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 88

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 88

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After a somewhat prolonged sojourn in Yolo county, during which time Milton T. Farmer was born at Woodland December 7. 1883, the Farmer family sought a more southerly location and during 1884 became residents of Tulare county, where the father was a witness of the historic Mussel Slough fight. The family comprised eight children. of whom the four youngest. Theodore P., Paul. Clarence W. and Lucile B., make their home with their parents in Kings county. The eldest daughter, Leta D., is the wife of Dr. Lincoln Cothran, of San Jose. The second son, Lyman D., is the present sheriff of Kings county, and the second daughter, Ethel R., is the wife of Simon Levy, a banker of Visalia. From his earliest memories Judge Farmer was reared on a ranch in Tulare county, where he completed the grammar-school course of study in the Excelsior district, one of his earliest teachers having been Harry Weems, now of Wasco. After he had grad- uated from the Hanford high school in 1901 he matriculated in the San Jose State Normal and continued in that institution until he had completed the studies in 1903. As principal of the Grangeville school in Kings county he proved to possess a decided bent for the high calling of a teacher and it was with universal regret on the part of the patrons of the school that his resignation was accepted in January, 1906, in order that he might pursue the social science course of study in the University of California. In addition he took up the study of law. During 1909 he received the degree of A.B. and two years later the degree of doctor in jurisprudence was tendered to him. During the period of his connection with the institution he played on the Varsity football team with high honors and for two years engaged as manager of athletics.

A period of connection with the office of Judge Bolton in San Francisco and the management of a private office associated with W. J. Hayes of Oak- land, gave Judge Farmer considerable experience in the law. In December. 1911, he was appointed as one of the counsel for the State Banking department, but resigned the position in 1912, as well as relinquishing his lucrative pri- vate practice, in order that he might accept an appointment tendered by Governor Johnson August 14, 1913, as judge of superior court department 3, Kern county, in which most responsible post he has justified the wisdom of the appointment and proved his wide knowledge of the law. His marriage took place .August 21, 1912, and united him with Miss Helen M. Young, of Berkeley. a native daughter of Visalia, but reared principally in Seattle. Wash., and a graduate of the University of California. The only child of the union is Milton, Jr. Aside from his association with the bench and the bar Judge Farmer has numerous affiliations, being a member of Pomeroy Capter, Phi Delta Phi, University of California : Phi Beta Kappa, National Scholarship Fraternity; Hanford Parlor No. 37, N. S. G. W. ; Durant Lodge

HOSPITAL

MERCY HOSPITAL, BAKERSFIELD

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HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

No. 268, F. & A. M., of Berkeley, Los Angeles Consistory, and Berkeley Lodge No. 1002, Order of Elks.

MERCY HOSPITAL .- The new and elegant Mercy Hospital, which occupies a block of ground on Truxtun avenue between B and C streets, is a branch of and was built by the Sisters of Mercy, whose Mother House is located at West Washington and Concord streets, Los Angeles. The Bakers- field institution dates from February 19, 1910. when the St. Clair property, near the Santa Fe depot, was secured. It was soon discovered that this loca- tion was too noisy for a hospital site and the block on which it now stands was bought and the building removed to it and enlarged. The new building, which was dedicated by Bishop Conaty November 9. 1913, is on the Spanish renaissance order, constructed of concrete below the ground, while above it is brick plastered with white Medusa cement and inlaid tapestry brick. It is 108x48 feet in dimensions and is three stories high, with a high base- ment besides. A complete steel frame forms the center of the building and the roof is of Spanish tile. Thirty-six private rooms, the greater number of them with private baths, constitute this hospital and there is on each floor a well- equipped diet kitchen. In the center of the building is an electric automatic passenger elevator, which was the first of its kind in the city. The stair- ways are located one at cach end of the building. Two glass sun parlors and a large veranda for the patients are located on the ground floor, and the operating department, which is said to be without exception the finest equipped in the state, having every facility with which to obtain the best possible results, is on the third floor. A great many special features have been provided for the lighting of the operating department as well as the entire building, an electric light signal system is installed, the entire lighting arrangement being a decidedly fine addition.

