History of Kern 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 29

Author: Morgan, Wallace Melvin, 1868- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1682

USA > California > Kern County > History of Kern 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 29

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Included among the other interests of Mr. Hall may be mentioned his alfalfa and hog ranch of two hundred acres situated four miles southeast of Kern. One of the most important improvements of the ranch is a pumping plant with a one hundred-inch stream. In addition he is interested in the development of oil in Humboldt county, Cal., where already top oil has been struck. As a member of the California Oil Men's Association of Bakersfield he is connected with an organization that fosters this recent and prosperous industry of the west. Upon the organization of the Western Oil Producers' Association, with headquarters in Los Angeles, he has served as a member of its board of directors. The advisory board of the American Mining Congress also lias the benefit of his intelligent co-operation as one of its members. Mr. Hall is an active member of the Prospectors' Alliance of America. Having made a close study of the question of conserving our natural re- sources and being a man well-posted on the subject, he was selected by the executive committee of the board of directors as a committee of one to pre- sent the case to President-elect Wilson, then Governor of New Jersey. The chief object was to acquaint Mr. Wilson with the conditions that exist in the west which directly affect the mining interests and the disposition of the public domain. Making the trip to New Jersey, at Trenton he visited Mr. Wilson and in the interview presented his subiect and acquainted the latter with existing conditions in the west, laying before him certain facts per- taining to the public domain, and he urged him to appoint a western man to the office of Secretary of the Interior. As his reason for this appeal he stated that the people of the coast states, where most of the unsettled portion of the country's acres lies, wanted a man for the position who would be able to see the needs through western eyes and make his decisions accordingly, one who was old-fashioned enough to believe in those principles laid down in the Constitution of the United States, and who would not delegate to himself the power to abrogate the laws passed by Congress and in lieu thereof make rulings to conform to his own ideas and whims. A western man received the appointment, and the trip marked success and clever manipulation.

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Keenly devoted to the development of Bakersfield, where he built and occu- pies a comfortable residence at No. 1915 Eighteenth street. he is serving as vice-president of the Board of Trade and by constant co-operation with all progressive movements is endeavoring to promote the growth of his home city.

The marriage of Mr. Hall took place in Visalia and united him with Miss Ruth C. Stokes, who was born near that city, being a daughter of Y. B. Stokes. Possessing an excellent education and a broad culture, she has found mental uplift in the activities of the Woman's Club and also has enjoyed the social amenities of the Eastern Star and the Women of Wood- craft. The marriage was blessed by four children, Rowen F .. Maurice E .. Thelma and Thalia. Fraternally Mr. Hall holds membership with the Ba- kersfield lodge and chapter of Masonry, the Woodmen of the World, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a Democrat of the stanchest kind. loyal to all party principles. His service was recognized in an appreciative manner during the autumn of 1910, when he was elected to represent the sixty-sixth assembly district in the state legislature. During the thirty-ninth session, 1911, he was a member of nine committees, among them being those on counties and county boundaries, county and township government, fish and game, irrigation and drainage, manufactures and in- ternal improvements, mines and mining interests, oil industries and oil mining interests. Largely through his efforts was secured the defeat of a measure to appoint a third judge in Kern county. Needed legislation was promoted by his keen, capable discrimination. The welfare of his constit- uents was guarded in every emergency and he proved himself not only a faithful, loyal representative of the people, but also a most tactful and intel- ligent promoter of their interests.

THADDEUS M. McNAMARA, LL. B .- The first representative of the McNamara family in America was William Murro McNamara, who after having served as an officer in the British navy resigned his commission and sought the opportunities afforded by the vast agricultural areas of the new world. The son of a hemp merchant in London, he was born in that city at No. 9 Gloucester place, and entered the navy immediately after gradua- tion from Sedgely Park College. Upon crossing the ocean in 1848 he pro- ceeded direct to Illinois and located on one hundred and sixty acres of gov- ernment land in Cook county, where he transformed a tract of virgin soil into a productive and profitable dairy farm. At Fayville. Kane county, February 6, 1854, occurred the birth of his only son, Thaddeus M., and on the old preemption claim he spent many useful, profitable vears, but event- ually sold the tract in order to remove to California. Close to Visalia he bought a tract of land and established a country home. On that place he died March 6, 1887, at the age of sixty-five years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Bridget Mary Keating, was born in Tipperary, Ireland, where her father. Patrick Keating, engaged in mercantile pursuits prior to his emigration to the United States and his settlement among the pioneer farmers of Kane county in the vicinity of Elgin.

