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 40

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

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of much reserve, quiet and dignified, but also respected and trusted by his friends and acquaintances. He is interested in all local questions, and is progressive in his ideas. He is a Democrat in his political affiliations. In the conduct of his business affairs he is thrifty and industrious, and his suc- cess has been won by careful and conscientious effort.

ELIJAH H. FALK .- Lumbering has always been one of the leading industries which have contributed steadily to the wealth of Humboldt county, preeminently the one for which she is most noted; and the men who have been connected therewith are looked upon as chief among the factors in her business development. Her rich timber lands have not only attracted invest- ors and practical lumbermen, but incidentally to their exploitation have come railroads, shipping interests and the various mercantile enterprises which inevitably spring up around prosperous communities of workers, in need of clothing, food and other household supplies and possessing the means to procure comforts. Mr. Falk's connection with the lumber industry is highly important. That he has gained the reputation of being the most skillful mill- wright in California and that many of his best productions are in Humboldt county, speaks well for the lumber mills of this region and for his mechanical gifts. He has built a greater number of lumber mills than any other man in this part of the state, so it is an established fact that he has done his full share in bringing her manufacturing facilities in that line to the high point of development for which Humboldt county especially is renowned.

The present mayor of the city of Eureka, Elijah H. Falk, is a native of Ohio, born October 4, 1850, near Findlay, Hancock county, son of David and Mary (Christman) Falk. His parents were born in Pennsylvania, mov- ing out to Ohio in the early forties. Mr. Falk took up a government claim and farmed it the rest of his life. By trade he was a carpenter, and he worked at both callings. His death occurred in Ohio when he was sixty-eight years old. Five of his family still survive: Noah H., now a resident of Arcata, Humboldt county; Sylvanus lives in Ohio; Elizabeth is the wife of John Kyser, of Ohio; Elijah H. is mentioned below; Jonas lives' at Newberg.

Elijah H. Falk spent his youth and early manhood in Ohio, remaining there until 1878, the year of his removal to Humboldt county, California. During the quarter of a century which followed, his services as a millwright were in constant demand, and among the notable plants of his construction may be mentioned the Falk mill, the Warren Miner saw and shingle mill, the C. K. James sawmill, the Elk River sawmill, the Harpst shingle mill, the Carson shingle mill, the Shipyard sawmill, the original Hammond mill, known then as Vance mill, the immense Hines sawmill in Santa Cruz county and the Bucksport shingle mill, in connection with which latter he built a drying plant-the only shingle dryer of its kind in Humboldt county. By its use all the shingles are dried before shipping, this process reducing the weight two- thirds and the expense of shipping in proportion. Several days are required to dry the shingles with hot air, which is sent through the first department at the rate of thirty-two miles an hour and through the select kiln at the rate of twenty-four miles an hour. The capacity of the kiln is one million, four hundred twenty-eight thousand shingles, two hundred four cars, each holding seven thousand, being put in at once. The output is thus one hun- dred twenty thousand daily, and though the process seems tedious and is expensive it means so great a saving on freight that the drying equipment

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has justified itself to the great satisfaction of the mill owners. Mr. Falk was the manager of the Bucksport mill for nearly a year. Some time after his arrival in California he located at Arcata, Humboldt county, moving from there in 1882 to Elk river, where in association with Messrs. Holley, Harpst and Stafford he erected the Falk sawmill and remained for several years, giving his attention principally to the extensive business done at that plant. Since 1886 he has maintained his home at Eureka. Mr. Falk has been the designer of many other mills besides those mentioned, and his name will live with those of the ablest workers in the lumber regions of California. His achievements as a mill builder leave no room for doubt as to his natural endowments as a mechanic, or his ability to grasp the business possibilities in his line. Yet these qualities have been no more important in his useful career than the substantial traits of persistence, untiring effort and unwavering devotion to whatever he has undertaken. Eureka is proud to count him among her citizens, and he is esteemed for his fine personal characteristics as he is respected for his strong mentality. With the vision to see great things in his work and to bring them about by his faith and perseverance, he has realized some of the most sanguine dreams which the early lumber operators in this part of California cherished.

