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 58

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 58

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).

CHARLES SCHIEFFERLE .- An expert knowledge of machinery enables Mr. Schiefferle to creditably fill his responsible position as chief engineer of the Valley Ice Company's plant in Bakersfield, where although holding the place for a comparatively brief period he has proved himself to be thoroughly competent for the difficult task entrusted to him in con- nection with the operation of the large plant. Having helped to install the machinery, he is thoroughly familiar with every detail. The day after he arrived in Bakersfield. during March of 1911, he entered the employ of the company and began to assist in the erection of machinery. Upon the completion of the plant he was retained as an assistant and it was not long before his worth and ability were recognized by the management, who in May of 1912 appointed him to be night engineer. On the 1st of July. of the same year, he was promoted to his present place as chief engineer and since then has been in charge of the plant, capacity one hundred and twenty tons. The company makes a specialty of the manufacture of ice for the icing of cars and also for the refrigeration of their large cold-storage plant at this point.

Descended from German ancestors. Charles Schiefferle was born at Northeast, Frie county. Pa., April 25. 1876, and is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Meehl) Schiefferle, natives respectively of Germany and Cat-

530

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

taraugus county, N. Y., the latter now a resident of Northeast, Pa. The father crossed the ocean in young manhood and settled in Pennsylvania, from which state he went to New York and enlisted in the Sixty-fifth New York Infantry. In company with the regiment he proceeded to the front and bore his share in the hardships of camp and the dangers of the battle- field. During an engagement, while in the act of aiming to fire, he was shot through the right wrist and also through the left hand in such a manner that the fingers were cut off. On account of the disability resulting from gunshot wounds he was honorably discharged. After he had recov- ered sufficiently to resume work he turned his attention to farming and settled on a place near Northeast, Pa., where in February of 1906 his death occurred.

The family of Jacob Schiefferle comprised nine children, all but one of whom still survive. Charles, who was seventh in order of birth, passed the years of boyhood on the home farm and in the neighboring schools. At the age of seventeen he was aprenticed to the trade of machinist in the Novelty machine shop at Northeast and there he continued until he had completed his time, meanwhile gaining an expert knowledge of every depart- ment of the trade. During 1898 he began to take contracts to drill gas wells in Erie county and for a considerable period he remained in that business, meanwhile completing an average of about twenty wells each year. Desiring to change his location in January of 1910 he sold out with the intention of removing to the west. A brief sojourn at Cripple Creek, Colo., where he operated a lease, was followed by his removal to California and his permanent settlement at Bakersfield. The progress of this city is of interest to him and he maintains the deepest faith in the future devel- opment and great prosperity of the place. In politics, although not a partisan, he has stanch convictions in favor of Republican principles, while fraternally he holds membership with the Knights and Ladies of Security.

GEORGE W. PARISH .- The business of George W. Parish has taken him to many parts of the globe and he has been fortunate in gaining the wide experience and knowledge which alone is acquired by travel. He is the son of George Parish, who served in the Confederate army in the Civil war from 1861 to 1865, and was twice wounded, carrying two bullets to his grave. He was born in Nashville, Tenn., and came to California in 1869, in 1873 taking up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Kern county, where he followed general farming and stockraising, as he had done in the east. He built the old Wilson and Parish ditch before the Kern County Land Company had control, the water that supplied the ditch being taken from the Kern river. This ditch was four miles long, and attracted considerable atten- tion on account of its completeness. George Parish passed away in 1892.

George W. Parish was born August 15, 1869, in Anaheim, Orange county, Cal., where his parents first settled upon coming west. He attended school in the old Canfield district, Kern county, also in the Fairview district, and for a time attended in Inyo county, until he reached the age of fifteen. In 1872 he was brought by his parents to Kern county, settlement being made on what is now the Bailey ranch, and the next year the homestead was taken up, as above stated. The family moved to Independence, Inyo county, in 1886, and there the father's death occurred. In 1896 Mr. Parish returned to Kern county, where he rented the Kiefer ranch and engaged in general farming for six years, in 1900 buying twenty acres of his present property. later adding eighty acres, until he now has one hundred acres at Panama, ten miles southwest of Bakersfield devoted to raising alfalfa hay. In addition to his ranch interests he has also taken an active part in the development of the oil fields in the vicinity, being a stockholder in the 25 Oil Company in Taft. and was one of the locators of the land. He is also interested in the Cali-

G. M. Parish

533

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

fornia Midway Oil Company, the Blackmore Oil Company and the Wyoming Shamrock Oil Company in Wyoming, being a director in the last-mentioned company.

