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 60

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 60

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A selfmade man in the true sense of the word, Mr. Williams has the satisfaction of knowing that every cent he has in the world represents so much honest toil and practical good judgment. His birth occurred December 15, 1854, in Ross county, Ohio, son of Jonathan B. and Philanda D. (Freeman) Williams, the former a native of New Hampshire, while the mother was born near Moores Junction in northern New York. The parents were married at Orwell, Vt., just across from old Fort Ticonderoga, and moved to Detroit, Mich., a short time later. From there they subsequently made their way to southern Ohio, where Jonathan Williams conducted a hotel at Palestine, about twenty miles south of Columbus, and his death occurred during the war, when Samuel A. was but eight years of age. He was one of five children born to his parents, the others being: Eugene, who died at the age of nine years; Affie Eliza, who died when eighteen months old; Lucy Jane, who became the wife of the late Jacob Niederauier, of Bakersfield, and died in Bakersfield ; and Ellsworth, who now makes his home in Bakersfield.

Soon after the death of the father. Mrs. Williams and her three children returned to Vermont, where Samuel A. was reared to manhood, assuming the responsibility of caring for his mother and the two younger children at an early age. At an early age he worked for George Hibbard, in Orwell, Vt., where he made his home, the agreement being that he should work for him for a year, and then if mutually agreeable he should remain until he reached his majority. But after two years Mr. Williams decided to give up that work and until he was sixteen worked at various places in the vicinity for $6 a month and his board. He then went to Connecticut, where he worked on a farm for two years, the following two years being employed in a saw mill, and it was at this time, in 1875, that he married, Miss Margaret O'Brien, of Canterbury, Conn., becoming his bride. While working at the saw mill he was injured and his illness was of so long duration that his means became sorely depleted. so that when he recovered his strength he and his excellent wife took employment on a Connecticut farm in order to somewhat replenish their loss. In the fall of 1876 they moved back to Vermont, and he there worked at general work for a number of years. In the fall of 1883 they came to California, bringing with them their three children, and located at Bakers- field. Mr. Williams started his life here under most discouraging circum- stances, as he arrived here on crutches, having sustained injuries in a railroad accident on the New York Central road near Syracuse, N. Y., on his way west, and was in a hospital at Cleveland, Ohio, for six weeks. He procured employment with Haggin. Carr & Co., taking charge of work on their canals and water ditches, and such satisfaction did he give his employers that he was retained at that position for eight years and seven months, and only relinquished his connection with them to start out for himself. He then en- gaged in farming in Panama, but in 1900 traded his farm there for his present sixty-acre ranch at Greenfield.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams became the parents of five children. May married

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Frank Parish of Panama and is now deceased (she left no children) ; William A. and Elmer are proprietors of the Greenfield grocery, and are mentioned more fully elsewhere in this volume ; Frederick S. married Mrs. Alice Morrison, and was killed when twenty-five years of age in a railroad accident at Fresno, on the Southern Pacific railroad, on which he was a fireman; and Ray is at home. Mr. Williams is a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Moose.

CARLE TURNER McKINNIE .- Thomas W. McKinnie was born in Ohio, as was also his wife, Alice (Turner) McKinnie. Thomas W. was among those loyal patriots who gave their services to aid in the country's cause in the Civil war. From a private in Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry he rose to be colonel of his regiment. He saw active service for a long period, and his record on the field of battle was a most honorable one. His death occurred at St. Louis, Mo., in 1909, and there, too, his wife passed away in 1895.

Carle Turner McKinnie was born in Cadiz, Ohio, August 9, 1869, and when a year old was brought by his parents to Fort Scott, Kans., where for six years they made their home, thence removing to St. Joe, Mo. At the latter place he was sent to school and grew to manhood, at which period he went to St. Louis, Mo., and there was employed by the Simmons Hardware Co., as buyer for three years, after which he accepted a position with the Stanley Works of New Britain, Conn., and New York City. After twelve years with this company he and his brother, Burt P. McKinnie, bought a ranch near Loup City. Nebr., whither Carle T. removed and engaged in farming and stock raising for five years. During this time he was interested with land development in the Grand valley district in Colorado, his experience there leading him and his associates to take up the same line of work on a broader scale in Tehachapi, Kern county. He made his way hither in 1910 and located in Tehachapi, where with his associates he bought sixteen hundred acres of land adjoining the town, organizing the Tehachapi Fruit & Land Company. Incorporated, of which Mr. McKinnie is now the president and manager, and under his direction the company have placed their holdings under irriga- tion by means of pumping plants and have sold one thousand acres, five hun- dred of which have been set to Bartlett pears and winter varieties of apples. As fast as possible the remainder is being planted not only to pears and apples. but also to currants, sour cherries and crab-apples, for which the soil and climate of the Tehachapi country is especially adapted.

