USA > California > Mendocino County > History of Mendocino and Lake counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading, men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 101
USA > California > Lake County > History of Mendocino and Lake counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading, men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 101
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It is due to such men as Mr. Anderson that Mendocino county is begin- ning to attract people from different parts of California as well as states farther east, by his demonstration of what can be accomplished by diligence and intensified farming. Mr. Anderson is enterprising and liberal and has always shown himself willing to give of his time and means to aid any move-
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ment that has for its aim the improvement of the moral and social conditions of the citizens, and the upbuilding of the valley. Being of a generous nature he never allows an opportunity to pass without aiding those who have been less fortunate.
GEORGE MILTON BIGGAR .- Among representatives of pioneer families of Mendocino county is George Milton Biggar, a member of the mercantile firin of Long & Biggar of Covelo, who was born near Albion, Mendocino county, January 16, 1880, the son of William J. Biggar, who is represented on another page in this work. His early education was obtained in the public and high schools of his vicinity, after which he followed farming with his father near Navarro. Then he farmed at Napa for one year and for three years near Santa Rosa. He then came to Round Valley in 1903 and soon afterwards began clerking for Dave Rudee, with whom he remained eighteen months. Next he clerked for six years for George Bowers, whose business he then purchased, borrowing the amount necessary to pay for the stock of goods, and he continued general merchandising alone until January, 1910, when he took in Edward H. Long as a partner and continued the busi- under the firm name of Long & Biggar. At this time they doubled the stock of merchandise, carrying a line of all kinds of merchandise, and aside from their department store, they are dealers in agricultural implements, carriages, wagons and gas engines.
Mr. Biggar has built a comfortable bungalow in Covelo, where he resides with his wife, who before her marriage was Miss Louella Cary, born in Scio, Ore. The marriage ceremony occurred in Covelo June 22, 1910. Mrs. Biggar is a graduate of McMinnville College, Ore., and of Leland Stanford University. She was principal of the Covelo high schools for two years and is now at the head of the English and German classes. Fraternally Mr. Biggar was made a Mason in Covelo Lodge No. 231, F. & A. M., and is the present Master. With his wife he is a member of Augusta Chapter No. 80, O. E. S. He is also a member of Covelo Camp No. 635, W. O. W., and is filling the office of C. C.
Mr. and Mrs. Biggar are taking a very active part in improving the ap- pearance of Covelo's streets and home surroundings. They built the first bungalow, put in the first septic sewer, and put in a well-kept lawn, thus .establishing a precedent that others have since followed. In the social and moral uplift of the community as well as the commercial advancement they are ever ready to assist, and give freely of their time and means to projects that have for their aim the betterment and upbuilding of the community.
JOHN P. SMITH .- The distinction of being the first settler on the present site of Ukiah belongs to John P. Smith, a well-known citizen of Ukialı, and a California pioneer of 1852. From earliest recollections he had been familiar with the then frontier. Born in Hickman county, Tenn., June 20, 1827, he had accompanied his parents to Illinois in 1836 and had settled in Morgan county, at that time sparsely inhabited and with its great task of agricultural development scarcely begun. Schools were few and widely scat- tered. The boys of the period had few advantages. It was theirs to assist in the maintenance of the family and in the cultivation of the great prairie farms. With little thought of seeking a home elsewhere he plodded along in the dull routine of drudgery incident to the making of an undeveloped farm remunerative, but when news came of the discovery of gold in California the routine of existence was broken. His thoughts turned toward the then un-
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known west. It was not, however, possible for him to leave Illinois for a few years, but finally, February 12, 1852, he and his young wife and children started for San Francisco via the Horn, landing in the harbor of the Golden Gate on the 14th of July following after a tedious and unexciting voyage. Accompanied by his family he proceeded to Sutter county and engaged in teaming and farming. Two years later he removed to Yuba county, but after a year tried his luck in Solano county as a dairyman, farmer and stock buyer.
