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 20

Author: Carpenter, Aurelius O., 1836-; Millberry, Percy H., 1875- joint author
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1090

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 20
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 20

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J. M. Hamilton resigned as trustee in 1889, and L. G. Simmons was appointed. M. R. Chamblin served until 1892; C. E. Phelan to 1890; M. Arnold to 1891, resigned, place filled by F. D. Tunis, to 1892; W. E. Greene to 1894, president in 1891, and elected again 1899. Other trustees serving at various periods : Edward Cohn, 1890; P. T. Boone, S. S. Russell, 1892; David Williams and N. O. Smith, 1894; J. W. Byrnes, 1895; Sanford Bruton, B. N. Fisher, M. Wambold, 1896; Joseph Levy, 1898, and succeeding terms; W. T. Whitton, H. D. LaMotte, 1904; A. H. Spurr, 1904; J. M. Church, 1904; Samuel Edmunds, W. W. Page, R. M. Beattie, 1908; F. H. Boggs, 1910; W. C. Moore, Fred A. Greene, Dr. W. R. Lane, 1912.

Succeeding clerks were A. B. Mccutcheon, 1890; C. E. Phelan, 1891 ; M. S. Sayre, 1891, resigned in 1892, reappointed same year ; H. V. Keeling, 1894-08; H. B. Churchill, 1908-14; George H. Neal, 1914. Treasurers: F. H. Boggs, on death of WV. A. Thompson, 1894; Frank Howe, 1894-1903; John G. Crump, 1903-14; P. T. Boone, 1914. Marshals: W. E. Hixson, 1891, on death of Woods ; Sam Allen, 1891; James W. Laycock, 1892; J. E. Mitchell, 1894-8; R. E. Barry, 1898-02; R. J. Hammack, 1902-08; J. H. Miller, 1908-14. Town attorneys : Charles F. Fishback, 1889; Thomas B. Bond, 1890; Woods Crawford, 1892; D. F. McIntire, 1897-03; H. V. Keeling, 1903-10; H. B. Churchill, 1910-14. Town recorder: H. W. McGee, 1889; S. G. Gully, 1889; D. H. Atherton, 1891; W. W. P. Bruton, 1895; J. J. Bruton, 1899-14.

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Schools

Of the early history of schools in Lake, county, the official records were destroyed in the courthouse fire of 1867. They existed from the time of county organization, the county clerk acting as superintendent of schools up to 1864. when T. Sleeper was elected to that office. The first school was established in Big valley, near the home of Thomas, or "Dobe," Boyd, now the Ricka- baugh ranch. The following districts were organized up to 1869, with a total attendance that year of 760 pupils: Cinnabar, Lower Lake, Excelsior, Rincon, Morgan Valley, Burns Valley, Loconoma, Uncle Sam, Kelsey Creek, Lake- port, Blue Lake, Big Valley, Pleasant Grove, Upper Lake. By 1881, Ash- land, Bachelor Valley, Bartlett Springs, Cobb Valley, Calayomi, Clover Creek, Cache Creek, Eureka, East Lake, Fair View, Great Western, Gravelly Valley, Highland, Lakeshore, Liberty, Mountain, Middletown, Spruce Grove, Sul- phur Bank and Scotts Valley districts had been formed and the attendance that year was 1569. Other districts formed since, some of which have lapsed or been merged into others, are: Mountain Mill, West Lake, Middle Creek. Alcove, established 1892; Mono, San Hedrin. Gruwell, Sunset, in 1896; Konocti, 1910; Hammond, 1912; Big Canyon, 1913, and Long Valley, 1913.

Churches

The Methodist Episcopal Church South was the pioneer church within the bounds of Lake county, having been organized in a school house in Big Valley in 1857. Rev. Norman organized the church. Subsequent early pas- tors in Lakeport, Big and Scotts Valleys, were Revs. Hawkins, Jones and Clampett, up to 1865; P. O. Clayton, 1865; W. A. Spurlock, 1866; J. L. Porter, 1867; Y. D. Clanton, 1868-9; H. N. Compton, 1870-1; L. J. Hedgpeth, 1872; John Woodin. 1873; W. E. Murry, 1874; R. F. Allen, 1875-7 ; J. C. Pendergast, 1878-9; B. F. Burriss, 1880; J. C. C. Harris, 1881.

