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 78

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 78

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The year of 1859 found David Lavers joined by his father and mother, the former of whom aided him in stock-raising, while the latter acted as ranch housekeeper besides looking after the hotel. The assistance of his parents proved very helpful to him, while at the same time he was able to give them every comfort for their last days. Meanwhile he purchased railroad land as he was able and added to his holdings until now he has the title to three thousand acres, the larger part of which is utilized as a stock range. In the early days, when population was meager and money scarce, he had constant difficulty in meeting expenses and his life was one of labor and incessant self-denial. During the winter of 1856-57 he drove with three head of oxen and a wagon of potatoes through to Ft. Tejon and then made a trip through Tulare county from Porterville to Millerton, selling the spuds at high prices. As people began to settle in the region it became easier for him to dispose of his crops and existence became less of a drudgery, while the newcomers welcomed his advice and friendship with gratitude. From the first he was a local leader and his interest has continued up to

Dites Lambert

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HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

the present time. The land for the Glennville cemetery was donated by him. He is an elder of the Presbyterian Church, has been a school trustee and is a Republican.

It was not until about forty-four years of age that David Lavers estab- lished a home of his own. October 30, 1875, he was united in marriage with Miss Annie Cook, who was born in New Brunswick, Canada, in 1848. The wedding occurred at Dorchester, New Brunswick, Mr. Lavers having gone east from California for the purpose of winning his bride. They settled in Kern county and successfully managed their farm in Linn's valley, so that eventually they became one of the wealthiest families of the entire district. Five children were born of their union. Two daughters, Mattie and Minnie, died at the old home farm near Glennville. Three sons survive, namely : Morton, of Bakersfield; William, who is assisting his father in the stock business ; and Frederick, a farmer near Panama.

PETER LAMBERT .- The zeal, untiring effort and thrifty habits char- acteristic of the French race are conspicuously found in the life of Peter Lambert, whose birth occurred in the lofty mountains of Hautes Alpes, in the small village of Ancel, February 15, 1852. He was named for his father, who reared him in his native home and gave him the advantages of a thor- ough schooling, meanwhile teaching him the rudiments of farming in order to prepare him for the rugged road toward self-support and independence. He remained at his father's side until he reached the age of twenty, at which time he determined to visit an uncle, John Roux, who was a pioneer miner in far-off California and who had become a prominent sheep man in Los Angeles. In January, 1872, Mr. Lambert left his mountain home and came by way of Havre to New York City and from there on an overland train to San Francisco, Cal. Being held up in the mountains by the heavy snow storms he did not reach the latter point until March and he immediately boarded a boat for Los Angeles. His uncle took him into his employ and he was soon well informed in the sheep business, in April driving a flock across the mountains to South Fork, Kern county. Twenty-five months later he drove them into Gilroy, where they were disposed of to buyers from San Francisco. He then returned to Los Angeles to drive another flock, this time to the Mexican border below San Diego, where he remained until December. Riding a saddle horse to San Fernando, he took a stage to Bakersfield and then went by rail to Delano, where he entered the employ of Germain Pellissier, a prominent sheep man, remaining with him until June, 1875, when with his two brothers he purchased a flock of sheep which they ranged in the north of Kern county. The drouth of 1877 caused a loss of one-third of the sheep and one of the brothers dropped out of the partnership ; in 1880 Peter Lambert purchased the other brother's interest and continued the business alone until 1884, when he sold his sheep. He had watched closely the development of the industry and the advancement in the method of handling sheep. He saw how the range was being fenced and realized that the safest mode of continuing in the stock business was for the individual to own landed interests, broad acres on which to range his stock. Accordingly, he in 1883 purchased a school section, two and a half miles east of Granite station, and he afterward purchased railroad lands adjacent until he had over eleven sections, or something over seven thousand acres of land. At the time of the oil boom, however, he was induced to sell seven sections, retaining two thousand and eighty acres which he still owns. This land is well watered by springs which afford ample water for the stock the year round. In the year 1895 he again embarked in the sheep business and continued it until 1898, when he again sold, owing to the drouth of that year; but three years later, in 1901, he purchased a flock of sheep in New Mexico and bringing them to Kern county, continued

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the business until 1908, when he sold his flock and has since rented his ranch for a cattle ranch.

