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 63

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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HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

which he was attached to the battleship Alaska, under Commodore Belknap and continued in the service until the expiration of his time. During the wars in Chile and Peru he engaged in patrol duty on the South American coast. Subsequent to receiving an honorable discharge on Mare Island in January, 1882, he became connected with a dry goods business in San Fran- cisco. A very early experience as a clerk in his native land somewhat quali- fied him for such enterprises and when he left San Francisco in 1884 it was for the purpose of embarking in a similar venture at Sacramento. The fol- lowing years brought their share of reverses and encouragement, but it was not until 1897 that he left the capital city for his former headquarters in San Francisco, where he spent some months as manager of a department in the Emporium.

Immediately after his arrival in Eureka during May of 1898 Mr. Gus- tafson became an employe in the dry goods house of Crocker Bros., and from them he was transferred to the management of the White House dry goods establishment, of which C. C. Dixon & Son were the proprietors. In 1902 he resigned his position in order to embark in business for himself. Opening the Model, a men's furnishing establishment at No. 437 Second street, he carried on a specialty store in Eureka until 1908, since which time he has engaged in the liquor business. For some time he was a member of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce. The Red Cap and Corona De Ora Min- ing Companies, owners of valuable mines, have his name enrolled on their lists of stockholders, and he has further acted as a director of the Waldner Fruit & Land Company, in which he owns stock.

By his first marriage Mr. Gustafson had three children, Augustus, Jr., Karl and Albert, all living in San Francisco. The present Mrs. Gustafson was formerly Mrs. Flora Davis. The fraternal connections of Mr. Gustafson are numerous and varied, including membership in Court Eureka, Foresters of America; Knights of the Royal Arch, of which he is past valiant com- mander ; Eureka Aerie No. 130, of the Eagles; Eureka Camp No. 652, B. P. O. E., and the Woodmen of the World, whose local lodge he has helped to develop by personal efforts and by official work as council commander. His interest in the Foresters of America began with his initiation in Court Sacra- mento No. 12, of which he was past chief ranger in 1889, and since his resi- dence in' Humboldt county he has organized Court Ferndale and Court William McKinley at Arcata, had the honor of being elected supreme repre- sentative and attended the supreme court held in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1904.

WILLIAM PETER McDADE .- One of the most important industries of Humboldt county is that of ship building, and the ship yards at Fair Haven. across the bay from Eureka, are well known throughout the state, and in fact along the entire coast, as many vessels of importance, and even some little fame, have been constructed there. At present one of the most prominent figures in this great industry is William Peter McDade, who for practically his entire lifetime has been associated with the yards at Fair Haven, and to whom the construction of vessels of various types is as the breath of his life.

Mr. McDade is a native of California, having been born at Fair Haven, August 6, 1880, the son of Hugh and Agnes (Day) McDade, both of New Brunswick, Canada. His father was a ship carpenter, born in St. John, New Brunswick, where he lived for many years and where he was mar-

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ried. He learned his trade there, and followed it for some time, but after his marriage he came to California, hoping to better his financial condition in the west. He arrived here about 1873, locating in Humboldt county, and for many years he and his wife have made their home in Eureka. He is now about sixty-seven years of age, and is employed by his son in the Fair Haven yards as a ship carpenter, in which line he is an expert workman. The parental family numbered four children, three of whom are still living. They are: Edith, now the wife of William Falk, and residing in Eureka; Nellie, deceased ; William Peter, of whom we write; and Everett, a ship carpenter employed at St. Helena, Ore.

After completing his education, received in the public schools, Mr. McDade was apprenticed in the H. D. Bendixsen ship yards at Fair Haven, where he served an apprenticeship of five years, mastering all the details of the craft of building ships. Bendixsen was then the foremost ship builder of the vicinity and the Bendixsen ship yards were the first to be located at Fair Haven or in that region, and it is these yards that Mr. McDade now leases from the Bank of Eureka. The former owners were John Lindstrom, John C. Bull, and Bendixsen. During his ownership of the yards Bendixsen did a thriving business, constructing in all some one hundred six vesseis.

