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 111
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 111
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After this misfortune Mr. Peterson, having contracted fever and ague, went up to Shawano county, Wis., where his parents were then living, and from there proceeded to Menasha, Wis., where he found a position as boat engineer, running steamers on the Fox river, Winnebago lake and Green bay. A few years later he was married in Wisconsin, and subsequently continued his work as steamboat engineer during the summer season, in the wintertime engaging as engineer at sawmills. The state of Wisconsin offered ten thou- sand dollars for the best steam propelled road wagon devised, and such a wagon was built by John Morse, of Oshkosh, Wis., and bought by George H. Adams, who hired Mr. Peterson to run it, at Adams's home city, Alamosa, Colo. It failed to work, and Mr. Peterson thereupon went to Pueblo, Colo., where he followed engineering for four years. from 1879 to 1883. In 1883 he brought his family to Stockton, Cal., where for three years he was engineer of the tug Elaine. in 1887 coming up to Lake county and filing on one hundred and sixty acres of land five miles west of Middletown-the nucleus of what is now known as Spring Hill Farm. Later he bought twenty-eight and nine-
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tenths acres more, in 1907 selling all this land to his son Lorenzo, who now owns and operates the place. Mr. Peterson has had an eventful career, and he is now, though seventy-seven years old, active in mind and body, caring for the apple and pear orchards, and the fruit and vegetable gardens, for which the farm is justly known. He took a keen interest in the improvement of the land from the time he purchased it, and appreciating the beauties of its location among the mountains has taken care to conserve them, carrying on the cultivation of the property along lines which would bring out its good points and obliterate none of its natural charms. His son has continued the work along the same lines.
When he returned to Shawano, Wis., after losing his early savings in the Missouri river catastrophe, Mr. Peterson met Miss Helen F. West, who was then engaged in teaching, and they were married at Shawano in the year 1875. Mrs. Peterson was born in Ellington, Chautauqua county, N. Y., in 1855, daughter of Carlos and Mary Ann (Howlett) West, the former a native of Chautauqua county, N. Y., the latter of Prince Edward Island. Mr. West was a school teacher, and also followed farming and house painting. Of the eight children born to himself and wife five reached maturity, but only three are now living: Frances, wife of Miner Canaday, a farmer and lumberman, of Iola. Wis .; Helen F., Mrs. Peterson; and Ida L., widow of Harry L. Dutcher, living at Lakeport. Mrs. Peterson attended school at Waupaca, Wis., and taught three terms before her marriage. She and her husband became the parents of three children: Lawrence Vinton, now news editor of the Stockton Record, married Elethea Manley, of San Francisco, and they have one child, Robert H .; Ida May is the wife of Joseph Johnson, a printer, of Stockton ; Lorenzo S. is on the home place. The mother died at the farm July 16, 1914, deeply mourned by her family and many friends.
Lorenzo S. Peterson was born September 21, 1882, at Canon City, Colo., and reared in California. He attended public school in Lake county, and had the advantages of two years in high school at Stockton. Throughout his business life he has been working with his father on the Spring Hill Farm, and besides acquiring the thorough familiarity with agricultural work neces- sary for its proper cultivation he has developed mechanical skill of a high order. The labor-saving conveniences and numerous arrangements for com- fort which he has been able to install add very materially to the value of his property and to its desirability from every standpoint. His extraordinary success in building up its reputation as a resort is no doubt due in great measure to this, for guests ordinarily cannot expect to find so many up-to-date devices in a place remote enough from a town to afford the restfulness they seek. The romantic mountain scenery, clear, pure, mountain spring water and delightful atmosphere attract many guests from year to year, and the excellence of the table, which is under the direct supervision of Mrs. Lorenzo S. Peterson, affords all the substantial attraction necessary. The choicest fresh vegetables, berries and other fruits, nuts, and fresh eggs and milk pro- duced on the place, are placed before their guests daily, and their efforts to provide inviting and wholesome fare are thoroughly appreciated.
