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 104
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 104
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JOHN CRAWFORD .- Born near Richmond in Wayne county, Ind., January 4, 1837, John Crawford was the son of James Crawford, who was born in Virginia and served in the war of 1812, afterwards settling in Wayne county, Ind., where he married Miss Elizabeth Robbins, a native of North Carolina and descended from an old Quaker family of English descent. In 1841 they removed to Cedar county, Mo., where they became pioneer farmers and where the father died. The mother spent her last days at Largo, dying in her eighty-ninth year. John Crawford's grandfather. William Crawford, served seven years in the Revolutionary war as dispatch carrier and member of Washington's body guard. John Crawford was reared on the Missouri farm and attended subscription school. In 1859 he came to California across the plains, aiding in the care of a drove of cattle. He returned in 1864 by stage as far as Kansas, where he met his mother and family and piloted them back safely, being chief of a train of one hundred wagons and three hundred fighting men. He remained in Lake county until February, 1865, when he came to Ukiah. In 1866 he bought a squatter's title in Ukiah valley, but later finding it to be a grant, he had to purchase it and continued there for over fourteen years, then sold and in 1881 purchased of Felix Grant his pres-
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ent place of nine hundred and thirty acres. He has since made improvements, building house and barns and setting out orchards, and hop and alfalfa fields. making this his home ever since. He was married in Ukiah Valley in 1871 to Miss Minnie O'Dell, a native of Iowa, who crossed the plains with her parents in 1852. She died in April, 1910, leaving six children : Charles, farm- ing near Largo; Leslie, also farming near home; Wayne L., farming the home place ; Curtis, farming in Ukiah Valley; Pearlie, farming with Curtis; Bonnie. Mrs. Thornton, of Potter valley. Mr. Crawford was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in Ukiah for many years.
WILLIAM HENRY DIXON .- In retrospect Mr. Dixon looks back upon a very active career, begun at the early age of eleven years in a humble capacity, and in doing so he bears no ill will toward the Fate which planned his life, for he realizes that the sharp pricks of necessity were blessings in disguise and have developed qualities within him that otherwise might have laid dormant. His activities have brought him many business interests in Fort Bragg, where he has resided for many years, and no one stands higher among her citizens than Mr. Dixon, who is city trustee, having been elected in 1914.
Canada was the birthplace and early home of W. H. Dixon, who was born in Dalesville, a small village in Argenteuil county, August 29, 1867. His father, John Dixon, was a native of Ireland, but when a mere lad was brought to America by his parents, the family settling in Dalesville, Canada, and there he passed the remainder of his life in farming. In Dalesville he met the lady who later became his wife, Sarah Marshall, born near that place and the daughter of English parents. W. H. Dixon was the eldest of the nine children comprising the parental family and he clearly recalls the home farm with its lack of conveniences and implements that form the equipment of up-to-date farms in this generation. Being the eldest of a large family it goes without saying that his services were acceptable and even necessary to the father in eking out a living during the short summer season of that northern country. School privileges were meager and his education suffered in consequence, but he was keen and alert and learned by self-study and ob- servation what he lacked in scholastic training. At the age of eleven years he began to work out as a farm hand and during the winter seasons he found lumbering profitable. At the age of seventeen he determined to try his for- tune in the west and from that time, 1884, he has been a resident of Mendo- cino county and contributed to its well being. At Caspar, Mendocino county, he was fortunate in finding employment with Mr. Jefferson, a farmer and butcher, who found an excellent helper in his young assistant. From Caspar Mr. Dixon later went to Usal, this county, where he located a timber claim and engaged in the butcher business, besides looking after the commissary department for the Usal Lumber Company. It was about 1896 that he came to the vicinity of Fort Bragg and purchased a ranch of forty-five acres one and a half miles north of town. On this property he engaged in farming, making a specialty of raising potatoes. Later he added to his holdings by the purchase of the Virgin Creek ranch, making in all a tract of one hundred and fifteen acres of fine valley land. For about fifteen years he devoted his attention to the cultivation of this land, raising potatoes, hay, grain and veg- etables and also carrying on a dairy, all of which brought satisfactory financial returns. In the meantime Mr. Dixon had decided to purchase city property. with the object in view of ultimately making his home here. It was after
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the big fire of 1906 in Fort Bragg that he purchased the old Buckholst prop- erty at the corner of Franklin and Laurel streets, 71x150 feet, and built thereon a fine structure arranged for stores and offices. He continued his farming enterprise until the expenses of the improvements had been defrayed then sold the ranch in 1911 and located in Fort Bragg to give his whole attention to his accumulated interests here. In 1913 he bought the Ross- Miller property and built the present fine residence occupied by the family.
