaining with this concern for twenty-seven months. Subsequently he became fore- man for the Buhne ranch of one thousand eighty acres, just south of Eureka, occupying this position for four years. Later he became interested in the steamship business as agent for the steamer Argo, and conducted the Port Kenyon end of this enterprise for four years. His services were again sought by the Buhne ranch at this time, and for two and a half years he was again foreman of this property. At a later date he acted as bookkeeper for the J. C. Bull, Jr., interests, at Arcata, remaining there for eighteen months, since which time he has been variously employed at different undertakings, such as store keeping and carpentering.

Mr. Flint has been twice married. His first bride was Miss Clara Crank, and three children were born of their union, all of whom are now grown to womanhood and happily married, their names being as follows: Madeline, now the wife of Alva Barkdull, a rancher near Zenia, Trinity county ; Edna, the wife of Harland Stead, a wireless operator in the employ of the United States government and located at Oakland; and Carrie, married to Wallace Criley, a civil engineer at San Bernardino. The first wife died in 1893, and in 1895 Mr. Flint was married to Miss Mary Catherine Goble, the daughter of W. W. Goble, of Fortuna. The second Mrs. Flint is a woman of much charm and has a host of friends in Ferndale, where she is deservedly popular. The daughters of Mr. Flint were reared by her as her own and have for her

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all the affection of daughters of her own blood. Mr. Flint is very popular in fraternal circles, and is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. Mr. and Mrs. Flint now make their resi- dence in a bungalow he has just completed in Ferndale.

MRS. JOSEPH E. HARMON SMITH .- As proprietor of the Overland Hotel at Blocksburg, Mrs. Joseph E. Smith is especially well known to the traveling public. Her hotel enjoys well-merited patronage and is one of the pleasant hostelries of the county. Mrs. Smith herself is a splendid type of the broadminded, clever, capable California women who have succeeded largely in business, she being a native daughter, and one of the oldest living white women born in the state. She was in girlhood Frances Milsap, the daughter of Hiram and Ann (Montgomery) Milsap, who settled near New- ville, in what was then Colusa county, but now Glenn county, in 1857. Mr. Milsap came to California across the plains with ox teams in 1854, and en- gaged in farming. There were nine children born to himself and wife, Mrs. Smith being the fourth oldest. Her father died in Glenn county at the age of eighty years, and her mother is still living in the old locality in Glenn county at the age of eighty-four, and is very capable and efficient for her age.

Mrs. Smith was born near Sacramento, but was reared and educated in Glenn county. In 1877 she came to Hydesville, Humboldt county, and in Eureka was married to Mr. Smith in 1881.

Joseph Elisha Harmon Smith was a native of New York state and was reared in Will county, III., where he enlisted and served during the Civil war, fighting for the preservation of the Union. He was honorably discharged and came to California in 1869. After his marriage with Miss Frances Milsap in 1881 the young couple located near Bridgeville, where they ranched on Chalk mountain. Later they moved to Garberville, where they also engaged in ranching and stock raising, and in 1891 they came to Blocksburg, locating on a ranch and engaging in stock raising. In 1907 Mr. Smith purchased the property known as the Overland Hotel, which he rebuilt into a modern hostelry. It is now conducted as a first-class house and receives the patron- age of the best class of travel. Mr. Smith died in September, 1912, at the age of sixty-nine years, and since that time Mrs. Smith has continued to conduct the hotel and has been exceedingly successful in her management. She is a woman of great capability and her judgment and business acumen are well above that of the average person. She is the mother of six children, all of whom are living and are well known in Blocksburg and vicinity. They are: Maude, the wife of George G. Burgess, of Blocksburg, and the mother of three children ; Mabel, the wife of J. E. Godfrey, of Eureka, and the mother of two children : Josephine, the wife of E. I. Burgess, of Blocksburg, and the mother of five children : Gertrude, the wife of Charles H. Johnson, of Alder- point, and the mother of three children ; Frank J., a railroad man, residing at Bandon, Ore .; and George E., residing at home.