Mr. Falk was married, in Ohio, to Miss Amelia J. Deabler, a native of Pennsylvania, born July 30, 1849. Of the children born to this union five are living, namely : William S., of Eureka ; Dr. Charles C., of Eureka, a leading physician and surgeon ; Dr. Curtis O., also a physician, of Eureka ; Laura B., who was graduated from Leland Stanford University in 1906; and Dr. Vernon Eugene, a physician at Modesto. He was a Mason in Arcata Lodge No. 106, F. & A. M., also a member of Scottish Rite. He is an active member of the First M. E. Church of Eureka, and he is president of the Board of Trustees and is chairman of the Finance Committee, and is a member of the Board of Stewards.

Though most of his time has been applied to business, Mr. Falk was for many years a Republican, but since 1906 he has espoused the cause of the Socialist party, being a firm believer in its principles. June 21, 1915, he was induced by his friends to become a candidate for mayor of Eureka and was elected by a plurality of three against three opponents. July 6, 1915, he took oath of office, assuming the duties on July 12th for two years. His aim is to raise Eureka to high standards in business as well as morals and his policy is justice to all mankind.

ALONZO JUDSON MONROE .- The lineage of the Monroe family is traced back to Scotland, the progenitors locating in Connecticut in colonial days. Love of the frontier and fondness for adventure in unknown regions are family characteristics, which find expression in the life of Alonzo Judson Monroe when, with gun and dog, he enjoys a hunting expedition into the woods far from the haunts of civilization In his father, Alonzo W., a native of Connecticut, the same traits found expression in a voyage to California around the Horn during 1850, when he joined a crowd of gold-seekers allured by the prospects of fortunes in the mines. A short period of mining in Trin- ity county convinced him that such work held no possibilities for him, so in 1854 he came to Humboldt county and embarked in stock-raising near Hydes- ville, but later took up butchering at Eureka. When Nevada began to come into the public notice as a mining center he went to that state and was for- tunate in locating rich prospects. In honor of his home town of Eureka,

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Cal., he named the new settlement Eureka and for years the mining town enjoyed a national distinction denied to its western parent-town. The locator of the Nevada mines returned to his old home, took up mercantile pursuits and continued in Humboldt county throughout his remaining years. In Masonry he was a member of Humboldt Lodge No. 79, F. & A. M.

The marriage of Alonzo W. Monroe united him with Anna Maria Albee, a native of Michigan and a relative of Israel Putnam of colonial fame. Her father, Joseph Porter Albee, came to California in 1852, via Panama, and settled among the pioners of Weaverville, and in 1854 settled in Hum- boldt county, where in 1862 he was s killed by Indians on Red- wood creek. The children of the Monroe family were named as follows: Joseph P., Alonzo Judson, John W. (deceased), Charles A., Horace P., Mrs. Nettie S. Stover, William H. T. and Mrs. Jennie Worthington. Born on a ranch near Hydesville, Humboldt county, October 19, 1858, Alonzo Judson Monroe attended the public schools at Eureka during boyhood. At the age of seventeen he began the study of law in the office of S. M. Buck, of Eureka, but after three years of assiduous application to books his eyes were weak- ened to such an extent that he was forced to seek other work. After his eyes failed he worked two winters in sawmills, one summer in the woods, made two trips to Honolulu as a sailor on a lumber vessel, worked a year in the mines in Humboldt county, Nev., and engaged in other manual labor. With the restoration of his eyes to normal condition he resumed the study of law and in 1882 was admitted to practice in the superior courts, while November 13, 1894, he was admitted to the circuit and district courts and to the circuit court of appeals. From the first he has practiced in Eureka, where he is among the leading attorneys. For one term he served as district attorney of Humboldt county and in addition he has been city attorney of Eureka, Arcata and Blue Lake.