The Episcopal church was represented under the title of Trinity Mission from 1876 to 1881, with Rev. W. S. Neals in charge. The present church was built by Mrs. William B. Collier in 1901 as a memorial to her little son, John Pierre Collier.

The First Baptist Church of Lakeport was organized in 1861, Rev. S. Reily being the first pastor. He was succeeded by Revs. J. N. Burroughs, 1862; D. G. Loveall, 1863; J. D. Banner, 1865-6; B. Ogle, 1866-76; E. Waller, 1876-8; D. L. Taylor, 1868; G. H. Lillard, 1879; R. C. White, 1880.

Clear Lake Circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1857. Early preachers were S. W. Norman, James Corwin. G. B. Davis, George A. Lyon, Noah Burton, Asa J. White. The first camp meeting was held at Upper Lake. The Kelseyville church was built in 1870.

The Catholic church has had a mission in this field since 1867. The first priest was Father Luciano O'Suna. The St. Turibius Mission O. F. M., Rev. Fr. Philemon Toepfer, Superior, is planning to build a fine new church and parish house at Lakeport.

The Presbyterian church at Lakeport was organized August 9, 1874. Lots for church site and parsonage were secured in 1878. The house of worship was built in a different location in 1883. The Upper Lake congrega- tion with its edifice was an integral part of the Lakeport church till 1912. For most of the time until 1907 the time and service of the ministry were shared with the Presbyterian church at Kelseyville. All of the ministers

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were stated supplies though several times the congregation either called or was ready to call and settle a permanent pastor. The first membership including the Upper Lake congregation was thirteen. The succession of ministers serving six months or more is as follows: James L. Woods, five years, 1873-78: James A. Mitchell, one year, 1879-80; Jacob B. Rideout, five years, 1882-87 ; Stewart S. Caldwell, one year, 1887-88; Edwin H. Jenks, three years, 1888-91; Hervey W. Chapman, twelve years, 1891-04 (with one addi- tional year alone at Kelsey 1890-91) ; Henry C. Meredith, one-half year, 1905; (a Methodist. J. L. Woods, Presbyterian moderator of sessions) ; Wilhelm C. Spaan, two years, 1905-7; Winfield C. Scott, half a year. 1908-09; John P. Hearst, Ph.D., ten months, 1911 : George F. Haerle (Congregational) 1912.

Fraternities

ODD FELLOWS: Clear Lake Lodge No. 130, I. O. O. F., was organized at Lower Lake January 16, 1867. The charter members were W. P. Berry, D. M. Hanson, the only one now living; William Farmer, William Kesey. H. Allen, H. H. Nunnally and J. H. Berry. D. M. Hanson was the first Noble Grand. W. C. Goldsmith, still living, was initiated into this lodge in 1867. The lodge built its hall in 1868.

Friendship Lodge No. 150 was organized at Guenoc December 25, 1868, with William Farmer. J. H. Berry, H. H. Nunnally, O. Armstrong. M. Getz. William Amesberry and William T. Miles as charter members. Its first Noble Grand was J. H. Berry. They built a hall at Guenoc and in 1871 moved it to Middletown. A new hall was built in 1875.

Lupyomi Lodge No. 173 was instituted at Lakeport July 16, 1870. The charter members were S. K. Welch, first Noble Grand ; Louis Charmak, W. L. Phillips, J. C. Parker, J. O. Johnson and J. W. Robbe. This lodge erected the brick building now known as the Scudamore & Co. store, on credit, and through neglect and mismanagement the creditors took it over in 1885, the lodge charter then being taken to Kelseyville. At the latter place the lodge built a hall in 1886, which was destroyed by fire in 1889, but promptly rebuilt. Konocti Lodge had been organized in Kelseyville in 1875. but lasted but a short time.

