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 44

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 44

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Thers. a. Shepozzini

379

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

MRS. ANTONIETTA MOZZINI .- It was in the year 1896 that Mrs. Antonietta Mozzini, now a prominent resident and well known business woman of Loleta, Humboldt county, Cal., first came to this county, her husband having died two years previously at Santa Cruz, Cal., where he had been the owner of the Swiss Hotel. When Mrs. Mozzini came to Loleta, it was a place of but one store, a blacksmith's shop and a few shacks, but it has since become a prosperous business place of considerable importance, and Mrs. Mozzini has invested in property here, being now the owner of two residences in the town. Previous to her coming to Loleta Mrs. Mozzini's two brothers, Stephen and Antonio, had been located in the vicinity for sev- eral years, engaged in the dairy business, wherein they were meeting with much success. Mrs. Mozzini became their housekeeper for four years, at which time they sold their lease, Antonio returning to Ticino, his native home in Switzerland, Stephen remaining in Loleta, where he leased the Ellery place and continued the dairy business. Two years later the sister bought a one-half interest with him, the two since then having continued dairying on this estate, which comprises over two hundred acres of rich bottom land near Loleta. Here they have a herd of one hundred twenty milch cows, the milk being sold to Libby, McNeill & Libby. In 1909 they leased the Buhne ranch near Elk River Corners, a dairy ranch consisting of one thousand forty acres, and purchased the stock, at present milking two hundred cows on this property, the milk being retailed in Eureka, where it is known for its high standard and excellency. This is the largest dairy in the county, so that with the two dairies they are by far the most extensive dairymen in the county. Mrs. Mozzini and her brother, who are known among the most successful dairymen in the county, having done much to bring the business to a high sanitary condition, are also members of the Ferndale Cow Testing Association.

Mrs. Mozzini, a business woman of marked ability and attainments, and an educated and well informed woman, was born in Camorino, Canton Ticino, Switzerland, one of a family of nine children, of whom six lived to grow up, namely : Frank, at present a farmer in his native canton; Stephen, the partner of Mrs. Mozzini in Loleta, Cal .; Antonio, who spent many years in Humboldt county, Cal., where he became well and favorably known and left numerous friends when he returned to Switzerland, where he now follows the occupation of farmer ; Peter, also a farmer in Ticino; Theresa, now Mrs. Yermeni, engaged in dairying on the Elk river, Cal .; and Antonietta, the youngest, the Mrs. Mozzini who now makes her home in Loleta, Cal., where she is a well known business woman and is engaged in dairying in partner- ship with her brother. The maiden name of Mrs. Antonietta Mozzini was also Mozzini, as was her mother's maiden name, her parents, Martin and Martina (Mozzini) Mozzini, being farmers in Camorino until the time of their death. They were well-to-do people and the daughter received an excellent education in the local schools of her native place. Besides her mother language she also took up the study of French. She was married in her home town in 1886 to Paul Mozzini, a native of the place, who had spent some years in California, where he was the proprietor of the Swiss Hotel in Santa Cruz, Cal. He made his home, however, in Switzerland, until the burning of his hotel in Santa Cruz, when he returned to this state and rebuilt the hotel, his wife joining him in California April 1, 1891. He continued to

380

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

operate the hotel until 1894, when he sold it, his death occurring a few months later. Two years later Mrs. Mozzini joined her brothers, who were engaged in the dairy business near Loleta, in Humboldt county, where she has since made such a success as the partner of one of her brothers in the business, and is prominent as a member of the Rebekahs.

Four children have been born to Mrs. Mozzini, namely: Nancy, who resides with her mother; Martina, now Mrs. Moskete, of Elk River ; Martin, who is engaged in the dairy business at Elk River Corners; and Gemmaleta, who is bookkeeper for Mozzini & Co.

It is interesting to note that the business of dairying on a large scale is carried on with eminent success by a woman in her new home, a native of a foreign land which is noted for its herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats among the mountains and valleys of the Alps region.