The resort business was commenced nine years ago on a very modest scale. Mr. Peterson was importined to take some summer guests who had been impressed with the location, and the number has increased steadily until now there are from sixty to eighty throughout the season. which begins May Ist and extends to October 1st. Most of them are from Berkeley. Oakland
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and San Francisco. The ideal conditions never fail to please. In fact, the Peterson property must be seen to be appreciated. All the family are re- markably industrious, and they have the faculty of making their industry count wherever applied. Since Lorenzo S. Peterson bought his father's interest in the farm he has added one hundred and seven acres more land and pushed the work of improvement steadily, and he and his father have done wonders in making the most of their resources. The younger man installed the water wheel with which is generated the electric light for the buildings and grounds, and which also operates a circular saw. Besides, he has cross- cnt saws run by gasoline power. The place has telephone connection with Middletown and Lakeport, and long distance facilities, Sacramento, Oakland, Berkeley. San Francisco and other points being thus within reach. Mr. Peterson aims to meet all his guests at Middletown with the Spring Hill Farm auto, and the many accommodations he is offering his patrons make the resort more celebrated each year.
Mr. Peterson married in Lakeport April 22, 1907, Miss Augusta Louise McKinley, daughter of Sidney H. Mckinley, mention of whom will be found elsework in this work. Two children have been born to this marriage : Charles Stephens and Homer Engene. Mr. Peterson is a Progressive in his political ideas.
JACOB A. KEITHLY .- One of the most popular residents in the vicinity of Kelseyville, Lake county, is "Jake" Keithly, whose energetic life has brought him into personal contact with most of the people in that section. Besides cultivating his forty-acre ranch, where he has his home, in order to insure more rapid service he engages in teaming, owning six horses and an Avery truck with a capacity of three tons, which are kept busy hauling for his neighbor. John Staheli, who is extensively engaged in the production of evaporated fruits and for patrons in Kelseyville and Finley. Mr. Keithly's friendly personality has made him well and favorably known, and though his success is all due to his persevering industry his pleasant disposition has no doubt helped him over many of the rough places in life as it has cheered those with whom he has associated.
A native of Santa Rosa, Sonoma county, Cal., Mr. Keithly was born July 9, 1866, son of Seth T. Keithly, an old settler and prosperous farmer of Big valley. Lake county, whither he moved when his son Jacob was a boy of nine years. Here he gained the rest of his education, in the common schools, and by "everlasting" industry has become a prosperous ranchman and team- ster. He owns forty acres of valuable land along the Mill road, one and a quarter miles south of Kelseyville, which under his thrifty management has become well improved, with substantial house and barns and various con- veniences which contribute to the comfort of his family. This place is in the South Kelseyville precinct. Mr. Keithly has gone quite extensively into fruit growing, having ten thousand grape vines (all Zinfandels), nine hun- dred Bartlett pear trees and two thousand prune trees. He gives careful attention to all the details of the cultivation of his place, and besides is busily engaged in teaming and freighting, doing all the hauling for Mr. Staheli, who deals largely in fruits, fresh and dried, his business totaling eighty-five thou- sand dollars annually. All of his product has to be freighted by team across to Hopland. Mr. Keithly also has the merchants and many others in Kel- seyville and Finley among his patrons, and is kept very busy with his various interests. There are few men capable of as much hard work as he under-
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takes, but he has taken pride and pleasure in working up to his present sub- stantial position, and along with material success he has built up an enviable reputation for honesty and fairness in all his transactions. Good will toward all his fellow men has always been one of his leading traits, and he has reaped his reward in the kindly relations he enjoys with all his associates.
Mr. Keithly was united in marriage with Miss Grace Russell, daughter of S. S. Russell, of Lakeport, former county assessor, and they have had a family of five children: Glenn works on the home ranch with his father : Vera Blanch is a member of the senior class in the normal school at San Jose ; Seth is attending grammar school; Sarah, twin of Seth, is attending the Clear Lake union high school at Lakeport; Audrey is four years old at this writing.
Mr. Keithly is a popular member of several fraternal bodies at Kelsey- ville. the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Woodmen of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In the latter connection he is also a member of the Rebekahs, to which Mrs. Keithly also belongs, her people, the Russells, being also prominent workers in the Odd Fellows fraternity, not only in lodge circles but in the sincere observance and practice of the cardinal principles of Odd Fellowship, a fact which has gained them many loyal friends. Mr. Keithly's principles and regard for his fellow men have guided him to many acts of helpfulness, and his sympathetic and genial nature has made him ready to co-operate in any plan for the advancement of the general welfare. He has not won success by wresting it from others.