Upper Lake Lodge was instituted January 8, 1876. The charter members were Dexter Witter. D. T. Taylor, Orrin Smith, Mark Asher, C. Johnson, C. G. Grove, L. Gurnett. W. Ballinger. R. P. White, W. H. Woodard, G. K. McMath, F. M. Gully, and H. Palmer. Dexter Witter was the first Noble Grand. Their present building was erected in 1898.

Lakeport Lodge No. 351 was instituted April 11, 1889, by L. Carpenter. Gawn Moore. George A. Lyon, S. S. Russell, first presiding officer ; Thomas Haycock. W. Keithly. J. R. Edwards, D. C. Rumsey. G. E. Moore and O. McCraney.

MASONS: Clear Lake Lodge No. 183, F. & A. M., was organized at Lower Lake February 4, 1867. The charter members were L. B. Thurman, Charles Wormwood. C. Noble Copsey, W. R. Mathews, T. M. Harris, D. M. Hanson, J. D. Hendricks, W. W. Davis, J. C. Crigler, Z. C. Davee. J. D. Adams, Charles Stubbs, F. M. Herndon, William Christianson. C. C. Ruch, 1 .. P. Nichols. L. B. Thurman was the first Master.

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Hartley Lodge No. 199 was instituted May 1, 1869. Its charter members were Allen D. Green, first Master under dispensation; Woods Crawford, first Master under charter; D. V. Thompson, L. C. Burris, J. W. Casebeere, M. Sleeper, Thomas Hayter, Ed L. Greene, A. Levinson and William Meredith. The members serving as Master have been Allen D. Green, 1869; Woods Crawford, 1870-2, 1889, 1892-3; J. C. W. Ingram, 1873; James Parrish, 1874-5, 1886, 1888; F. D. Tunis, 1876; John R. Cook, 1877; J. W. Mackall, 1878-9, 1881-5, 1887; John W. Elliott, 1880; Marshall Arnold, 1890; G. W. Mallory, 1891; Angelo Biggi, 1894; C. J. Monroe, 1895, 1900; C. W. Kellogg, 1896; David Williams, 1897; M. S. Sayre, 1898; G. W. Myers, 1899; J. F. McClure, 1901 ; Euvelle Howard, 1902; Herbert V. Keeling, 1903-4; Jabez Banks, 1905; C. W. Haycock, 1906 and 1908; A. M. Reynolds, 1907; Shafter Mathews, 1909; J. M. Church, 1910; Dr. William R. Lane, 1911; John D Monroe, 1912; D. W. Greene, 1913; George H. Neal, 1914.

Lakeport Lodge No. 34, A. O. U. W., was organized May 23, 1878, with the following charter members: J. C. W. Ingram, first Master ; H. A. Oliver, A. P. McCarty, Theodore Deming, R. W. Crump, J. B. Baccus Jr., A. A. R. Utting, Enoch Yates, J. F. Cowan, Thomas G. Adams, J. F. Scott, Dr. H. J. Crumpton, G. H. White, P. M. Daly, F. H. Vallette and G. W. Wilson. The lodge flourished for a period, but experienced reverses and finally dissolved about 1909.

J. 2. While

BIOGRAPHICAL

HON. JOHN QUINCY WHITE .- More than three decades of close personal identification with the bar and the bench of Mendocino county have given to Judge White an enviable reputation as an able attorney and an impartial jurist. In this era of restless change it is something to have spent so long a period in one community, something to have won his way to influ- ence as he has done, something to have risen to prominence in the eyes of his fellowmen and something to have erected steadily and conscientiously the intellectual and professional structure which indicates his aims and purposes in life. Withal it is something to indicate an attorney's capability and integ- rity that he should be chosen on the Democratic ticket in a Republican county to serve as judge of the superior court, and re-elected at the expiration of the first term, thus indicating the satisfactory nature of his impartial, able service as judge. It is also worthy of note that at the primary election in 1914 he was re-elected by a large majority.

