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 44
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 44
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town, buying one hundred and forty acres in the Loconoma valley, eighty-four acres of which is still owned by Mrs. Armstrong, who continues to make her home there. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong sold the forty acres now constituting the northern part of Middletown to John Berry and Oscar Armstrong, who platted and subdivided it. C. M. Young subsequently bought Mr. Berry's in- terest, the real estate business being thereafter conducted by the firm of Young & Armstrong, much of the townsite being sold by them. It was sur- veyed in 1874 by Major Wardlow, who also surveyed Sacramento. Besides the forty acres mentioned, a small part of the Armstrong property was sold to George Fickess, an old settler of Middletown and one of the well-to-do resi- dents of the place.
Mr. Armstrong spent all his active years clearing and improving his place, which is one of the best located ranches in the vicinity : it adjoins Mid- dletown on the northeast. He built a comfortable frame house with a commo- chious fireplace, a substantial barn. set out a family orchard. and installed various conveniences from time to time, establishing a very desirable home. He was successfully engaged in the growing of grain and alfalfa, and the place is advantageously situated for dairying. Except for the office of roadmaster, he never took public position, devoting all his time to looking after his private affairs, which prospered under his thrifty management. His death occurred January 11, 1909, when he was aged sixty-nine years, seven months, four days. His religious connection was with the Presbyterian Church.
Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, and ten of this fam- ily still survive: Lewis O., of Middletown, who now rents his mother's land, has been twice married : by his first union he had two children, Francis M. and Clara May. both of whom are married, and each has one child : his second marriage was to Valeria Fuller, of Tonopah, Nev. William Ross, the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong, died when ten and a half years old. George, a contractor and builder. residing at Camp Meeker, Sonoma county, married Hattie Meadow, of Lake county, and has one child. Eleanor. Martha E. mar- ried Henry M. Morris (now deceased) by whom she has one daughter, Velma, and for her second husband married Dr. Robert L. Cleveland, proprietor of the Cleveland Sanitarium near Ukiah. Thomas Henry died when four and a half years old. Sarah H. first married Henry Waterberry, by whom she had one child. Fannie Lovina, now wife of A. Mort Stanley, editor of the Middletown Independent, and they have one child. Melmouth; Mrs. Waterberry later became the wife of Sherman Cooley, a cement layer and ranchman. David P .. a teamster living at Ukiah, married Ruby Christie, and they have three daugh- ters, Viola May, Pearl, and Elva. Emily Phoebe is married to I. W. Mussfield, a gold miner, living at Pike City, Nev .; they have three children, Scorreta, Irma and Harriet. Stasia is the wife of Bert Wells, a blacksmith and rancher of Middletown, and has two children, Melba and Louis. John Price, engaged as overseer on the Hale ranch, a tract of four thousand acres two miles north of Middletown, married Mabel Caps and has one child. Elinor. Alfred E., a carpenter and storekeeper. of Camp Meeker, is married to Martha From. Flick Ervin, a ranchman, lives at home.
Mrs. Armstrong has made her home on the ranch at Middletown con- tinuously since 1870, and now, surrounded by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, is enjoying the evening of life with the love of many relatives and friends. She has been prominent in the work of the Methodist
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Episcopal Church South at Middletown, having been instrumental in organ- izing the congregation, and she also helped to organize the Ladies' Aid Society of that church ; she has been one of the most useful members of the society, which she has served as president. Having joined the Rebekahs before the formation of the lodge at Middletown, she became a charter member of that body and is now its oldest member. On political questions she is a Democrat. After her husband's death Mrs. Armstrong did not attempt to operate the ranch herself, her eldest son renting the property. Her consider- able experience as a nurse, for which work her kindness of heart and sym- pathetic disposition admirably fit her, made her services much in demand in the community for many years, and her considerate manner and sincerity have endeared her to many whom she has comforted in times of trouble.