A temperament inclining him toward the acquisition of knowledge was fostered by the encouragement of devoted parents, so that Thaddeus M. McNamara had every opportunity to gain a thorough education. After he had completed the studies of the Elgin Academy and the University of Notre Dame, he matriculated in the Union College of Law (affiliated with the Northwestern University as the law department of that famous insti- tution) and in 1874 he was granted the degree of LL. B., upon the comple- tion of the regular course of study. Believing the west to offer favorable opportunities for the practice of his profession, he came immediately to California and opened an office at Visalia, where he continued for fifteen years. Since 1875 he has practiced law in Tulare and Kern counties, with

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the exception of several years' practice spent in Seattle, San Francisco and the Imperial valley. Besides conducting a general practice in Bakersfield, he has affiliated himself with movements for the material upbuilding of the city and also has been prominent in local fraternities, including the Wood- men of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Fraternal Brother- hood, the Yeomen of America, and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.

The first marriage of Mr. McNamara took place in Visalia, this state, and united him with Miss Alice Asay, who was born in Philadelphia, Pa., and died at Visalia in 1887. During the Civil war her father, J. L. Asay, M. D., had served as a surgeon in the Union army. A graduate of the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, he was well qualified for such responsibilities through education and natural endowments. Upon removing from Pennsylvania to the western coast he settled in Visalia, and later he became an instructor in surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at San Francisco. In each place he built up a large practice and attained professional distinction. There are three children of the first mar- riage of Mr. McNamara, the eldest of these bearing the name of the father and being well-known among the physicians of Bakersfield; the second, Loretta, lives in Oakland, and the youngest, Agnes, is the wife of Edward C. Crabbe, of Honolulu. The second marriage of Mr. McNamara occurred in Visalia and united him with Miss Christine E. Gilmore, a native of San Francisco and a daughter of Samuel Gilmore, a native of New Brunswick and reared in Maine. In 1847 he came around Cape Horn to San Francisco, where he was very prominent in building up the city and also in the banking business as a director of the San Francisco Savings & Loan Bank, commonly known as the Clay Street Bank. He was married in San Francisco to Eva Pelty, who was a native of the Bahama Islands and came as a child to Cali- fornia with her parents. Mrs. McNamara was a graduate of the Girls' High School in San Francisco. Born to Mr. McNamara's second union were three children, namely: William E., now with the New York Cloak & Suit House, in Los Angeles; Genevieve, wife of Carl Beck, also of Los Angeles, and Arthur, of Bakersfield.

PHILO LANDON JEWETT .- Although the distinction of being a native son of California does not belong to Mr. Jewett, who was born near Weybridge, Addison county, Vt., January 18, 1871. he has passed the greater part of his life in the west and by long residence as well as close observation has acquired a thorough knowledge of Kern county, both as pertaining to its oil fields and its agricultural lands. After his father, Solomon Jewett, the pioneer stock-raiser and oil-promoter of Kern county, became a citizen of Bakersfield, the son was sent to the local schools and later attended the Oakland high school until his graduation in 1889. Upon his return to Bakers- field he secured a position as bookkeeper in the Kern Valley Bank. Soon, however, he began to study the stock industry and particularly the sheep business. Careful observation convinced him that there were great possi- bilities in the raising of sheep and at the end of seven months in the bank he resigned in order to embark in his desired specialty. That his judgment was not at fault the succeeding years have proved and he still engages in the raising of sheep with gratifying success. It is said that he has no superior as a judge of a flock of sheep. His preference for this country is the Shropshire breed, which he carries exclusively and which seem well adapted to this climate and range, producing both mutton and wool in profitable measure. At first it was possible to range the flocks on the plains and hills of Linns valley during the summer months, but eventually the reservation was closed to sheep and this forced him to look for other quarters. Since then he has rented railroad lands.