September of 1857 found the Smith family in Mendocino county, where the father bought a claim of two hundred acres including the present site of Ukiah. Here he engaged in general farming for a few years, but in February of 1861 he sold the claim and removed to Point Arena, where he engaged in teaming until the fall of 1866. At that time he took up farm pursuits ten miles below Ukiah. Later he moved into town and carried on a livery busi- ness. Honored as a citizen and prominent in local affairs, he was chosen to serve as county supervisor for two terms. His marriage was solemnized March 4, 1849, and united him with Miss Mary A. Henderson, a native of Ohio, who accompanied him on the voyage around the Horn in a sailing vessel. They became the parents of the following named children: George R. and Sarah E., both deceased; Charles P .: John Henry, who was killed while performing his duties as sheriff ; Mary J. ; Emma E. ; Martha C .; Howard B. and Helen (twins) ; Olive L .; Nellie M., and Minnie G.
FRED W. GARNER .- The Garner family has done much to bring Long valley, Lake county, into its present thriving condition from the agricultural standpoint, and Fred W. Garner, who lives on the famous Garner Stock Farm, the southern part of which he leases and operates on his own account, is a most creditable member of the wide-awake household to which he belongs. Thoroughly familiar from boyhood with every branch of ranch work success- fully prosecuted in this locality, he is well able to carry on the valuable prop- erty where most of his life has been passed, and which has promise of reaching the high-water mark of development under his intelligent management. It is one of the largest and most beautiful places in the county, and the entire place, comprising two thousand acres, is now held by the Garners as a corporation, in which John R. Garner, father of Fred W. Garner, is the principal stock- holder. John F. Garner, another son of John R. Garner, is treasurer.
John R. Garner, now living at Upper Lake, Lake county. is a native of Springfield, Mo., born in 1838, and came to California when a youth, making the journey by ox teams. In 1856 he settled in Napa valley among the early residents of that section, and there remained for over a quarter of a century. coming to Lake county in March, 1883. He was married in this state to Aramanta Roberts, who also came to California when young, and who died a year ago, at the age of sixty-six. Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Garner, ten sons and two daughters, of whom Fred is sixth in order of birth, and the following survive at this time: Thomas, who lives at Ukiah, Mendo- cino county ; Joseph, of Santa Rosa : John F., who conducts a five-thousand- acre ranch just south of Lower Lake; Louis, a resident of Arizona; Fred W., of whom we write: and Lloyd, Leland and Florence ( Mlrs. Woodson), all of Upper Lake. The Garner Stock Farm represents the original holdings of John R. Garner, and the corporation under whose supervision it is now con- ducted was organized some eighteen years ago.
Fred W. Garner was born March 25, 1876, near Oakville, Napa county, Cal., and was seven years old when he came with his parents to Long valley, 45
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which has ever since been his home. The manner in which Mr. Garner looks after all the details of his work indicates that he finds interest and satisfaction in his various activities. He now holds under lease the southern part of the Garner Stock Farm, about half of all the lands leased by the corporation, and the excellent, thrifty condition of buildings, trees, orchards, stock and fields tells plainer than words that he is an effective worker, methodical, systematic, and able to handle the business as well as cultivation of this extensive tract to good advantage. In connection with his other lines, he is engaged in stock raising. He is the postmaster at Arabella, the post office being located in the commodious farmhouse on the ranch, and has a most efficient helpmate in his wife, whose assistance in the handling of the mail as well as in looking after all the other work on the ranch has proved invaluable.
Mr. Garner's marriage, which took place at Colusa December 25, 1904, was to Miss Grace Hurlburt, who was born and reared near Corning, Tehama county, Cal., attending grammar school there and later taking a course at the Chico normal school from which she was graduated in 1903. She had her first experience as a teacher in the Long valley district, in Lake county, where she was engaged for one term and then taught in the Cache Creek district for three terms, at the close of which occurred her marriage to Mr. Garner. Her parents, Randolph and Elizabeth (Bonham) Hurlburt, who were natives of Butte county, Cal., and Wisconsin, respectively, engaged in farming in Tehama county though now they are located near Colusa. Of their family of three children two are living, Mrs. Garner being the younger. Mr. and Mrs. Garner have two children, Worth and Merritt. Mrs. Garner has won many friends in her adopted home by her high Christian character and recognized worth, and her influence upon the social life of the community has been acquired by her modest and helpful efforts to be a real neighbor to all. Politically Mr. Garner is a stanch Republican and fraternally is a member of Lower Lake Parlor No. 159, N. S. G. W., and of Lower Lake Lodge No. 130. I. O. O. F. Mrs. Garner is a member of Laguna Parler. N. D. G. W., as well as the Rebekahs and the Order of the Eastern Star.