The presiding genius in Mr. Dixon's home is his wife, whom he married in Usal. She was formerly Miss Helca Rasmussen, who was born in Manis- tee, Mich., and came to California with her parents. In addition to the interests mentioned Mr. Dixon is a stockholder and a director of the Fort Bragg Garage and Machine Company, and a stockholder in the Fort Bragg Commercial Bank. His varied activities, however, do not consume all of his time, for his fellow citizens have found work for his abilities in their behalf and he is giving valued service as deputy county assessor for the fourth district, and he is also serving as a member of the board of trustees of Fort Bragg. Po- litically he is a Democrat, and fraternally he belongs to Fort Bragg Lodge No. 361, F. & A. M., to Fort Bragg Lodge No. 360, I. O. O. F. and to the Eagles.
WAYNE L. CRAWFORD .- Probably no better known, highly respected family is found throughout the county of Mendocino than is that of the Craw- ford family, many members having been pioneers in this section who have given their heroic effort to aid in its upbuilding, training their children to become its patriotic citizens and improving and broadening their own inter- ests as well, in order to do their share in sustaining the order of things which they have helped establish. Among the energetic supporters of the county are found the parents of Wayne L. Crawford, who reared him to a life of industry and perseverance, affording him educational advantages and imbuing in his heart the principles of manhood and good will to all.
The birth of Wayne L. Crawford occurred in the Carroll district, Ukiah valley. July 7, 1875, their home being five miles distant from the city of Ukiah. He attended school in that city until he was seventeen and then went to San Francisco in order to receive the business college course which he followed for two years. In San Francisco and Oakland and vicinity he worked in various positions for a few years, in 1902 accepting a situation with the Elaterite Roofing Company, which took him to Portland. Two years later he resigned to go into business for himself, engaging in the manufacture of roofing material there. This was continued until 1910, when he engaged in the real estate and insurance business in that city, which proved a successful undertaking from the start.
In 1912 Mr. Crawford sold out his interests in Portland and a few months later returned to the home place in Mendocino county, where he assumed charge of his father's ranch of a thousand acres, and is now extensively en- gaged in general farming and stock raising. Thirty acres of this farm are set out to hops, twenty acres to grapes, and there are also orchards, but considerable attention is given to the raising of sheep for the early markets. His early training has shown Mr. Crawford the advantages obtained through intelligent conduct in every detail of this business and he has informed him- self diligently in all matters scientific and practical. His fertile acres are in a well kept condition.
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The wife of Mr. Crawford was before her marriage Miss Dudene S. Sau- vain, born in Wayne county, Ohio. Their marriage took place September 5, 1908, and to them has come one child, Clifford Wayne, who is a source of much joy in their pleasant household.
JOHN GAVIN .- Perhaps two years after the last spike had been driven in the trans-continental railroad uniting the west and east a company of ten young men were passengers on one of these early overland cars. They had come from the same small Canadian town and were migrating to the west in the hope of finding better opportunities than had awaited them in the home locality. In the subsequent months and years they became widely scattered The fate of several remains unknown to their friend and fellow passenger, John Gavin, who formed one of the party that eagerly and trustingly started on the long journey to the strange land. In many respects he was well quali- fied to succeed. He had been wisely reared by humble but capable parents and had been instructed in blacksmithing by his father, a skilled horse-shoer and tool repairer at Sonth Mountain, Ontario, Canada, where Mr. Gavin was born October 18, 1854. Ever since coming to California he has been more or less identified with blacksmithing and meanwhile has gained a local repu- tation for skill at his chosen craft. During the early years of his residence in the state he devoted himself mainly to stock raising in San Luis Obispo and Kern counties, but he also worked at his trade in Bakersfield for some time. Later he spent two years in Santa Cruz, after which he was employed in a blacksmith shop at Middletown, Lake county. In that town he became a prominent worker in Friendship Lodge of Odd Fellows and passed the chairs in the organization.