Mr. Monroe was made a Mason in Humboldt Lodge No. 79, F. & A. M., of which he is past master; also a member of Humboldt Chapter No. 52, R. A. M., Eureka Commandery No. 35, K. T., and Islam Temple A. A. O. N. M. S., San Francisco. He is a past grand master of the Grand Lodge of Masons of California and with his wife is a member of Camelia Chapter, O. E. S. Other organizations having his name enrolled as a member are the Knights of Pythias, Native Sons of the Golden West and the Elks of Eureka. Mr. Monroe and his wife are members of the Congregational Church in which they have taken a prominent part. For many years he has been a leading local worker in the temperance cause. By his marriage to Miss Lucre- tia Anna Huntington, a native of Illinois, he has three sons, namely : Thomas H., a graduate of the West Point Military Academy, a lieutenant in the Sixth U. S. Infantry, stationed at El Paso, Tex .; Joseph P., and Hammond Mc- Dougal, of Eureka.

PATRICK QUINN .- A resident of Humboldt county for almost fifty years, Patrick Quinn has always been classed among the substantial citizens of his section, and he may well be proud of the results he has to show for an industrious career. He owns and operates a large ranch in Table Bluff township, and in improving this property has not only made a competence for himself and provided a living for his family, but has been a unit in the advancement and progress of the whole region. A man of his sturdy qual- ities, energy and ambition is a desirable acquisition to any community, and

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his useful life has brought him respect from all his neighbors and associates everywhere.

Mr. Quinn's parents, John and Catherine (Whalen) Quinn, were natives of Ireland, the father born in County Waterford, and both are now deceased. When a young man John Quinn came to America, bringing one of his broth- ers with him, and they settled in Ontario, Canada, where they soon found work in a mill. They spent the remainder of their lives in that country.

Patrick Quinn was born in Ontario in 1842 and grew to manhood there, remaining in his home town until he came to California, in the year 1865. The long journey was made by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and he landed at San Francisco in February, 1866. During the next four months he worked in a sawmill in Marin county. Then he joined fortunes with James Tierney, with whom he purchased a ranch on Salmon creek, in Humboldt county, Cal., paying $3,500 for the property. For several years they operated it in partner- ship, until 1872, in which year Mr. Quinn bought the property he has ever since occupied, in Table Bluff township, this county. During the forty years and more of his residence there he has continued the work of improvement steadily, with the result that the property has increased wonderfully in value, both as an agricultural and a real estate proposition. It comprises three hundred and fifteen acres of particularly productive soil, which Mr. Quinn has cultivated wisely, as its present condition shows. From the begin- ning he has been very successful, and he has combined dairying with general farming very profitably, keeping forty fine milch cows. His chief agricultural products are large quantities of grain. Through his industry and thrift Mr. Quinn has become one of the well-to-do farmers of his section, and he is still looking after his affairs with his customary interest and foresight, enjoying his work with the satisfaction which comes when perseverance has had its rewards. Aside from several years' service as school trustee he has taken no direct part in the administration of the local government, though he has always used his influence for the encouragement of progressive movements and to uphold high standards of citizenship. Politically he has been a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, but has limited his activities to the casting of his ballot.

On February 5, 1872, Mr. Quinn was united in marriage with Miss Mary McNulty, who was born in Texas, daughter of Owen McNulty, with whom she came to California in 1854. Mr. McNulty, a well known citizen in his day, owned a fine ranch in Humboldt county which he carried on up to the time of his death. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Quinn : Catherine, who is the wife of A. C. Buxton, of Fortuna ; John F., an attorney, in successful practice at Eureka; William J., a physician, who took his pro- fessional course at Cooper Medical College, San Francisco ; Owen P., residing at the old home ; Alice M., a school teacher ; Irwin F., an attorney ; Frederick A., a graduate of St. Mary's College; Albert E., head time-keeper for the Pacific Lumber Company : Harold J., a student in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and a graduate of the University of California ; and Evelyn M.

Mrs. Quinn has naturally been interested in the educational advantages of the neighborhood, feeling that the early training of children is vitally important, and she has shown her willingness to co-operate with her neigh- bors in securing the best privileges obtainable by several years' service as a member of the school board of Clark district.

Jasper anderson.