The interior of the building is finished in white enamel, all the doors being finished in mahogany. A vacuum steam heating plant, which is also a source of supply for the sterilizers and the diet kitchens, provides the heating. Separate kitchen and laundry room are located at the rear of the hospital building and the old hospital of two stories is connected with the new by means of a steel bridge. In connection with the hospital the Sisters manage a large parochial school, under the St. Francis' church, the pastor of which is Father Holden, who is given further mention elsewhere.

CHARLES HENRY McCOY .- Even prior to the discovery of gold in California a considerable amount of emigration had been turned toward the west and as early as 1848 the McCoy family joined a party of home-seekers whose course of travel took them across plains, deserts and mountains, and through Nevada near the present site of Winnemucca. Toward the end of the tedious journey the Indians became more and more annoying. Finally, in fear of their lives, the McCoy family deflected their path from the destina- tion originally planned and turned north into Modoc county, where they became the very first white settlers in Surprise valley. Taking up land, they embarked in the cattle industry. Abundance of water and pasturage enabled them to prosper, but for years they continued to find the red men troublesome. An old log house on Eagle creek was fortified for use whenever the Pitt River or Modoc Indians went on the war-path. John Henry McCoy, who was a native of Arkansas, had not attained man's estate at the time of the migration to the west and all of his active life was passed in Modoc county, where he was prominent, honored and influential. While serving as sheriff, which office he filled with energy and courage, he was shot down in cold blood by a Mexican. The white settlers, aroused by the death of a pioneer of such splendid qualities of manhood, lynched the murderer. Surviving Mr. McCoy were his young wife and two sons. The elder, Charles Henry, is a resident of Kern county, and the younger, James, who went to Oregon, is now an

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HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

extensive rancher of Lake county. The wife and mother, Elizabeth ( Moulton) McCoy, was brought across the plains in infancy by her parents, who became pioneers of Surprise valley. After the death of her husband 'she continued in the cattle business and is still living at Bear ranch, the old homestead.

On the Modoc county ranch Charles Henry McCoy was born January 31, 1870, and there he was reared to manhood. In 1877 his father was murdered. At that time and even later Indians frequently made raids into the valley and stole the cattle, so it was necessary to maintain an unceasing vigilance. From his earliest recollections he was familiar with horses and accustomed to the saddle. While yet a small child he began to ride the range and round up the cattle. As soon as he was old enough to manage the stock, his mother turned the supervision of the property over to him, but the failure of his health forced him to seek a different climate. Acting upon the advice of physicians he went to Arizona in 1895. Some time was spent in that territory and in New Mexico and Colorado, where he was interested in the cattle business. During 1899 he was one of five men appointed by the United States govern- ment to serve as "broncho busters" in the Philippines. After his arrival at the seat of war he engaged in breaking and training wild horses. At the ont- break of the Boxer disturbance he was sent to China with the American troops, remaining at Pekin until quiet had been restored, when he was ordered to return to the Philippines. Having completed the work of training horses, he was placed in charge of pack trains in different parts of the islands. More than once he was forced into skirmishes with the natives, but in each instance he came off victorious.

Returning to California in 1906, Mr. McCoy came to Kern county the following year and secured employment in riding after cattle on the range. During 1909 he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and became a stationary engineer at Caliente, where now he has charge of the pumping plant. Besides a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Honey Lake valley he owns sixty acres of fertile land in the Weed Patch. His marriage was solemnized in Lassen county and united him with Miss Katherine Bond. a native of that county and a daughter of Jeremiah Bond, now living retired on his large ranch in the Honey Lake valley. Three sons, Marvin. Bernard and Lester, comprise the family of Mr. and Mrs. McCoy. In addi- tion to caring for her husband and sons with exemplary diligence and house- wifely skill, Mrs. McCoy has been an earnest worker in the Methodist Church, an official member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, and a leading member of the Rebekahs and the Order of the Eastern Star.

IRA B. DAVIS .- Since 1911 Ira B. Davis has been a resident of Caliente, where as a clerk under John Ripley, postmaster, he became familiar with the management of the office. winning recognition as a capable man in such responsibilities and rendering possible his own appointment as post- master in June, 1913. In filling the office he has for a deputy his wife, who also engages as operator of the Caliente long distance telephone.