THOMAS WESLEY COX. The tide of western migration carried in its flood a young man of Ohioan birth, by name John Cox, who made his first stop on a farm in Missouri, but during the era of western gold excitement sailed around the Horn for San Francisco, arriving in that town during the memorable year of 1849. Like many of the emigrants of that period he tried his luck in the mines. After an experience of alternate discouragements and successes in the mines at Bidwell's Bar on the Feather river he returned to Missouri, where in 1851 he married Miss Mary Neil, a native of that state. Their second child, Thomas Wesley, was born September 1, 1856, and in 1857 the family left Missouri for California, crossing the plains with ox teams and wagons with a party of home-seekers. Chance led them to Mendocino county. With a yoke of oxen and a "prairie schooner" they crossed the mountains from Cloverdale. The journey entailed considerable difficulty, for there were no roads, no trails and no fences. When they arrived in the valley near Ukiah they found that very few American families had preceded them to this then frontier and isolated spot. Two business places had been established, one a general store and the other a blacksmith shop conducted by Mr. Fanning. All supplies for the house and farm were brought from Healdsburg and four or five days were consumed in traveling to that point with ox-teams. Not only were automobiles undreamed of in that far-distant past, but even draft horses and mules were seldom to be seen, and it was customary to use oxen for all purposes of travel or hauling freight. Churches were widely separated and several families would attend services together, hitching their oxen to the wagon that. destitute of spring seats, offered scanty comfort to the pious church-goers. Grist-mills were uncommon and it was customary to grind in coffee-mills the wheat necessary for daily use. As a substitute for coffee parched barley was popular and inexpensive. Remote as was the valley from the center of civilization, exciting political meetings were often held. and dur-
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ing the period of the Civil war the strong pro or anti-slavery feeling frequently precipitated shooting affrays.
Securing from a Spaniard a desirable claim on Robinson creek in exchange for a cow, John Cox thus established his first home on a hillside mountain range offering excellent opportunities for the raising of cattle. Later he bought and sold other farms and always, until his death in 1908, he made farming his only occupation. For years he was a local leader in the lodges of Odd Fellows and Workmen. Of the two sons who survive him, Thomas W. and William M., the elder, on arriving at man's estate, rented a part of the old homestead, but later bought and operated fifty acres at Talmage. On selling the fifty he bought a tract of one hundred and nineteen acres, which he placed under cultivation to grain and hay. When this land was sold he bought his present ranch in the valley seven miles south of Ukiah, where he owns a splendid farm of six hundred and forty-two acres, and in January, 1914, he purchased the adjoining farm of nine hundred acres, thus increasing his hold- ings to some fifteen hundred acres of land all in one body. A portion of the acreage is hillside land, which is well adapted to the raising of stock. and he is making a specialty of fine mules. At the head of his herd he has a fine American Jack brought from Nebraska. About fifty acres of the valley land is under profitable cultivation to hops, to care for which he has three hop houses ; about thirty acres is seeded to alfalfa and twenty-five acres is in grapes, a large portion of the ranch being used to raise grain and hay. Every modern equipment has been provided and the owner of the farm is considered one of the most capable and prosperous farmers in the whole valley. By his marriage to Sarah O'Dell. a native of Sonoma county, Cal., he had a family of eight children, namely : Mrs. Allie Moore, deceased ; Clarence J., a rising young rancher of the valley ; Mrs. Nellie McGimsey ; Mrs. Minnie McCracken ; Elbert, who is aiding on the home ranch ; Frances M .: Wesley and Rose. Of the men who were living when Thomas W. Cox first came to the valley very few remain, and he is today one of the oldest settlers in the valley. All these years he has devoted to improving lands and building up the country, one of the pioneers to whom Mendocino county owes its present state of development.
BIRNEY A. LENDRUM, M. D .- The son of pioneers, James and Anne J. (Reid) Lendrum, who had been attracted to the Santa Clara valley as early as 1857, Birney A. Lendrum, M. D., of Fort Bragg, was born Feb- ruary 8. 1875, in the then small town of San Jose, and there he laid the founda- tion of a broad classical and professional education. The opportunities af- forded by common schools were amplified through attendance at St. Mat- thew's Military Academy at San Mateo, from which institution he was graduated in 1894. From early life it had been his ambition to enter the profession of medicine and surgery. With that thought in view for the future he took a course of three years in physiology at the Leland Stanford Uni- versity, and in 1898 matriculated in the medical department of the University of California, from which in 1902 he received the degree of MI. D. For a year after graduation he engaged as an interne in the Sacramento county hospital and the experience of that period proved most helpful to later professional activities.
As an assistant to Dr. W. . \. McCornack, of Fort Bragg, Dr. Lendrum came to this seaport town of Mendocino county during May of 1903, and in October of the same year he bought one-half interest in the Fort Bragg hos- pital. acquiring the remaining one-half interest during February of 1906.