Eleanor anderson

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JASPER ANDERSON .- The difference between the former methods of hit-and-miss farming and the latest scientific methods are nowhere better illustrated than in the case of Jasper Anderson, who is one of the most pros- perous farmers of Hydesville and vicinity, his ranch being conducted on absolutely scientific principles. He owns some of the most valuable property in the county, including a splendid farm of over four hundred acres near Hydesville, where he makes his home, and a stock ranch of eight hundred acres at Roger's Resort, in Van Dusen township. His home place is a model of care and splendid management, every detail being as carefully looked after as the affairs of the most modern office, and no possibility for waste or fric- tion is allowed. House, barns, fences and land are kept in careful condition and the greatest returns are secured for the least possible outlay of effort.

Mr. Anderson is a native of Iowa, born in Monroe county, near Eddy- ville, December 28, 1848. His father, Charles Anderson, was a native of Indiana, and there was married to Miss Matilda Frame. Later they became pioneer settlers in Iowa. In 1857 they again moved westward, coming first to San Francisco, and later locating at. Lathrop, San Joaquin county, where the father died at the age of forty-five years. There are eight children by this marriage, and later the mother married again, becoming the wife of Isham Davis, by whom she had one son. Six months after his mother's marriage with Mr. Davis, Jasper Anderson went to live with an older brother in Sacramento, where he remained for some five or six years, working on the farms in the valley. In 1871 he came to Humboldt county and homesteaded on Mad river, remaining there for a year. He then engaged in sheep shear- ing, becoming one of the most rapid sheep shearers in the county, being able to shear one hundred sheep a day. When the shearing season was over he turned his attention to the manufacturing of buckskin gloves, in this enterprise being in partnership with his brother J. W. They bought the raw hides, tanned the buckskin by hand, and so were assured of a superior quality of material. One winter he and a partner killed three hundred deer on Mad river, tanned the hides the next spring and manufactured them into gloves in Hydesville. The product sold in Humboldt county, where it was well received.

Mr. Anderson was married in Hydesville, January 1, 1884, to Miss Eleanor Case, the daughter of Horace S. and Caroline (De Lasaux) Cooper Case, pio- neers of Hydesville. Mrs. Case's first husband was William Cooper, a pioneer farmer and miller, who was shot by the Indians in 1861. A history of the Cooper family will be found in the George William Cooper sketch. Mrs. Anderson was born in Canyon City, Ore., but has been a resident of this vicinity since a babe of four months and received her education here. She owned a small piece of land which formed the nucleus of the present splendid farm. Mr. Anderson also rented her father's ranch for several years, and later he and his wife became the possessors of the entire place. There are about two hundred forty acres of tillable land in this property, which is one of the best in the vicinity. He runs about one hundred head of cattle on the Van Dusen ranch, and conducts a dairy of about thirty or forty cows on the home farm. He also has some forty or fifty head of horses, principally mares and colts, and is interested in the breeding of fine Percherons, being the owner of the imported stallion Janvire, of that strain. Mr. Anderson is recognized as one of the most modern and progressive farmers and stock-

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men in the county, and takes great pride in the care and management of his places. Among the improvements which he has installed may be mentioned electricity for lighting and an electric dynamo for running the milk separator, while other improvements are also in contemplation.

Mr. Anderson is fifth in a family of eight children, as follows: Susan, John, Eliza, Jane, Jasper, Charles, Meriah (who died when a small child) and Harrison. Mrs. Anderson has borne her husband seven children, all natives of Hydesville, five of whom are living: Horace, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this edition; Amy, who became the wife of George Robison, of Hydesville, and died leaving one child, Earl W .; Arthur Jasper, who assists his father with the management of the home place, married Miss Sophia Petersen, and has one child; Pearl, the second wife of George Robison, and the mother of two children, Letha and Maxine; Hazel and Wallace, residing at home.

Mr. Anderson espouses the principles of the Republican party politically and is an independent thinker on all questions of local import, giving his support to men and measures, rather than following political lines. He is progressive in his tendencies, and any movement which tends toward the betterment of local conditions, whether educationally, socially, morally, or commercially, is certain to have his hearty support. He is a member of the Hydesville Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the Encampment, and is especially promi- nent in Odd Fellow circles, having been through the chairs in both orders. Both he and Mrs. Anderson are members of the Rebekahs and are especially interested in the social gatherings of this organization.