Springhill, Champaign county, Ohio, is the native place of Ira B. Davis and January 27, 1851, the date of his birth, his parents being Benjamin and Sarahı (Patton) Davis. natives respectively of Kentucky and Virginia, but during their married life residents of Ohio. The father died on the home farm in 1873, having survived his wife for many years. Of their fourteen children all but one attained years of maturity and three of the sons were soldiers in the Union army during the Civil war. Two events impressed themselves vividly upon the youthful years of Mr. Davis, one of these being the departure of his older brothers for the war and the other being the death of his mother. With these exceptions his early life was uneventful. He attended the country schools and the St. Paris high school and in vacations assisted his father on the home farm. Upon leaving school he learned the butcher's trade at West Liberty, but did not like the occupation and turned

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HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

to other pursuits. For a time he clerked in a general store. Following the drift of emigration toward the west, he took up land in Kansas during 1880 and developed a farm near Burlingame, Osage county.

The marriage of Mr. Davis was solemnized at Emporia, Kan., March 25, 1881, and united him with Miss Belle Beckes, who was born in Indianapolis, Ind., and received an excellent education culminating in a course of study in the Emporia Normal. For a time prior to her marriage she engaged in teach- ing school in Kansas. Her parents, Caleb and Mary (Graham) Beckes, were natives of Indiana. After the death of Mrs. Beckes in that state the father removed to Kansas in 1859 and took up a claim in Osage county, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. The last days of his life were passed in Emporia. After his marriage Mr. Davis remained in Kansas and continued in farming until 1893, when he removed to Salem, Fulton county, Ark. Later he spent some time in Missouri, but removed from there in 1900, after which he spent four years with the Sandoval Manufacturing Company in Sandoval, Ill. For a time he later engaged as a foreman with a manufacturing concern at Galesburg, that state. Upon resigning his position in 1911 he came to Caliente, since which time he has been connected with the postoffice. Both he and his wife are stanch believers in Republican principles, but partisanship has not entered into their service in the office, which has come to them through meritorious service rather than political prestige. Mrs. Davis has been iden- tified with the Presbyterian denomination since girlhood. In fraternal rela- tions Mr. Davis is a member of the Court of Honor. Their only daughter, Mrs. Mary E. Schaubert, is living in Colorado, her home being at Cripple Creek.

JAMES LINDSAY BRUCE .- During the nineteenth century represen- tatives of the Bruce family came from the Highlands of Scotland to the shores of America and established themselves in Canada, where for many years George Bruce, a son of the original immigrant, engaged in the drilling of oil wells and the operating of oil leases at Petrolea, County Lambton, Ontario, near the river St. Clair. Since his demise, which occurred in his home town, his widow, who bore the maiden name of Mary Lindsay and was born in Ontario, has removed to California and is now living in Bakersfield. Of their seven children there now survive four daughters and one son, James Lindsay, who was next to the oldest among the children and was born at Petrolea, Canada, August 2, 1876. As a boy he became familiar with that narrow strip of country lying between Lakes Huron and St. Clair. The family home was only fifteen miles from the river that joins these two lakes and he was there- fore very near to the United States. While yet a small boy he began to assist his father in such work as was possible for him to do in the oil business. At the age of sixteen he became a tool dresser. Two years later he became a driller, running a string of tools. When about twenty years of age he ceased to work for his father and began in the employ of other oil operators. Coming to California in 1901 and seeking the oil regions of Kern county. Mr. Bruce drilled on 25-Hill one of the first wells sunk there. In 1902 he became an employe of the Associated Oil Company. At first he filled a very humble position. Gradually he worked up from one position to another, eacli more important than the former, and at the expiration of four years he was made general superintendent of the company's affairs in the Kern river field.