In truth Mr. Parish may be called a pioneer of Taft, for he built the first business structure and the first residence in town and also started the first store. He also organized the school district and served as the clerk of the first board of trustees, and while filling that office supervised the building of the first school house. In the Panama district he has also served as school trustee. The first store in Taft, referred to above, was established by Mr. Parish in 1908 with a stock of general merchandise, which was destroyed by fire in 1910. In addition to the property mentioned he also owns other property in Taft splendidly located, as well as property in the town of Rich- mond.

For about four years Mr. Parish was engaged in hunting birds of plumage and alligators for their hides. This took him into the different states of South America, Central America and Mexico. He has sold feathers as high as $42 an ounce in New York and London, to which cities he made business trips.

At Winside, Wayne county, Nebr., Mr. Parish was married to Miss Min- nie Olmstead, a native of Tekamah, Burt county, that state, the daughter of A. E. and Nancy H. (Conklin) Olmstead, natives of New York and Illinois respectively. The Olmsteads came from Nebraska to California in 1895, and in Kern the death of Mr. Olmstead occurred, while Mrs. Olmstead makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Parish. Mr. and Mrs. Parish have four children, Earl, Donald, Elsie and Jack.

A. Y. MEUDELL .- The superintendent of machinery for the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation possesses qualifications that adapt him admirably for his responsible post and that have enabled him to fill with marked efficiency other positions of equal importance. Upon the installation of the machinery and electrical appliances of the great corpora- tion at Bakersfield his services were retained as superintendent of machin- ery, his selection for the responsible task being induced through his wide reputation as an expert in the line of his specialty. When it is considered that the company operates the street car system in Bakersfield and has laid double tracks to East Bakersfield, besides having built more than one hun- dred and twenty-five miles of feeder lines in Kern county (the principal line being from Weed Patch to a point fifteen miles south of Edison) ; when it is further appreciated that hydro-electric power is furnished for illuminat- ing cities, propelling factory plants and raising water for irrigating purposes.

Through his father, George Meudell, who came to America from Edin- burgh, Mr. Meudell is descended from Scotch ancestors, while his mother, Mary (Yeoman) Meudell, was a member of an old New York family identi- fied with the colonial history of our country. Although he is a native of Chicago, Ill., born in 1872, from the age of three years he was reared in Belleville, Ontario, and at a very early age he learned the trade of machinist. Coming to California in 1893 he engaged in ranching at Gardena for two years, after which he worked as a machinist and boiler-setter for J. B. Meyer & Co., of Los Angeles. During 1900 he entered the employ of the Los Angeles Railway Company as engineer and machinist at the power house and thus was identified with the inauguration of the Huntington electric system in that city. After six years in one position he was promoted to be chief engineer in charge of the Central avenue power plant, but soon resigned on account of ill health.

While engaged with Charles C. Moore, erecting engineer. Mr. Meudell assisted in the construction of the Redondo electric plant and remained to take charge of the first test, which covered a period of eight months. During

534

IIISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

1908 he entered the employ of the Pacific Light & Power Company in Los Angeles and was sent to the Redlands plant as engineer, but after a few months he resigned to take charge of the power plants of the Monterey Gas and Electric Light Company at Monterey and Salinas. Returning from Monterey to Los Angeles he engaged for a brief period as erecting engineer with the Pacific Light and Power Company, leaving that important place in order to accept his present position in Bakersfield when the corporation installed its plant in this city. Mr. Meudell is very optimistic over the great possibilities of the soil production in Kern county and owns two small farms in the county. One, of twenty acres, at Lerdo, is given to the raising of hemp, while the other, of ten acres, on the Rosedale road, is devoted to alfalfa. While making his headquarters in Los Angeles he married in that city Miss Bessie Hannam, who was born in Witby, Ontario, and by whom he has two daughters, Mary and Myrtle. In fraternal relations he holds membership with South Gate Lodge No. 320. F. & A. M., in which he was made a Mason. His life has been an existence of busy activities and it has not been possible for him, in any city of his residence, to participate prominently in civic upbuilding or political affairs, yet he has kept posted on national problems and in sentiment is a stanch upholder of Republican principles.