George Ross Gordon, Mrs. Armstrong's father. was born in the state of Ohio. The Gordons originally came to this country from Scotland. Mr. Gordon followed farming in Ohio, and also slaughtered cattle. There he married Elizabeth Finley Beard, like himself a native of Ohio, but of French descent, her great-grandfather, William Gordon, serving in the Revolutionary war. For a time George Ross Gordon lived in Monmouth, Warren county, Ill., and thence in 1860 he came overland to California, with oxen, his wife with their six children following in 1863, by way of Nicaragua. landing at San Francisco in July of that year. Mr. Gordon for a time engaged in farming in Yolo and Napa counties, in the fall of 1865 coming to Lake county and settling at Upper Lake. He became very well-to-do, acquiring the ownership of three and a quarter sections of land on the dividing ridge between Potter and Bachelor valleys, in Lake county. He opened up Bartlett Springs and kept the first hotel there. As a fruit grower, and sheep and cattle raiser, he was also very successful. Mr. Gordon died in this county June 1, 1880, when seventy-one years old, and Mrs. Gordon died in Colusa county July 1, 1902, when seventy-two years old. Of the eleven children born to them seven grew to maturity, three sons and two daughters now surviving. Mrs. Armstrong is the eldest living. She was born in Peoria county, Ill., and was educated in public schools of that state and California. She remained with her parents until her marriage.
CHARLES WILLIAMSON MATHEWS .- Chance directed the steps of Mr. Mathews, a native of New York state, to the Potter valley in 1889 and choice made him a resident of Mendocino county throughout the balance of his useful existence. A man of excellent education, a teacher by occupation, and for some years an instructor in the business college at Ukiah, he was so admirably qualified for official honors that in 1906 he was elected auditor of Mendocino county on the Republican ticket. At the expiration of the first term in 1910 he was chosen as his own successor and proved a most efficient, capable and trusted incumbent of a post of great responsibility. Meanwhile he had become prominent in local Masonry, had also passed all of the chairs in the local lodge of the Eagles and had been identified actively with the Order of Foresters, all of which organizations, as well as the general public, felt a distinct and severe loss in his passing from earth, July 4, 1912, before age had diminished his interest in life or lessened the value of his services as a citizen. He was born in Nunda. N. Y .. but was reared in Vir- ginia City, Nev., where he received his early education. Later he returned to the east and completed his schooling in Pennsylvania, subsequently teaching
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in a commercial school in Bradford oil district that state. He gave this up to return west, first locating in Tacoma, Wash., and from there came to Cali- fornia.
The marriage of Mr. Mathews occurred in Redwood City, Cal., in 1889, uniting him with Miss Jennie J. Briggs, who was born in Potter valley, the daughter of Moses C. Briggs, who came to the state in 1849 and to Potter val- ley in the early '50s, and engaged in farming and stock-raising up to the time of his death. Mrs. Briggs, before her marriage Elizabeth Potter, came to California in 1845 with her parents, John and Nancy Potter, who became the first settlers of Potter valley. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Briggs, Mrs. Mathews being next to the oldest of the number. She and three children, Charles, Bessie and Paul, survive the husband and father. Upon the death of Mr. Mathews the county board of supervisors appointed Mrs. Mathews to fill out the unexpired term of office. Not only has she proved faithful and loyal to the trust, maintaining the splendid prestige established by Mr. Mathews in the position, but she has even added to the efficiency of the work in a representative manner and has demonstrated that the educated woman of the twentieth century is thoroughly able to cope with affairs of business as well as perform official duties in a quiet yet forceful manner that wins approval. While she has the distinction of being the first woman to hold office in Mendocino county, her excellent service will prove a recom- mendation that undoubtedly will cause other women to be selected for similar work. By taking an interest in public affairs, women are destined to become important factors in the history of the future in the west. In January, 1913, the three outgoing members of the board of supervisors offered a testimonial at the regular board meeting and it was passed with the concurrence of the two other gentlemen of the old board, Messrs. Fairbanks and Reynolds. The tribute was made a matter of official record and will therefore appear in the annals of the county history, so that future generations will appreciate the services of the first woman chosen to fill a county office in Mendocino county. The testimonial signed by D. H. Lawson, C. P. Smith and D. Brandon, fol- lows : "We make particular mention of the county auditor, Mrs. J. J. Mathews, the first lady to hold office in this county, and for whose appointment we admit a share of responsibility. Our work has caused us to come in close contact with the business of her office and we have found her at all times thoroughly com- petent, energetic and absolutely faithful to her trust. We request this testi- monial to be entered in the minutes of the board."