In 1909 Mr. McKinnie was married to Miss Winifred Lois Leach. a native of Oakdale. Neb .. and they have one child, Thomas Carle. Fraternally he is a member of Webster Groves Lodge No. 84. F. & A. M .. of St. Louis. and he is also a member of Colorado Commandery, Military Order of the Loval Legion. Politically he is a Republican.

ALBERT W. MARION .- In generations past the southern representa- tives of the Marion family displayed the hospitality, chivalry and courtesy characteristic of their section of the country. Later identification with the north gave to them the energy and progressive spirit typical of the people of that region. The founder of the family north of Mason's and Dixon's line was Moses Marion, a native of North Carolina and a soldier in the war of 1812. Some years after his marriage and after the birth of his son, John. he took the family to Indiana and settled near Lafayette. Tippecanoe county. in the vicinity of the historic battle ground embodied in the famous presi- dential slogan "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." so familiar to the frontiersmen during the campaign of William Henry Harrison. In the state of Indiana were passed the last days of Moses Marion and his son John, also there occurred the death of the latter's wife, Margaret (Fisher) Marion, a native of Penn-

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sylvania, descended from German ancestry, and from childhood a resident of Indiana, her parents having been early settlers of that state. In her fam- ily there were two sons, one of whom, Francis, is a resident of Missouri. The other. Albert W., has made California his home since 1876. Born near Lafayette, Ind .. January 7. 1858. he passed the years of childhood at the old home farm and in the neighboring schools. Upon the completion of the common branches of study he entered Asbury University at Greencastle, Ind .. and took the regular course, graduating in the spring of 1876. Immediately afterward he came to California and settled first in Tulare county, but after clerking there for a short time he came to Bakersfield in the autumn of 1876 and ever since has been identified with the interests of Kern county.

After six months of employment in the Long Tom mine, Mr. Marion be- came a brakeman on the Southern Pacific Railroad between Sumner (later known as Kern) and Tulare, also from Tulare to Lathrop. Three years later he was promoted to be conductor on the same line and continued as such until 1888, when he resigned to engage in the hotel business in Kern, becom- ing manager of the old Central house on the present site of the Metropole. As manager he proved obliging, efficient and popular. During the fall of 1894 on the Republican ticket he was elected justice of the peace of the third town- ship of Kern county and in January, 1895, he took the oath of office and assumed the duties of the position. Since then he has been successively re- elected in 1898, 1902, 1906 and 1910. the last time having no opposition what- ever, a fact that bears testimony as to the tactful, wise and impartial nature of his decisions. Throughout the entire period of his service he has main- tained his office in East Bakersfield and when this community relinquished its former name of Kern and became a part of Bakersfield he maintained a deep interest in the plan. In his official capacity he has proved himself capable of discharging the complicated duties as a justice. While he never studied for the law he has picked up a varied and important assortment of legal knowledge and, had he entered the profession, easily would have risen to prominence. It can be stated of him without contradiction that rarely if ever have his decisions been reversed in the higher courts. After coming to California he married in Stockton Mrs. Augusta (Garner) Welsh, who was born in Illinois, but at the age of three weeks was taken by her parents from the old home, the family then starting upon the journey across the continent to the western coast. Fraternally Mr. Marion holds membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Active in Odd Fellows' work. he served for several terms as noble grand of Bakersfield Lodge No. 202 and also has been honored with office in the Bakersfield Encampment.