After having been connected with the company for ten years Mr. Bruce resigned August 1, 1912, in order to devote his entire time to the automobile business and to his personal interests. The Southern garage. of which he is now the proprietor, stands at the corner of Twenty-fifth street and Chester avenue and in construction represents the mission type of architecture. Brick and cement used in the building render it practically fireproof. The storage capacity is sufficient for fifty cars. Reliable work is done at reasonable prices. Repairing is done promptly and satisfactorily. He has the agency for the

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HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

Buick automobile for Kern county and the garage is also the headquarters for the Packard, Chalmers and other cars. Every facility is to be found in the garage in the way of modern machinery and improved tools. The vul- canizing shop is complete and expert service is guaranteed. Although the present proprietor has been connected with the business for a short time only, he has gained great popularity among owners of automobiles and has won his share of repair work as well as orders for new cars. In addition to his inter- ests in Bakersfield he owns property in Los Angeles and also has forty acres of fine orange land in the Porterville district. In politics he is stanchly Republican, while socially he holds membership with the Bakersfield Club. After coming to California he married in Bakersfield Miss Maude Lingwood, who was born in Missouri. They have two daughters, Velma and Silva.

B. H. SILL .- Long before the American occupancy of California had become an historic fact Daniel Sill had identified his destiny with that of the then unknown West, where with his own hands and the aid of such few carpenters' tools as he could secure he put up the fifth house ever built in San Francisco. (This was the Sill blacksmith shop marked 35 on picture of San Francisco 1846-7.) His first trip to this country occurred as early as 1832, when the Spanish and the Indian inhabitants had as yet been undisturbed in their dreamy, contented existence by the arrival of throngs of eager, enterprising settlers of ( ther races. It was as an employe of the Hudson Bay Fur Company that the young man had come to the West from Michigan, where he left his wife and children to await his return. The fascination of the West impelled him to remain, and in 1850 his family joined him, among them being a son, Daniel, Jr .. who came overland from Dowagiac, Mich. Meanwhile the energetic pioneer had followed various occupations besides working for the fur company. His trade of blacksmith earned him a livelihood at various places. For a time he engaged in the stock business at Monterey and after gold was discovered he spent some time at the placer mines, later engaging in the building business. Daniel, Jr., spent his mature years prin- cipally in the Santa Clara and Sacramento valleys, where he engaged in farm pursuits. Both he and his wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Mayhew. are now deceased.

The next to the youngest among eight children, six of whom are still living, B. H. Sill was born in Santa Clara County, Cal., June 7, 1869, and grew to manhood upon a farm in the Sacramento Valley. While still a very small child he was bereaved by the death of his mother. At the age of fifteen he became an apprentice in a carriage factory at Marysville, this state, where he served for six years, meanwhile gaining a thorough knowledge of carriage-making. The occupation, however, did not interest him and when his apprenticeship had been terminated he began to work on a farm owned by Hon. Leland Stanford in Tehama County, this state, where he helped to plant five thousand acres in a vineyard of choice grapes. Later he aided in the establishing of a winery and distillery on the ranch. During the five years of his employment with Governor Stanford he attended school at Vina.

As early as 1890 Mr. Sill made a trip to Bakersfield, but it was not until 1898 that he became a permanent resident. Meanwhile he had been employed at Seattle and Spokane as well as in other western cities. Shortly after his arrival in this city he assisted in the organization of the Fred Gunther Company, capitalized at $15,000, of which he is the president. In politics he has voted with the Democratic party ever since he became of the age required for the exercise of the franchise. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks. By his first wife, Catherine Collins, he has one son, Daniel. now a student in the Harvard Military school in Los Angeles. After the death of his first wife he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Bresna- ham. a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., and one son, Benjamin N., blesses

.. 34

.7.4

-WASHINGTON ST.

MONTGOMERY ST

VIEW OF SAN FRANCISCO IN 1846-47, SHOWING SILL'S BLACKSMITH SHOP, NO. 35

CLAY ST.

KEARNEY ST

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HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY

their union. Aside from other interests Mr. Sill since coming to Kern County has bought oil lands and acquired part ownership in oil wells.

BERNARD BIMAT .- Since 1906 he has owned and worked forty acres under the east side canal eight miles southeast of Bakersfield, where alfalfa is raised profitably by the aid of abundant irrigation and where he also has given profitable attention to the raising of Percheron horses and sheep. His judgment concerning horses is seldom at fault. At a glance he seems able to detect defects and appraise values, this being the result of natural intuition and early experience in the business. From boyhood he was trained to under- stand equine flesh and he also learned to ride trotters and runners in the races, but as he grew toward manhood his increasing weight prevented a continuance of riding in races. His love of horses comes perhaps as an inheritance from his father, Edward Bimat, who made a specialty of raising standards and thoroughbreds on his farm and who was considered one of the best judges of horses in the entire locality. The mother, who was Mary Mirasson-Casteigt, member of a very ancient family of Basses-Pyrenees, is still living at the old home in the French valley lying beneath the shadow of the mountains.