PETER O'HARE .- The childhood recollections of Mr. O'Hare clus- tered around the little village of Banbridge, Ireland, where his father, Michael O'Hare, was engaged in business and where he passed the carefree days of early life. The family belonged to one of the oldest and most honored in the north of Ireland and he claimed county Down as his native place, his birth having occurred there December 7, 1843. After a course at college and while still a young man he came to the United States. After a comparatively brief sojourn in Massachusetts he proceeded west to California and set- tled in Mariposa county, where he found employment in the mines. While employed at Visalia in 1869 he accidentally saw a map of Kern Island and being interested from the first, determined to come here.

The original purchase made by Mr. O'Hare comprised two hundred and fifty acres of unimproved land. This he brought under cultivation and greatly enhanced in value through systematic irrigation. Later he acquired the title to a second farm and this also he put under irrigation, making other improvements of permanent value to the property. Both farms were in his possession at the time of his death, August 26, 1894, and since then they have been rented by his widow, the tenants devoting them to general farm- ing and dairying. In addition to these two properties he was interested in the Buena Vista canal, of which he had been an original promoter and builder. From the beginning of his citizenship in the United States he voted with the Democratic party, but he was not a partisan in spirit and the only office that he ever consented to fill, which was county supervisor, he won by a nomination without his solicitation. After he had been a member of the board from 1882 to 1886 and had given his influence to all movements for the permanent growth of the county, he refused to continue in the office. preferring to devote his entire time to private business and agricultural enterprises.

The marriage of Peter O'Hare and Miss Mary E. Clancy was solemn- ized in San Francisco in June of 1891. Mrs. O'Hare was born in county Leitrim, Ireland, and during girlhood came to the United States, joining a brother, T. J. Clancy, who was a merchant of San Francisco. Of her mar- riage two sons were born. James M. and Peter C. The former. a graduate of the Bakersfield high school in 1912. is n w attending Santa Clara Uni- versity. and the latter is a member of the Kern county high school class

Peter O'Hare

537

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

of 1914. Since the death of her husband, which occurred in San Francisco, Mrs. O'Hare has made her home in Bakersfield.

JOHN S. OSWALD .- Although his earliest memories are associated with the United States and practically all of his life has been passed in this country, Mr. Oswald is of German nativity and was born at Rodersheim, Rheinpfalz, December 19, 1866, being a son of Vollmanus and Eva Barbara (Goger) Oswald, likewise natives of that part of Germany. During 1867 the father, who was a carpenter by trade, brought his family to America and settled in Pennsylvania, where he found employment in the building busi- ness at Allentown. For less than ten years he remained a resident of the east. The development of the central west was attracting resolute farmers to that section of the country and he formed one of the number who under- took to earn a livelihood from the soil of Minnesota. During 1876 he took his family to McLeod county and secured land near Glencoe, where he engaged in general farming for eleven years. Lack of satisfactory returns from his farm led him to seek other locations and finally he decided upon Oregon, his son, John S., having preceded him to the Pacific coast where he himself established a home near Eugene, in 1887. A study of soil condi- tions proved gratifying to him and he invested in unimproved farm property, which at the time was selling at low figures. He still lives on his ranch, but of recent years has largely retired from the strenuous activities of younger days. Born in 1837 and his wife six years later, both are still rugged and robust and maintain an intelligent interest in the progress of the world. Adjacent to their ranch lies one hundred and sixty acres owned by their son, John S., who bought the tract for $1200 and since has had the satisfaction of witnessing such a rapid advance in valuations that farms further from Eugene than his own have sold for $400 per acre.