OSCAR W. SHERWOOD, M. D .- One of the oldest practicing physi- cians in Mendocino county is Dr. O. W. Sherwood, of Westport, who was born in Brookville, Jefferson county, Pa., in 1862. His father, Charles Sher- wood, was a farmer at Reynoldsville, where Oscar W. was reared and edu- cated in the public schools. Afterwards he attended the Addison (Ill. ) Academy. Choosing the profession of medicine, in 1882 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago, where he was graduated in 1885 with the degree of M. D. After practicing a year at Downers Grove and a year in Chicago. in December, 1887, he came to California. His first location was in Perris, where he practiced medicine until May, 1889. Con- cluding to locate in Eureka, he made his way along the coast through Mendo- cino county and on arriving at Westport he. found the livest town he had come across and so concluded to locate. The next day he became busy and he has had a growing and successful practice ever since. The work at times has been arduous, necessitating very long trips into the mountains, and in the winter time he was compelled to go horseback much of the time. He became interested in property here and is today one of the oldest and leading physicians in the county.
Dr. Sherwood was married at Fullersburg, Ill., being united with Carrie Belle Ford, a native of that place. Fraternally he is a member of the Ancient
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Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. In the line of his profession he is a member of the County, State and American Medi- cal Associations.
ALBERT F. MORRELL .- There is not another resident of Morgan valley at the present time who has been there as long as Albert F. Morrell, and he is one of the old-timers who came to California when the gold fever was still running high. In his varied life he has witnessed and suffered much of the fortune and misfortune that falls to the lot of the adventurer in new fields, for although he has been on his ranch in Morgan valley over forty years he had a diversified experience before settling there. He is now carry- ing on extensive agricultural operations, having eight hundred acres, much of which is under the plow, and he has been one of the faithful citizens of his section, having become well known there in the capacity of supervisor, which office be held for years, making a fine record. Mr. Morrell belongs to an old family which has been settled in this country from colonial days, the Morrills, as most of them spell the name, being a highly respected family in Maine and of honorable renown in other New England states. Senator Morrill, of Ver- mont. was a cousin of Albert F. Morrell's grandfather. It is a family tradi- tion that seven Morrill brothers came to this country from England in pre- Revolutionary days, some settling at Augusta, Me., one in New Hampshire, and two in Waterville, Me. It is the branch of the family found at the latter place in which we are interested.
Jeddiah Morrill, grandfather of Albert F. Morrell, lived and died at Water- ville, Me., and followed business as a merchant to the end of his days. He was considered a man of wealth in his time, and his son Ephraim Morrill came into possession of a fine portion of his estate. Ephraim Morrill was born at Waterville, and passed all his days there, living to the good old age of seventy-eight years. He was married at that place to Achsah Clifford, who was of French descent, and like him lived and died in Maine, reaching the age of seventy-six. They reared a family of eight children, four sons and four daughters, Albert F. being the second youngest.
Albert F. Morrell was the first of his branch of the family to use the "e" in spelling his name, making the change for convenience. to avoid possible confusion in case he neglected to dot the "i." He was born at Waterville, the home of his ancestors for several generations, on June 14, 1839, and was given good educational advantages as school standards went in those days. His youth was spent in assisting on his father's farm, and meantime he also acquired a most complete knowledge of lumbering and sawmilling. being employed at a waterpower sawmill in the immediate vicinity which had a box and match factory in connection. In the course of his work in the estab- lishment he became an expert sawyer, an accomplishment which served him well in his subsequent career in the west. It was his father's wish that he become a farmer, but when he was a youth of eighteen he was seized with the California gold fever and he resolved to come to the Pacific coast. Making his way to New York City he sailed for Panama and crossing the Isthmus he took the "Moses Taylor" for San Francisco, landing in the spring of 1857. Going up to Placer county, this state, where his eldest brother, Bradbury, was engaged at work in the mines, he remained there, following mining, for a period of four or five years, but did not find the riches which drew him out here. Then he and his brother went into the sawmill business at Yankee Jims, in Placer county, and they succeeded in establishing a business of very
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creditable proportions, buying out the interest of a Mr. Hollinshead, whose mill they rebuilt and remodeled thoroughly, at an expenditure of ten thousand dollars. Shortly afterward the mill took fire and burned down, a calamity which left Albert F. Morrell "dead broke." His brother, however, still had some money. Mr. Morrell then came to Lower Lake, Lake county, and for two years taught school, until he was in a position to begin business on his own account again. This he did at Owens River, Inyo county, becoming a member of a company which put in a sawmill there, at Big Pine. Indian troubles of a serious nature broke out there, the government finding it neces- sary to send soldiers into the region to quell the disturbance, and after two years at that location Mr. Morrell disposed of his holdings in the mill and in the stock business, in which he had also become interested. His next venture was in the Carson valley in Nevada, where he bought a sawmill which he operated for one year, following which he returned to California, his destina- tion being Sacramento.