The youngest of five children, all still living, Bernard Bimat was born at Precilhon, Basses-Pyrenees, France, and received his education in local schools, the high school at Oloron (of which he is a graduate) and the Normal School at Lescard. For a year he was employed in the revenue department of the government. A brother and sister having gone from the old home to Cali- fornia. in 1885 he joined them in Kern county, where the brother. Leon, was engaged in the sheep industry. For two years he was employed as a herder. after which he bought six hundred ewes from his brother and began to range his flock in the mountains of Kern, Inyo and Mono counties during summer months, bringing them down to the valleys for the winter. From 1891 to 1893 he engaged in partnership with his brother. The free trade measures of the Cleveland administration caused the ruin of his sheep business and in 1894 he turned to teaming and ranching. Taking a homestead on section 26, 32-30, he proved up on the land, built barns and house, and engaged in raising grain, cattle and horses. Later he bought one hundred and sixty acres in the Cummings valley, moving to the place in order that his children might have educational advantages. Meanwhile he ran his cattle on the range between Tejon and Cummings valley, using for a brand a triangle with the base down, beneath which were two connecting bars. At a later date he brought the cattle to the Long Tom country, but eventually sold the entire herd to John Bidart. Since then he has resumed the raising of sheen and has sold his mountain ranches. In East Bakersfield he married Miss Mary Ros- tain, who was born in Hautes Alpes, France, near the village of Mans, and died in Kern county in 1911, leaving five children, namely : Marie, now Mrs. Vidailliet, of San Pedro; Leon, Edward and Bernard, Jr., who remain with their father on the home ranch; and Felix, who died in 1913 at the age of four years. Mr. Bimat is a member of the Druids and politically votes with the Republican party.

JEAN MOYNIER .- A native of Canton Ogier, Hautes Alpes, France, born August 4, 1864, he was a son of Jean and Marie Rosalie (Gugler) Moy- nier, the former a stockman in Ogier, and later the owner of a farm at St. Bonnet. Since his death the widow has continued to reside on the old homestead at that place. There were six children in the family and four of these are now living. The eldest. Jean, was reared on the farm at St. Bonnet. received his education in local schools and learned the sheep business under the wise supervision of his father. At the age of seventeen in 1881 he came to America, arriving in Los Angeles in April. After a month with an uncle. Francois Gugler, in that city, in May he came to Kern county, where he found employment in the care of sheep. So frugal was he in expenditures

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that in fourteen months he had saved $500, which he invested in a small flock of sheep. From that he built up a profitable business. Just at the time when the future seemed most promising the free-trade movement of 1894 resulted in a panic that depreciated prices and he was left penniless.

Forced to begin anew, Mr. Moynier entered the employ of others and saved his earnings with such care that in a few years he was able to buy another flock of sheep. From that time to the present he has continued steadily in the business. The sheep are now ranged in two separate bands. For many years he has engaged in buying and shipping sheep, or in shipping flocks for growers, and at times he has shipped out for growers as many as fifteen hundred carloads in one year, which means that he is kept very busily engaged in that line of the work. Meanwhile he also manages his ten-acre ranch just east of East Bakersfield, where he and his family make their home. For a time he served as sheep inspector for Kern county under the state inspector. Movements for the benefit of the sheep industry in this section receive his stanch support. He is a progressive and public-spirited citizen, alive to the welfare of his adopted country. In national politics he votes the Republican ticket. During 1884 at East Bakersfield he married Miss Marie Lorette, who was born in Oloron, Basses-Pyrenees, and in 1881 came to Cali- fornia, settling in Kern county. They are the parents of ten children, viz. : Mrs. Pauline Chevellier, of East Bakersfield; Louis, of San Francisco; Mrs. Jennie Geraud and Mrs. Marie Martin, both of East Bakersfield; Leon, an assistant of his father in the sheep business and in the care of the home farm ; Sidonie, Mrs. Ricon, of East Bakersfield; Harry, also assisting his father ; Henriette, Emily and Jean.

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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 88

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