Mr. Mc Dade remained steadily with Bendixsen during his ownership of the vards, then with Mr. Bull, and after they were purchased by Lindstrom he was made the superintendent, remaining in this capacity for three years, during which time the following vessels were built: Florence Wood, Daisy Freeman, Tahoe, Yellowstone, Shoshone and Catherine. Of these all were steam schooners except the Florence Wood, an auxiliary cable schooner, which was purchased by the United States government and taken to the Philippines and is still in the government service, laying telegraph cables.

Later Mr. McDade worked for the McCormick Company in the capacity of yard foreman, and while there built the Klamath, a steam schooner with a capacity of one million two hundred thousand feet of lumber, and sixty pas- sengers. The Hammond Lumber Company then leased the yards and ran them for three years, building the Nehalem, the Fort Bragg and the Willam- ette, Mr. McDade being their yard foreman during this time. Later this same company, continuing their lease, built the Necanicum, in 1911-1912, and the Mary Olsen in 1912-1913, with Mr. McDade in direct charge as superin- tendent of the construction.

It was in 1914 that Mr. McDade leased the yard and engaged in the busi- ness of ship building for himself. He has recently completed the building of the Magnolia, a one hundred ton, twin screw gasoline schooner, owned by Capt. Ed Johnson, of Eureka, and also built a seventy-foot barge, beam twenty-six feet, for the Coggeshall Launch Company, of Eureka. The first steamship that Mr. McDade built was the Toledo, owned by the Fay Brothers, and now in Alaskan waters. It was one hundred six feet long, with a twenty-foot beam, and eight-foot hold. He was only twenty-four years old at that time. When he was but twenty-six years of age he was superintendent of the yards with one hundred men under his charge.

The marriage of Mr. McDade took place in San Francisco, May 27, 1901, uniting him with Miss Minnie Murphy, a native of Malone, N. Y. She is the daughter of Peter and Mary (Brady) Murphy, both natives of New York state. The father died in New York, but the mother died in Eureka.

Both Mr. and Mrs. McDade are well known in Fair Haven and in

James E. Still

Susana Still

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Eureka, where they have many friends. Mr. McDade is recognized as one of the most influential and prominent of the younger generation, and his splendid qualities of heart and mind have won him the confidence and esteem of a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He is especially well liked by his business associates, including the patrons of his ship yards and the employes, the men in the yards being his most loyal and devoted admirers and friends. Aside from his business associates Mr. McDade is also popular in fraternal circles, where he is associated with several well known orders. He is especially interested in the affairs of the Elks.

MRS. SUSAN STILL .- The life of Mrs. Susan Still, of Eureka, Cal., has been from the first closely associated with the hard conditions attendant upon residence in the sparsely settled portions of our country. Born in Jefferson county, in castern Tennessee, on October 29, 1831, she was the daughter of Robert L. and Margaret (Haynes) King, the father's family being natives of Virginia, and the mother a descendant of Revolutionary ancestors. With her parents, Mrs. Still removed to Johnson county, Mo., in 1839, and there she grew up and received her education in one of the primitive log school houses characteristic of that time, subsequently adding materially to her store of information by systematic reading, so that she is now a well-informed woman and an interesting conversationalist. Her first marriage occurred in 1847 to John Marr, a native of Missouri. Two years after their marriage he came to California across the plains, engaging in mining for about two years, when he started on the return trip by way of Panama and the Mississippi river. In the meantime he had contracted cholera and he died of this scourge in Illinois in 1851. Mrs. Marr was subsequently married in Missouri, on Sep- tember 14, 1854, to James E. Still, a native of Bowling Green, Ky. For some time after their marriage they continued to live in Lafayette county, Mo., where Mr. Still was engaged in farming, but later removed to the West, with other members of the King family, among them being Mrs. Still's brother, William W. King, who later became her husband's partner on his farm in Humboldt county, Cal. The journey across the continent, which was made by means of ox-teams and wagons, was of six months' duration, continuing from April 6 to October 6, 1864. Arriving at Sublimity, Orc., the party re- mained there a year, driving from there to Crescent City, Cal., whence they shipped their goods on the steamer Del Norte to Eureka, they themselves coming down the coast with their stock by trail to Eureka, there being no wagon road at that time. Here Mr. Still and Mr. King rented land, which they farmed until 1868, at which time they purchased the Willowbrook farm of one hundred sixty acres near the mouth of Salmon creek from Captain Ticnor, and commenced clearing and improving the land, and by the addition of adjoining land became the owners of three hundred acres. Until Mr. Still's death they conducted the Willowbrook hotel on their property, Mrs. Still and her brother later giving their attention to dairying interests and the building up of their herd of cows, in that way clearing the estate of mortgage. They conducted the business in partnership until 1901, at which date they removed to Eureka, where they now reside on Harrison avenue, having leased their dairy and herd of sixty cows.