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From that time until December, 1909, he was the sole owner of the hospital and conducted the institution along the most modern professional lines. A desire to enjoy the advantages of clinics and hospital experiences in Europe led him to spend a year in 1910-11 abroad, during which period of profitable travel and research he had post-graduate courses at Vienna and London. With the broader mental outlook and enlarged professional knowledge ac- cruing from a growing acquaintance with the masters of the medical art in Europe, he returned to America and to Fort Bragg in 1911, since which time he has devoted his attention to private practice and to his duties as a director of the Fort Bragg Commercial Bank, he having been one of the founders and leading promoters of this substantial concern. He is very optimistic about the growth and future development not only of Fort Bragg. but of all this coast country, hence he has not hesitated to invest his surplus in city and country property, and the resultant increase in the values has more than ex- ceeded his expectations, thus verifying his opinion that the location, climate and soil here are equal, if not superior, to other sections of the state. He has built a beautiful modern residence at the corner of Harrison and Bush streets, which is one of the attractive places of the city.
During the year 1904 Dr. Lendrum married Miss Elizabeth Heyer. a native of San Francisco, daughter of Albert Heyer, a San Francisco pioneer who served as a supervisor of that county for several terms in early days. Prominent in Masonry, the Doctor is past master of Fort Bragg Lodge No. 361, F. & A. M., and is a member of Mendocino Chapter No. 88, R. A. M., and of Ukiah Commandery No. 33. K. T., to whose philanthropies he has been a generous contributor. He also holds membership in the Nu Sigma Nu medi- cal fraternity, as well as the Kappa Alpha literary fraternity.
LEVI LUNDQUIST .- The various members of the Lundquist family living in and about Middletown have acquired high reputations for skillful and conscientious work as carpenters and builders, and the specimens of their handiwork in that vicinity stand as substantial recommendations of their proficiency. The firm of Lundquist Brothers, Levi and David Lundquist, are now the leading carpenters and builders in southern Lake county, and their brother Henning should also be mentioned in this connection, as he is fre- quently associated with them in their building operations. They are not only quick and capable workmen, but enterprising and progressive as well, on the alert to adopt better ideas and methods as they progress, and aggressive in their efforts to keep abreast of all modern improvements in their line, a fact which has been thoroughly appreciated by their patrons.
Levi Lundquist was born in Sweden, near Stockholm, August 1, 1867. eldest son of Andrew and Amelia (Westberg) Lundquist. His education was received principally in his native land, where he and his brothers attended the polytechnic high school at Malmkoping, receiving manual training in the thorough manner characteristic of old-world institutions. While the family lived in Union county, S. Dak., he attended public school. Under his father's able instruction he learned the trade of carpenter. Since he began work on his own account he has been engaged in San Francisco and other places as well as Middletown, in the employ of some of the leading contractors on the Pacific coast, widening his experience and gaining an insight into the details of modern construction which has proved very valuable. He has been follow- ing this line ever since the family came to Middletown-a period of twenty- eight years. His work includes the carpentry at the Mira Belle, Helen and
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Great Western mines ; the building at the Adams Springs and Harbin Springs resorts; Montesol, the summer home of Mr. Livermore, of San Francisco, located eight miles south of Middletown; Mr. Holmsted's country home on the Calistoga road, about three miles out of town ; Nyberg's residence, on the same road ; Mr. McFear's summer home ; and many other residences of Mid- dletown and the vicinity. He finished the Presbyterian church at that place.
Though thoroughly devoted to his business interests Mr. Lundquist has always given enough time to public questions to do his duty as a good citizen. and like the rest of his family is especially interested in the advancement of the Prohibition cause. He and his wife are prominent in promoting religious work, belonging to the Baptist Church at Middletown. They are interested in music, and congenial socially, progressive and public-spirited in supporting all movements for the general good. Mr. Lundquist is serving as clerk of the Middletown school district.
In 1898 Mr. Lundquist married, in Middletown, Miss Ruby Dearborn. daughter of Nathan B. and Louesa (Gillfoy) Dearborn and granddaughter of Samuel Dearborn, who was active in the development of the middle west. The Dearborn family has been prominently associated with American history from colonial days, when it was established in this country by three brothers who came from England. Nathan B. Dearborn was a native of Zanesville. Ohio. his wife of Covington, Ky .. and they were married at Havana. Mason county, Ill. ; Mrs. Lundquist was born in that county, at Mason City. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lundquist : Dell, Elma, Ida. Juanita and Lois. Dell graduated from the grammar school at Middletown in 1913, standing second in scholarship in the county.