The eldest of seven children, John S. Oswald was brought to the United States in infancy and as soon as old enough to attend school was a pupil in the primary grade at Allentown, Pa. During 1876 hie accompanied his parents to Glencoe, Minn., where he attended a private academy. Upon leav- ing school he learned the trade of carpenter under his father in McLeod county. At the age of about twenty he left home to make his own way in the world. The great northwest was the objective point. For a time he engaged in carpentering at Spokane, Wash., and later he had employment at South Bend, that state, whence in 1887 he went to Oregon and there joined his parents at Eugene, settling upon a farm in the vicinity. In the spring of 1888 he came to Bakersfield and entered the employ of F. W. Hickox as a carpenter. For three years he continued in the same position. Since then he has been associated with the hardware department of the A. Weill establishment. At first as a clerk he proved the value of his services and justified his promotion to the head of the department at the expiration of three years.

The marriage of John S. Oswald was solemnized in Bakersfield October 6. 1897, and united him with Miss Maude Hathway, who was born in Owensboro, Daviess county, Kv., and was fourth in order of birth among six children. Her parents, Howard and Phoebe (Kinchloe) Hathway, have re- sided in Bakersfield for many years. Of her marriage to Mr. Oswald there is a son, Raymond John Oswald. Ever since making a study of political questions Mr. Oswald has favored the Republican party. Since coming to Bakersfield he has identified himself with Aerie No. 96, of the Eagles, and Bakersfield Lodge No. 266 of the Elks, also the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Knights of Pythias.

EZRA NEWTON BLACKER .- As the owner of considerable real estate in Bakersfield, whose material upbuilding he has witnessed with civic

538

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

pride, E. Newton Blacker has an intimate identification with local affairs. I wenty years or more have passed since first he landed in Bakersfield and began to work for the Kern County Land Company on Poso ranch as a fence-rider. In this long period he has witnessed the development of farms, the growth of towns and the transformation of the entire county into an aspect of material prosperity. In removing to this state he came direct from his native commonwealth of Indiana, where he was born in Clinton county February 20, 1868, and where he passed the years of boyhood upon a farm operated by lns father, J. N. Blacker. Of six children torming the family of his father's first marriage he was the eldest, the youngest being Robert E., superintendent of the stable department of the Kern County Land Company at Bakersheld.

By trade a carpenter, skilled with tools and an expert in various forms of cabinet work, E. Newton Blacker followed the occupation for some years in Bakersfield after he had resigned his position on the ranch. Upon the starting of Famosa he went to the new town, bought business property, erected a large store building and engaged in mercantile pursuits, also con- ducted an hotel, but his venture had a disastrous termination through the abandoning of the village. Thereupon he returned to Bakersfield in 1900 and purchased a lot on the corner of 1 and Twenty-third streets. To this lot he moved his building from Famosa and remodeled it into an apartment house of sixteen rooms, which he now manages. In addition he has built eight residences in the same block and the adjoining block on I street. All of the houses were planned and built by himself and represent his own skilled knowledge of his trade.

The marriage of Mr. Blacker took place at Crawfordsville, Ind., Sep- tember 2, 1891, and united him with Miss Ida Cave, who was born and reared near that city. The young couple came to California in 1892 and settled in Kern county, where occurred the birth of their two sons, Haven and Carroll. Mrs. Blacker was the youngest among eight children com- prising the family of James E. and Carlotte (Kious) Cave, natives respec- tively of Ohio and Indiana. The mother was a daughter of Martin Kious, an Indiana farmer, and two of her brothers were soldiers in the Civil war, one meeting his death while fighting for the preservation of the Union. James E. Cave, who engaged in farming pursuits until his death in 1910, was a member of Company M, Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, at the time of the Civil war, in which two of his brothers also participated, as well as their father, Rev. Alfred N. Cave, the latter a commissioned officer and an influ- ential man in his regiment. The skill of the Union officer was not confined to military tactics. for as a pioneer minister of the Methodist Episcopal denomination he proved himself to be an able speaker, logical thinker and profound exponent of the Scriptures. Although a native of Ohio. the greater part of his life was passed in Montgomery county, Ind .. and he was known and honored by the Methodists throughout all that section of the country. Throughout all of their mature years Mr. and Mrs. Blacker have been earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In gifts to the church .they have been generous, while they also have assisted educational and philan- thropic enterprises to the extent of their ability. In national principles Mr. Blacker favors the Republican party, while fraternally he holds membership with the Woodmen of the World.

