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 85

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 85

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).

Besides being occupied with the management of her property, Mrs. Dukes has many and wide interests in the outside world. She is the lady who has been chosen to take charge of the Humboldt county exhibit of canned and preserved fruits at the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco in 1915, for which position she is unusually well qualified, since for the past five years she has served as sole judge of the canned fruit department of the Ferndale District Fair and has the highest recommendations signed by the Board of Directors of said fair, namely, C. T. Schriner, president ; J. A. John- son, S. Comisto, George M. Brice, H. C. Blum, W. B. Alford, M. L. Clausen and R. H. Smith, secretary. Mrs. Dukes is the first member of the Women's Board of the Panama-Pacific Exposition, Humboldt County Auxiliary ; also

776

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

the first woman to hold membership in the Humboldt County Farm Bureau. She is one of the three lady members of the Republican Central Committee of Humboldt county ; is a member of the Unity Circle, Women of Woodcraft, No. 173; the Court of Honor, and is a charter member of the Companions of Foresters No. 1084 at Ferndale. Her religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal Church, she being a member of the church of this denomination at Ferndalc.

JOHN EVERTS .- Though now well along in the eighties it is only a little more than a year ago that John Everts withdrew from active participa- tion in business matters to spend his days in retirement at Petrolia. He has been living in that vicinity for forty-five years, in California for fifty years, and his long life has spanned a wonderful era in the world's development. The growth of his adopted state, her emergence from primitive to modern conditions, would be an experience to fill any life. Yet he has seen more-the transformation of the world by the introduction of rapid transportation facili- tics and still more rapid means of communication has taken place in his day. Moreover, he may feel that he and his family have played more than a minor part in the realization of these wonders. For he comes of wonderful stock, his mental and physical vigor at the age of eighty-seven being quite typical of his family. Intellectual strength and force of character have combined with longevity to make a noted race, whose representatives in every genera- tion have been in the van of progress, commanding the unqualified respect of their contemporaries, and leaving to posterity unspoiled the traditions of a long line of honorable ancestors.

The Everts family is of English blood, and after settling in England its members took their place among the leading men of the times. The late Senator Everts of Vermont wa's of this stock. The great-grandfather of John Everts came to this country from England, where his progenitors had long been among "those having authority," of aristocratic birth and high position. In the New World a number held office under the English government, and when the Revolution broke out they remained loyal to the mother country, hence they had to move north across the St. Lawrence into Canada or be court-martialed. Others of the family fought in the war on the Colonial side. Roswell Everts, grandfather of John Everts, was an army officer under the English government, and his son, Elisha Everts, father of John, lived and died in Ontario, Canada. He was considered the best farmer in all his section, owning a valuable property, fenced off into ten-acre tracts. Elisha Everts married Margaret M. Kelley, daughter of Maj. Gen. Martin Kelley, who fought in the British army during the Revolution; he was of Irish origin. Fourteen children were born to Elisha and Margaret M. (Kelley) Everts, two dying in infancy, while eight sons and four daughters reached maturity.

John Everts was born October 5, 1827, in the County of Dundas, On- tario, and the scenes of his carliest recollections are in Canada. His edu- cational advantages were poor because of the condition of the country at that time, but his home training was of the best and he had plenty of prac- tical experience, though agriculture during his boyhood was conducted very differently than now. He has cut grass with the old-fashioned sickles or. reap hooks, and hay with the scythe ; cradled and bound grain by hand ; and