THOMAS PARKER .- During the forty odd years of his residence in Lake county Thomas Parker has farmed in several sections, and he is at present on a tract of ninety-six acres near Middletown, which he rents. In 1913 he purchased an extensive ranch in Burns valley, a splendid property comprising five hundred and twenty acres, to which he will move when the present lease on the place expires, in October, 1914. Mr. Parker has been in Lake county since 1871, and has seen and aided in its development. He has worked hard for his success, and while progressing with his own affairs has also taken some part in the local government, for which he has found time and interest.
Mr. Parker was born in England, in the County of Durham, December 4. 1842, son of John and Ann (Walton) Parker. His father, a mincr. en- ployed in the silver and lead workings in the County of Durham, died when his son Thomas was only four years old, leaving three children: Thomas ; Jane Ann, who died in Canada when fourteen years old ; and Jolin, who died in Berryessa valley, Napa county, having been accidentally killed when a young horse he was riding reared and fell back upon him (he was twenty- four years old). The mother remarried, her second husband being Hodgin Cregg, by whom she had one child, who died in infancy. She died in England when Thomas was ten years old. He continued to live in that country until thirteen years of age, when he came to America with his stepfather, who settled in Haldimand county, Ontario.
Thomas Parker remained in Canada for seven years, being employed by the month on farms, and also doing fencing and other work. In 1863 he went thence to Virginia City. Nev .. where he had some experience as a silver miner, working on the Comstock lode. In 1871 he came to Lake county, Cal ..
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the same year settling on a tract in Long valley, which he purchased, three hundred and sixty-three acres of raw land, from the Callayomi grant. For a number of years he remained on that place, making many improvements there, though he gave up its cultivation for a short time in order to go into the livery business, which he felt would be a desirable change. He bought the stables at Ukiah, which he conducted from 1888 to 1889, when he sold out to Major Whitton and returned to his ranch, resuming farming on his old place until he sold it, in 1911. In 1912 he moved to the vicinity of Middle- town, renting the farm of ninety-six acres on Dry creek, where he has since lived and worked. However, he intends to remove to his new purchase in the fall of 1914. Three hundred and sixty-eight acres of this place is valley land. The property is located four miles above the town of Lower Lake, and is one of the most valuable in the locality.
Mr. Parker has co-operated with his fellow citizens in promoting the best interests of the county, and his reliable judgment and ability for handling affairs have given him substantial recognition among his fellow citizens. On political issues he sides with the Republican party. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church at Middletown and takes an active part in its work.
Mr. Parker's first marriage, which took place in 1867 at Virginia City. Nev .. was to Miss Elizabeth Ann Jarvis, like himself a native of England. and seven children were born to them: Lillie Ann (deceased) became the wife of WV. D. Overhouse and lived at Winters, Cal., where her seven children now reside; Minnie Jane is the wife of Frank Parrott, a farmer of Long valley, Lake county, and has nine children ; John Francis, a farmer, in Long valley, married Harriet Gertrude Osenberger, and they have had two chil- dren, of whom one is deceased; Emma May is married to L. M. Fickes, a teamster, of Oakland, Cal., and has a family of eleven children : Ida Florence ( deceased) was the wife of Wellington Quigley, and died leaving one child. Verna LeRoy, who lives with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Parker, and bears their name; Mary Olive is married to J. J. Hughes, a real estate dealer of Oakland. Cal .. and has three sons ; Libbie Belle is the wife of C. H. Nether- land, automobile man in the employ of a construction company, and they have one daughter. The mother of this family died in November, 1873. In the vear 1887 Mr. Parker married (second) Miss Priscilla Stanford, who was born near Kirksville, in Adair county, Mo., and was but two months old when her parents. Thomas and Jane (Gupton) Stanford, started across the plains for California with an ox-team. They were six months on the road In 1855 they settled in Pope valley, in Napa county, in 1885 removing to Lake county, where Mr. and Mrs. Stanford both died : he was an invalid from the time of his removal here. Mr. Stanford was a native of Indiana, his wife of Tennes- see. Their family consisted of five children: Isabelle, Alfred, Priscilla. Nathaniel and Richard. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker: George Lilburn, who has been helping his father to operate the farm on Dry creek, married Catherine Parker, of Middletown ; Mautde Gertrude and Edna Alline live at home.
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