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 38

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 38

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).

Twenty-seven miles east of Quincy in Adams county, Ill., W. S. Lierly was born and reared. His father, Elijah W. Lierly, was taken by his parents to Illinois at the age of only seven years and thereafter made his home in Adams county, where he died at Kellerville in March of 1913. Surviving him are two sons and the widow, Mrs. Sarah Margaret (Hargrave) Lierly, the latter still living at the old Illinois homestead. There were ten children in the family, but two of these died in early life and a sister, Nancy, died at about twenty-four years; she left a husband, Albert Huffman, and one child. Ansil Huffman, of Sacramento. William K., a well-to-do farmer, oc- cupies the old homestead in Adams county. W. S., who came to California at the age of seventeen, spent his first year in the west with his grandfather,

309

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

Wilson Lierly, on a ranch in Mendocino county. May 1, 1879, he arrived in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara county, where he worked as a farm hand for one year. Next with a partner he engaged in barley farming and culti- vated about five hundred acres. On leaving the farm he embarked in the livery business in Santa Maria, where for fifteen years he conducted the Champion barns, bought and sold horses and established a market for his stock in Los Angeles. In order to secure feed and pasturage for his stock he became interested in agricultural undertakings and at one time leased two thousand acres. After he had sold the livery and retired also from ranching he became a special agent for the Equitable Life Insurance Com- pany of New York, having charge of the work in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern and Ventura counties, and remaining in the business from 1900 to 1906. Meanwhile in 1902 he was tendered a fine gold watch, neatly engraved, this being the gift of the officials of the Equitable in recognition of his having written the greatest amount of insurance of any agent of that company in California. On two other occasions he won the second prizes in similar contests.

From 1906 to 1908 Mr. Lierly acted as manager of the Pacific Valley Lumber Company in Monterey county and he still owns a considerable amount of stock in that concern. While still in Monterey county he handled oil lands for the Standard Oil Company, making King City his headquarters, and during that period he made a trip of inspection to Taft, with the ex- pectation of speculating to a small extent in oil lands in this field. An open- ing for a livery business seemed so favorable that he decided to establish himself at this point and he has had no reason to regret the decision, for he has prospered to an unusual degree. Practically his only oil interests now lie in four sections of land at Elk Hill. The express business, teaming and livery oblige him to keep about one hundred horses and mules, besides one Packard auto truck. A blacksmith shop is maintained for the shoeing of his own horses, although in addition considerable custom work is done for outsiders. As before stated, Lierly & Son own the Taft harness shop, a large block of stock in the Taft Ice Delivery and an express business and numerous cottages in town. One of their most important lines of business is the moving of houses. Each member of the firm owns a residence in Taft, while Mr. Lierly also owns a house at Santa Maria and large interests in redwood timber in Monterey county. While living in Santa Maria he married Miss Mary A. Blosser, daughter of L. W. Blosser, of that place. They are the parents of five children : Clarence E., a team contractor resid- ing at Imperial, this state; Lorenzo William, who operates the Packard auto truck for the firm; Ray Lucas, a partner with his father in the exten- sive business interests of the firm ; Irene and Nellie Margaret, both at home. Fraternallv Mr. Lierly holds membership with San Luis Obispo Lodge No. 322, B. P. O. E. Politically he is a staunch Democrat. Public education interests him deeply. No citizen of Taft has done more for its schools than he. Practically ever since his arrival in the town he has served as a men- ber of the school board and he now fills the position of clerk.

HERBERT V. PROUTY, M. D .- In 1852 the Prouty family was estab- lished in California. In the summer of that year Christopher C., born in Ohio in 1839, crossed the plains with other members of the family, the long journey being made with wagons and ox-teams. Although only thirteen years of age, he supported himself from the time of his arrival in the west and contributed also to the family maintenance. Mining was his first source of livelihood, and later he took up farm pursuits. Eventually he became a large stock-raiser in the vicinity of Ione. Although now to a large extent retired from agricultural duties, he still lives at the old homestead. Some years after coming west he married Australia Bennett, who was born in

310

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

Missouri and during the '50s came to California with her parents. Fourteen children were born of their marriage. Eleven of these are still living, the seventh in order of birth having been Herbert V., who was born near Ione, Amador county, February 20, 1878, and passed the years of boyhood on the home farm, meanwhile attending the country schools in the winter months. Later he was a student in the California School of Mechanical Arts in San Francisco. After his graduation in 1900 he matriculated in the California Medical College and in that institution carried on the regular studies of the course. In 1904 he received the degree of M. D., and became an interne in the City and County hospital of San Francisco, where he remained for two years in that capacity and as resident physician.