LE ROY WHITED .- By reason of being a native son of California and of Mendocino.county Mr. Whited is thoroughly familiar with this section of the state and believes in the possibilities of Little Lake valley and Wil- lits, for he has spent his life here and understands the soil, climate, resources and other advantages offered to permanent settlers of energy and character. The family of which he is a member belongs to the pioneer class, although not identified with the earliest American occupancy of the state. His parents, Joseph and Mary (Short) Whited, natives respectively of Illinois and In- diana, were married in the former state and in 1869 came to California, buying the first through tickets to the west that were sold in their town after the completion of the trans-continental railroad. Upon their arrival in Mendo- cino county they bought land in Little Lake valley near Willits and there continued in farming activities throughout their remaining years. The father
Thats & Boyle
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was one of the thirteen children of Doc Henderson Whited and it is worthy of mention that all but one of this large family eventually settled in Cali- fornia, the majority coming here in early life and during the pioneer period of colonization.
Among eight children, five of whom are still living, LeRoy Whited was the fifth in order of birth. In boyhood he was a pupil in the Willits public schools. Taught at home to make himself useful in every department of agriculture, he was especially helpful to his father in the operation of a steam threshing machine which the latter owned for thirteen years. In young manhood he learned the trade of carpenter, from which he drifted into contracting. Since then he has built a large number of houses besides concrete bridges and roads, and has done subcontracting on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad. The con- tract for seven miles of the state highway in Mendocino county was given to him and he filled the same with skill, efficiency and promptness. In the vicinity of Willits he has done a large business in contracting, furnishing plans and building, and stands in the forefront of his special line of enter- prise. In politics he votes with the Republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen of the World. His family comprises his only child, Geneva, and Mrs. Whited, formerly Miss Grace Taylor, a native of Minnesota and a daughter of P. H. Taylor (represented on another page of this volume). Mrs. Whited is a woman of social charm and popularity and has been an active worker in the Rebekahs and the Women's Christian Tem- perance Union.
THOMAS EDWARD BOYLE .- Another native of Mendocino county, and a veteran lumber man as well, is Thomas Edward Boyle, of Mendocino, at present with the Mendocino Lumber Company, as superintendent of woods, a position which he has filled with great satisfaction to the company since 1901. He is well known throughout the county, having been for the greater part of his life actively associated with the lumbering interests of this region, and being recognized wherever he is known as a man of sterling qualities and splendid character.
Mr. Boyle was born in Albion, Mendocino county, December 4, 1866, the son of Thomas Boyle, for many years a resident of Oldtown, New Brunswick, Canada, and still later a resident of Maine. The entire life of Thomas Boyle was spent in the lumber industry, and for many years he was a river driver on the St. Johns river in New Brunswick, and later on the Penobscot river in Maine. He came to California in 1863, his family joining him a year later. He located at Albion, where he began as a woodsman and afterward became foreman, and later engaged in contracting on his own account, getting out logs and ties. He died in Albion in 1878. The mother Mary A. Brien, also of New Brunswick, was the daughter of James and Elizabeth (Keaton) Brien, her father being a river driver at Oldtown, Me. In 1854 Mr. Brien came to California, making the trip on a sailing vessel around the Horn, and locating in Mendocino county, where both he and his wife resided until the time of their death. They were married in Maine. Mrs. Boyle (the mother of the present honored citizen of Mendocino) died in Mendocino City in 1912. She was the mother of eight children, Thomas Edward being the second eldest.