Descended from a long line of southern ancestors, Judge White was born in Lafayette county. Mo., February 3, 1852, and was a son of John and Lucretia (Williamson) White, natives respectively of Tennessee and Ken- tucky. Primarily educated in public schools, he later attended a seminary in Lafayette county and in 1872 came to California, where he attended the Christian College in Santa Rosa for four years. Immediately after his gradu- ation in 1876, receiving the A.B. degree, he returned to Missouri and matricu- lated in the law department of the State University at Columbia, where he completed the regular law course in 1878, receiving the degree of LL.B. During the same year he opened an office for law practice at Warrensburg, that state, A year later he removed to Colorado and engaged in practice at Trinidad, but in 1883 he again came to California, this time establishing resi- dence at Ukiah, where he has since risen to prominence as lawyer, citizen and jurist.

In 1878 Judge White married Miss Lula H. Sparks, of Lexington, Mo., who died in Ukiah in 1908. In February, 1913, he married in San Jose Miss Harriet Ortley. a native of Santa Clara county, and a graduate of the San Jose State Normal. For some years she was principal of the Alviso schools. With his wife Judge White is a member of the Christian church.

Shortly after his arrival in Ukiah Mr. White was elected district attorney of Mendocino county and that position he filled for two terms. At the expiration of his period of service he formed a partnership with W. P. Thomas under the firm name of White & Thomas and continued in active and suc- cessful practice until he was called to serve upon the bench. In 1902 he was elected judge of the superior court of Mendocino county and at the expiration of the first term in 1908 he was re-elected for another term of six years. Frequently he has been called to serve as judge in important cases in other counties of the state, and, wherever his service has been, he is known for the fairness and impartiality of his decisions. When off the bench his friend- ships are as strong as those of any man, but in court he is not swayed by the

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friendship of litigants or lawyers, and it is largely this attitude of mind that has gained him the confidence of the judges of the higher courts. His name stands for fine public service and progressive citizenship. The movement for the establishment of the Mendocino state hospital had in him a promoter from its inception. During the erection of the administration building of the hospital group he served as a member of the board of directors and was consulted re- garding every phase of the management, but later retired from the directorate.

COL. CHARLES MIFFLIN HAMMOND .- Ma Tel vineyard, situated on the eastern shore of Clear lake, and famous for the beauty of its site and abundant natural resources, Colonel Hammond's six hundred acre estate and palatial residence are noted among the most inviting spots in that section of Lake county-the East Upper Lake precinct. Thirty years of scientific care have made it one of the show places of the county. Its grapes and olives have helped to make local products take first rank with their kind. Though he has become one of the most public-spirited citizens of the county, Colonel Hammond is a New Englander born and bred, his ancestors on both paternal and maternal sides having lived in or around Boston, Mass., for several genera- tions. He is a native of Massachusetts, born at Nahant August 4. 1861, but his early life was spent at New London, Conn., whither his parents moved the summer after his birth. Gardiner Greene Hammond, his father, was born in Boston in 1833, and died in 1902. By occupation he was a farmer, cultivating the fine tract of two hundred acres which he owned at New London, on Long Island sound. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Crowninshield Mifflin, was born in Boston in 1835, and died in 1877. Of the six children born to them, Elizabeth Crowninshield, wife of William Appleton, of Boston. was killed in a railroad accident in the year 1880, at the age of twenty-three : she left one child. Gardiner Greene, Jr., is a resident of Massachusetts. Charles Mifflin is mentioned below. Susan Greene is the wife of William O. Edmands, of Lake county, a farmer. Mary Crowninshield, who died leaving two chil- dren, was the wife of Edward Brooks and lived at Hyde Park. Mass. Edward Crowninshield, who lives on the old home place at New London, Conn., mar- ried Anna Chapin Rumrill, of Springfield, Mass.