A somewhat brief experience as a mechanic at Healdsburg was followed by the removal of Mr. Gavin to Mendocino county in 1885, at which time he became a resident of the town of Potter Valley, where since he has made his home and business headquarters. At different times he had two partners in the blacksmith business. his last partner having been George Davis, but of recent years he has been alone as proprietor of the blacksmith shop and hardware store. Seeing the need of the latter he put in a stock of goods in 1907, using a building on Main street. This, however, has been outgrown and he has just completed a large new store adjoining his shop, modern and well equipped in every respect. He carries a full line of heavy and shelf hardware, as well as agricultural implements, carriages and wagons, in these lines representing the John Deer Plow Company of Moline, Ill. He also handles J. J. Case threshers and the R. & V. gasoline engines, and in connec- tion with the blacksmith business he is doing general plumbing. He is con- ducting a thriving business and filling the demands of a growing trade. Mr. Gavin has built a large and comfortable residence in Potter Valley, where he makes his home. Prominent and popular in the village, he now officiates as chairman of its board of trustees, an office equivalent to that of mayor, in which capacity he promotes all movements for the local welfare and for the material advancement of the town. It has been his privilege to promote a number of worthy enterprises in the valley, mainly the maintenance of old highways, the building of new roads and the erection of substantial, perma- nent bridges as needed. Besides his identification with the Odd Fellows pre- viously mentioned, he is associated with the Knights of Pythias and has been active in the Order of Foresters, which at one time he represented as delegate to the San Francisco assembly.
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By his marriage in 1879 to Miss Margaret E., daughter of Hugh Tester- man, of Pineville, Mo., Mr. Gavin has a daughter and a son, namely : Lulu, wife of John Pickle, superintendent of the Jewett Oil Company at McKittrick, Kern county ; and John A., who assists his father in the business.
HUGH P. McGEE .- An identification of almost forty years with the ranching interests of Potter valley gave to Mr. McGee a thorough knowledge of the soil in this section, the crops to which it is best adapted and the returns that reasonably might be anticipated from its cultivation. Long residence here and a uniform course of honorable dealings with others brought to him the esteem and confidence of the people of the valley. who rightly judged him to be a man of strict integrity and sterling character. Very shortly after gold had been discovered in California he heard the great news while working on the home farm and at once determined to join an expedition of emigrants bound for the then unknown west. Born March 31, 1831, he was at the im- pressionable age of dawning manhood at the time of his migration with a band of homeseekers, with whom he traveled from his native Missouri across the plains to Oregon. Late autumn had cast over the earth the shadow of approaching winter when he landed near the Pacific coast. During the win- ter he remained in Oregon. but as soon as travel could be resumed in the spring of 185I he proceeded to California and here he resided continuously until his death in 1898. Like many of the early comers, he tried his luck in the mines. For two years he worked in the Yreka mines. Not being suc- cessful. he turned 'his attention to farming and for a time cultivated land in Sonoma county. The year 1857 found him a pioneer of Mendocino county, where he spent two years in the Redwood valley and from 1859 until his death owned and operated a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Potter valley, finding considerable profit in the cultivation of the soil and in the raising of stock.