ELMER LESLIE DEVLIN .- Of Canadian descent, Elmer L. Devlin is nevertheless "a native son of California," having been born in Eureka, this state, August 1, 1877, his father having been Charles Leslie Devlin, a native of Perth, Ont., a shoemaker by trade, who came to Eureka in the early '60s, where he engaged in the shoe business on Second street, continuing there for many years until elected city assessor, a position to which he was

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reelected for over eight years, until his death in 1899, having also been one of the councilmen of the city and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. His wife was formerly Carrie F. Spaulding, born in Hartford, Conn., who joined her father in Humboldt county, Cal., about the year 1875, whither her grandfather, Lucius Spaulding, had come in the early days, as well as his wife, formerly a Miss Fay, and her two brothers, George and Nahum Fay, who engaged in the manufacture of shingles and shakes at Fay's Mill on the Peninsula in the early '50s. The death of Elmer L. Devlin's mother occurred in Eureka, where he, the eldest of her four children, was educated in the public schools and the Eureka Busi- ness College.

The first employment of Mr. Devlin was as a clerk for D. Barry on Fourth street, Eureka, where he remained for two years, thereafter entering the employ of the Humboldt Manufacturing Company as clerk in their store at Arcata, Cal., where he later became manager of the store, resigning from their employ after ten years, to engage in business independently. In August, 1913, removing to Orick, Cal., Mr. Devlin bought the small store of Robert Swan, where he continued the mercantile business which he enlarged until he has now an extensive, well selected line of general merchandise. During this time he built a hotel, known as The Orick Inn, which is commodious, well furnished and modern in every detail, being the largest and finest of its kind between Arcata and Crescent City, so that Mr. Devlin is well and favorably known as a hotel man as well as a merchant and postmaster, to which last office he was appointed at the time he took over the store from Mr. Swan. He is likewise a notary public and a trustee of the Orick school district, and in fraternal circles, also, is well known, being a Mason in the Arcata Lodge, F. & A. M .; a member of the Anniversary Lodge No. 85, I. O. O. F., and with his wife holds membership in the Arcata Chapter, O. E. S., and the Rebekahs at Arcata. Politically Mr. Devlin is a supporter of the principles of the Republican party, while his religious associations are with the Episcopal Church.

The marriage of Mr. Devlin occurred in Arcata, uniting him with Miss Ethel Cates, a native of that city and daughter of Sewell Cates, who was born in the state of Maine. Mrs. Devlin is a woman of charming personality and enters heartily into her husband's enterprises, rendering him material aid in the success which he is achieving. They are the parents of two children, namely, Beatrice and Earl Devlin. Liberal and open-hearted, and progressive in the best sense of the word, Mr. Devlin has built up a good business in his chosen line, and with his family has won a high place in the esteem of all who know them.

CELESTE FLOCCHINI .- The younger brother and partner of Gia- como Flocchini, of the firm of Flocchini Brothers doing a large dairy business at Alton, Humboldt county, Cal., Celeste Flocchini is an educated and well informed young man, who since 1907 has made his home in California.

Born at Ono Degno, in the province of Brescia, Italy, Celeste Flocchini is the son of Francisco and Dominica (Dusi) Flocchini, his birth having taken place on May 26, 1891. The parents were farmers in Brescia, where the mother still lives, the father's death having occurred in July, 1914. Of the nine children, Celeste is the second youngest, and all but the eldest now

