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 33

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 33

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CAREY L. SEAGER .- The Producers Refining Company, of which Mr. Seager is secretary, treasurer and superintendent, ranks among the leading organizations of its kind in the Kern river field. Not only does its plant utilize the entire product from the Lackawanna lease of eighty acres in the Kern river oil fields, but in addition crude oil of the West side fields is bought in large quantities. An average of twenty-five hundred barrels of crude oil is treated each month. From the Kern river crude oils the following products are made : kerosene ; 34 degrees stove distillate ; gas en- gine cylinder oil; autogram, the copyrighted title of a cylinder oil particu- larly adapted to the use of automobiles and now winning the highest praise from its users; light engine oil, heavy engine oil, steam cylinder oil, fuel distillate and asphalt. The crude oils of the west side are utilized in the manufacture of four products, viz. : gasoline ; gas engine distillate of grades Nos. 1. 2 and 3; fuel distillate and asphalt. The lubricants are admittedly of a superior grade. Their value is recognized even by the experts con- nected with the most formidable rivals and competitors of the company, while the quality of both kerosene and gasoline is of the highest grade.

Of eastern descent, belonging to a family of high standing and excep- tional culture. Carey L. Seager was born at Randolph. Cattaraugus county, N. Y .. August 12, 1884, and was the eldest of three children. The second son, Roy E .. is engaged with the Producers Refining Company, and the youngest child, Pearl J., is employed as a bookkeeper with this concern. The father, George H. Seager, was born and reared on a New York farm and at the age of sixteen married Miss Julia F. Mack, a girl of fifteen who had been his schoolmate. Shortly after his early marriage he began to work in the oil refining industry, to which his later years have been devoted with such success that he now ranks as an expert in the construction and operation of refineries as well as in the production of kerosene, gasoline and high-grade

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lubricating oils. As assistant superintendent he had active charge of the construction work of the Gulf refinery owned by the Gulf Refining Com- pany at Port Arthur, Tex. He served as superintendent for the Union Oil Company at the time they constructed the addition to their refinery at Oleum on San Pablo bay. At present he is engaged in the buying, selling and mixing or compounding of oils at Tulsa, Okla., where he makes his business headquarters.

Although a native of York state, the earliest recollections of Carey L. Seager are associated with Pennsylvania, for in his infancy the family established a home at Corry, that state, and later lived in Chester, Dela- ware county. Eventually his mother established her permanent home at Warren, Pa., and there he spent two years in the high school. At the age of seventeen he was graduated from the Warren Business College. Shortly after graduation he joined his father at Port Arthur, Tex., where for four vears he was connected with the Gulf Refining Company, serving first as assistant stillman and later as foreman. His next experience was as assist- ant to his father while the latter superintended the construction of the re- finery for the Union Oil Company at Oleum. Later he was given work for nine months as stillman with the Standard Oil Company at Point Rich- mond. Contra Costa county. Meanwhile, having determined to start a re- finery of his own, he had the good fortune to meet with members of the San Francisco firm of W. P. Fuller & Co., compounders, and they encouraged him in his project. In addition, they rendered him practical help, introduc- ing him to George Calhoun of the National refinery. The latter agreed to form a partnership on equal terms with Mr. Seager, the two taking a lease of the Buckeye refining plant and continuing together for two years. At the expiration of that time Mr. Seager took a sub-lease from C. Apple- garth of the Volcan Refining Company, which under the title of C. L. Seager & Co., he operated for seven months.

Through a deal with Dr. Liscomb of Pasadena, Cal., made in May of 1911, Mr. Seager turned in his property and took stock for it in the Pro- ducers Refining Company, which since has made many valuable improve- ments. The officers of the company besides Mr. Seager are as follows: Dr. A. H. Liscomb, president ; William Ellery of San Francisco, first vice- president : and H. S. Bridge of San Francisco, second vice-president. Em- ployment is furnished to six men regularly. The one ambition of every worker is to maintain a product of admitted perfection and a constant stim- ulus to their work is given them by the enthusiasm and energy of the super- intendent. The latter has his home in the oil fields, his family comprising a daughter. Margaret Pearl, and his wife, who prior to their marriage in New York state in 1902 was Miss Pearl G. Bouton. While living in Penn- sylvania he became a member of the Maccabees at Warren and later he was initiated into Masonry at Port Arthur. Tex., becoming a member of Cos- mopolitan Lodge No. 872, F. & A. M., at that place. Since coming to the west the demands upon his time by business affairs have been so engrossing that he has not taken an active part in fraternal or political matters, although always ready to assist in any movement for the permanent devel- opment of Kern county or the expansion of its great resources.