HENRY WAY .- A love of the sea was perhaps the most prominent characteristic of Mr. Way in his boyhood years and this was undoubtedly due to the fact that he lived in one of the seaport towns of England, where the sight of the ocean steamers awakened visions of the distant countries whence they had come or the interesting regions to which they were sailing. His native town was Bridport, a small village in Dorsetshire, where he was born December 10, 1848, and where he had such schooling as local institutions of learning afforded. Scant as were his early advantages, he has become a man of broad information and musical as well as literary culture, familiar with the best literature of the current era and the most famous music of past centuries, this being the result of his own ambitious efforts to promote mental attainments.

To apprentice a youth whose deepest love was in the direction of a sail- or's life and attempt to turn his activities into the channel of things mechan- ical was such a serious mistake that the youthful apprentice himself re- belled at undertaking the work of a moulder and machinist. Barely three weeks passed before he ran away to enter the British navy and gratify his desire to go to sea. For two years he was a student in the naval school. Shortly after New Year's of 1865, when only sixteen years of age, he was attached to the receiving ship, Victory, and thence transferred to the dis- patch boat, Sparrow Hawk, bound for California via the Horn. While sail- ing in the South Atlantic waters he was cast away with others of the crew on the Falkland Islands following the wrecking of the ship in a severe storm. Rescued from the islands, he then sailed through the Straits of Magellan and up the coast to Valparaiso, Chile, and Callao, Peru. Instead of proceeding to San Francisco, he was sent to Honolulu and after three weeks ordered to Victoria, British Columbia. A brief period of time was spent on Queen Char- lotte Island in the quelling of an Indian uprising. Ordered back to Vic- toria, he next sailed to San Francisco and anchored in the harbor of the Golden Gate December 5, 1865. Giving up his connection with the vessel, he shipped as a sailor on a merchant marine to England. During 1866 he vis- ited Australia and China and from the latter country crossed to Victoria, British Columbia.

After having been employed for eighteen months at Port Gamble, Kit- sap county, Wash., Mr. Way came to California, landing in Humboldt county August 1, 1868. At Eureka he entered the Ryan & Duff mill, later known as the Occidental mill, and when a new building was erected he took a leading

381

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

part in securing a plant adequate, modern and convenient. For thirty-eight years he remained in the same position. Meanwhile he had witnessed many changes in the county. The lumber business had enjoyed its era of remark- able prosperity, but had begun to be partially supplanted by other features of modern industrial life. The few pioneers had been encouraged by the arrival of new settlers, eager to have a part in modern development. Agriculture and horticulture had begun to be appreciated as important factors in the highest prosperity. The work of development called for constant activity on the part of pioneers and he was not dilatory in doing his part in the general up- building. After leaving the mill he had charge of the detention home for three and one-half years, but is now retired from active affairs.

Fond of music and the possessor of an excellent bass voice, Mr. Way has been a distinct acquisition to the musical circles of the community and he and his wife have ranked for years among the most popular singers in Eureka. Church work also has enlisted his sympathy and service. Imme- diately upon his arrival in 1868 he united with the First Congregational Church of Eureka, in which he was one of the eight charter members. For a quarter of a century he had charge of the Sunday school and the choir and for five years his wife served as organist. For some years they have been actively associated with the Episcopal Church, where Mr. Way had charge of the music for a period of successful service and his wife was soloist for five years. Mr. Way toured the county with Professor and Madam Roswald as bass soloist. Locally he took the leading part in Pinafore, Mikado, Papita, Little Tycoon, Chimes of Normandy and other popular operas. Prior to their marriage, which was solemnized April 3, 1877, Mrs. Way bore the name of Emma Pengilly. Born on the famous little island of Jersey, an English possession, she is a normal graduate and had a successful experience in the English schools, besides teaching a private school in Eureka for twenty-five years. Nor is her ability limited to instruction in the common branches of study, for in addition she is recognized as a remarkably efficient teacher of the Bible, and the Sunday school classes under her supervision have been for- tunate in enjoying the services of one so familiar with the Scriptures and so capable in expounding them to the spiritual benefit of all. As a speaker she is original, talented and always at ease. Frequently she has been called into service in private theatricals and when the Ingomar theater was opened at Eureka she had the honor of speaking the first lines at the first production given in the new house. Of her children the only daughter, Alice, a graduate of Guild Hall School of Music, London, is now the wife of J. W. Bell, of Burnley, England. The sons are Arthur W., of Eureka, and Ernest H., of Oakland. Fraternally Mr. Way is a charter member of the Improved Order of Red Men, the Ancient Order of Foresters and is a member also of For- tuna Lodge of Odd Fellows, besides being allied with the Veterans' Asso- ciation of Odd Fellows.