Charles Mifflin Hammond passed his boyhood on his father's farm at New London. When eleven years old he entered St. Paul's School at Concord, N. H., a preparatory institution for boys, where he took the classical course, graduating in 1879. In the fall of that year he matriculated at Harvard. where he pursued the general course, graduating in 1883. It was only a few months later that he came out to California, arriving at Rutherford. Napa county, in January, 1884. To acquire the necessary experience he began work as a farm hand for Captain Niebaum, who was a vineyardist, and on whose place he gained his first knowledge of viticulture, learning the care of the grapevine and its product thoroughly. From the start he studied his chosen work scientifically, and time has proved that his efforts have not been wasted. During his first year in California he made a trip into Lake county and was so well impressed with the land that in partnership with his brother Gardiner he made a purchase of twelve hundred and thirty-four acres, in the Upper Lake precinct, taking possession on November 1st. His brother sub- sequently sold his interest in this tract to their brother-in-law, Mr. Edmands. who now owns about six hundred and forty acres of the property. Colonel Hammond retaining six hundred. He has beautified his land by extensive im-

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provements and systematic development, and the natural advantages of the site have been turned to the best possible use. Twenty years ago he set out an olive orchard of twenty acres, which is still in prime bearing condition, and he also has a vineyard of twenty-five acres, the varieties including Black Bur- gundy, Mataro, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, a few Zinfandels, Sauvignon Vert. and White Semillon. His beautiful field lands are also a valuable portion of the property, and he has given proper attention to their cultivation. which has proved highly profitable. Many of Colonel Hammond's ancestors have been manufacturers and men of large affairs in other lines of business, but agriculture has evidently been a wise choice in his case, though undoubt- edly the business ability he has inherited has been an important factor in the handling of his large interests, which he has managed with consummate abil- ity. His home is four miles southeast of the town of Upper Lake.

As might be expected from one of his training, accustomed to environ- ments where literary education and general culture have become a matter of course. Colonel Hammond has been zealous in securing such benefits for his adopted community, and it was largely due to his efforts that the only high school in Lake county, the Clear Lake Union high school at Lakeport. was established. His strenuous efforts and material help made the school possible, and he is still serving as one of its trustees. There are many other evidences of progress in Lake county introduced or encouraged by him. Though con- servative and not given to favoring things which have merely the attraction of novelty to recommend them. he is a true friend of progress and good govern- ment, as he has shown on numerous occasions. He has given his influence and substantial aid to the Clear Lake railroad, is a director of the company. and was Lake county's representative in the Sacramento Valley Development Association. Straightforward and outspoken. Colonel Hammond is thor- oughly sincere and honest in his views and in giving expression to them, and though he may have met and incurred opposition it has been in the spirit of his ancestors who preferred to fight in the open rather than use roundabout means of gaining their ends. His heritage of training and con- science would permit him to take no other course than the direct one, and all his methods will bear close scrutiny, and not leave unpleasant surprises for the future to reveal. From his own large possessions, and the extent to which their value has been endangered by the dam on Cache creek, the outlet of Clear lake, being built by the Yolo Water & Power Company, it might seem that his efforts to stop the activities of that company were actuated by selfish motives, but it is well known that protection for himself will mean the same for many others, and he has made stubborn resistance to encroachments, in behalf of his fellow citizens as well as on his own account. He has led the opposition to the company and has proved a powerful adversary, his strict integrity holding the confidence of his co-operators, and his unyielding dis- position in what he believes to be a just cause encouraging them to hold out tor their rights, for the attempts of the Yolo company to acquire the shore lands of the lake for a sum which would be less than a million dollars- which acquisition would virtually control the forty thousand acres of the lake proper- he considers to be absolutely ridiculous. From the Yolo company's own figures it is shown that the value of ten feet of water in the lake, when used for power and irrigation purposes, is worth a million dollars a year. and he sees no reason why this should not accrue to the people of the county

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annually instead of a beggarly pittance being paid once to a few lake shore owners. The closing of the dam would absolutely destroy many thousands of acres lying below the proposed high water level of ten feet, and two-thirds of Colonel Hammond's place would be ruined, as it would be under water till a period of the year when it would be impossible to farm it. The Colonel would like to see what he considers Lake county's greatest asset conserved and saved for the use and benefit of her people, as he believes the wealth of the county generally will be greater if her resources are devoted to enrich- ing them instead of an outside corporation. Hence his support has been given to the side he regards as most deserving.