EDWARD GARFIELD NORRIS .- When the Norris family disposed of their interests in Missouri and made the long journey to Bakersfield with the anticipation of establishing a permanent home, Edward Garfield Norris, whose birth had occurred near Kansas City on the 17th of April, 1881, was a small boy only two years of age, hence his earliest recollections cluster around Kern county and the associations of a lifetime endear him to the city of his residence and business affiliations. Educated in the grammar and high schools of Bakersfield, upon the completion of the regular course of

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study he was apprenticed to the trade of plumber with C. H. Quincy, re- maining with that gentleman until he had acquired a thorough preparatory training. Later he completed the trade in a large shop in Los Angeles, where he had the best possible facilities for gaining a complete knowledge of the many details connected with the occupation. Upon returning to Bakersfield he secured employment as a journeyman and worked for others for three and one-half years. Meanwhile he had cherished the plan of embarking in business for himself. During November of 1907 he carried out the plan and established the Kern Plumbing Company, of which he continued to be the sole proprietor for the first two years. At the expira- tion of that time he sold a one-half interest to Edward Miller and the two gentlemen immediately purchased a lot at No. 517 Grove street, where they erected a building to be used for warerooms, shop and office. Since begin- ning in the new structure they have engaged in sheet metal work and have carried a full line of plumbing and heating supplies, by their excellent busi- ness methods and recognized skill having been able to secure and carry to completion many important contracts for the plumbing and heating of public buildings and residences.

For a time Mr. Norris was honored with the presidency of the Master Plumbers' Association and he still is one of its most influential members. Fraternally he holds active connections with the Wocdmen of the World. The residence which he erected at No. 815 N street he still owns, but lately he has built and now occupies a home at No. 615 Flower street, East Bakersfield, which is presided over by Mrs. Norris, whom he married in Bakersfield and who was Miss Mabel Hunt, a native of Missouri. The pleasant and comfortable home is brightened by the presence of one son. Kenneth Edward.

GEORGE W. MCCUTCHEN .- The genealogy of the Mccutchen fam- ily is traced to Scotland, whence religious persecution caused a number of that name to seek refuge in Ireland, later generations establishing the family in Georgia. After having served with conspicuous valor in the War of 1812 James Corsey Mccutchen removed from his native Georgia to Vir- ginia and settled upon a plantation. Marriage united him with a daughter of John Nevins, an Irishman by nativity and a sailor by occupation, who having landed in Boston during the course of the Revolution, enlisted in the American army and fought until the close of the war, later settling in Vir- ginia upon a farm. Preston S. Mccutchen, son of the soldier of 1812, was born in St. Charles, Mo., February 24, 1820, and at Bentonsport, Iowa, mar- ried Jane Wilsey, a native of Utica. N. Y. The discovery of gold in Cali- fornia directed his attention to this part of the country. During the summer of 1850 he crossed the plains from Bentonsport. Iowa, (where he was living at the time), and began to mine for gold. although without any special success. However, he was so pleased with the west that he remained until 1853, and then returned only for the purpose of getting his family, who in the meantime were living in Iowa. The summer of 1854 found the family en route to their new home. Arriving in safety, they established themselves at Wisconsin Hill, Placer county, where May 6, 1855, occurred the birth of George W. McCutchen, the third son. His older brothers are James B. and Warren C., the former a dairyman living at Old River in Kern county, and the latter an operator in the Maricopa oil field.

Besides these three older children five others were born during the resi- dence of the family in Placer and Sacramento counties. They are named as follows: Edmund W., of Bakersfield; Mary A., wife of C. W. Johnson, who has charge of the Phoenix Distributing Company at Maricopa; Clara J., widow of W. G. Wallace, and a resident of Hanford, this state; Mrs. Harriet C. Scott, of Stockton ; and Robert L., residing at Old River in Kern county. After the father had lived about four years in Placer county,