Professional interests of growing importance, first in San Francisco and then at Richmond, where he established and superintended a hospital, gave to Dr. Prouty a number of busy years prior to the failure of his health and his removal to another climate, and since June, 1912, he has engaged in practice with headquarters at McKittrick. Ever since leaving college he has kept in touch with professional advance and developments in therapeutics. Membership in the California State and National Eclectic Medical Associa- tions keeps him in sympathy with the general progress of the profession. In an especial degree he finds surgery interesting and it is his ambition to keep abreast with the latest developments in that important art. Since coming to his present. location he has engaged as surgeon at McKittrick for the Southern Pacific Railroad. In politics he votes with the Republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. His marriage was solemnized in San Jose and united him with Miss Dora Hughes, who was born in Kansas and by whom he has a daughter, Dorothy.

JAMES CHATHAM ROBERTS .- From the time of his arrival in Bakersfield during December of 1882 up to the present time, a period of about thirty years, Mr. Roberts has been a resident of Kern county and a contributor to the development of its agricultural and material interests. Prior to his removal to the coast he had called three states his home at different times, namely : Missouri, where he was born near Springfield December 7, 1855, and where he grew to manhood upon a farm; Illinois, where he engaged in general farming near Decatur from 1875 until 1879; and Texas, where he carried on a ranch near Pilot Point from 1879 until his removal to California. The family of which he is a member belongs to old Virginia and North Carolina stock, and his parents, H. B. and Frances (Duke) Roberts, were natives respectively of North Carolina and Tennes- see, the former dying in 1861 while serving in the Confederate army under General Price. A son of his first marriage, Col. E. M. Roberts, came to California in 1874 and settled in Kern county May 1, 1876, since which time he has risen to prominence and influence. The family genealogy ap- pears in his sketch upon another page of this volume.

Soon after settling in this county James C. Roberts bought eighty acres under the Johnson canal fifteen miles west of Bakersfield and there he engaged in raising alfalfa and stock. At the expiration of six years he sold the property. Meanwhile he had served as road overseer for four years. A trip back to Texas occurred in 1893, when he bought a section of land in Floyd county with the expectation of ranching, but his plans were changed and he sold the tract after three months, then came back to California and bought eighty acres under the Beardsley canal nine miles northwest of Bakersfield. For ten years he devoted his attention to alfalfa and stock-raising. Disposing of that place he bought ten acres three miles north of Bakersfield on the road to the oil fields and for seven years he made his home on his new purchase, after which he disposed of all of his ranch property by sale and retired to Bakersfield. In this city and in East Bakersfield he has erected eight houses and one of these, No. 397

Jule. Roberts

313

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

Grove street, is his residence. Near Decatur, Ill., January 4, 1877, he mar- ried Miss Elizabeth J. Allmon, a native of Webster county, Mo., and a daughter of William and Jane T. (Cowan) Allmon, who were born in Tennessee, butt settled in Missouri at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts are the parents of two children. The son, Ernest, is engaged in farming and lives five miles northwest of Bakersfield. The daughter, Maude, is the wife of A. P. Offutt and resides at Glendale, this state. Although not a partisan, Mr. Roberts is a stanch Democrat.