The first marriage of Mr. McGee occurred July 3, 1856, and united him with Miss Elizabeth Hughes, a native of Missouri. Of that union six chil- dren were born, namely : Mary, Martha, Anna, Oscar, Clara and Todd Frank. For his second wife he chose Mrs. Catherine (Lierly) Sides, who survives him, owning and occupying a portion of the old homestead in Potter valley. Of her first union Mrs. McGee had four children: Olive L., deceased; Irvin A., Rosa L., and Albert R., all living in Potter valley. Out of a family of twelve sons and daughters, Mrs. McGee and her brother, Jeremiah Lierly, of San Hedrim, Mendocino county, are the sole survivors. Her father, Wilson Lierly, an honored pioneer of Potter valley, was a native of North Carolina and the youngest in a family of ten children. He was a boy of twelve when his mother died; his father, Zac Lierly, had crossed the ocean from Germany in early life and had settled in North Carolina, where he was the first school teacher in that section. He served in the Revolutionary war and spent his last years in Adams county, Ill., where the government has erected a monu- ment to his memory. Jeremiah Lierly's father instructed him in the common branches of study and his own eager mind absorbed much from observation, so that he became a man of culture, comprehensive knowledge and diversified information. As early as 1865 lie came to California and two years later he became a pioneer in Potter valley, where he secured land, built a house and entered actively upon general farm pursuits. From that time until his death at the age of eighty-five he was identified with the development of the valley. For years he maintained a prominent part in local politics. Fond of reading,
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he kept posted concerning current events and was regarded as one of the best- educated men in his part of the county. To such pioneers as Mr. Lierly and Mr. McGee the valley owes its present high state of development and their names are entitled to honorable perpetuation in the annals of Mendocino county.
CAPT. GODWIN SCUDAMORE .- The genealogy of the Scudamore family reveals Anglo-Saxon lineage. The name was established in America by Capt. Godwin Scudamore, who was born in Herefordshire, England, No- vember 28, 1824, and landed in New York City in November of 1844. a stranger with only a small amount of money, but with an excellent education and the qualities of courage and perseverance that make for success. From New York he went to New Orleans, where he worked in a tobacco factory for a year. A summer in Cincinnati, Ohio, was followed by return to New Orleans for the winter, after which he went back to Cincinnati and engaged in farm- ing nine miles from the city. In March of 1853 he moved to Randolph county, Ill., and there engaged in farm pursuits until his enlistment in the Union army. Beginning as second lieutenant in July, 1862, he was promoted to be first lien- tenant in March, 1863, and while thus serving he was captured by the Con- federates and placed in the notorious Libby prison at Richmond. Nine months were spent in that gloomy place. Meanwhile he and others had worked a tunnel through under the walls of the prison and on the night of February 9, 1864, they managed to pass out and make good their escape. Immediately upon rejoining the army he resumed active service and in a short time was promoted to the rank of captain, as such commanding two companies until the close of the war. Meantime he had participated in many of the most desperate battles of the struggle, but out of each he had come uninjured and eager for the next engagement.
Farming and merchandising engaged the attention of Captain Scudamore in Randolph county, Ill., from the close of the war until October. 1869, the date of his arrival in California. After a month in Napa county he came on to Lake county and settled in Scott's valley. Under the firm name of Scuda- more, Reynolds & Co., he was interested in the mercantile business at Lake- port and met with success, for he was a thorough-going business man. His first marriage had occurred September 17, 1849, and united him with Caroline A. Hampton Colby, who at her death left four daughters, Charlotte, Sarah J., Alice and Mary. October 15, 1866, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary Clendenin. who was born, reared and married in Randolph county, Ill., and died in Lake county, Cal., in 1897 at the age of sixty-four. Twelve years after her death the Captain passed away, in 1909, at eighty-three years of age. They were the parents of four children by their union, namely: Laura, Mrs. Joe Williams, of Los Angeles; Dick, also represented in this work; Nannie, wife of W. C. Craig, of Humboldt county, this state; and Joseph H., who died at the age of eighteen months. Politically the Captain was a stanch Repub- lican and he voted the first Republican ticket in Lake county, an act which required considerable courage, for the county was at the time a stronghold of old Missouri Democrats, as stanch in their Democracy as he was in his Republicanism, while he was absolutely alone as to numbers. Remote as was Lake county from the seat of war excitement ruled in all elections and it was not until years after the war had closed that contention ceased here in regard to the leading issue of that historic struggle. Although the people mostly disagreed with the Captain in politics, they respected him as a man,
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confided in, his business judgment and trusted to his honesty in every detail. realizing that he possessed the sterling attributes that give weight to citizen- ship and lend honor to a community.