SAMUEL GRAHAM SMARTT .- A native of McMinnville, Warren county, Tenn., Mr. Smartt was born October 21. 1862, the son of Samuel G. and Martha (Graham) Smartt, both of whom passed away in Tennessee. The father followed agriculture as a life pursuit, and during the Civil war served in the Confederate army for a long period, after which he returned to Ten-

avis Gilli Peter Gilli

541

HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

nessee and remained for the rest of his life. Nine children were born to him and his wife Martha, of whom five are now living, and Samuel G. is the only one of the family to reside in the state of California.

Brought up in his native town, Samuel G. Smartt, Jr., received the schooling afforded by the local public schools and then learned the carpenter trade which he continued to follow until the year 1887. At this time he decided to come west and his first location was at Fresno where he was employed at raisin-packing for a year. The building business then attracted him and he became engaged in that line of work, in October, 1889, coming to Bakersfield to aid in the building up of that place after the big fire. There was sore need for these workers at that time, as the fire had caused the destruction of many buildings and left the city in a bad state. This has been the field of operation for Mr. Smartt ever since, with the exception of a period between 1906 and 1910 when he spent his time in San Francisco, building among other houses the Madison school and the St. Luke's church, which are fine examples of his capable, energetic powers. In 1910, however, he returned to Bakersfield, where he has built many residence and business houses, and, in fact, many of the schoolhouses throughout Kern county have been built under his direction and contract. The Smartt apartments, situ- ated at No. 1715 Eighteenth street, Bakersfield, and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Smartt, were built by him. In Fresno Mr. Smartt married Mrs. Lulu Lisk, a native of Texas.

PETER GILLI .- The excellent opportunities afforded by Kern county to young men of energy of temperament and force of character, find illustra- tion in the successful activities of Peter Gilli, a prosperous farmer and the owner of one hundred and seventy acres of highly improved land on the Kern Island road. Less than a quarter of a century has elapsed since he came from Switzerland to America and identified himself with the growing interests of California, where since he has lived and labored in Kern county. During the early years of his residence here he worked for wages and sent back to Switzerland a large portion of his earnings, in order to assist his father in paying off an indebtedness on the home farm. However, as early as 1894, four years after landing in the west, he proved his faith in this locality by investing in land, the original purchase comprising sixty acres. It was no slight task to assume a debt almost burdening in amount and for several years he was scarcely able to meet his payments, but his faith never wavered nor did his courage falter. After selling the place he pur- chased a tract from R. E. Houghton which was then known as the Lincoln farm. Although at the time of buying he could raise only one-fourth of the cash, he finally succeeded in paying for it. In addition he put about $5.000 worth of improvements on the place, including the elegant residence erected in 1910 and containing all modern conveniences, not the least of these being the installation of electric lights and of an adequate water service. Dairying has been one of his specialties and at this writing he has twelve fine milch cows on the farm, besides which he engages in raising mules and hogs as well as in the cultivation of the ground in such crops as are best adapted to the soil and climate.

Although the only member of the family now living in California Mr. Gilli was not the first of the name who crossed the ocean from the far-distant Alpine home. When a young man his father, John Gilli, was attracted to the Pacific coast by reason of the discovery of gold and prospected in all the region lying between Bakersfield and San Francisco, but meeting with no special luck in the mines and feeling deeply the isolation from kindred he returned after a time to his native land, where he settled on a farm. About 1905 he lost his wife, Rosa (Grischott) Gilli, since which time he has made his home with his youngest daughter. For years he lived a life of self-

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 58

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