HENRY A. KENDAL, librarian of the Eureka Free Library, was born in Tipton county, Ind., September 25, 1858. He remained on the farm with his parents until twenty-one years of age, receiving such education as the district schools of the time afforded. He then worked his way through a three-year course at the Normal College, Danville, Ind., by intervals of teach- ing and in the service of the college library. He taught after graduation for three years in the Alabama State Normal School for colored teachers at

382

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

Marion and for one year in the same institution at Montgomery after its removal to the latter placc. He also studied law at intervals and was ad- mitted to the bar, but found the law office less inspiring than the school room.

Mr. Kendal was married to Miss Candace Burroughs, of Rensselaer, In- diana, in 1886. They are the parents of one child born in Alabama but which died in infancy.

Mr. Kendal entered the Indian school service at Hoopa reservation in 1893. Since that time he has resided continuously in Humboldt county, and has taught in the public schools the greater part of the time since the termina- tion of his work at Hoopa. During his active teaching service in this county he served four years on the County Board of Education. Mr. Kendal became city librarian in December, 1911, and has since given his time and attention unremittingly to this important position.

LOUIS PIERRE DORAIS, M. D .- The genealogy of the Dorais family extends back to a long line of French ancestors in the old Province of Nor- mandy, but the Doctor himself was born in the county of Huntingdon, Province of Quebec, not far from the New York state line, on the Canadian side of the boundary. In boyhood he became familiar with the French language and the traditions associated with the land of his forefathers, but at the same time his early education was in the English language. At the age of fourteen he was sent to the Montreal public schools for a year. Next he spent four years as a student in the Jacques Cartier Normal School of Mon- treal, after which he continued the classical studies for two years in L'As- somption College, an institution affiliated with the Laval University of Que- bec. On the completion of the regular course he was graduated in 1886 with high honors. Having been qualified by his studies for the work of an edu- cator, he turned his attention to teaching school and was thus engaged in Essex county, Ontario, Canada, for four years. Meanwhile he had heard much concerning the Pacific coast section. Favorable reports caused him to relinquish the interests that held him in Canada and remove to the western coast. On the 6th of January, 1891, he arrived at Spokane, Wash., from which point he proceeded to Oregon. For three years he remained in that state, alternating school teaching with work on a farm.

A decision to enter the medical profession led the young French-Canadian to California in 1894, and later he worked his way through the College of Physicians and Surgeons in San Francisco and was graduated with the de- grees of M. D. and Ph. G. In 1902 and 1903 he held the important position of oculist and aurist at the French hospital in San Francisco, but his health hav- ing been impaired by too close attention to his specialties, he resigned in the summer of 1903 and removed to Humboldt county. Since then he has been engaged in the practice of his profession at Eureka, where he is also asso- ciated with the Union Labor Hospital and has built up an enviable reputation for remarkable skill in the treatment of diseases of the eye, car, nose and throat.

In 1912 the Doctor made an extensive tour of the United States and Canada, and on his return he decided to take a more active interest in the civic affairs of his home town. He was one of the organizers of the Eureka Development Association, a body which has for its purposes the general wel- fare of the city of Eureka. He drafted the by-laws of this organization, served on its first board of directors, and on several important committees. But it

383

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

was by his thorough and efficient research work of the true sanitary conditions of the Eureka Water Company's water supply that he rendered his most valuable assistance to Eureka when this municipality acquired its own water system in 1914.