Since 1889 Mr. Lambert has made his home on his present place in East Bakersfield, owning a valuable piece of property on Humboldt near Kern street. He was married in that year in Sumner, now East Bakersfield, to Miss Malvina Rambaud, who was also born in Hautes Alpes, France, and who came to Bakersfield the year of her marriage. They have a daughter. Marie. In his politics Mr. Lambert is a Republican.

HENRY LOUIS BORGWARDT .- An honored place among the Cali- fornia pioneers of the '50s is held by Mr. Borgwardt of Bakersfield, who has been a resident of Kern county since 1868 and meanwhile has contributed to the development of the agricultural and stock-raising interests of this portion of the state, as well as to the material upbuilding of his home city. Of German nativity and lineage, he was born July 30, 1832, in the city of Lubeck. By reason of the town being one of the principal harbors along the Baltic coast and therefore a headquarters for sailors and also through the fact that his father, Capt. Henry Borgwardt, was a pilot and captain on an ocean vessel, he himself early turned to the sea as affording a means of livelihood and at thirteen years of age shipped on the barque Luba which was engaged in the South American trade. For four and one-half years he remained on the same vessel and afterward sailed on other ships, at times from Lubeck and often from Hamburg. During 1854 he left Ham- burg on the New Ed that sailed around Cape Horn, making stops only at Valparaiso, Chile, and other leading ports, and arriving at San Francisco on the 28th of November after a tedious voyage of six months.

A desire to hunt for gold led the young sailor to abandon his trade for the more uncertain occupation of mining. For some years he engaged in placer and hydraulic mining on the middle fork of the American river in Eldorado county. With the exception of a brief period, beginning in 1859. devoted to the dairy industry, he remained in the mines of California and Nevada until 1868, when he permanently retired from the work and took up sheep-raising on Poso creek in Kern county. At that time Havilah was still the county-seat and few settlers had identified themselves with the development of the region. Range was plentiful and the sheep industry. with favorable weather, offered large possibilities. Pre-empting one hundred and sixty acres on the creek and building a cabin for his family, Mr. Borgwardt remained there for thirteen years. Meanwhile he experienced the ups and downs incident to the business. His heaviest loss resulted from the drought of 1877 and four years later he sold all of the sheep and retired from the business.

At the time of removing to Bakersfield and acquiring eighty acres adjacent to the city limits. Mr. Borgwardt turned his attention to the raising of alfalfa on the tract. A portion of this he cut for hay and the balance was used for the pasturage of stock. With the growth of the city. he decided to lay out the land into lots and this he did in 1889, Union and California streets forming the beginning of the Borgwardt tract, from which a large number of lots have been sold and which has the advantage of lying twenty feet higher than Bakersfield. The supervision of the property naturally took the owner into the real-estate business and for more than twenty years he has given his attention almost wholly to such work as related to the development of his sub-divisions. Shortly after he arrived in San Francisco at the close of his long voyage from Germany he was united in marriage with Miss Caroline Peterson, who was born in Schleswig- Holstein, Germany, and came to America in the same ship with Mr. Borg- wardt. Their long wedded life of mutual happiness and helpfulness was broken by her death in June, 1903. Vine children had been born of their

Jos Girard

Eva Girard

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union, namely : Mary, who died in Bakersfield June 3, 1888; Henry, who for twelve years served as sheriff of Kern county and died here in August, 1904; Andrew, who died in this city June 10, 1878; William, a rancher near Bakersfield; Dora, who was taken from the home when only one month old; Charles, living in Fresno; Francis, a merchant at Mill Valley ; George W., who follows the painter's trade in Bakersfield; and Morris, who is also a resident of this city, and his family make their home with Mr. Borgwardt. As early as 1872 Mr. Borgwardt became identified with the Bakersfield Lodge, I. O. O. F. In politics he is a Republican.

JOSEPH GIRARD .- Many of the men who have contributed materially to the development and upbuilding of Kern county have come here from the south of France and among these we find Joseph Girard, who is one of the old settlers of Delano, coming as he did to this vicinity in 1889. He was engaged in the sheep business up to 1909, since which time he has been in the cattle business. He was born in Ancelles, Hautes Alpes, France, January 4, 1869, being the son of Francois and Delphino (Jullian) Girard.