777

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

flailed hundreds of bushels of grain. The changes in the cultivation of the soil which have taken place in his time have been so radical as to be almost unbelievable. When sixteen years of age the boy went to Rome, N. Y., where he entered the employ of Deacon Pierce, who had the contracts for putting in the locks on the Sugar river, necessary for the operation of the Erie canal. Giving evidence of aptitude for business, he was soon made gen- eral agent and intrusted with the purchase of all the supplies for Mr. Pierce's horses as well as other necessaries. After three years at Rome he returned to Canada, where he found a position as traveling salesman for Persons & McGee, hardware merchants and foundrymen at Merricksville, Ontario, for whom he spent two winters on the road. In 1864 he made up his mind to move to California and that year came to Yuba county, this state, with his wife and child, settling near Marysville. For two years he ran a threshing machine, and then for a time turned his attention principally to the raising of turkeys, in which he was so successful that he cleared $5000. During this time he bought other flocks of turkeys and at all times had two thousand on hand. He drove a flock of turkeys from Marysville to Virginia City, Nev., where he disposed of them. In August, 1869, he came up over the mountains to Humboldt county and bought a preemption right on the Mattole river, and here in this district has since made his home. Though he had to work hard for years, and with varying success in the earlier period of his residence here. he kept at it, following the cattle business steadily, and meantime acquiring more land as his means permitted, until his holdings totaled sixteen hundred eighty-three acres. He carried on the dairy business, raised hogs and cattle extensively, and also raised large numbers of horses, principally Clydes- dales. So he continued, in spite of his advancing years, until October, 1913, when, having sold his farm, he moved into Petrolia, where he and his wife are enjoying the results of their strenuous life, in comfortable retirement. Though Mr. Everts was suffering from chills and fever when he moved hither from Yuba county he speedily recovered in this climate, and had excellent health until 1911, when a slight stroke of paralysis incapacited him temporarily. His success as a stock raiser, in all branches, has been one of the factors which contributed to the development of that industry in the Mattole district, and has had a permanent effect in establishing a business now classed among the valuable resources of this part of Humboldt county. As a citizen Mr. Everts has clung to the high ideals of a worthy ancestry. and no resident of the valley is held in greater esteem.

On March 19, 1861, Mr. Everts was married, near Kempville, Ontario, to Miss Margaret M. Miller, who was born near what is now Cardinal, Ontario, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Clements) Miller, who were the first to settle in that part of the province. Her ancestors lived along the St. Lawrence river, her father's people on the Canadian side, her mother's in New York : the country from Ogdensburg to Waddington, N. Y., was an unsettled wil- derness when the Clements family settled there. They were of Scotch-Irish origin, the Millers of Irish extraction. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Everts settled down in the township of Matilda, in Dundas county, Ontario, on the north bank of the St. Lawrence, coming to California in 1864. Of the two children born to their union, the son died in infancy, while the daughter, Mary E., reached the age of eighteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Everts are ex-

778

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

tremely fond of children and several besides their own have been made mem- bers of their home circle. Frank Moore, whom they took into their family when he was a lad of fourteen, died of heart failure, dropping from his horse while crossing the river when bringing in beef cattle ; he was then twenty-one years of age. Jennie Olander, who is a daughter to them in every sense of the word and upon whom they look in that light, came to them when she was fourteen years old. She resided with them until her marriage to Richard L. Adams, and now makes her home near Petrolia. She has two children, C. Everts and Richard Lewis.

Mr. and Mrs. Everts have always been identified with the devout Chris- tians of the community, and they are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Petrolia, which Mr. Everts has served in the capacity of trustee and recently as a member of the building committee, during the construction of the attractive little house of worship just completed by the congregation. His duties have always been performed with the strictest regard for the wishes of his fellow members in the church, who are keenly appreciative of his unselfish devotion to their interests.

AMBROSE NICHOLS FOSTER .- With the exception of the first nine years of his life, which were passed within the boundaries of Maine, Mr. Foster has always lived in California and naturally cherishes a deep loyalty for the institutions of his adopted commonwealth. Particularly has he been interested in the progress of Humboldt county and of Eureka, the center of his business enterprises, the chosen home of his mature years and the object of his patriotic devotion. Patriotism is an attribute inherited from a long line of American ancestors closely connected with the early history of Maine, where his maternal grandfather, William Holway, was one of the greatest shipbuilders of his day, attaining, indeed, a reputation in his line unsur- passed by any other builder along the entire Atlantic seaboard. The father of Mr. Foster was Albert Keene Foster, a native of Washington county, Me., and from childhood an expert in the trade of logging. As a young man he was very skilled with the axe and scarcely less capable in estimating the value of lumber or the amount of material contained in a certain acreage. During 1872 he made his first trip to California, returning to Maine a short time afterward. When he came west the second time he was accompanied by his family and established a home in Eureka, where he followed the trade of carpenter and builder. With E. C. Mowry in 1885 he purchased the old Richardson planing mill on Third and B streets and there turned out the sash, doors, exterior and interior finishing, used in the building up of Eureka. Besides building the old academy in Eureka and other buildings of more or less note, he and his partner erected and owned the Grand hotel. Fraternally he was connected with the Knights of Pythias. For some years prior to his death in 1911 he had lived in retirement from active business cares ; his wife bore the maiden name of Margaret Holway and is still living, rugged and well preserved, at the age of eighty-five.