By Mr. Still's first marriage, to Mary Still, who died in Missouri, he had two children, Arabella, who became the wife of Thomas McDaniel and died in Willowbrook, and Alexander Leonidas, of Fields Landing. By his second

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marriage six children were born and of these three are now living: James H. is an engineer in Eureka; Roberta was twice married, first to Justin N. Adams, and after his death she became Mrs. McFee and now resides in Canada ; and Louisa H., the wife of Walter Church, resides in Grizzly Bluff. Though now advanced in years, Mrs. Still is hearty and active, and busily engaged in household duties. Since the age of fifteen years she has been a faithful and enthusiastic member of the Baptist Church, and in her political interests is an upholder of the principles of the Democratic party.

ADOLPH BARRY ADAMS .- The son of a California pioneer, but him- self a native of Australia, whither his father had gone in answer to the lure of the gold mining excitement, Adolph Barry Adams has yet been a resident of Humboldt county since he was a lad of sixteen, coming here thirty years ago, and is today one of the most progressive and influential citizens of Eureka, where he has made his home for most of his time since locating in California. He is at present engaged in the real estate and insurance busi- ness and represents several of the best-known companies, both in life and fire insurance. As would be but natural with one whose faith in the future of Eureka is unqualified, he has invested from time to time in real estate, building and selling several residences, and at present owning several pieces of city property.

Mr. Adams was born at Omeo, Gippsland, Australia, October 28, 1869. His father was St. Clair Adams, a native of County Cavan, Ireland, and a pioneer of Humboldt county, having located here first about 1854. He was then interested with his brother, Barry Maxwell Adams, in gold mining, and they were among the first to land at Humboldt Bay. They engaged for a time in mining with much success, and later took up government land and engaged in the cattle business. At this time they also were interested in packing freight into the Salmon creek gold mines, employing pack trains of mules, and making a success of the enterprise. When the great gold ex- citement in the early '60s broke out in Australia, St. Clair Adams answered the call, leaving his brother, Barry Maxwell Adams, still in Humboldt county. While in Australia he met and married Miss Maric Craig, of Glasgow, Scot- land, and by her had four children, three daughters and one son, Adolph B. Adams, the subject of this sketch. The mother died in Australia and later the father returned to Humboldt county, where he died about twenty-four years ago (1890) and was buried at Weaverville, Trinity county, Cal.

The early life of A. B. Adams was spent in the gold fields at Omeo, Gippsland, Australia. He was a mere boy when his mother died, and at the age of fourteen he determined to go to sea, and secured a berth as a cabin boy on one of Pope and Talbot's vessels, the Locksley Hall. For several years he followed this life, meeting with many and varied experiences, and at the end of that time came to San Francisco, thence to Eureka, where his father had preceded him. He at once secured employment in the lumber mills near Eureka, being first in the employ of Isaac Minor, at Glendale. He did not care for this class of employment, however, and so saved his earnings and took a business course at the old business college, located on Fifth street, Eureka. Completing his course he became a bookkeeper and stenographer, and for a time made this his occupation. In 1892 he first en- gaged in the insurance business, conducting a public stenographic business in connection with this undertaking for some time, owing to the hard times

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which attended the panic of 1892 and 1893, and which made it difficult to establish a new business. His undertaking prospered, however, and at the present time he has one of the best insurance businesses in Eureka.