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meantime engaging in placer mining and running a dairy, in 1858, he moved to Sacramento county, settling at Georgetown, seventeen miles south of the capital city. Upon a tract of land he took up in its primeval state he en- gaged in ranching and his children were sent to the schools of that neigh- borhood. After leaving school George W. began to make a business of hunt- ing. and with his brothers made several trips from San Francisco by steamer to Mexican ports, where he engaged in shooting birds of plumage. The feathers were marketed in New York. During 1871 he became interested in sheep-raising in Monterey county, and in 1877 went to Tulare county, where with his brothers he engaged in shooting ducks for the San Francisco market. Later, with his brothers, J. B. and R. L., he mined in Arizona for two years, thence came to Kern county in 1885 and took up ranch land at Old River. The ensuing years were devoted to farming and stock-raising, although in addition he engaged in hunting during the winter months and made several trips to Mexico. In 1898 he spent the summer in the Klondike, but his prospecting tours did not bring any reward, and he returned to California in October. During October of 1909 he was united in marriage with Mrs. Martha E. Colly, a native of Missouri.

Upon the opening of the Sunset field Mr. Mccutchen and his brother, Robert L .. located the north one-half of section 2, township 11, range 24, and the west one-half of section 1, township 11, range 24, also a fractional 26-12- 24, and all of 32-12-24. Their own ten acres at 2-11-24 is undeveloped, but they control a leasehold on the same section, comprising twenty acres one- half mile north of Maricopa, also lease twenty acres to the Maricopa Queen Oil Company on 32-12-23. The new well, No. 7, brought in February 27, 1913, is a gusher and produces sixteen hundred barrels per day, while No. 6, after being re-drilled and cemented, is a twelve-hundred barrel per day well. The firm is composed of the four brothers. George W. and Warren C., of Maricopa, also Robert L. and James B., of Old River, this county. Their expectations have been rewarded by a large measure of success. They now have six producing wells with a net production of nine thousand barrels per month. Not only are they successful as oil operators, but in public affairs they have been prominent, in ranching enterprising, in their friendships con- stant. and in character conscientious, typical of our fine class of American citizenship.

RALPH E. GALLOWAY .- The superintendent of the Visalia Midway Oil Company, one of the pioneer concerns operating in the North Midway field, has been identified with Bakersfield and the San Joaquin valley since 1892, the year of his graduation from college. Practically all of his active life has been identified with Kern county, whose resources he has aided in developing through the aid of his own aggressive energy and optimistic faith. Illinois is his native commonwealth, but in boyhood he lived mostly in Wis- consin, where his father, Rev. John B. Galloway, an ordained minister in the United Presbyterian denomination, held pastorates in various towns in the southern part of the state. Throughout all of his life this devoted minister has labored with the greatest sacrifice for the welfare of the church. When a mere boy, in his native shire of Ayr in Scotland, he was trained to a knowl- edge of the Bible and a desire to become a minister of the Gospel. Scarcely fourteen years of age when the family crossed the ocean and settled at Sparta. Ill., he directed his studies toward theology and by his own unaided exertions paid his way through college, graduating from Monmouth College with the degree of A. B., and later taking a complete course in theology in an institu- tion at Xenia, Ohio. Meanwhile the Civil war had cast its dark cloud over the country. Taking up the cause of the Union, he offered his services to his adopted country and was assigned to the One Hundred Thirty-second Illinois Infantry, in which he served as corporal until the end of the great struggle. Later, having completed his college course and entered the min-

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istry of the United Presbyterian Church, he held pastorates in Southern Wis- consin. Since his retirement from the ministry he has made his home at Poynette, that state.

By the marriage of Rev. John B. Galloway to Matilda Kiddoo, who was born in Pittsburg, Pa., and died at Clarence, Iowa, in 1878, there were four children, all but one of whom still survive. The eldest, Ralph E., was born at Galesburg, Ill., July 1. 1872, and attended public schools in Wisconsin. After he had graduated from the Sparta (Il1.) high school he taught for two years in Waukesha county, Wis., earning the money with which he defraved his expenses through Carroll College at Waukesha. Having received his diploma in 1892 from the scientific department of that institution, he left college to make his own way in the world and soon afterward arrived in Bakersfield, a small place at that time in comparison with its present metro- politan proportions. Brief experiences as a clerk in the Hirschfield store, as a law student under Judge Wiley and as a collection agent, made him fa- miliar with conditions in the community. During 1894 he became a reporter on the Echo, which at the time was published weekly. When the daily was established he became city editor. Employment with the Californian for two years, during a portion of which period he engaged as city editor, was fol- lowed by his appointment as editor of the Labor Journal. This editorship he resigned at the expiration of two and one-half years. In 1910, with F. C. Noel as a partner, he founded the San Joaquin Valley Farmer, the circulation of which he built up to large proportions. Since selling his interest in that paper in April. 1912. he has acted as superintendent of the Visalia Midway Oil Company, a concern in which he has held stock from the start and which has developed into one of the best producing properties of its size in Kern county.