The only living child of Albert Keene and Margaret Foster is Ambrose Nichols Foster, who was born in Washington county, Me., November 14, 1867, and has lived in Humboldt county since 1876, receiving his education in local schools of Eureka and learning the trade of carpenter and lumberman under the oversight of his father in the mill and in the erection of houses. For

Jennie Goble Eskesen. Christen Eskesen

781

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

some time he engaged in the building business for himself, having among his most important contracts those for the Eagles building and the Carnegie library. Later he formed a partnership with James Willison under the title of the Willison & Foster Construction Company and this firm rose to promi- nence among the leading concerns of the kind in the entire state. Among their principal contracts in this county may be mentioned those for the build- ing of the county jail, Fern bridge across Eel river, the L. F. Puter residence (one of the finest in Eureka), the school at Hydesville and the Fort hotel at Fort Seward. In addition Mr. Foster drew the plans for the schools at Alton and Fieldbrook, for he is of superior ability in designing as well as in construction. In 1914 they dissolved partnership and Mr. Foster continued in the general contracting and building business in Humboldt county. He has just completed making and installing the hardwood booths and cases in the Humboldt county exhibit at the Panama-Pacific exposition at San Fran- cisco. In 1914 he also built a cabinet shop and planing mill on Fourth and A streets, Eureka, for the manufacturer of house finishing lumber, and among other jobs built the Minor theater and three stores for Mr. Minor in Arcata and the Jerry Millay residence in Eureka. His fraternities, the Elks and Knights of Pythias, receive from him cordial cooperation in plans for the community welfare or philanthropic work. Through his marriage to Mary F. Wood, a native of Humboldt county, he is the father of Mildred, A. Keene, Elizabeth, Clarissa S., Thaddeus, and Edward. Mrs. Foster is a daughter of Lewis K. and Clarissa Sidney (Hanna) Wood and has been a lifelong resident of Humboldt county, where her father held an eminent position by reason of having, with a comrade, been the first white man to discover Humboldt bay from the land side. That memorable event occurred December 20, 1849, during an expedition that had taken the party of explorers across the moun- tains and through privations and hardships of a most formidable nature. For years Mr. Wood engaged in farming near Arcata and much of his leisure was devoted to the writing of a pamphlet explaining the particulars in regard to the discovery of the bay, this task having been taken up by him in order that future generations might be fully informed concerning a discovery so important, marking, as it did, a new chapter in the annals of Humboldt county.

CHRISTEN ESKESEN .- As the genial proprietor of the American Hotel at Ferndale, Humboldt county, Christen Eskesen is well known, not only throughout the county, but to the traveling public who come this way. Both he and his wife are pre-eminently fitted for host and hostess of a hotel and take great delight in making their guests comfortable. Mrs. Eskesen is an excellent cook, and her management of the dining room and kitchen is unexcelled, the table of the American 'Hotel being acknowledged to be one of the best in Humboldt county, with but few equals and no superiors.