The fraternal field is also one that has proven of great interest to Mr. Adams and he is a prominent factor in many of the best known organizations in the community. He is secretary of Fortuna Lodge No. 221, I. O. O. F .; clerk for the Modern Woodmen of America, and chief of records for the Improved Order of Red Men, all of Eureka. He is also the commanding officer of the Fifth Division Naval Militia of California, a state military organization of Eureka, composed of seventy-five seamen and two officers.

The marriage of Mr. Adams took place in Eureka in 1902, uniting him with Miss Mae Louisa Nellis, the daughter of James Nellis, one of Eureka's oldest pioncers. Mr. and Mrs. Adams are the parents of three children, Marcel, St. Clair and Adolph Barry, Jr.

Mr. Adams possesses a bright and cheerful disposition, and expresses * success naturally. He is enthusiastic about the growth and general welfare of Eureka and never loses an opportunity to give his city and county a boost.

He has a beautiful home on Harris street, where he has a carefully tended lawn with a wealth of flowers which add materially to the beauty and worth of his property. This is the third residence that he has built in Eureka, the two former ones having been sold. Mr. Adams is a conscientious worker, and carly and late he may be found in his office ready to give attention to the needs of his patrons and to the affairs of the fraternal orders which he repre- sents. It is this careful attention to detail that has built up his present splen- did business, and which has given him his high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens.

FRANK EDWIN CLONEY .- The chief of police of the city of Eureka is a native of the province of New Brunswick, Canada, and was born at New St. Stephen, Charlotte county, December 19, 1870. Like the average youth of the East he received a good public school education. He made the most of every chance and subsequent habits of observation in travel and thought- fulness in reading have enabled him to become the possessor of a varied fund of information. Leaving home at the age of seventeen he was attracted to the lumber camps of Maine and from there to the logging industries of New Hampshire. Reports received from acquaintances concerning steady employ- ment to be had in the lumber camps of Humboldt county and his keen desire to see the west led him to California in 1888, when he was a youth of eighteen years, and during the next fifteen years he remained an employe of the large lumber interests of this section of the state.

Efficiency in the work of a woodsman, steadiness and sobriety won for Mr. Cloncy a high reputation among his associates in the camps, and by degrees he also became well known in the towns, so that his appointment to the police force of Eureka in 1903 was regarded as a merited recognition of his ability. Indeed, so thoroughly did he familiarize himself with the duties of the department and so capable did he prove in their discharge that when he was appointed chief in July, 1907, the people without regard to politics felt pleased with the choice and there has been uniform satisfaction with the efficiency of the department and the success of the force in the maintenance of law and order. Some years after coming west he married

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Miss Heffren, a native of Arcata, by whom he has a son, Francis. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks and Eagles at Eureka.

GEORGE ALEXANDER CROWE .- One of the great industries of Humboldt county is represented by the dairy business and creamery interests, and prominent among the men interested in these enterprises may be men- tioned George A. Crowe, of Eureka, the present manager of the Buhne Dairy Company, one-half owner in the company. Their offices are located in the Buhne building in Eureka, and they represent one of the most prosperous and sound enterprises in the county.

Mr. Crowe is a native of Indiana, having been born April 1, 1868, near Jeffersonville, Scott county, where his father, Samuel S. Crowe, was a prac- ticing attorney in that region. When the son George was a boy of twelve years the family removed to Texas, locating at Palestine, where the father engaged in farming for about one year. Later the father died there, and the mother and four children came to California, locating in Humboldt county in 1885. An elder sister, Mary, Mrs. Fouts, lived at that time in San Fran- cisco, and the family spent some time there before coming on to Eureka, where they had other relatives (the Ricks) living. The present esteemed citi- zen of Eureka was the youngest of the four sons, and for a time he worked in Eureka and San Francisco, being variously occupied, but eventually becoming interested in the dairy business. He first began working for the Buhne Dairy Company twelve years ago on delivery, and his success and rise with the company have been almost phenomenal. He was steadily promoted from one position to another, as his splendid qualities were discovered and tried out by the management, and in 1906 he was made the manager of the company. At that time also he purchased a one-half interest in the business, which he retains. Under his capable supervision the scope of the enterprise has materially widened, and the business is steadily increasing in value. The company obtains all the milk and cream from the Buhne Dairy ranch, and the product stands the highest test for sanitary condition and quality.