Since the organization of the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce Mr. Gal- loway has been one of its active workers and interested members. Politically he has been independent from the time of casting his first ballot, favoring men and principles rather than any specified party organization. For years after coming to the west he remained a bachelor, but May 3, 1909, at Bakers- field, he established domestic ties, being then united with Mrs. Lulu M. San- ford, a native of Des Moines, Iowa. Of a genial, friendly temperament, he has found pleasure in an active association with various fraternities. Among the organizations of which he is a member we mention the following: Al- buquerque Lodge No. 461, B. P. O. E .; Kern Lodge No. 76, K. of P., and Uniform Rank, in which he has served as an officer and has been a member of the Grand Lodge of California ; Bakersfield Aerie No. 93, Order of Eagles; Bakersfield Camp No. 460, Woodmen of the World, and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen.

HON. ROWEN IRWIN .- Very early in the colonization of the new world the Scotch family of Irwin left their ancestral associations in the high- lands and crossed the Atlantic ocean to Virginia, where they became capable planters. Some of the name removed to South Carolina and Isaac Irwin, a native of that commonwealth, established the name in Kentucky, where at one time he served as sheriff of Jefferson county which has Louisville as its county-seat. After a short time he crossed the Ohio river into Indiana and there spent his last years upon a frontier farm. His son and namesake, a native of Frankfort, Ky., and for years a resident of Putnam county, Ind., followed agricultural pursuits for a livelihood, while as a gratuitous offering to the cause of religion he preached in the Baptist denomination. For fifteen years he acted as pastor of one church, giving much of his time to its upbuild- ing and to the spiritual welfare of the congregation, doing all this work with - out thought of remuneration. In that pioneer era it was customary for the brainiest of the pioneer farmers in any community to serve as preacher. fill

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the country pulpit on Sunday, unite the young couples in marriage and read the last prayer over the dead. For such a task he was well qualified by his sympathetic heart, kindly disposition, splendid reasoning faculties and deep devotion to the cause of Christianity. During 1866 he removed to Nebraska and took up land on Elk creek, five miles south of Tecumseh, Johnson county, a district then beyond the confines of civilization. White settlers had not yet penetrated regions so remote from the east, but he did not lack for neighbors, the Indians being in close proximity and making frequent visits to his cabin in order to beg. At such times it was the custom for the Indian chief to come first, salute and appeal, while the others would remain at a distance. If his request was granted, a squaw would come to the cabin and carry away food or clothing that had been presented to them. Later white settlers began to arrive and the savages receded ; improvements were rapidly made and the country took on an aspect of prosperity. It was the privilege of the pioneer preacher to enjoy some of the later prosperity and when he died in 1899 the country bore little resemblance to its aspect at the time of his arrival.

During the period of his residence in Indiana Rev. Isaac Irwin had married Jane Leatherman, who was born in that state and died in Nebraska during 1900. Her father, Rev. John Leatherman, a native of Germany and a pioneer of Putnam county, Ind., served in the ministry of the Baptist Church in that locality until his death. There were twelve children in the Irwin family and all but one of these are still living. Six reside in California. namely : Mrs. Avert and Mrs. Reynolds, of Hanford, and Mrs. Ball, of Los Angeles ; John, now district attorney of Kings county ; Washington, who fol- lows the carpenter's trade at Taft; and Rowen, district attorney of Kern county. The last-named was born at Reelsville, Putnam county, Ind., May 13, 1858, and at the age of eight years accompanied his parents to Nebraska. where during three months of each year he attended the country schools. The balance of the year was devoted to hard manual labor on the farm. A seeming chance occurrence decided his destiny. When a mere lad he at- tended a murder trial at Pawnee City, Neb. It was his first observation of law cases and he became deeply interested, watching with peculiar interest the movements of the judge. When he learned that the jurist received a salary of $3,000 per year his interest deepened. Afterward he mentioned the matter to his father, who verified the report as to salary and encouraged the boy when he announced that some day he would be a lawyer. His ambition was realized by his own later efforts.