Not long after his return to California Mr. Morrell came back to Lake county, where he resumed school teaching for two years, at the end of that time taking a position in the saw and grist mill of the Spring Valley Water Company at Lower Lake, which he operated for them as foreman two years. In 1868 he came out to Morgan valley and settled on his present property, which is twenty-five miles from the Rumsey station (in Yolo county) on the Southern Pacific road. There are twenty-odd families living in this valley, all happily situated. Mr. Morrell's first purchase was made from a man named Jim Marion, and contained supposedly four hundred acres. Later he added to this by purchasing from the government, and bought out neighbors' interests until his holdings reached their present aggregate of eight hundred acres. Three hundred acres are under the plow, two-thirds of this being under cultivation, and his crops of alfalfa have proved very profitable. He also raises some fruit for the market, making a specialty of Bartlett pears and French prunes, having two acres of the latter. The largest pear trees in the state are on his ranch, and the family orchard also contains fine apple, plum and peach trees. He has grown Bartlett pears weighing a pound and a half and one particular tree has yielded as many as twenty-seven hundred marketable pears. Mr. Morrell also keeps considerable stock, from twenty to sixty head of cattle, twenty-one horses and colts, and from sixty to seventy hogs. As one of the prosperous farmers and landowners in the region his opinion on local conditions is sought and valued, and though he is known to be a conservative Republican, in a Democratic county, so strongly did he intrench himself in the confidence of his fellow-citizens that he has several times been elected to the office of supervisor, which he has filled altogether for fourteen years, four years of the time as chairman. He has also acted as school trustee, his experience as a teacher qualifying him especially for such service.
While he was living at Lower Lake Mr. Morrell was married, at Lake- port, October 9, 1867, to Miss Esther Kennedy, daughter of James Kennedy, one of the pioneers of Long valley, who lived to be eighty-nine years old. Mr. Kennedy married Phoebe Robie, of Goffstown, N. H., who died when about fifty-three years old. Hiram Kennedy, of Long valley, and Almus Kennedy, who lives at Davis, Cal., are brothers of Mrs. Morrell. She was born September 16, 1839, at Ware, N. H., and her parents soon afterward
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moved to Goffstown Center (now Grosvenor), that state. In 1865 Mrs. Mor- rell made the trip out to California alone, coming by way of Panama ..
Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morrell: Lizzie Emma resides in Ukiah; Lucy Ella, twin sister of Lizzie Emma, died when three years old; Ellis S., engaged in farming in Morgan valley, married Maude Elwood, a native of Eldorado county, and has four children, Milo E., Dewey A., Juanita L., and Alta Frances; Flora E. lives at home with her parents ; Gussie A. married Moss Hunt, of Lower Lake, and their three children are Albert, Della and Erma.
HENRY VAN WAMBOLD .- The lineage of the Wambold family is traced back through several generations to Hanover, Germany, whence the first of the name in America crossed the ocean to Pennsylvania and settled upon a farm in Bucks county. From that county, where he was born and reared, Harvey Wambold removed to Wisconsin while Milwaukee was yet a wilderness with little indication of future greatness as a metropolitan center. With the early development of that town he became familiar through long residence in one of its suburbs, where for years he acted as superintendent of a large flouring mill. eventually, however, removing to Waukesha county and settling at Eagle, where the twilight of his useful existence passed in retirement. After settling in Milwaukee he married Mary Barndt, who was born in Pennsylvania and is now, at the age of eighty-three, living at Eagle, Waukesha county. The parental family consisted of five children and the eldest of these was Henry, born at West Granville, Waukesha county, Wis., November 10, 1850, and trained during youth to a knowledge of the trade of miller. In all probability he would have chosen the mill as the scene of his life's activities had he been able to endure the dust, but the physical strain was such that he had to give up all thought of continuing at the business. At the age of eighteen he was employed as a clerk in the retail and wholesale dry-goods store of his uncle, Elias Wambold, who later promoted him to be bookkeeper and cashier. The sale of the large business and its change of management threw the young man out of a position, whereupon he spent a year in the dress-goods department of T. L. Kelley & Co., at Milwaukee.