WILLIAM A. WILLIAMS .- It is not alone the cities that attract men of enterprise and business ingenuity, but in addition the country itself is not lacking in opportunities commercial as well as agricultural, and a realization of this truth has led the firm of Williams Bros. into mercantile enterprises in a region somewhat remote from the main civic centers of the San Joaquin valley. After having given careful consideration to the subject the brothers. William A. and Elmer E., opened the Greenfield grocery on the 1st of July. 1909, selecting as their headquarters a rural building on Union avenue about eight miles south of Bakersfield. The structure of 20x38 was erected in 1909. since which time it has been well filled with a stock representing an invest- ment of about $2.000 and including both groceries and general merchandise. Besides the four horses which the proprietors find necessary to the manage- ment of their growing business, they use an auto truck and make four trips to Bakersfield each week in the interests of their increasing trade.

The senior member of the firm. William A. Williams, was born at Orwell. Vt .. December 19, 1879, while the younger brother is a native son of this state and was born at Bakersfieldl September 1. 1888. their father, Samuel .1.

Mr. & Mrs. B. C. Vaughn

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Williams, having been a pioneer of the San Joaquin valley. Elsewhere in this volume appears mention of that early settler and honored citizen. Both sons were educated in Kern county and represent the enterprise, thrift and progressive spirit typical of the west. Both have given their allegiance to the Democratic party and uniformly support measures for the benefit of their county. Fraternally William A. is one of the leading local members of the Woodmen of the World. During December of 1904 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary Tonini, a native of San Luis Obispo, Cal., and a daughter of M. and Eliza Tonini. Their union has been blessed with two daughters, Margaret and Ilazel.

BENJAMIN CLAIBOURN VAUGHN .- The fact that his father, David Vaughn, a Kentuckian by birth, was wounded while serving in the Thirty- third Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and later died in Libby prison, obliged Benjamin C. Vaughn to aid in the cultivation of the home tarm at an early age. Hence his education was meager and his opportunities limited. In his native county of Shelby. Ind., where he was born in 1860, he remained until thirty-one years of age, meanwhile gaining a thorough knowl- edge of general farming as conducted in that locality. In youth his services were of great value to his mother, who was a native of Ohio and had borne the maiden name of Lucy A. Peake. After he married he left the home farm and rented a tract in the same county, where for about fifteen ensuing years he endured the adversities and enjoyed the successes that char- acterize the life of a grain farmer. From there he removed to California in 1891 and two years later settled near Bakersfield, Kern county, where at first he bought only twenty acres in the Weed Patch and used the first water out of the Eastside canal after it was built. On this land he began raising alfalfa. and later traded the land for eighty acres at Jeweta. In addition to raising alfalfa he also followed general contracting, leveling land and building canals and reservoirs for about ten years. In 1906 he purchased his present place of four hundred and eighty acres, which was then raw land. In the meantime he has sunk wells and installed pumping plants which furnish six hundred and fifty miner's inches of water. He now has four hundred acres in alfalfa, vield- ing five crops a year, which is baled and shipped to the Los Angeles market. Mr. Vaughn was a pioneer in the installation of large pumping plants for irrigation, and for the first five years used electric power (ultimately using eighty-four horse power), but when increased rates made this prohibitive he installed two gas engines of forty-five and sixty horse power respectively. This arrangement gives him a pumping plant on each half of the ranch. The ranch is located five miles west of Bakersfield, while the shipping station is at Jastro, half a mile away. While a specialty is made of alfalfa, sufficient stock is also raised for the needs of the farm.

Very early in life Mr. Vaughn established domestic ties. His marriage in Indiana October 26, 1879. united him with Miss Martha Viola Nelson, a native of the Hoosier state and a daughter of Leander E. and Ann (Allen) Nelson, natives of Indiana, the former deceased, and the latter still living in that state. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn seven children were born, as follows: Hattie, who married Charles Ballinger and is living in East Bakersfield ; Earlene, Mrs. John H. Morgan, of Pasadena, who died in August. 1912; Ida and Ira, twins ; Rachel, the wife of Oscar Mckinney, of Covina, who is aiding in the management of the farm ; Mary, also on the home farm; and Cecil, the youngest of the family and a prize-winner in the seventh-grade examinations. The greatest happiness of their lives Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn have found in their children and it has been a matter of grave concern to so educate and train them that they may be qualified for the duties of life. The family are identified with the Christian Church at Bakersfield and for years have been generous contributors to the upbuilding of that congregation.