The childhood of Thomas E. Boyle was spent in Albion, where he re- ceived his education in public schools. From a boy he became familiar with
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handling logs in the redwood under his father. When fifteen years of age he began working in the woods with lumber companies, receiving at first the meager salary of $15 a month. So closely did he apply himself to the task in hand that in about three years he was given the task of driving oxen in the woods, and was receiving $100 per month. He was thus employed with various companies in Mendocino county for over fifteen years. He then entered the employ of the L. E. White Lumber Company at Greenwood and was soon made foreman of the logging camp. After filling this position for about two years he gave it up to engage under John S. Ross at Cleone as woods foreman with the Little Valley Lumber Company. A year later Mr. Ross became manager of the Mendocino Lumber Company, in 1901, and following this Mr. Boyle took a contract logging for the company. This extended over four years, at the end of which time he sold his outfit to the company and accepted a position with the same employers as superintendent of the woods, which position he fills at the present time. He makes his home in Mendocino City, where he owns a comfortable residence property, and where he is interested in the shipping business.
The marriage of Mr. Boyle took place in San Francisco, December 25, 1892, uniting him with Miss Johanna Cotter, a native of Boston, Mass. She is the daughter of William and Johanna Cotter, and came to California with her parents when she was only three years of age. They located in Mendo- cino county, and are among the early pioneer families of this region. Both Mr. and Mrs. Boyle are well known in Mendocino, where they have many friends. Mr. Boyle is a Democrat in politics, and is a progressive and broad minded citizen. He has never been actively associated with the affairs of his political party, but in all questions which affect the welfare of his home city he is always to be found on the side of general betterment and for civic improvement.
CHRISTOPHER WILLIAM BRADFORD .- The obstacles which he was obliged to meet and overcome during early life Christopher William Bradford found neither few nor small. The country home of the family on the bank of Mad river in Humboldt county, where he was born December 1, 1868, was wanting in many comforts that today would be called necessities of existence. The early death of his mother, however, proved a misfortune far beyond previous experiences of privation. He was the only child and when he was four years of age his father, William Bradford, took him to Blue Rock, Mendocino county, carrying him in front of him on the saddle from Humboldt county. Afterward the father located a government claim to one hundred and sixty acres in the Ukiah district, duly proving up on the same and receiving a government patent. Although the quarter-section was located in a very mountainous section it was suitable for a stock range and particularly for sheep-raising, which occupation the father followed until his mysterious disappearance in the isolated mountains near the cabin home. How he met his death was never known, but the fact that he was never after- ward heard of proved that he met a sudden end in a lonely region remote from all possibility of succor in his last extremity.
Left an orphan at eight years of age the boyhood years of Mr. Bradford were devoid of care or affection or even a home of his own, although neighbor- ing farmers did what they could for him, but they being poor, could not give him any educational training and he worked for board and clothes. Alto- gether his schooling amounted to only three terms. Lack of a thorough
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training in the common branches made it difficult for him to secure employ- ment and caused him to drift around from place to place at jobs that paid meager wages. At fourteen he began to work in an hotel at Ukiah. Later he became a helper in an hotel at Westport owned by Fred Johns. When six- teen he engaged in driving cars on the shoot at Westport. The following year he herded stock in Long valley. At the age of nineteen he found work in the lumber mills, where he remained for five years, and then was employed on a sheep ranch in Sherwood valley for William Harmon.
During the time of this employment Mr. Bradford established a home of his own. His marriage was solemnized at Santa Rosa January 24, 1895, and united him with Miss Irene F. Fowler, who was born in Sonoma county, June +, 1870, the daughter of John H. Fowler, a pioneer of Sonoma county. Three children form their family, namely: Bessie Esther, a student in the Ukiah high school ; Lloyd M. and Errol Douglas, pupils in the grammar school. For eight years prior to her marriage Mrs. Bradford engaged in teaching school, a work for which her natural talents and excellent education qualified her in a high degree. Mr. Bradford located on government land in Sherwood valley, upon which he made all of the improvements. A few years later he began rais- ing sheep and cattle and for the purpose rented the old Tuttle ranch in the same valley, carrying on stock-raising altogether. in that place for eight years. In 1903 he located in Ukiah, purchasing a residence at No. 507 State street which he has since remodeled. During the spring of 1904 he bought twenty-eight hundred acres of land near Ukiah, and the sale of six hundred acres in 1912 leaves him with a tract of twenty-two hundred, well adapted for stock-raising. Sulphur Springs ranch is located five miles west of Ukiah, and watered by Orr creek and thirty living springs. At this writing he has about one thousand head of sheep on the place, besides which he raises cattle, and through earn- est devotion to the business is meeting with success. As a farmer he is capable and intelligent. In knowledge of sheep he is considered an expert and this skill enables him to prosecute the work with success. In point of political views he is a Republican, but in local elections he supports the men he con- siders best qualified to represent the people. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Foresters. With his wife he holds membership in the First Presbyterian Church of Ukiah, and is a member of the board of trustees.