The present headquarters of Mr. Jewett's sheep industry are situated near

Gro Hay

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Rosedale, seven miles west of Bakersfield, where he owns six hundred and forty acres in one tract and an adjacent property of four hundred acres. His mountain headquarters near Glennville contain the ranch-house known among the Mexicans as Casa Blanca and called by others the White house. The six hundred and forty acres at Rosedale are in alfalfa, large crops of which are cut each season. The entire tract lies under the Beardsley ditch and is in the usual farm crops, all feed raised being used for the sheep in winter. The size . of the flocks varies from one season to another, but there are never less than five thousand head and at times there have been as many as ten thousand in the flocks.

While recognized as one of the most resourceful and energetic sheep- raisers in the county, it must not be supposed that this industry represents the limit of Mr. Jewett's activities. In addition he owns an interest in six hundred and forty acres in the Midway oil field, also acts as president of the Jewett Oil Company operating in the McKittrick district and owning one hundred and sixty acres on 13 and three hundred and twenty acres on 24, operating thirteen wells with a production of thirty-five hundred barrels per week. The Republican party has received the stanch support of Mr. Jewett in national elections and he has been prominent in its local affairs. Upon the consolidation of Bakersfield and Kern in July, 1910, he was elected a member of the board of trustees of the new corporation and at the regular election held in April of the following year he was chosen by the people to fill the place for the next term, since which time he has acted as chairman of the finance committee and through that service, as well as in other ways, he has proved helpful to the best interests of the community. Enterprising in temper- ament, progressive in ideals, patriotic in citizenship and loyal to California, he represents that splendid class of men who are giving of their time and talents to further the permanent prosperity of our commonwealth. As a charter member of the Bakersfield Club he was identified with the early history of an organization now prominent and popular and he also has been interested in the upbuilding of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks in his home city.

GEORGE HAY .- During the first half of the nineteenth century James H. Hay, a sturdy young Scot, left the highlands of his native country and crossed the ocean to the United States, where he settled upon a farm in Delaware. When his son, John, a native of Delaware, was a child of three years, in 1835, he took the family across the country to Indiana and settled at Indianapolis, but later moved by wagon northward to Fulton county in that state and took up raw land near Rochester, where he remained until his death. For perhaps twenty years John Hay served as assessor of Fulton county, where for years he ranked as a leading farmer and an honored resi- dent and prosperous citizen until his death, December 28, 1912, at the age of

seventy-eight. When he was taken to Indiana there were no railroads in the entire state, and he recalled vividly the excitement incident to the com- pletion of the first railroad built into Indianapolis. In early manhood he married Miss Mary Myers, who was born in Fulton county, that state, and died there in 1900. To her father, John Myers, belonged the distinction of being one of the first settlers in Fulton county and he engaged in general farming there throughout the balance of his busy life.

There were eleven children in the family of John and Mary Hay and nine of these are still living. one son, A. W .. being now superintendent of the Union cemetery. George, who was sixth in order of birth among the children, was born near Rochester, Fulton county. Ind., April 15, 1869, and at the age of fifteen began to earn his livelihood as a farm laborer. When seventeen years of age he was given a teachers' certificate and began to follow that occupation in Fulton county. By the frugal saving of his salary he was able to spend two years in the Northern Indiana State University at

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Valparaiso, where he took the scientific course of study. During 1889 he was graduated from the Terre Haute Business College, after which he taught school in Indiana for a few years. May 1, 1892, he arrived in Bakersfield with a cash capital of $5, but with an abundance of energy and determina- tion. Immediately he found work by the day on a ranch in the Rosedale section, where he remained during the summer. In the fall of the same year he and a brother-in-law, George Batz, rented a stock farm on the south fork of the Kern river, and there he engaged in raising cattle and hogs for three years, after which he disposed of his interests and returned to Bakersfield in 1895. For one year he was employed by Bender & Hewitt, and there gained his first knowledge of the abstract business. Next for two years he served as deputy county assessor under Winfield Scott, and then as deputy tax col- lector under Charles Day, after which he returned to the employ of Bender & Hewitt for a year. When the county treasurer, J. B. Batz, went to San Francisco on account of business enterprises on the bay, he appointed Mr. Hay deputy county treasurer to take charge of the office during the three years yet remaining of his term of office.