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make their home in California. Having completed the course of instruction obtainable in the local public schools, Celeste Flocchini after the age of eleven years was occupied with work upon the home farm until October of the year 1906, at which time he removed to the United States, his first stopping place being Pittsburg, Pa., where he was for a short time employed in the coal mines. This not proving to his liking, however, in March, 1907, Mr. Flocchini came to Alton, Cal., where for nine months he was in the employ of a Mr. Dinsmore, after that working on dairies in the vicinity of the city of Ferndale, and then for three years was employed by Mrs. R. Hill at Alton. After two more years spent in the dairy business, Mr. Flocchini decided to start out independently, and accordingly leased one hundred sixty acres at Waddington, in the same county, there for eighteen months operating a dairy consisting of twenty cows. In January, 1915, he purchased a half interest with his brother Giacomo in their present dairy, a short time later the old Lynch ranch being leased by them also, a place which covers an area of one hundred ninety acres, near Grizzly Bluff, Cal. Here it is the intention of the brothers to run a dairy of about eighty cows, Celeste to be in charge of this place, while Giacomo manages the property at Alton of one hundred twenty-five acres with a dairy of seventy cows. The two brothers are thus together operating one of the large dairies in Humboldt county, and the success with which they are meeting is notable and well earned. They have already made for themselves a worthy and enviable reputation in their chosen line of business, and are respected and well liked in the home of their adoption.

Mr. Flocchini was married in Fortuna, Cal., on March 12, 1912, to Adelia Laffranchi, also a native of Italy, she having been born in the town of Avenone, in Mr. Flocchini's native province of Brescia.

JOHN JAMES CAIRNS .- As city attorney for Eureka and one of the leading citizens of Humboldt county, Cal., John James Cairns is widely known throughout this portion of northern California. To those who know his personal history and his long struggle to secure an education, his success is especially interesting and noteworthy, for it is recalled by his old friends that he was forced to make his own way in the world from the age of eleven years and his studies were carried on largely of evenings at the close of a day of manual toil.

The father of Mr. Cairns, James A. Cairns, was born in Scotland, and with his brother Hugh migrated to Indianapolis, Ind., where he followed the occupation of farming, in 1869 removing thence to California, where he settled in Santa Clara county and engaged in the business of farming and horticul- ture until the time of his death, which occurred in the year 1879. The wife of James A. Cairns was Annie Stanfield, a native of Belfast, Ireland, who came to Boston, after a few years spent in that city removing to California, via the Isthmus of Panama, until her marriage residing in Santa Clara county, where her brothers and sisters had made their home. She became the mother of three children, of whom John James Cairns is the eldest, and living until the age of seventy-nine years she was known to all the school children of the vicinity as Granny Cairns, for, although paralyzed for twenty- six years, in spite of her helplessness she was possessed of a sweet disposi- tion, which was shown by her kind words and greetings to all with whom

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she was associated, and she was loved and esteemed by all who knew her. Born near San Jose, Cal., February 17, 1873, John James Cairns, the son of James A. and Annie Cairns, is one of those native Californians whose sue- eess has come through their own determined efforts, his force of will having led him out of the unpromising life of a cowboy into the arena of professional usefulness, and his profound knowledge of the law, coupled with an unusually powerful mind, enables him to grasp with exactness the most intricate prob- lems brought into relation with any case. After he had gained a rudimentary knowledge of the law through evenings of study and during leisure days, Mr. Cairns left the cattle ranch where he had been employed, to complete his readings under more favorable surroundings in San Jose. Admitted to the bar of California during September of the year 1900, and for seven years a practitioner in his native city of San Jose, he came to Eureka in 1907 and here has built up a valuable practice, besides which he was for about three years referee in bankruptey for Humboldt and Del Norte counties, resigning on May 1, 1915; he also served as city attorney for Blue Lake for a period of about four years, his resignation from the latter office being accepted on July 6, 1915. On June 21 of the same year he was elected city attorney of Eureka, receiving a handsome majority. Although not prominent in fraternal matters, Mr. Cairns is actively identified with the Woodmen, Red Men and Odd Fellows. By his first marriage he has two children, Cyril, who is now a law student, and Chispa. His present wife, who bore the maiden name of Amelia Bianchi and is a native of France, is a woman of broad culture and such linguistic ability that she has mastered all the Latin languages.