FRANCIS ALLAN HAMLIN, M. D .- Not alone through his paternal forbears, but also by the ancestors of his mother, Dr. Hamlin traces his lineage to some of the earliest settlers of New England, whose names are linked with the material development of that region and whose heroism in the period of privation and wars entitles them to an honorable place in the annals of their several communities. For several generations the family has been represented in Maine, where Charles and Etta (Sylvester) Hamlin are now living at Topsham, Sagadahoc county, in the enjoyment of a material competency secured through years of arduous application to farming pursuits. The chief ambition of this couple was not the acquisition of wealth, but the education of their sons, Francis A., Truman L. and James A., and they con- sidered no hardship too great that would promote the object of their desire. With manly enthusiasm their sons seconded their efforts. Working unitedly and harmoniously, each striving to help himself yet lending good cheer and sympathy to the others of the home circle, they rose to positions of recog- nized worth. The second son is now professor of mathematics in the Uni- versity of Maine and the youngest son acts as principal of the high school at Oldtown, that state.

The eldest son in the family was born in Oxford county, Me., June 16, 1873, and attended the public schools of Maine between the years of six and fourteen, after which he attended the high school at Lancaster, Mass. The failure of his health forced him to give up his studies and in 1890 he came to California with the hope that the balmy air of the west would restore his strength. Joining an uncle, Francis Hamlin, in Sutter county, he began to work in the open air and persistently sought those occupations that would prove of physical benefit. For two years he remained in Sutter county or at Geyserville in Sonoma county, and then with renewed strength he returned to the old Maine homestead. After he had spent two years in the scientific course at Bridgton Academy situated in the lake region of Cumberland county he entered the high school at Brunswick, Me., where he graduated from the classical course. Matriculating in Bowdoin College he there continued until 1898, when he was graduated with the degree of A. B. During the next two years he held the principalship of Bridge Academy at Dresden Mills, Lincoln county, Me., and then for four years served as principal of the high school at Wilmington, Mass. Meanwhile he had married at Portland, Me., in 1900, Miss Gertrude E. Wilkie, a native of Michigan, who was reared in California and received excellent educational advantages in Napa College and the University of the Pacific.

Returning to California during the summer of 1904, accompanied by his family, Mr. Hamlin established a home in San Francisco and there entered Cooper Medical College, now the medical department of the Leland Stanford, Jr., University, from which he was graduated in 1908 with the degree of M. D. From 1908 until 1910 he took special studies under Prof. Adolphus Barkan, M. D., a specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Dur- ing this same period he served on the staff of Lane hospital in San Francisco and also acted as instructor at Cooper Medical College in the department of the eye, ear, nose and throat. Since coming to Bakersfield in 1910 he has specialized in these diseases, acquiring a wide reputation and large practice.

With his wife and two sons, Francis Kenneth and Wilkie Sylvester, Dr.

314

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

Hamlin resides at No. 2120 B street. Since coming to this city he and his wife have identified themselves with the First Congregational Church. While living at Dresden Mills, Me., he was made a Mason in Dresden Lodge and now affiliates with Bakersfield Lodge No. 224, F. & A. M., and King Solomon Lodge of Perfection No. 3, Los Angeles. Both he and his wife were leading officers in Acacia Chapter. Order of the Eastern Star, at Wilmington, Mass., and since removing to the west have placed their membership with the chapter at Bakersfield. While living in San Francisco he became a member of the Foresters of America. Although not active in politics, he is a stanch Re- publican and keeps well posted in national affairs. However, it is his profes- sion that interests him most deeply. Upon it are concentrated the hopes and ambitions of a lifetime of resolute purpose. That he has been successful in large degree, his growing practice proves, as well as his high reputation as a member of the Ophthalmological Society of the Pacific Coast and the interest evinced in his contributions to various medical journals. In pro- fessional acquaintances he is not limited to the line of his specialties, but has a host of friends among the members of the Kern County Medical Society (of which he acts as secretary) and is likewise identified with the California State and American Medical Associations.

M. K. MCKENZIE, M. D .- Through a long line of fathers and sons the clan of Mckenzie led in the warfare that darkened the early history of Scot- land and in times of peace tilled the soil according to the primeval methods common to those days. The founder of the name in America was one Douglas Mckenzie, a true Scot in birth and breeding, but loyal to the welfare of his adopted country. The early American home of the family was on a farm in York state and Duncan, son of Douglas, was born near Lockport, N. Y., at the parental homestead, where he lived until his removal to Canada during young manhood. By his marriage to Elizabeth Burt, a native of Scot- land, he became the father of fourteen children and it is a noteworthy fact that every one of the large family lived to years of maturity. The thirteenth in order of birth, M. K., was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, in 1855, and at the age of one year was taken to Michigan by his parents, who settled at Stockbridge, Ingham county. The father later returned to the old Mckenzie homestead in Ontario, Canada, where he died at the age of seventy-eight, and the mother when sixty-eight years of age.