The Bakersfield Abstract Company was incorporated in 1903 by J. H. Jordan, J. B. Batz and George Hay. The following year they bought out Bender & Hewitt, and thus acquired the oldest set of abstract books in the entire county. From the organization of the company Mr. Hay has acted as its secretary and manager. The office of the company is in the basement of the Bank of Bakersfield building, where there are private vaults for records and safety deposit vaults for the public use. The facilities of the concern embrace the ownership of books and documents constituting a complete record of the transfers, changes of ownership, subdivisions, and incumbrances covering all real estate in Kern county from government entry to date; and the company is prepared to issue unlimited certificates of title and complete abstracts of land, water and mining titles in this county. By this system the entire details of the examination of titles and the closing of property sales are assumed by the firm, which is responsible to all parties concerned for the correct carrying out of all instructions as well as for the correctness of the title, for which it issues guaranteed certificates. The company also buys and sells real estate, negotiates loans, takes charge of property for non- resident owners, writes insurance of all kinds, fire, plate-glass, accident and life, issues surety bonds and represents two building and loan companies of Los Angeles.

Aside from his identification with the Bakersfield Abstract Company Mr. Hay has numerous personal interests, having been one of the original stockholders of the Security Trust Company, and also owning interests in several oil companies. Under his ownership the West Park tract of thirty- three acres on Oleander avenue was subdivided and lots were placed on sale with building restrictions that made this one of the finest residence sections in Bakersfield. On some of the lots he built modern and elegant homes which he later sold. The Bakersfield Board of Trade has enjoyed the benefit of his progressive ideas. For some years he has been a member of the board of education, and his intelligent labors in this position have been beneficial to the educational interests of Bakersfield. The improvement of the schools has been a hobby with him. No stone has been left unturned in his effort to raise the standard of education. New buildings have been erected, locations have been secured, a course in domestic science has been added and a repu- tation has been acquired deservedly that ranks the Bakersfield schools with the best in the state. While not active in politics he has been stanch in his allegiance to the Democratic party. The Woodmen of the World, Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks. Ancient Order of United Workmen, also the Bakersfield Club, number him among their members. His marriage took place in this city and united him with Miss Elise Stahlecker, who was born

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in Germany, but at an early age came to Kern county. Her father, John Stahlecker, is now living in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hay are the parents of five children, Mildred, Gerald, Byron, George and Marjorie.

ABIA TAYLOR LIGHTNER .- Genealogical records indicate that dur- ing the eighteenth century three brothers, William A., John and Nathaniel Lightner, crossed the ocean from Holland to America and settled in Penn- sylvania, where the last-named devoted the remainder of his life to farming in Lancaster county. Capt. Abia Taylor Lightner, son of Nathaniel, was born in that county in October of 1801 and at a very early age became a pioneer of Missouri, where at Independence he married Miss Jemima S. Snelling, a native of Louisville, Ky., born in September, 1809. The Snelling family is of Welsh lineage. During 1849 her aged mother and two brothers, Daniel and Benjamin Snelling, started across the plains, but in the course of the tedious journey the mother died at the age of about eighty-nine years. The brothers continued on their way, settled in California and became men of some local prominence, Benjamin being the founder of the village of Sneliing, in Merced county.