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Aside from the management of his farm and the enjoyment of his home, Mr. Vaughn has found leisure to aid in movements for the permanent prosperity of the county and has been an interested participant in public-spirited pro- jects. At this writing he serves as game commissioner, an office that he has filled for some years in the past. Politically he has voted with the Republican party ever since he cast his first ballot upon attaining his majority. Fraternal relations with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, entered into many years ago, have been continued up to the present time. Meanwhile twice he has been chosen master of the local lodge, besides which he now belongs to the grand lodge of the state.

WALTER J. BURKE .- On a farm in the foothills of the Greenhorn mountain, where his parents, Daniel and Mary (Vickers) Burke, were improv- ing a claim and pre-empting a homestead, W. J. Burke was born, March 7. 1865. His father, Daniel, was born in county Mayo in 1826 and passed his youth upon an Irish farm. With the hope of benefiting his con- dition by coming to the new world, in 1849 he crossed the ocean and settled in Sheffield, Mass., where he learned the trade of brickmaker. Dur- ing 1853 he came to California via the Nicaragua route and at once went to the mines of Sierra county. With the exception of eighteen months in the mines of British Columbia, he spent his remaining years in California. On his return from the northern mines he took up land in Tulare county near Woodville and began to raise stock.

Immediately after his arrival in Kern county in 1864 Daniel Burke took up land on Greenhorn mountain, where he acquired three hundred and twenty acres and engaged in raising grain. vegetables and stock, selling all the products of the farm at the neighboring mines. By degrees he became fairly prosperous and at his death, which occurred August 8, 1900, he was counted among the large land-owners of his locality. In June of 1862 he had married Miss Mary Vickers, who was born in Adams county, Ill., and in 1860 crossed the plains with her parents in a wagon drawn by oxen, the family settling in Tulare county. Her death occurred in Kern county December 20, 1903. Six children had been born of her marriage, the eldest being Mrs. Margaret Fritz, of Ripon, San Joaquin county. The second, Walter J., forms the subject of this review. The others are as follows: Daniel, a farmer living near Bakers- field: Mrs. Celia Wilkerson, of Bakersfield; William, who is practicing law in Portland, Ore. ; and Vincent, a resident of San Jose.

In order that he might enjoy educational advantages not possible in the vicinity of the mountain farm, Walter J. Burke was sent to Los Angeles and for two years was a student in St. Vincent's College, then located on Sixth and Hill streets. Upon his return to the farm he began to take a very active part in its supervision, besides pre-empting one hundred and sixty acres near the old homestead and later buying adjacent property from time to time as his means permitted. Meanwhile he had married at Porterville, February 15, 1892, Miss Sarah Gill, a native of county Mayo, Ireland, and a capable assist- ant in his enterprises. Mrs. Burke came to New York City in 1880 with a sister, Mrs. Conway, and in 1890 came with her to California. Her father. James Gill, a farmer in Mayo, died there. Her mother. Nora Varley, is still living on the old farm at an advanced age. Eventually Walter Burke held the title to one thousand acres on Greenhorn and this was utilized for stock range or grain-raising. For years he made a specialty of raising cattle and horses and in this line of work his judgment was so keen that he prospered to an unusual degree. During 1908 he built a residence at No. 402 A street, Bakersfield, and in 1910 he sold out the stock, disposed of some of the range and closed out his farming interests, although he still owns three hundred and twenty acres at the old place. In addition he owns one hundred acres eight miles south of Bakersfield under the Kern Island canal and this he

Water & Gurke

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leases to a tenant, the land being under cultivation to alfalfa and grain. In- cluded in his city holdings are a frontage of one hundred and fifty feet on Nineteenth and A streets, improved with three cottages, and a frontage of equal size on Chester avenue and Twenty-third street, occupied by three business houses. Property at Princeton, San Mateo county, also is held by him, and his interests are further enlarged through his position as president of the Apartment House Building Company in Los Angeles, of which he is a large stockholder. He also built and owns the Panama apartment building on Second and Flower streets in that city. All of his seven children are at home, namely: Mary, Nora, Teresa, James, Catherine, Margaret and Walter. The family are leading members of St. Francis' Catholic Church and he has been prominently identified with the Knights of Columbus. In national elec- tions he supports the Democratic party.