The marriage of Mr. Crowe occurred in San Francisco in 1897, uniting him with Miss Clara Taylor, a native of Eureka, and the daughter of Frank Taylor, a pioneer of Humboldt county. She has borne her husband three children, Dorothy, Donald and Clarence.

Aside from his success as a business man, Mr. Crowe is deservedly popular wherever he is known. He is an influential member of Humboldt Lodge No. 77, I. O. O. F., being past grand, and is past chief patriarch of Mount Zion Encampment. He is also a member of the Canton of Odd Fellows, of which he is clerk. In politics he is a Republican, and is especially interested in all that pertains to the welfare of his home city and county. He is wide awake to the best interests of the community, standing four- square for the right and is always well in the forefront of any movement which stands for the betterment of conditions of public weal.

JEFFERSON R. LANE .- The beautiful city of Eureka is one of the most important ports along the northern California coast, and the number of vessels putting in at this point has created a demand for trade con- ditions and conveniences of service of many kinds. One of the successful business men of the place who has made a specialty of work for the marine trade is Jefferson R. Lane, proprietor of the Marine Iron Works, which are equipped for a large variety of machine work, but particularly for repairs

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on vessel machinery. The recognized reliability of his establishment has brought him much responsible work, and he has never failed the patrons who rely upon him for conscientious attention to their needs. Considerable general machine work is also done, including automobile repairing, and Mr. Lane has the agency for the Rambler motor cars.

Mr. Lane is a Kentuckian by birth, and in both paternal and maternal lines belongs to old-established families of his native state, prominent in her politics and government affairs. He was born at Louisville August 11, 1861, and having lost both his parents by death in 1865 made his home during the next six or seven years with his maternal aunt, Louisa Butler, in that city. His independent career began at the early age of eleven years, when he left home and went west to Denver, Colo., later spending some time at Leadville, then in its pioneer days. Though so young when he started out for himself he was prudent with his carnings and managed to save a little. Some years later he went to Arizona, where he followed gold mining very successfully, laying the foundation for a competence by his profitable operations there. In 1903 he settled at Eureka, Humboldt county, Cal., where he has since been doing business, his principal interest being in the Marine Iron Works, located on First street. There he has a splendidly equipped plant, completely fitted with the most modern lathes, drills and other iron working machinery, and a corps of efficient employes capable of handling the most difficult auto- mobile or marine engine work. He handles the Exide storage battery and makes a specialty of storage battery repairs and recharging. A large share of the business consists of expert repairing on automobiles, and he carries a large stock of automobile accessories. But the most important work is the repairing of marine and stationary gas engines, for which this establish- ment has no rival in skill and expert service. Aside from his interest in the works Mr. Lane holds stock in the Holmes Lumber Company at Eureka. In all his associations, business or social, he has gained a reputation for high personal qualities which accounts for the confidence of his fellow citizens and the respect which he commands wherever known.

NICHOLAS J. NILSEN .- Prominent among the dairymen of Humboldt county, and especially of the vicinity of Eureka, may be mentioned Nicholas J. Nilsen, who is owner and manager of the Bucksport dairy, one of the most thoroughly modern and best equipped dairies in the community. Here the latest sanitary methods are employed, and here an especially high stan- dard of excellence in every department and detail is maintained. Mr. Nilsen has been a resident of Humboldt county since 1885 and has been variously employed during the intervening years and the time that he first engaged in the dairy business. He is a brother of O. Nilsen, proprietor of the grocery firm of O. Nilsen & Co., of Eureka, and both of the brothers are regarded as citizens of the highest type and are highly esteemed wherever they are known. N. J. Nilsen is a native of Norway, and was born at Mandal June 30, 1855. His father, Nils Christian Nilsen, a tailor by trade, died when this son was but twelve years of age. His mother, Johanna Christine Nilsen, bore her husband seven children, of whom all but the two sons now residing at Eureka died when still very young. After the death of the father the burden of support fell largely on the shoulders of the twelve-year-old Nicholas, and he was obliged to work very hard during his entire boyhood. In fact he

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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 63

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