Along the line of his profession, Dr. Dorais is identified with the Hum- boldt County and California State Medical Associations, while in the fra- ternities he is a Mason of the Royal Arch Chapter, past chancellor com- mander of the Knights of Pythias and a member of the Humboldt Club. On March 6, 1906, he was united in marriage with Miss Clarissa Hanna, and three sons, Sydney Pierre, Wilfred Leon and James Jasper, have blessed their union. Mrs. Dorais was born in Arcata and has been a lifelong resident of Hum- boldt county, where her ancestors were carly settlers. Her paternal grand- father, the late Judge Hanna, was an honored and influential pioneer of Eureka, and her maternal grandfather, Sheriff Lothian, was elected in 1853 to serve as the first sheriff of the newly organized county of Humboldt, fill- ing the office with fearlessness and tact at a time when its responsibilities were heavy and its duties the most arduous.

NATHAN HAUCK .- Mr. Hauck's standing among his fellow agricul- turists in his section of Humboldt county has been clearly shown in his elec- tion as the first president of the Eel River Valley Farmers' Association, now known as Rohnerville Center since the establishment of the Humboldt County Farm Bureau. His achievements in his chosen calling, thoroughly progres- sive policy in carrying on his own work, and his hearty co-operation in the various movements among farmers for securing more favorable conditions of working and living, entitle him to the recognition he has won. He has the industrious disposition and capacity for labor necessary for success on the farm, supplemented with a keen intellect which has enabled him to system- atize his operations to the best advantage, and he has been quick to adopt many of the modern devices for eliminating old laborious processes. The farmer of today, with their assistance and a moderate amount of competent hired help, is able to accomplish more than double the work under the old system, and to give thought to good management rather than expend all his energies on daily duties, which consume time, without allowing him to get ahead. None has been more prompt to see the benefits which follow up-to- date methods than Mr. Hauck, and his influence has gone far towards intro- ducing many such into his neighborhood.

Mr. Hauck's father, Peter Hauck, was a successful farmer in Rohner- ville township, Humboldt county, and his grandparents, Adam and Julia Hauck, were farming people in Germany during most of their lives. The grandfather was accidentally killed while serving as a watchman in a little German town, at the age of fifty-three years. Peter Hauck was born Decem- ber 3, 1830, in Bavaria, Germany, where he was reared. When but fifteen years old he set out for America, alone, making the voyage to this country in a sailing vessel, in 1846. He landed at New Orleans, where he found work in a wagon factory, though he had no training for such employment. His only capital consisted of his strength and a willing disposition to make him- self useful. He completed an apprenticeship to the trade, and helped to build wagons which were used in the Mexican war. Having decided to try his fortune on the Pacific coast he bought a ticket for California, via Panama, February 10, 1852, and arrived at San Francisco after a comparatively pleas-

384

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

ant and interesting voyage. Thence he proceeded to Trinity county, locating at Weaverville, where he followed mining until the fall of 1853. From that time to the close of his life he was a resident of Humboldt county, where for a time he found employment in the mills and was engaged in logging on the Eel river. In 1855 he commenced to operate a pack train between Arcata and the Salmon river, and he was thus engaged for a period of ten years, though not all this time over the route mentioned. Ordinarily it was a very profitable business, though often dangerous. During the Indian war Mr. Hauck packed for the government for eighteen months, during which he had many narrow escapes owing to the unsettled conditions. Having been thrifty and saving he accumulated some means, and by 1867 was ready to settle down to agricultural pursuits. In February of that year he bought the farm in Rohnerville township which was ever afterward his home, a ranch of sixty-five acres which he cultivated very successfully and improved greatly, equipping the property with all the conveniences which go to make up a comfortable home place. He erected a modern house, well appointed and comfortably furnished, had a vegetable garden for his family and an orchard of four acres which produced well, and for many years carried on dairying, in addition to general farming. He also made a specialty of rais- ing Berkshire hogs, keeping on an average forty head, and in his active years was an all-around enterprising agriculturist. Towards the close of his life he gave up some of his activities, but retained the supervision of his property. Besides his home ranch he owned one hundred acres near Fortuna, also devoted to general farming. His death occurred May 18, 1906. He was not only a man of substantial qualities, but personally one of the best liked men in his locality. He was a Mason, belonging to Eel River Lodge No. 147, F. & A. M., and for several years had the distinction of being its oldest living member. He was a past master of that body, and his family prizes a copy of the resolutions passed in acknowledgment of his gift of a sword to the lodge, the first known instance of the kind in the United States. We quote the resolutions herewith :