Mr. Eskesen is a Dane, born at Ballum, Schleswig-Holstein, then Den- mark, but now Germany, April 25, 1870. His father, Eske Eskesen, was a butcher at Ballum, where he is still residing. His mother, now deceased, was Christine Sorensen. The present honored citizen of Ferndale was the fifthi in a family of nine children, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, although but three are now living, these being Mr. Eskesen and the two youngest members of the family. Educated in the Danish schools. and con-

782

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

firmed in the Lutheran church, Christen Eskesen worked on various farms in his native province until he was eighteen years of age, when he determined to seek his fortune in the lands across the sea. Accordingly, in 1888 he sailed for America, coming directly to Eureka, Humboldt county, Cal., where an older brother, Hans Eskesen, was already located. Here he engaged as a farm hand, working by the month at Hydesville for two years. He came to Ferndale in 1895 and conducted the Ferndale restaurant for several years, meeting with much success.

In Ferndale, June 28, 1904, Mr. Eskesen was married to Miss Jennie Goble, a native of Rock Island, Ill., and the daughter of Ephraim and Sarah (Hanner) Goble, born in Kentucky and West Virginia respectively. From Rock Island the family set out for the west in 1868 in an ox-team train of thirty-eight wagons, ending their journey in Humboldt county, where the father carried on farming. Both parents are now deceased. The Goble ancestry can be traced back to the historic Mayflower.

It was in 1898 that Mr. Eskesen purchased the American Hotel, which he conducted alone up to the time of his marriage, and for the success which has since come to him he gives ample credit to his wife, for not only has the enterprise prospered, but today the hostelry ranks as one of the best in the entire county. Mr. Eskesen also has the agency for the Carnation auto- mobile and is very much interested in advancing the good roads movement.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Eskesen are exceptionally popular in Ferndale, where they occupy a prominent place in the general social and fraternal affairs of the town. Mr. Eskesen is a member of the Odd Fellows and together with his wife is also a member of the Rebekahs. Mr. Eskesen has been through every chair of the I. O. O. F. in Ferndale Lodge and is one of the most influential members. In Rebekah circles his wife is equally prominent, having been through all the chairs and also served as representative to the Grand Lodge on five different occasions. In civic and other local affairs both Mr. and Mrs. Eskesen always take a prominent part. They are progressive and wide-awake to all that pertains to the welfare of the town and are ever ready to work for those things which will advance the best interests of the com- munity.

HON. HANS CHRISTIAN NELSON .- From his native land of Den- mark, a desire to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new world brought Matthias Nelson to California and to Humboldt county as early as 1874, but he did not at that time decide to remain permanently ; on the other hand, after a considerable period of employment in the redwoods he returned to the old country and resumed the work in which he previously had been interested. During the residence in Tondern, Schleswig, Germany, of himself and wife, Annie M. (Bosen) Nelson, a son, Hans Christian, was born October 25, 1886. Two years later the family came to California and the elder Nelson again sought employment in Humboldt county, where he has since been a steady worker in logging camps and lumber mills. For some years he has made his home at Field's landing in this county. The son was given the best educational advantages his own indefatigable energy and determination, aided by the means of his parents, rendered possible, and after he had completed the studies of the Eureka high school he matriculated in Stanford University. During 1910 he was graduated from the pre-legal de- partment of the institution with the degree of A. B. and in 1912 he com-

783

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

pleted the studies of the law department, receiving the degree of Jurum . . Doctor. Meanwhile he had been a leader in the Phi Beta Kappa and chair- man of the committee having charge of the movement tending toward student control and student self-government. During his last term of study he acted as an assistant in the law department and thus gained an experience of great value to him in later activities.

The necessity for self-support had led Mr. Nelson, during vacations in Humboldt county, to seek employment in lumber camps and mills and in this way he was enabled to go through the university. Manual work in the forest of sempervirens of Humboldt county developed the thews of his muscles and trained him in a knowledge of nature, so that after his graduation he opened an office in Eureka and was well equipped mentally and physically for a life of professional success. From the very beginning of the progressive movement he has been in sympathy with its principles. November 5, 1912, on the progressive Republican ticket he was elected to represent the second district in the fortieth state assembly. During his service as assemblyman he was chairman of the committee on public morals and a member of the following committees: Fish and game, insurance, judiciary, revision and printing, university, and revision of criminal procedure. In January, 1914, when A. W. Hill was appointed district attorney upon the death of Kenneth Newett, Jr., Mr. Nelson was appointed deputy district attorney of Humboldt county. Upon Mr. Hill's reelection he was continued in office and is still giving his best efforts. Since April, 1914, he has been serving as local referee and representative of the Industrial Accident Commission of California and as such his duties are to take testimony and adjust claims between employers and employes in the county.