GEORGE HENRY GIBBS .- By those who are well qualified to know it is said that Mr. Gibbs is one of the most adept sawyers on the coast, and his long retention in his present position with the Union Lumber Company in this capacity may well furnish grounds for the statement. He is a native son of the state, and was born in Mendocino October 7, 1878, the son of William Gibbs, a native of Maine. William Gibbs came to Mendocino county during the early period of its history and to him as much as to any other pio- neer settler of the county is due credit for its splendid standing as a field for business opportunity. Throughout the period of his active business life he worked for the betterment of his adopted home in the west, which was term- inated only by his death in 1881.
The youngest of five children born to his parents, George H. Gibbs was reared in Mendocino up to the age of eleven years, when the removal of the family to Fort Bragg made it necessary for him to take up his studies under new conditions. He was not permitted to continue his schooling as long as he would like, however, for when he was only about fourteen years old he started out to make his own way in the world. He then entered the employ of the Union Lumber Company in a lowly capacity and from this small be- ginning he has steadily risen until he is now band sawyer, a responsible posi- tion which he is well qualified to fill, and which he assumed in 1904. It was Mr. Gibbs' privilege to run the first double-cut band saw in Mendocino county and the proficiency with which he fills his position gives rise to the statement in the opening paragraph.
The marriage of Mr. Gibbs in Fort Bragg united him with Mrs. Josephine (Cortez) Winfield. a native of Noyo, Mendocino county, and the daughter of George Cortez, a Spaniard by birth, but a pioneer settler in Mendocino county. Mrs. Josephine Gibbs passed away in July, 1913, leaving one child, Forrest Gibbs, by this marriage, and by her former marriage a daughter, Mrs. Myrtle Ordway, of Fort Bragg. Mr. Gibbs' fraternal associations are with Fort Bragg Lodge No. 360, I. O. O. F., which he has served as noble grand. and with Redwood Encampment, also of this place. Politically he is a stanch Repub- lican, standing for the candidates of that party in so far as their qualifications for the office in question will permit.
WILLIAM CHESTER BALFOUR .- It is not too extravagant a predic- tion to say that William Chester Balfour has a brilliant future in store for him, for he is a young man of more than average ability and is endowed with an optimistic spirit that will not brook defeat in whatever he undertakes. A native son of California, Mr. Balfour was born in Point Arena, Mendocino county, April 23, 1885, the son of John and Mary J. (McCallum) Balfour, both natives of Canada, the former born in Pictou, Canada, and the latter on Prince Edward Island. John Balfour was one of the early settlers of Mendocino county, locating at Caspar, where he engaged in hauling lumber, and from there he went to Point Arena. His last days, however, were passed in Tuolumne county, where he continued in the lumber business as long as his activities continued. The mother is now making her home in Vallejo.
William Chester Balfour was the older of the two children born to his parents. His childhood was spent in his birthplace, Point Arena, and from his earliest recollections he has been familiar with saw mills, as a child
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playing in the saw dust pile adjacent to the old Garcia mill. After complet- ing the course in the grammar school of Point Arena he entered upon a course in Heald's Business College in San Francisco and graduated therefrom in 1902. Following his graduation he became a teacher of bookkeeping, a position for which he was well qualified, but the indoor work proved too confining and after six months he was compelled to relinquish his position. It was at this juncture that he came to Fort Bragg in 1903 and entered the employ of the Union Lumber Company as clerk. From that position he rose steadily, later working in the yard, then becoming tallyman, and finally he was made fore- man of the sawing floor, having charge of the sawing of all of the lumber in the mill. That his employers place every confidence in his ability is evi- denced by his rapid promotion and by the responsibility which they have placed upon him, notwithstanding the fact that he is still young as years are counted.
In Fort Bragg Mr. Balfour formed domestic ties by his marriage with Miss Maude Pauline Cummings, a native of this city and the daughter of John Cummings. one of the well known pioneers of Mendocino county. As a mill builder Mr. Cummings' reputation is not confined to this county alone, for it is stated on good authority that there is no better mill builder on the coast than John Cummings. By right of his birth in this state Mr. Balfour is eligible to membership in the Native Sons of the Golden West, and he is proud to claim membership in Alder Glenn Parlor No. 200, of which he is past president.
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