Leaving Milwaukee July 1, 1872, Mr. Wambold spent seven days on the train en route to San Francisco and then spent thirty days in investigating the country, including a trip to Los Angeles, thence back to Northern Cali- fornia and Ukiah. During April of 1873 he bought a claim to one hundred and sixty-seven acres of brush thicket on the banks of the lower of the three Blue Lakes, and this he cleared and improved. When the survey was com- pleted in 1878 he filed his homestead on it and called it Laurel Dell to distin- guish it from the other resort in the vicinity. In 1890 he built an hotel and has developed the place into one of the county's earliest and most successful summer resorts, making on the tract all of its present improvements with the exception of the Club House. This hotel he operated in connection with his farm and about the same time he started in the business of canning string beans. . The efforts of himself and brother had proved the soil of Lake county to be well adapted to beans. In fact, the string beans produced here have been unexcelled by those of any section of the west. Believing that there might be profit in the canning of the beans, in 1891 he started a cannery busi- ness at Laurel Dell, building the first cannery in the county, a two-story build- · ing 16x24, with a sixteen-foot leanto around two sides. The crop of 1891 amounted to three hundred cases. The first merchant who consented to
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handle them was W. P. Wheeler, of Oakland. Each year the pack was in- creased and the familiar Blue Lakes string bean label, the outward insignia of a fine pack, became known throughout this section of the country. Even- tually Mr. Wambold sold out to the Lake County Canning Company, a con- cern largely resulting from his own efforts to secure a strong organization for developing the business. At the present time he is considering the feasibility of building a factory for condensing goat's milk in Lake county, an under- taking that, if developed, will add another important industry to the list of local plants.
The marriage of Mr. Wambold united him with Miss Elizabeth Massin- gill, a native daughter of California, her father, William Massingill, having been for years a prominent farmer in San Mateo county. Where national and state issues are involved, Mr. Wambold is a stanch supporter of the cause of the Republican party, but his interest in politics has never taken the form of office-seeking. Efficiency and honesty have been his watchwords in the management of his farm, hotel and cannery, and in fact in every business that has engaged his attention. Intrinsic kindliness has gained for him the confidence and loyal co-operation of those working with him for any private or public enterprise. With his wife he holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church and contributes to the maintenance and missionary move- ments of the congregation. Naturally he has a strong hold upon the public regard and has risen to a fair degree of success through energy. efficiency and industry.
SAMUEL S. BAECHTEL .- The oldest settler of Little Lake valley has witnessed many changes since first he came to Mendocino county. Then all was wild and unimproved, cattle could range for miles in any direction un- molested, settlers were few in any portion of the county, and schools and churches always in the vanguard of a progressive civilization, had not yet entered upon their special labor of mental and spiritual development. Since his birth occurred near Hagerstown, Washington county, Md., September 26. 1826, the United States has entered upon a history of expansion and progress undreamed of in his childhood. The Oregon territory has been annexed in his lifetime. Texas has been added to the stars in the flag, slavery has been abolished, the telegraph, cable, wireless and telephone have conquered dis- tance, the first steamship sailed across the Atlantic and the first railroad train brought into the new west its possibilities of commerce and trade. He has lived to a serene old age, in the full possession of his faculties, and at his comfortable cottage in Willits is enjoying the peace and contentment right- fully belonging to the closing years of a well-spent existence. His parents, Samuel and Fannie (Snively) Baechtel, natives respectively of Washington county, Md., and Franklin county, Pa., were farmers and he passed his early life upon a Maryland farm. Following the tide of emigration toward the west, in 1844 he became a pioneer of Clark county, Mo. The winter of 1845-46 he spent in Stark county. Ohio, returning to Maryland during the spring of 1846 and continuing there as a farmer until news came concerning the discovery of gold in California. That event changed the entire current of his life and caused him to identify his future with the frontier coast country.
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