When a mere child M. K. Mckenzie did a man's work at the plow and in the harvest field, where the old-fashioned method of cradling and binding grain by hand was still followed. Timber was plentiful in that country and he early became an expert woodman, swinging an axe with a skill and speed surpassed by few. With all of his hard work in woods and field and meadow he kept his mind as busy as his body and was constantly endeavoring to en- large his store of knowledge. He seemed to have a natural talent for the medical profession and was quite young when he commenced to read with Dr. Simpson at St. George, Canada, later reading with Dr. Manwaring of the same town. There was, however, no well-defined purpose on his part to become a physician and his readings were pursued from the mere love of the healing art. When he left home at the age of seventeen years he began to make his own way in the world and devoted his leisure hours to the study of law under an older brother, continuing indeed until he was able to pass an examination for the bar, but his preference for medical work caused him to decide in favor of that calling. During September of 1878 he entered the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and studied there until his belief in the larger clinical advantages offered by the Detroit Medical College led him to pursue a course of study in the latter in- stitution. There he became well acquainted with Messrs. Stanton and Brice and also with the wife of ex-Governor Bagley, trustees of the Woman's hos-

315

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

pital and Foundling's Home, and by them he was accorded special privileges in connection with these institutions. In that way he laid the foundation of his splendid success in obstetrical cases and treatment of the diseases of women. After he graduated with the class of 1881 he opened an office at Plainfield, Livingston county, Mich., and there hie engaged in practice for five years. From Plainfield he removed to Laingsburg, Shiawassee county, same state, where he continued until the fall of 1890, when the complete failure of his health forced him to seek another climate. About the time of his graduation he had married, March 31, 1881, Miss Millison Tyler, of Shia- wassee county. Of their three children two survive, Misses Lois Janet and Florence H., both at home.

At the time of his arrival in Bakersfield in 1890 Dr. Mckenzie weighed only one hundred and twenty-two pounds, but the climate of Kern county proved beneficial and he gradually renewed his strength. Even now, not- withstanding a long and arduous professional career, he is in almost perfect health. He has given efficient service as county physician and for fourteen months was superintendent of the county hospital. As guardian of the public health, he has fully merited his enviable reputation, while as a family physician he is known and loved by many whom he has guided safely through a critical physical ordeal or a lingering and dangerous illness. With true professional devotion he has given his life to his chosen calling and it has not been possible for him to engage in civic enterprises or public affairs. However, he has kept well posted concerning national issues and has given stanch allegiance to the Republican party. In fraternal relations he holds membership with the Ma- sonic blue lodge and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

JOHN BRITTON DENIO .- Coincident with the early colonization of America began the identification of the French family of Denio with the pio- neers of New York, where several successive generations lived and labored. The first to follow the tide of migration toward the west was William W. Denio, a native of Akron, Genesee county, N. Y., and a pioneer of Ingham county, Mich., where he cleared a farm in the oak openings and gave years of the most arduous effort to the improvement of the homestead. Event- ually he sought a home in the milder climate of Missouri, where his last days were passed in retirement from agricultural cares. During young manhood he had married Miss Lucia Atkins, who was born at Elba, Genesee county, N. Y., and died in Kern county, Cal., at eighty-two years of age.