JOSEPH LLEWELYN EVANS .- A narrative of the life of Mr. Evans takes us in its early records across the ocean to the rugged lands of Wales, where his ancestors had lived and labored for uncounted generations and where the family held a position of great influence in their community. For years his father. Benjamin Evans, engaged in mercantile undertakings and general farming in the shire of Carmarthen, and here the son Joseph L. was born January 4, 1865. He began to attend the public schools at an early age and afterward studied in Emlyn Academy, from which institution he was graduated in 1883 with a high standing in all of his studies. Immediately after leaving the academy he began to study civil engineering with Davies & Davies, a prominent engineering firm with headquarters at Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Wales, and for several years had charge of their branch office at Lampeter, a flourishing town situated on the border line of Cardigan and Carmarthen.

Meanwhile having read much concerning America and believing that it would be possible for him to secure greater success as a civil engineer in the new world than in the old. Mr. Evans resigned his position in Wales and during 1888 crossed the ocean to the United States. During the following nine years he made Racine, Wis., his headquarters. His first employment was with the government as civil engineering inspector of improvements on Lake Michigan. During 1890-91 he took a postgraduate course in the University of Wisconsin at Madison and upon his return to Racine entered upon the duties of city engineer, which office he held by appointment or election for six years. During 1897 he came to California upon a leave of absence and, traveling through the state, he became so greatly impressed with the possi- bilities of the west that he sent back his resignation as city engineer of Racine.

The discovery of gold in Alaska caused Mr. Evans to make a tour of that country. During the early part of 1898 he went to Kotzebue Sound, north of the Arctic Circle in the Arctic Ocean, having sailed through Bering Straits, this point being so remote that few explorers penetrated beyond it. Two winters were spent in the north prospecting and exploring the country. Upon his return to California in 1900 Mr. Evans came to Bakersfield and secured a position in the office of the city engineer and county surveyor. Four months later he was appointed city engineer, which office he filled by successive appointment from 1900 to 1906. He prepared plans for a sewer system which were accepted by the board of trustees, and bonds were voted for the purpose. but afterwards for some reason many changes were made in the original plans by another surveyor at the instigation of the board. Manfully Mr. Evans opposed these changes, claiming that they were not practical as far as efficiency and permanency were concerned, and so positive was he of his position in the matter that he considered it expedient for him to resign from the office when his advice was not considered. The necessity for the late sewer contract of 1913 has demonstrated that his opinion was correct. Since his retirement from office he has engaged in the private practice of surveying and civil engi-

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neering. being located in the Maud building on Chester avenue. Not only in Kern county but in other counties of the state he has at different times been retained as expert engineer in the courts. He laid out the town of Lost Hills. Pentland and Lerdo, laid out and superintended the construction of the new race track upon which the world's automobile record was broken, besides doing other work of a most responsible nature connected with the line of his special endeavors. In February, 1913. he was appointed a member of the Kern County Highway Commission to prepare plans and estimates for the improvement of a system of highways for Kern county. Upon their recom- mendation the tax payers of Kern county voted $2.500.000 in bonds for the purpose.

Throughout the period of his citizenship in the United States the Repub- lican party has had the allegiance of Mr. Evans and the Congregational Church has received his stanch support in religious movements. Fraternally he is identified with Bakersfield Lodge No. 266, B. P. O. E. and is also a very prominent Mason. Indeed any mention of his fraternal and social activities would be incomplete without considerable reference to his association with Masonry. While in Wisconsin he was made a Mason in Racine Lodge No. 18. F. & A. M., to which he belongs at the present time. Upon locating in Bakers- field he transferred his membership from Racine Chapter. R. A. M., to Kern Valley Chapter, R. A. M., also from Racine Commandery No. 7, K. T., to Bakersfield Commandery No. 39, K. T., of which he is a charter member and in which he has held every office. Chosen in 1908 as eminent commander, he was again elected to that office in 1912 and is the present incumbent, besides being actively associated with Al Malaikah Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. in Los Angeles.

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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 60

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