JOHN ALEXANDER AGGELER .- Born on the old Aggeler home- stead near Ferndale, Cal., July 1, 1887, John Alexander Aggeler may truly be called a native son of California. His grandfather was well known among the pioneer settlers of the county, where he was a successful farmer until the time of his death, and his father resided here since the age of fifteen. The grandfather, Joseph, and his wife Mary came originally from St. Gallan, Switzerland, and settled at Pleasant Point, on the Eel river in Humboldt county, opposite the city of Fortuna, the grandmother still living in For- tuna, a wonderful woman for her age, and having sold the farm in 1915 after the death of her husband. Their son, John Bernard Aggeler, the father of John Alexander, was born in Nevada county, Cal., on March 26, 1857, at the age of fifteen years removing with his parental family to Humboldt county, where he continued to reside until the time of his death, having lived in the Grizzly Bluff section as well as at the Island, which was his home for the last twenty-seven years of his life. At Rohnerville he was united in marriage with Miss Margaret MeDonald on January 1, 1880, the daughter of Martin McDonald, who operated ferries across the Eel river at Dungan's, Singley, Alton and Fortuna, and died in December, 1905.

John Alexander Aggeler is one of a family of five: Mary, John Alexander and Constance, who live at the Island ; David, of Eureka ; and Ann Aggeler, of San Francisco. John Alexander was brought up as a farmer's boy, assist- ing his parents at home and receiving his education in the public schools. He was the only member of the family who witnessed the death of his father, which occurred August 27, 1912, and was caused by runaway horses while Mr. Aggeler and his son were driving a load of wood to their ranch on the

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Island, and for the year following the accident John Alexander Aggeler assisted his mother in the management of the farm and dairy, in 1913 leasing the place himself, which he is now operating successfully as a dairy farm. The estate comprises forty acres of fertile land, which provides ample pasture for his herd of about twenty-five cows, and also admits of the raising of an abundance of feed for them of various kinds. In his political preferences Mr. Aggeler is a Republican, while his fraternal associations are with the Knights of Columbus of Eureka and the Ferndale Parlor No. 94, Native Sons of the Golden West. His mother died here July 18, 1915, just after returning from a trip of two months on San Francisco bay.

It is such families as the Aggelers which our country is glad to welcome from foreign shores and to watch grow up in the spirit of loyalty to their new home, and perhaps none others in Humboldt county have held a higher place in the esteem of all who knew them, or have done more by steady purpose and patient industry for the betterment of the land where they have chosen to locate, than have the father and grandfather of Mr. Aggeler, who are spoken of with admiration in the community where they made their home. His mother was endowed with wonderful business ability and an exceptionally fine personality, and the son, in his enterprise and liberal disposition, has proved himself a worthy descendant of his respected family.

VICTOR AMBROSINI .- The firm of F. and V. Ambrosini, dairymen in Humboldt county, Cal., is one well known in this part of the state, where they hold a high place among the men engaged in that industry, the two brothers working together in perfect harmony since they began dairying.

The birthplace of Victor Ambrosini was Lodrino, in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, where he was born August 28, 1875, the second oldest of a family of five children, his parents being Gervaso, the descendant of an old family of the place, and Maria (Sacchi) Ambrosini, both of whom are now deceased. Victor received his education in the public schools and on the home farm learned dairying and the manufacture of butter and cheese. His brother Ferdinand having gone to Humboldt county in 1892, his satisfac- tion with the new country and belief in the opportunities there offered en- couraged the brother Victor also to try his fortunes on the Pacific coast. Accordingly, on March 2, 1894, he arrived in Eureka, Cal., soon finding em- ployment at a dairy on the Bear River Ridge, following that line of work until he became foreman of the West Point ranch, a position which he held for two years. In 1903 he became associated with his brother Ferdinand, they forming the partnership of Ambrosini Brothers, which has lasted ever since. Leasing two ranches, the Woodland Echo and the Mayflower, they thus secured a combined acreage of twenty-six hundred acres, located on Bear River Ridge, where they conducted a large dairy, also engaging in stock raising. Here they milked a herd of one hundred seventy cows, and manu- factured butter, which they shipped in squares or kegs to Eureka and San Francisco, meeting with success and being rewarded for their hard work and close application to business by the gaining of good profits. Meantime they looked about for an investment for their surplus, and in 1910 pur- chased the old Gries place of seventy-two acres, adjoining Ferndale on the northeast, at which place Mr. Ambrosini now resides. Until 1913 they rented the place, at which time they moved there and commenced dairying, giving