Having decided to try his fortunes in the west, Captain Lightner out- fitted at Independence, Mo., and during June of 1849. started as captain of a train that journeyed with ox-teams along the southern route through New Mexico and Arizona. More than six months were spent on the way and often in the lonely road they were in great danger from the Indians, but they traveled well-armed, each family taking a large supply of guns and ammunition. The twenty wagons comprising the train were under his guidance as trainmaster and were drawn by oxen, while milch cows were taken along. not only in order that milk and butter might be obtained for daily use, but also to be used for motive power in case of accident to the oxen or to furnish beef if needed. In every respect the expedition was well equipped. hence they escaped many of the privations that befell other bands of Argonauts. A brief stop was made near the present site of Pomona in Los Angeles county, and there on New Year's day of 1850 the numerical im- portance of the expedition was enhanced by the birth of Abia Taylor Light- ner. Jr. Proceeding to the coast and thence northward, the travelers finally separated at Alviso, Santa Clara county, where the captain took up land one and one-half miles from Santa Clara and engaged not only in farming, but also in teaming for James Lick. During the mining excitement on the Kern river he made a trip of investigation and decided to remove to the location. As early as 1856 he bought on that river near Keyesville a mine later known as the Mammoth and also built a quartz mill, where he not only utilized rock from his own mine, but also engaged in custom work. The family established their home at Keyesville during 1857, but the following year, the milling and mining not proving profitable, he purchased the claim and stock owned by "Bob" Wilson in Walker's Basin and removed his wife and children to the new location. Ever since then the place has been occu- pied by members of the family and is now owned by one of his daughters, Mrs. Walker Rankin. While hauling a load of hay, February 12, 1867. from Walker's Basin to Havilah, then the county seat, he fell from the wagon and was run over by the team and killed. At the time of the accident he was alone and when found life was extinct. The widow remained at the old homestead until her death in 1896. Devoted to the doctrines of the Baptist Church and a generous contributor to denominational work, her interest and gifts continued until her demise ; her daughters have exhibited the same in- tense loyalty to Baptist tenets.

There were nine children in the parental family, but two of these died in Missouri prior to the date of the westward migration. Isaac died at Walker's Basin in 1906, and William passed away in Calaveras county Janu- ary 3. 1907. while Daniel S. died in Costa Rica, Central America, in 1909.

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Diana is the widow of F. T. Barrows and resides at Bandon. Coos county, Ore .; Mary F. married D. W. Walser, of Walker's Basin; and Lavenia E. is the wife of Walker Rankin, also of Walker's Basin. Abia Taylor Lightner, who was the youngest of the family, resides on the northwest quarter of section 24, township 29 south, range 28 east, this being the township in which the city of Bakersfield is located. Proximity to the city and the fact that this is a frostless belt suitable for horticulture, especially for citrus fruits, induced him to build his residence at this point.

Coming to Kern county at the age of seven years, Abia Taylor Lightner remained here from 1857 until 1861, after which he spent a year in Santa Clara county with a sister, Mrs. Diana Barrows. This gave him an oppor- tunity to attend school, which was not possible at the time in Kern county. After the death of his father in 1867 he attended Vacaville College for one year and during 1870 he entered Heald's Business College, from which he was graduated in June, 1871. Returning to Kern county and resuming farming and stock-raising, he continued at that occupation for a time, but afterward engaged as a bookkeeper. The Democrats of Kern county in 1873 nominated him to the office of county clerk, but he was defeated by F. W. Craig. From 1876 to 1878 he served as deputy sheriff under M. P. Wells. During 1879 he was elected county clerk and recorder, defeating his former opponent. F. W. Craig. On the first Monday in March, 1880, he entered upon his official duties. The new constitution went into effect during that year and rendered necessary another election. In the fall of 1880 he was again chosen for the position. At the expiration of the term of two years he was re-elected, serving until January of 1885.

After having engaged in mining with a brother, Daniel S., in Mav of 1886 Mr. Lightner associated himself with a brother-in-law, C. W. Fore, in the hotel business in Tulare. Ninety days later the hotel was burned to the ground. The disaster was complete and entailed a heavy loss upon Mr. Lightner, whose next position was that of searcher of records for Miller & Creighton of Visalia. Returning to Bakersfield in the spring of 1887, he formed a partnership with W. E. Houghton under the title of Houghton & Lightner. searchers of records. Upon being elected county assessor in the fall of 1890 on the Democratic ticket he retired from the abstract business. From January, 1891. until January. 1895, he acted as assessor, after which. his former partner having died. he took up the old Houghton & Lightner records and resumed abstracting, which he followed for three years. Upon the incorporation of the municipality of Bakersfield he was chosen city clerk. At the expiration of his term in 1910 he was not a candidate for re-election.

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History of Kern 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 29

Author: Morgan, Wallace Melvin, 1868- [from old catalog] Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1682

Author: Morgan, Wallace Melvin, 1868- [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1682