WRIGHT S. CURLESS .- Largely interested in mining ventures in Placer and Trinity counties, Wright S. Curless, now retired from active business pursuits, is one of the prominent citizens of Blocksburg and keeps in close touch with local affairs of interest and importance and is keenly alive to all that is for the general welfare of his home town. He is a member of the well-known Curless family of Humboldt county and has made this county his home since 1877. He is well known throughout the county and the fam- ily is especially well represented, there being four generations of Curlesses within its confines, numbering nearly a hundred in all. Prominent among them may be mentioned George Curless, Talburt Curless and Mrs. Flora Perry, of Blocksburg; Albert Curless, of Fruitland; George Curless, of Eureka : Mrs. Rose Langlin, of Fortuna ; Paul Curless, of Mendocino City ; Henry Curless, of San Bernardino county; and John Curless, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Mr. Curless is a native of Indiana, born in Frankfort, Clinton county, July 29, 1842. His father, Wright S. Curless, Sr., was a native of New Jersey, while his mother, Rosanna Ashton, was born in Ohio, where she was reared and educated and where she met and married Mr. Curless. They removed to Iowa in 1851, locating near Cedar Rapids, and there Wright S., who was nine years old at the time of the change, grew to maturity, attending the public schools and assisting with the farm work. There were eleven children, of which Wright S. was the ninth born. They are: William, Samuel, Sarah, Henry, John, Biar, Arthur, Charles, Wright S., George W., Mahaley Ann. The mother died in Iowa in July, 1870, and the father, who was born in 1802, died in Wisconsin when sixty-nine years old.

It was in 1859 that Mr. Curless first came to California and has been

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a resident of the state since that time. He crossed the plains with ox teams and located for a time in Butte county, where he was engaged in taking care of stock. In 1861 he went to Texas, crossing the plains by the southern route, and returned the same year to California, by the northern route, each time with horses and wagons, locating this time in El Dorado county, and engag- ing in placer mining. He joined the state militia in that county and for several years during the Civil war saw active service. In 1877 Mr. Curless came to Humboldt county and has since that time continued to reside here. He engaged for a time in ranching, being in the sheep business for two years and having as high as two thousand head at one time. He then became road overseer from Burr creek to Alderpoint, continuing in this capacity for two and a half years and then engaging in teaming, following this occupation until in 1888. At that time he engaged in the liquor business in Blocksburg, until the town was voted dry in July, 1914, since which time he has been retired from active business pursuits. Mr. Curless is a man of strict business principles, and during the years that he conducted his liquor business he always abided by the laws of the state and his place was orderly and law- abiding. He is well liked in his community, and stands high in the esteem of the business men.

The marriage of Mr. Curless occurred in Cloverdale, Cal., in 1879, uniting him with Miss Mary Carpenter, of that place. They have become the parents of two children, both sons, who are well known in this county. Of these the elder, Joseph, now resides in San Francisco, while the younger, George S., is employed in the mines in Trinity county. In his political preferences Mr. Curless is a stanch Republican and is well informed on all governmental subjects, county, state and national. He is an independent thinker and forms his judgment and opinions quite independently of party lines or restrictions. He has taken a prominent part in fraternal affairs throughout his life and is identified with several beneficial organizations, being especially interested in the affairs of the Odd Fellows, his membership in this order being claimed by the lodge at Truckee, Nev., where he joined many years ago.

THOMAS BAIR-Without doubt one of the most notably successful residents of his section of Humboldt county is Thomas Bair, president of the Bank of Arcata and one of the most extensive land owners in northern Cali- fornia. His achievements are the more remarkable in view of the fact that he commenced the struggle of life unaided, and he deserves all the good fortune that has crowned his efforts. A resident of the state since 1855, his carly ex- periences here brought him into contact with some of the most typical phases of its pioneer days, the arduous labor of transportation before railroad and shipping facilities were developed, picturesque customs and dangerous call- ings, most of which are now but memories and live only in the history of olden times. Mr. Bair's holdings of timber and agricultural lands comprise thousands of acres and these and the bank constitute his principal interests.

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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 40

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