From a boy Joseph Girard made himself useful on the farm, becoming thoroughly familiar with the stock business, a knowledge that was of the greatest assistance to him after he came to California. In the local schools near his home he received a good education and training. When nineteen he determined to migrate to California, having an uncle, G. Jullian, and a brother, Emil, in San Francisco, and he accordingly left the old home to seek his fortune in the land of the Golden West, arriving in San Francisco in December of 1888. Here he remained for three months and in March, 1889, came to Kern county, where he entered into partnership with his brother, Philipp, and they continued together in sheep raising. Purchasing a ranch sixteen miles west of Delano, which was their headquarters, they introduced full-blooded merinos, thus bringing their flock to a very high grade. In 1909 they sold their flocks and began the cattle business, in which they are very successful, raising short horn Durhams for beef cattle. They continue using the same brand, a small circle within a circle and joined by a bar on opposite sides. Their ranch comprises about five thousand acres, all under fence, being well watered by springs and by a pumping plant; two sets of buildings have been erected, one at the Springs and the other at the pumping plant. With his family he resides in Delano, where he owns fifteen acres, adjoining the city, with a comfortable residence. In 1905 he visited his old home in France and there met the lady who became his wife October 18, 1905. She was Eva Chabot, who was also a native of Hautes Alpes, born October 27, 1887. the daughter of Louis and Marie (Marron) Chabot, who were both teachers and for many years engaged in educational work.

Mr. and Mrs. Girard have had five children, four of whom are living : Arthur M., Justin F., Marcel P., deceased, Emil J. and Josephine Marie. Mr. Girard is public-spirited and a Republican in politics.

JOHN KAAR .- Born in New Jersey in 1845, he traced his lineage to Germany through the Kaars, while on the maternal side he came from Scotch forefathers. At an early age he removed from New Jersey to Illinois in company with his father. George Kaar, and settled on a tract of raw land near Princeton, where he soon learned to be helpful in the difficult tasks connected with the improvement of a farm. Meanwhile he was permitted to attend the country schools during the winter months when his help on the farm was not needed. During young manhood he married Miss Emma LeFever, who was born in Pennsylvania and died in California in 1909. Having acquired a thorough knowledge of brick-making, he settled in Benton county. Ind., and embarked in the manufacture of tile and brick, but at the same time carried on a farm in that locality.

Bringing his family to California in 1894, John Kaar arrived at Kern

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(now East Bakersfield) on the 5th of March and established a home on Central avenue. Immediately he became interested in the manufacture of brick. In connection with this industry he engaged in contracting and building. It soon came to be understood that he was an unusually skilled workman. Indeed, his reputation in that regard has not been surpassed. In Kern he erected a number of brick residences and cottages that are still owned by his children and it is said that they stand today apparently in as good condition as the day they were completed. People in a position to make authoritative statements assert that he built more residences and buildings in Kern than any other man in the town. Other enterprises enlisted his sympathy and co-operation, but it was to the building business that he gave his keenest abilities and most unwearied devotion and until his death in 1909 he ranked among the most proficient and successful build- ers in Kern. Surviving him are five children, all of whom are well-known residents of East Bakersfield, namely : Eliza, Mrs. O. F. Howell ; Nellie, Mrs. David Sheedy ; George S., manager of the Citizens' Laundry ; Charles H., who is engaged in the automobile business as proprietor of the Studebaker Garage, at Eighteenth and L streets, Bakersfield; and Jacob F., a real estate dealer and rancher near Bakersfield.