November 6, 1913, in Eureka, occurred the marriage of Mr. Nelson, uniting him with Miss Esther Jones, a native of Eureka, the daughter of Warren Jones, a pioneer business man of the city. Well read in the law, vigorous in mind and young in years, Mr. Nelson faces a promising future, whether devoted to professional labors or to public service. As assembly- man he has gained a broader and more accurate view of state needs, while a growing practice is giving him an enlarged experience in legal technicalities. Through membership in the Press Club of San Francisco he is kept in touch with metropolitan society of journalistic circles, while the Humboldt Club enlarges his acquaintance among the people of his home county. In fraternal relations he is identified with the Masons of the blue lodge, chapter and Eastern Star, while in addition he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Eureka Lodge of Elks.

OLUF KARLSEN .- Varied and interesting experiences have been ac- corded Mr. Karlsen, in his life which has been spent in such widely separated regions as Norway, California and the Sandwich Islands, and by his talents and business activity he has made profitable use of every situation in life wherein he has been placed.

Beginning life in far distant Norway, where his birth occurred in Chris- tiania, on September 23, 1856, Oluf Karlsen received his education in the public schools of the capital city of his native land, after which he was ap- prenticed to learn the trade of plasterer, at which he continued until 1880, when he made preparations to remove to the Sandwich Islands. At Chris-

784

HISTORY OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY

tiania he took passage on the sailing vessel Beta for the voyage around Cape Horn, which covered a period of three and one-half months. Arriving in the . Sandwich Islands, he found employment on a sugar plantation, where he remained until 1882, when he came to San Francisco, going thence to Whites- boro, Mendocino county, Cal., in March, 1882, where he was employed in the Salmon Creek Lumber Company mills. In May of the same year he removed to Eureka, Humboldt county, and was employed as gas-maker in the gas works, later becoming fireman on several different tugs on Humboldt bay. Removing to San Bernardino, Cal., in September, 1887, Mr. Karlsen con- tinued in the occupation of gas-maker for two months, later following the same line in San Diego, for a short time. Mr. Karlsen's life of faithful toil has been varied by two interesting and enjoyable visits to his native country of Norway, his first trip thither having been in the year 1888, October of which year saw his marriage in his home city of Christiania to Miss Julia Olsen, also a native of that city. Returning to Eureka with his bride, he established his home and has resided here ever since, continuing to be actively engaged in business. He was employed as fireman and oiler on the old steamer Hum- boldt and as fireman in different mills. Purchasing an interest in the Pioneer Fish Market on Second street, Eureka, he ran this business for seven years, in 1907 going into the hotel business with the purchase of the American Ex- change Hotel, at Eureka, since then continuing in the hotel business at No. 322 First street, having become well known in his chosen business and popu- lar among the citizens of Eureka. His second trip to Norway took place in 1914, at which time, being a member of the Norden Singing Society, he took part in the rendering of Songs of the North at the Jubilee Udstilling (Exposition) in Christiania, celebrating Norway's one hundred years of independence, this society also having sung in many other important cities in Norway. On this trip, from Portland to New York, they gave fifteen con- certs. In his California home, Mr. Karlsen was one of the organizers of the first singing society of Eureka, the Norden Singing Society, in which he has taken an active part ever since as a bass singer. He is a member of the Eureka Aerie No. 130, F. O. E., and was chairman of its board of trustees, until his resignation, for a period of five years, and during this time the Eureka Eagles' Home, one of the finest lodge buildings in the state, was completed. He is also a charter member of the Ancient Order of Foresters.

To Mr. and Mrs. Karlsen have been born six children : Carl, Einar, Ralph : Myrtle, now Mrs. Rose of San Francisco; Emma and Irene, all of whom, except Mrs. Rose, reside in Eureka, where their father is well and favorably known as one of the enterprising and liberal citizens.

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 85

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