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up the ranches on Bear River Ridge. Since then they have been continuously engaged in operating the Gries ranch, in addition leasing an adjoining thirty- eight acres, making a total of one hundred ten acres, where they raise an abundance of hay and green feed for their herd, which consists of seventy- five high grade Jersey cows and Shorthorn Durhams. They also rent a stock ranch of six hundred six acres in the Guthrie district, on the coast, about ten miles from Ferndale, where they carry on the raising of cattle. Ex- perienced and well-informed men in the dairy and cattle business, the Am- brosini brothers are among the leaders in these lines of business in Ferndale and vicinity, where they also take an active part in all movements for the best interests of the community. A Republican in politics, Mr. Ambrosini is a member of the Ferndale Dairymen's Association and the Ferndale Cow- Testing Association, through his membership in which he is active in for- warding the good of the dairy industry.

His marriage took place in Ferndale in October, 1900, his wife having formerly been Miss Emma Tonini, a native of Petrolia, Cal., her parents having been Antonio and Sabina (Mattej) Tonini, born in Cavergno and Cevio, Ticino, Switzerland, respectively, and they were early settlers in Humboldt county, her father having come to California over forty years ago and become a prominent dairyman. Mr. and Mrs. Ambrosini are the parents of seven children : Mary, Walter, Florinda, Henry, Archie, Sadie and Clarence Weston.

HAGBARTH NIELSEN .- A native of the distant country of Norway, Mr. Nielsen has chosen to make his home in northern California, where he has cleared and improved land, and in the cultivation of the soil and the occupation of dairying is meeting with success.

Born in Drammen, Norway, in 1867, he received a good education in the public schools of that country, where for ten years he was employed as a grocery clerk. Then, led by the wish to come to the new world and seek his fortune in California, he made the trip in 1893, settling at Eureka, in Humboldt county, Cal., where for five years he was engaged in driving a milk wagon for the Buhne dairy. Upon the discovery of gold in the Klondyke region, Mr. Nielsen determined to take the trip to Alaska, as so many others were then doing, and accordingly in the year 1898 set out on the journey in search of gold, going by trail over Chilcoot Pass, being there at the time of the big slide. There were said to be about ten thousand on the trail, but only about fifty-two met their death in the slides. After this he and his com- panions made their way to the Yukon river, where they built two boats by which they made the trip down the river, passing through Miles Canyon and over White Horse Rapids to Dawson. Mr. Nielsen took up a claim, but as it did not prove valuable, he found employment in the mines, thus making sufficient money to cover the expenses of the trip. After five years spent in the frozen north, he returned to the United States, as he had become a sufferer from rheumatism, and settled once more in Humboldt county, where he leased the hotel at the Stone Lagoon, conducting it with success for five years. After disposing of his interests in the hotel, Mr. Nielsen purchased his present ranch in 1910, consisting of forty acres of bottom land on Redwood creek, at the town of Orick. Here he has cleared most of the property and improved it so that he has good pasture and fields for the raising of hay and

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other feed for his cows, of which he has twelve at the present time, a number which he is steadily increasing both as to milch cows and young stock. Aside from improving the land from an agricultural point of view, Mr. Nielsen is interested in constantly beautifying his home surroundings in every way possible, setting out trees, both fruit and ornamental, and many varieties of flowers upon his property. In his political interests Mr. Nielsen is a member of the Republican party, and while in Eureka held membership in the Nor- mana Literary Society.

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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 121

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