WILLIAM GUSTAVUS POAGE .- The father of the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, Simeon C. Poage, was a native of Missouri, and in Butler, that state, he was a practicing attorney. From Missouri he brought his family to California in 1876, going to Fresno county, where he practiced his profession for six years, or until his removal to San Luis Obispo county. From there he went to Mt. Idaho, Idaho, there too following the practice of law, and while a resident of that state he served one term in the state senate. Returning to California in 1885, he located in Ukiah, here taking up the prac- tice of law and continuing it until his death in 1894, at which time he was filling the office of city attorney. His widow, who is still a resident of Ukiah. was in maidenhood Amanda Brockman, a native of Kentucky. She became the mother of five children, of whom three are living, namely: William G .; Dr. Charles A., of Colusa ; and Ethel P .. Mrs. Held, of Ukiah.
William G. Poage was born near Butler, Mo., March 21, 1869, and with the exception of the first seven years of his life, which were passed in Bates
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county, Mo., he has always made California his home, having been brought here by his parents and reared in Fresno county. He received public-school advantages both in California and Idaho. Subsequently he taught school for four years, meantime studying law under his father. Determining to secure the best educational opportunities his means afforded he accordingly spent two years in a course of general study in the University of California, from which institution he went to the Hastings Law College in San Francisco, where he continued the study of law for one year and was admitted to the bar January 9, 1894.
Ever since that time Mr. Poage has been connected with the professional life of Ukiah, where he has risen to prominence at the bar and in business affairs. An experience as city attorney of Ukiah proved his ability and tested his knowledge of the law. So satisfactory was his service to the people that they later elected him district attorney of Mendocino county and for four years he gave to the office the most conscientious fidelity of application. Other offices would have been tendered him had he desired to enter the stress of political affairs, but it has been his preference to concentrate his time and ability upon professional labors and business enterprises. The organization of the Ukiah creamery was perfected through his efforts and in addition he promoted the establishment of the Lake County Canning Company, of which he is now a stockholder and director, also secretary and treasurer. The com- pany owns and operates a ranch of two hundred and eighty acres at Upper Lake, where a specialty is made of raising string beans. The product is put up in the company's cannery, and from there shipped to consumers in the different states. The cannery now has an output of thirty thousand cases per season, and each year marks an increase in the output.
Mr. Poage's marriage united him with Ella Laughlin, a native of Men- docino county and the daughter of James H. Laughlin, a pioneer of this section. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Poage: Hazel, Margaret, Cora and Frances. Mr. Poage was made a Mason in Abell Lodge No. 146, F. & A. M., and is also a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is a Democrat and has been a member of the county central committee. In 1913 he was appointed a member of the board of trustees of Ukiah public library and was selected as president of the board. Through correspondence with the Carnegie Cor- poration he secured the donation of $8000 for a new library building, the citizens furnishing the site, and the fine new library now gives enjoyment to the masses and is a great credit to the city.
WILLIAM H. FORSE .- With his passing after almost sixty years of practically continuous residence in California, friends and acquaintances of William H. Forse paid tribute to one of the pioneer farmers, business men and stage-line proprietors whose unique personality made him an interesting figure in any crowd and whose fearless characteristics qualified him for an adventurous existence on the then frontier. Born at Brantford, Ontario, Canada, January 24, 1830, and reared on a farm there, his migration to the gold fields of California took place in 1851, when he was twenty-one years of age. In company with a friend, W. H. Miller, he took passage for the Isthmus of Panama, expecting to proceed at once up the Pacific ocean to San Fran- cisco, but the young men were poor and the trip expensive. When they arrived at the isthmus they found their funds so depleted that they embraced
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