J. FRANK FOX .- Among the revered and beloved pioneers of California none was more thoroughly grounded in the facts historical and geographical, political and industrial, pertaining to the state than the late J. Frank Fox. who combined with this knowledge the faculty of putting it into writing with that graphic ease and clever pen which attracted many readers. He was a member of a well-known, historic family, his maternal grandfather, Enoch Page, a native of New Hampshire, having seen active service in the French and Indian war, as well as the Revolutionary war. He held the commission of captain in the latter controversy, and he was with Washington when he crossed the Delaware and was present at the Battle of Bennington under General Stark. The Fox family was one of the oldest in Somerset county, Me., and Fox Hill was so named for the family. J. Frank Fox was born in Athens, that county and state, on April 2, 1826, and was there reared to young man- hood. In 1851 he came to California via Nicaragua and made San Francisco his destination. His first occupation was aiding in the building of the first steam- boat on Mission Bay. In 1853 he was United States consul in Old Mexico, where he remained for about fifteen years. He traveled considerably and was a newspaper correspondent, his natural bent being to accumulate knowledge and write down his ideas of conditions and observations, which always proved entertaining as well as instructive. He later spent several years on the frontier of Texas and in 1876 returned to California. After spending a few years in Oakland and Sonoma county in May of 1886 he located in Kern county, homesteading a ranch two and a half miles west of Delano. He improved a tarm of one hundred and sixty acres and resided there until his retirement, and thereafter made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Martin, until his death, October 12, 1913. Mr. Fox was married in Mexico to Miss Lucita Benavidez, who was born in Pueblo, Mexico, of Castilian extraction. She passed away in Delano.

Six children were born to this union, of whom but two are now living. Mrs. Alice J. Fox-Martin, and Mrs. Emma DeSoto of Stockton. Mr. Fox was an ardent supporter of Republican principles, and was always well posted on current topics. He was an able historian, a clear and forceful writer, and was at the time of his death writing the history of National Presidential Cam- paigns, covering the period from 1828 to the present, drafting principally from his own recollections, and it bids fair to be one of the most interesting works of its kind ever published.

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RICHARD JAMES MARTIN .- Just west of the flourishing town of Delano is situated a ranch of eighty acres whose well-improved condition together with the fine cattle seen on the ranch evidence the thorough con- ception of the details essential in the dairy business which the proprietor, Richard J. Martin, has been able to give them. A member of an old family, Mr. Martin was born in Bristol, England, August 5, 1864, the son of Alfred and Ann (Garland) Martin of that place. The father was a merchant and shoe manufacturer. He brought his family to the United States, locating at Colum- bus, Ohio, in 1869, and two years later found him located thirteen miles southwest of Tulare, Cal., on a homestead which lay two miles from Tulare lake. It is interesting to note that at this time there was a steamboat plying on the lake. Alfred Martin followed the stock business until he was obliged 10 retire from active labors, and thereafter he made his home in Tulare, where he passed away at the age of eighty-four years. Ilis wife passed away at the age of eighty years. Six children had been born to this worthy pioneer couple, four now surviving.

The youngest child born to his parents, Richard J. Martin was reared on the parental farm and received his literary training in the public school of the locality. He was married in Visalia March 5, 1890, to Miss Alice J. Fox, who was born in Monterey, daughter of J. Frank Fox, who was a pioneer in Cali- fornia and one of the first settlers in the vicinity of Delano. Mrs. Martin was educated in the public schools of Oakland and Santa Rosa, and later received a thorough musical training at Pacific University, Santa Rosa. For many years she engaged as a music teacher and her splendid talent was recog- mized and deeply appreciated by all her associates. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Martin resided in Tulare until 1893, when they located permanently in Kern county and engaged in the dairy business. On their ranch is a pump- ing plant with a capacity of sixty-five inches, and Mr. Martin is sowing most of the acreage to alfalfa. The dairy business is conducted on the most sanitary and carefully-adjusted plans, and the vicinity around Delano is supplied with its product, a portion being shipped to Tulare. Together with these dairy interests Mr. Martin owns valuable residence property in Delano and three hundred and twenty acres further west. He is an active member of the Wood- men of the World and affiliates too with the Modern Woodmen of America at Delano. Mrs. Martin is a member of the Women of Woodcraft at Bakers- field and the Royal Neighbors of Delano, of which latter she has been pre- siding officer for two terms. Socially active and popular they are prominent in religious and musical circles, and Mrs. Martin has been organist for both the Methodist and Baptist churches at Delano at different times for the past twenty-five years. As ardent Republicans the Martins take public-spirited interest in all local issues and unite with all good purposes for the common welfare.