On the old homestead near Lansing, Ingham county, Mich., James G., son of William W. Denio, was born and reared. For about ten years he worked in the lumber woods in the Grand Traverse country of Michigan, and he also spent a number of seasons on the lakes in the lumber trade. During 1880 he removed from Michigan to Kansas and settled on a farm in Ottawa county, whence in 1887, he went to Cameron Junction, Clinton county, Mo., to take up farming pursuits in the more southerly location. The fall of 1891 found him in California, where he since has engaged in farming and poultry- raising in Kern county. At this writing he and his wife (who was Mary E. Bacon, a native of Sycamore, Ind.) own and have charge of a place of twenty acres located on the Rosedale road six and one-half miles west of Bakers- field. Their family numbers seven children, namely: John Britton, who was born at the old homestead near Lansing, Mich., September 30, 1878; Mrs. Daisy Stewart, of Rosedale; Truman and Hugh, of Rio Bravo; Charles, Esther and William.

The first years in the life of John Britton Denio were passed in Michigan. Kansas and Missouri, but since the age of thirteen he has lived in California, where he completed a grammar-school education in the Rosedale district, Kern county. From early life he has been interested in farming. From 1906 to 1909 he was employed by the Kern County Land Company on the Rosedale ranch, where he rose to be foreman, but resigned the position in

316

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

order to engage in farming for himself. Having purchased forty acres of raw land under the_ Beardsley canal six miles northwest of Bakersfield, he at once entered upon the difficult task of converting the tract into remuner- ative property. Checking and leveling the land, he sowed it to alfalfa and now devotes his attention almost wholly to the raising of hay. In addition to managing his own place he leases hay and grain land from the Kern County Land Company. Politically Mr. Denio is a Republican.

Mr. Denio's marriage was solemnized in the Rosedale district November 7, 1903, and united him with Miss Bingie Kuhs, who was born in Worms, Germany, a daughter of Carl and Mary (Kraud) Kuhs, the father deceased, and the mother still living. A sister, Mrs. Nelson, and a brother, John Kuhs, having preceded Miss Kuhs in migrating to California, she joined them in Kern county, where she met and married Mr. Denio. They are the parents of two children, Mamie and Bessie.

FRANCIS GEORGE MUNZER .- When the Munzer family first be- came identified with the industrial development of America they established themselves in Connecticut and in that commonwealth, at Southington, Hart- ford county, the birth of Francis George Munzer occurred February 2, 1859, his parents having been the late John Bernard and Elizabeth (Balzer) Mun- zer. Both families are of German descent, the Munzer records being traced back to the fifth century in Germany, where Johan Bernard Munzer took an active part in one of the religious wars. Throughout the carlier years of his mature activities the father conducted mercantile enterprises at South- ington, but eventually he became a resident of Ohio and carried on busi- ness at Edgerton, Williams county, near the Indiana line and not far dis- tant from the border of Michigan. After the death of his wife, which oc- curred at Edgerton, he removed to Toledo and there he passed away in September of 1911. Of their thirteen children seven are still living. The eldest of these, Francis George, attended public schools in Southington and then spent two years in a private school in New York City, after which he continued his studies in Lewis Academy at Southington, from which in 1878 he was graduated with an excellent standing in every department. During vacations he had assisted his father in the mercantile business and he had the further advantage of one year spent in a clerkship in New York City.

Removing to Edgerton, Ohio, with his father in 1878, Mr. Munzer secured employment there as clerk in a drug store. After two years he re- signed the position and removed to Illinois, where he was given charge of a general store owned by F. Menig at Danville. For five years he filled the position with characteristic energy and recognized efficiency. In order to engage in business for himself he resigned as manager. During the next year he owned and conducted a grocery business in Danville. Selling out in the spring of 1886 he came to California and made a tour of inspection through the state, eventually selecting Bakersfield as his home. Here he secured a very humble position with Carr & Haggin. Six weeks of persistent industry as driver of a four-mule buck scraper convinced his employers that he was capable of higher duties and they made him bookkeeper and foreman at the old Jackson ranch. Health considerations caused him to go to Mendocino county in April of 1887 and during the next six months he worked in the lumber camps, remaining outdoors as much as possible. In the autumn he resumed his former position in Kern county. Again in April of 1888 he went to the lumber woods of Mendocino county and spent six months in out- door work, resuming his position on the Jackson ranch in the fall of the same year. In January of 1889 he went to the Santa Clara valley in old Mexico at the time of the gold excitement, but a prospecting tour of two

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 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 38

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