Colonel Hammond acquired his title by being appointed to serve on the staff of Gov. James N. Gillett of California with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and has kept up old associations through his membership in the University and Harvard clubs of San Francisco. He also belongs to the Somerset Club of Boston. On political questions he adheres to the Republican party, and is unfailing in his loyalty to its traditions and former achievements, the glories of its triumphs during the Civil war period, and the years of unbroken suc- cess which followed.

On December 18, 1888, Colonel Hammond was married, in Massachusetts, to Miss Harriet Paine Lee, daughter of George Cabot Lee, the sister of the first wife of ex-President Roosevelt. They have no children. Mrs. Hammond was formerly a Unitarian, but she is now associated with the Episcopal Church.

EDWARD PORTER .- The proprietor of the Richelieu, a native son of Ukiah, was born June 10, 1868, and is the son of Edward and Julia E. (Weller) Porter. The father, who was born and reared in Iowa and there learned the trade of harness-maker, came across the plains with oxen and wagons about 1865 in company with his father-in-law, Elisha Weller, and other members of the same family. Arriving in Mendocino county, Mr. Weller took up land three miles south of Ukiah and Mr. Porter took up work at his trade. The formier prospered to such an extent that he ultimately held the title to three large ranches, but the latter, less fortunate in his business undertakings and starting back to the east, was never heard of again, the supposition being that lie met with an accidental death on the plains. Surviving him are four children, namely : John E., now of Bakersfield; Van A., who is living at Upper Lake; Edward, of Ukiah ; and Malinda May, Mrs. Tallman, who makes her home at Bartlett Springs, Lake county. The mother is now the wife of P. C. Phelps and is living at Upper Lake, Lake county.

After he had completed the studies of the Ukiah public schools Edward Porter took up the task of earning a livelihood and for a time worked on the ranch of his mother in Lake county. Later he followed other occupations. For nine years he was employed as stage driver for Len Barnard between Fort Bragg and Westport. Upon returning to Ukiah he engaged with B. S. Hirsch of the Grand hotel for three years, since which time he has been proprietor of the Richelieu. In Ukiah he was united in marriage with Miss Lulu E. Rhodenbaugh, who is a native of Kansas City, Mo. Although not a partisan in politics, he is stanch in his support of Republican principles. While making his headquarters at Fort Bragg he was an active member of Alder Glenn Parlor No. 200 in that town, also took an influential part in the. work of Santana Tribe No. 60, Improved Order of Red Men, and since return- ing to Ukiah he has become a member of Camp No. 319, F. O. E.

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HON. MORTON SMITH SAYRE .- The judge of the superior court of Lake county, who is likewise president of the Bank of Lake and vice-pres- ident of the Clear Lake Railroad Company, as well as a large stockholder in the Northern California Telephone Company, was born at Reedtown, Seneca county, Ohio, December 23, 1847, and is a son of John B. and Mary A. (Hanks) Sayre. The father, a native of Benton Center, Yates county, N. Y., married Miss Hanks in Steuben county, that state, and took his young wife to the then frontier of Ohio, where he improved a farm. Four children were born on the Ohio homestead and about 1853 the family returned to York state, where the four youngest children were born. All but one of the eight lived to maturity, namely: Evaline, who died at the age of eighteen years; Morton Smith, the well-known jurist of Lake county; Rozilla G., the widow ^I Theodore Colgrove and a resident of Los Angeles; Grattan W., a railroad man connected with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, with headquar- ters in Chicago ; George H., a gold miner now at Tonopah, Nev .; Dwight O., a stock dealer living in Missouri; and Angie F., wife of U. S. Johnson, of South Dakota.

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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 20

Author: Carpenter, Aurelius O., 1836-; Millberry, Percy H., 1875- joint author Publication date: 1914 Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1090

Author: Carpenter, Aurelius O., 1836-; Millberry, Percy H., 1875- joint author
Publication date: 1914
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1090