"The committee having in charge the matter of shaping in suitable form for record, on the minutes, the gift of a sword, by Brother Peter Hauck, do respectfully submit the following: From the inscription we learn that this sword was carried by a brother in active service, was presented as early as 1863, during that period of strife when the Great Brotherhood of Masonry shone with such luster, and that the donor, the oldest living member of this lodge, cast his lot with the fraternity in 1861. For more than the average term of human life, a period of forty years, our worthy brother has been permitted, by Providence, to be instrumental in the upbuilding of Masonry in this jurisdiction, adhering to the lodge in its adversity as well as in its prosperity and through all these years, as a citizen, his career has been marked by unswerving integrity and honor, as a Mason his charity and zealous adherence to the principles of the fraternity have been an inspira- tion to all. We take advantage of this occasion to record our high apprecia- tion of so valuable and unique a present.

"This is the first instance on record (for this lodge at least) where the candidate has complied with the request of the 'worshipful master' 'to deposit in the archives of the lodge some mineral or metallic substance as evidence that he was then and there made a Mason.' May this gift be a constant re-

385

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

minder to us of the thoughtfulness and solicitude, on the part of our beloved brother, for the welfare and prosperity of this lodge, of the many noble and generous deeds that he has left as a heritage to us, and

"Resolved, that we hereby tender our sincere and heartfelt wish that he may enjoy many happy years and that this sword may be carried by those 'worthy and well qualified' and who will do honor to the Great Brotherhood of Masonry.

"J. W. RYAN, "E. B. LORING, "B. H. McNEIL, "Committee."

Mr. Hauck always enjoyed his Masonic association and took pleasure in the lodge meetings. In political principles he was a Republican, but in voting supported the best man, without reference to the party. He married, May 1, 1866, Nancy Lamb, a native of the state of Indiana, who came to California with her father, Alexander Lamb, in 1864. She died in 1899, leaving three children : Alice M .; Nathan, and Fred C., the latter residing in Eureka. The daughter married Robert Malloy, a blacksmith at Alton; he was a black- smith on Dewey's flagship May 1, 1898, at the battle of Manila bay.

Nathan Hauck was born March 20, 1876, on the home place in Rohner- ville township, Humboldt county, attending school and graduating in the Alton district. He also attended the business college at Eureka, and then for several years assisted with the work on his father's farm. Being ambitious to get in touch with modern thought and methods in agriculture, he went east and took a course at the University of Wisconsin (at Madison), which has a high reputation as an agricultural training school, and graduated therefrom in 1909. On his return he took charge of the old home place of forty acres, which had come into his possession, where he still lives and has his principal interests. Eight acres are planted in apples and cherries. He also gives par- ticular attention to the raising of Poland-China hogs, having all registered stock brought from the east, and he sells fine hogs to various markets along the coast and in the east. Mr. Hauck has shown such intelligent judgment in his various operations, and made such a success in all the lines to which he has given special attention, that his work is noted with interest in his locality, and he is helping to raise its standards in every branch of farming. He is a member of the Dairymen's Association of Ferndale.

Fraternally Mr. Hauck is a Mason, belonging to Eel River Lodge No. 147, F. & A. M., at Fortuna; Ferndale Chapter No. 78, R. A. M., and to Eureka Commandery No. 35, K. T., and Rohnerville Chapter, O. E. S. He also belongs to the Alton Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West. Politically he is a Republican and active in the work of the party.

Mr. Hauck married January 4, 1911, Christina Marguerite Hansen, who was born in Alton, the daughter of Mr. P. Hansen, who is also represented in this work, and they have one child, Winifred.

MARTIN LARSEN .- There is no country of Europe that has sent to the United States a higher grade of citizens, nor a class that more quickly absorbs the principles of American life and thought, than has Denmark. The Dane who comes here as an adult adapts himself with splendid ability to the ways of the new country, and in the next generation the children are true Americans of the highest type. In the schools they rank ahead of prac-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 44

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