Upon coming to California during 1881 Rowen Irwin secured employ- ment in Kings county, working with headers and threshing machines during the season. In the fall of the same year he began to study law at Hanford. The following summer found him again working on a header. In this way he continued until he was admitted to the bar in 1883. He won his first case and received a fee of $20. Admitted first to the superior court, he later was admitted to practice before the supreme court and carried on professional work at Hanford, where he served as district attorney from 1898 until 1902. During January of 1903 he came to Bakersfield, opened an office and engaged in the practice of law, which he has continued with increasing success. With him came to this city his wife, whom he had married in Portersville, Tulare county, and who was Miss Mildred Barnes, a native of Missouri. In fra- ternal relations he holds membership with the Eagles. Politically he has been a Democrat ever since he began to study public questions and as his party's candidate he served as member of the assembly in the state legis- lature during the session of 1909, also during two special sessions. As a legislator he aimed to promote the welfare of his constituents, but also gave stanch support to enterprises for the general good. The Democratic party

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in 1910 nominated him for district attorney and he received the verdict of popular approval at the election. Since he took the oath of office in Jan- uary, 1911, for a term of four years he has devoted himself closely to the duties of the office and thereby has added prestige to an already enviable reputation. The office is one which calls for fearless honesty and more than ordinary ability. Iligh as are its demands, he has proved equal to them and has met every crisis with a clear brain, accurate judgment and admirable reasoning faculties.

EDMUND W. MCCUTCHEN .- The lineage of the Mccutchen family is traced back through a line of honored ancestors in Scotland to one of the gallant lieutenants who served in the army of the illustrious Robert Bruce during the fourteenth century. The colonial period of American history found some of the name in the new world, established upon Virginian soil. Very early in the nineteenth century a member of the family left the Old Dominion and followed the westward tide of emigration across mountains and rivers into Missouri, where he took up new land and developed a farm. In the family of this pioneer was a son, Preston, born in Callaway county, Mo., and reared in Keokuk county, Iowa, where he took up agricultural pursuits. While living in Iowa he married Miss Jane Wilsey, a native of Utica, N. Y., and by that union were born five sons and three daughters, all still living, the fourth of these, Edmund W., having been born at Moke- lumne Hill, Calaveras county, Cal., October 18, 1856, about six years after the arrival of the family in the west. It was during 1850 that the father had brought his family across the plains with wagon and ox-teams and had settled in Calaveras county, where he engaged in mining at Mokelumne Hill. Not finding the occupation as profitable as he had anticipated, he deter- mined to devote himself to agriculture and accordingly moved to the vicin- ity of Sacramento, where he developed a grain and stock farm. Removing to Monterey county in 1872, he again took up general farming and stock- raising. Not far from the fertile Cholame valley he took up land and began to till the soil. For a long period he devoted his attention closely to farm- ing at that place, but eventually the infirmities of age obliged him to relin- quish manual labors and now at the age of ninety-three years he is living quietly and contentedly at Maricopa, Kern county. His wife passed away when advanced in years.

After having spent his boyhood days mostly on the home farm near Franklin, Sacramento county, Edmund W. Mccutchen accompanied his father to Monterey county at the age of sixteen years and continued in the stock business there until twenty-one. From 1877 until 1880 he engaged in mining in Mohave county, Ariz. Upon his return to California he be- came interested in farming in the San Joaquin valley. Selecting a location near Hanford he devoted about one thousand acres to wheat, using headers in the harvesting of the crops. For ten years he continued in the same location, but in 1890 he came to Kern county and bought a ranch of sixty acres nine iniles southwest of Bakersfield. The land was devoted to fruit and alfalfa, and it was not until ten years after he had bought the property that he discontinued such activities for oil operations, organizing the Supe- rior Oil Company, with himself as a director and manager. Several wells were put down (Sunset field), the land was patented, and the investment proved profitable, but after a time the interests were sold to other parties. Next Mr. Mccutchen became a member of the Eight Oil Company operating in the North Midway district and owning lands and wells of excellent value. In these he still retains a large interest. Besides his other enterprises he engaged in mining at Goldfield for two years with fairly satisfactory re- sults. Successful in striking oil, he ranks among the best informed men that Kern county has contributed to this industry and his successful operations have brought him financial independence. Mr. Mccutchen is developing

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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 33

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