E. H. LEIERITZ .- A feature of the modern building in Bakersfield is the development of the bungalow plan. When Mr. Leieritz came to this city in December of 1908 to make his home and to embark in contracting. he brought with him many ideas profitably utilized in Los Angeles, his former place of business, and in addition he evolved many original ideas of his own that added to the beauty and utility of these artistic structures. The first bungalow in this city was erected under his supervision. At once the popu- larity of the plan was pronounced. Since then over one hundred bungalows have been erected from his own plans and under his personal supervision, all of these buildings constituting a distinct addition to the attractions of Bakersfield as a city of pretty homes.

By virtue of his birth in Los Angeles Mr. Leieritz ranks as a native son. His parents, George and Julia (Meyers) Leieritz, were natives respectively of Alsace, Germany, and Kansas City, Kan., and are now living on a farm at

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Downey, Cal. The maternal grandfather, Ernest Meyers, born and reared in Germany, became a pioneer of Kansas and served throughout the entire Civil war as a member of a Kansas regiment of infantry. After some years in Kansas, George Leieritz came to California and settled in Los Angeles, where his son, E. H .. was born October 11, 1880. There were thirteen chil- dren in the family and it is a noteworthy fact that all but two are still living. The fourth in order of birth, E. H., received his education in the Los Angeles schools and later served an apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter in his native city. Upon having gained a thorough practical knowledge of every detail connected with the occupation he began to work by the day, from that he gradually drifted into contract work. After three years as a contractor in Los Angeles he came to Bakersfield and here he has enjoyed a successful business experience and has also become a member of the Bakersfield Club. Accompanying him to this city was his wife, whom he had married in Los Angeles and who was formerly Miss Elizabeth Kennedy, member of a family that came to California from her native city of Burling- ton, Iowa. One child blesses their union. Francis Louis.

JACOB WALTER .- Since 1901 Mr. Walter has devoted his time to the management of his interests, which include the ownership of the Walter's hotel building on Nineteenth street, a ranch near Corners, eighty acres in the Weed Patch, forty acres in peaches and apricots near Beardsley school house and an alfalfa ranch under the Beardsley canal three miles northwest of Bakersfield.

The village of Lohningen, Canton Schaffhausen, Switzerland, near the bor- der of Germany, was the childhood home of Jacob Walter, who was born there October 7, 1840. being a son of Johannes and Ann (Bollinger) Walter, lifelong residents of the same region. There were seven children in the parental family and Jacob is the youngest of the three now living. As a boy he assisted on the farm operated by his father, who being a practical weaver as well as a farmer taught the lad the trade of a linen weaver. At the age of twenty-five years he relinquished his work in Europe and came to the United States, in 1865, where he found employment in a factory in Chicago. From there in 1868 he removed to San Francisco and learned the trade of a baker and cook. The following year found him employed as a cook in Sacramento and in 1872 he went to Nevada, but from there in 1873 he came to Bakersfield as the first cook in the Arlington house. At the expiration of five months he bought out the City bakery on Nineteenth street and operated this in connection with a restaurant. Upon being burned out in 1889 he erected a brick block on Nineteenth between L and M streets. The structure, still known as the Walter's hotel, is 99x68 feet in dimensions, on a lot 99x1151/2 feet, and in addition to the hotel a grocery and a bakery also lease space on the first floor. Since the retirement of the original proprietor in 1901 the hotel has been rented and he has devoted his attention to the management of his

large property interests. Upon the organization of the Security Trust Com- pany he became one of the first stockholders and still retains shares in the concern, besides being interested in the Los Angeles Fire Insurance Company.

The attractive family residence at No. 1008 Truxtun avenue is graciously presided over by Mrs. Walter, formerly Miss Evelena Funk, whose native home was in Eldorado county, this state, but who had lived in Bakersfield for some time prior to her marriage. A lifelong resident of the state and a meni- ber of a pioneer family, she cherishes a deep devotion to the welfare of the west and with her husband finds pleasure in the reunions of the Society of Pioneers, to which both belong. Their family comprises four children, name- ly: Gustav, Mrs. Olive Grogg, Leo and Gertrude, all of whom make Bakers- field their home. The political views of Mr. Walter bring him into sympathy with the Republican party and he always has kept posted concerning prob-

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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 78

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