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 49

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 49
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 49

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Near Elgin, Ill., at the age of twenty-two years, Mr. Seymour married Miss Isabelle Cornish, who was born and reared in Illinois. Of that union there is a daughter, Nancy, now the wife of Peter Campbell, a conductor on the Southern Pacific, residing at Roseville, Cal. Some years after the death of his first wife Mr. Seymour was united with Miss Harriet C. Walker, of Oakland, Cal., an earnest believer in the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a woman of beautiful Christian character, whose patience through an invalidism of years reflects a sweet, unselfish disposition, and whose devo- tion to husband, home and friends gives evidence of a temperament remark- ably tender and graciously gentle. In religion Mr. Seymour is of the Con- gregational faith. The steadfastness and honor that indicate the strong, true and loyal nature have characterized his course in all the relations of life and have brought him the fullest measure of the public confidence.

J.C. Johnson

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JOHN CUTHBERT JOHNSON .- The president of the Farmers' Asso- ciation of Ukiah owes his prominence to patient, persevering labor and the intelligent application of modern agricultural principles to the work in hand. When he first came to Mendocino county he was entirely without means and earned a livelihood from day to day through work on ranches. At the time of his permanent location in the county he had accumulated a small amount of savings which he invested in unimproved ranch land. With that as a begin- ning he has worked his way steadily forward and now ranks among the capable farmers of Ukiah valley, where he now owns a well-improved farm on the east side six miles south of the county-seat. Although not one of the pio- neers he has witnessed a great change in this section of the state. Cut-over lands have been transformed into cultivated farms and barren wastes are now under a high state of development, while the humble hut of the early settler has been replaced by a modern dwelling of convenience and comfort. With a deep faith in the future of this country he believes that coming years will ex- hibit an unparalleled growth, not only in agriculture, but also along all lines of industry.

A native of Collinsville, Madison county, Ill., born June 24, 1864, John Cuthbert Johnson attended parochial and night schools between the years of six and thirteen, and about the time of leaving school he was confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church, of which he since has been an earnest member. When only thirteen he began to be self-supporting. For two years he worked in a factory, after which he became an apprentice in a machine shop and for two years fired an engine in a coal mine. Leaving Madison county at the age of twenty-one he found employment at Rockford, Ill., from which place he came to California. After a brief sojourn in the Sacramento valley in 1888 he came to Mendocino county and for three years he worked on ranches. In 1891 he moved to Oregon, where he first worked as a farm hand and then engaged in farming for himself. The raising of sheep was his specialty while in Oregon. On disposing of his property in that state he returned to Cali- fornia and bought seven hundred acres in Sherwood valley, Mendocino county, where he engaged in dairying and also carried on a summer hotel. During 1904 he sold the ranch and in partnership with John Cunningham bought eighty-seven acres of improved land, twelve acres under cultivation to hops, the balance in grain. In 1906 he bought the interest of Mr. Cunningham and in 1910 added to his holdings by the purchase, in March, of seventy acres of the Higgins place and, in November, of the balance of the Higgins farm comprising four hundred acres. At this writing he owns and operates five hundred and fifty acres, of which seventy acres are in alfalfa, forty-five in hops, twelve in orchard and a portion of the balance in grain. Much of his hay and grain is fed to his dairy herd of registered Jersey stock and he is finding the dairy business a most profitable adjunct to the farm. The latest im- provements are to be found on his ranch, for he is progressive in work and believes that the best is none too good, besides being often the cheapest in the end.

Mr. Johnson was married in Ukiah November 27, 1902, being united with Miss Catherine Cunningham, a native of Windsor, Sonoma county, and the daughter of Patrick Cunningham, a pioneer of California. Mrs. Johnson was reared from the age of two years in Mendocino and was educated here.

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To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born four children: Cuthbert ; Mary, who died when two years old ; William and Lewis.

Mr. Johnson's attention is given to his work and he has had no leisure for politics or fraternal activities. As a farmer he stands high in the com- munity, while as a citizen he has shown public spirit, civic pride and a sincere devotion to the advancement of the county.

HAMLIN WEBSTER HERRICK .- Ever since pioneer days in Lake county the name of Herrick has been associated with mercantile interests there, especially in the lower section. The Herrick Company is now carried on by Silas Byrd Herrick, who was deprived of his brother and partner in the business, Hamlin Webster Herrick, on the latter's untimely death on May 6, 1914. Their father, the late Hamlin Nelson Herrick, in company with Joseph Getz started the first general store in Coyote valley, and later did a general merchandise business at Lower Lake. The brothers began the busi- ness at Middletown in the year 1900, and The Herrick Company was formed in 1912. Wide-awake and ready to make the most of the opportunities at hand, they also went into other activities, and steadily gained prestige among the most reliable business men of the region.

Hamlin Nelson Herrick was a native of Kentucky, and beyond the fact that the family settled in that state in its early days little is known of the ancestry. Branches of the family are to be found all over the United States. Mr. Herrick was a "forty-niner." crossing the plains to California, and he was engaged in farming in Napa county for several years before his removal to Lake county, in 1862. He was the first merchant in the southern section, and he acquired considerable means, having valuable land holdings. At one time he owned the celebrated Nemo ranch of three hundred acres, which he sold to buy another property, three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land southeast of Lower Lake. He finally came to Middletown, where he died April 10, 1908, at the age of seventy-two years. Mr. Herrick married Mary Elizabeth Akins, member of a leading family of Lower Lake, where she is now living, at the age of sixty-five years, one of the most esteemed residents of that town. She makes her home with her son, Ossian R. Herrick. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Herrick, the eldest, Clara Elizabeth, being the wife of Benjamin Hunt, of Middletown ; Hamlin Webster was at the time of his death in business at Middletown; Ossian Rivere. engaged in teaming, lives with his mother at Lower Lake; Augustus Middleton rents the home ranch; Silas Byrd was formerly in partnership with his brother Hamlin ; Edward Lee, a blacksmith, who has been working on the new Idra mine at San Benito, Cal., is now at Middletown, where he expects soon to open a shop.

Hamlin Webster Herrick was born January 5, 1865, in Lake county, and was brought up on the farm at Lower Lake. Being the eldest son his educa- tional opportunities were limited, his attendance at school ending when he was twelve years old, as he was needed to help with the work at home. His aptitude and willingness brought him a man's responsibilities when he was a mere boy, but he proved capable, and the work developed his natural intelli- gence. Successful farming calls for the exercise of all the faculties of the mind and body. Skillful physical labor must be supplemented with a knowledge of business principles and scientific study of soil and crops. The Herrick farm was large and devoted to stock, grain and fruit, and in order to conduct it properly the young man was obliged to give much thought to every

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branch of agriculture, and to develop good judgment in managing his work. There was a large orchard on the place, and for a time he sold the fruit from a wagon, peddling it through the country. This was his first experience in selling goods. He also became an expert orchardist, but after he had reached maturity he went into the teaming business more specially, owning and driving his horses, in teams of four, six or eight, as occasion required, freight- ing between Calistoga and Lower Lake. For twelve years he continued this business, and by industry made it profitable. About 1900 he and his brother, Silas Byrd Herrick, started the general merchandise business at Middletown which has been conducted ever since. and in 1912 The Herrick Company was formed, the firm consisting of three members, Mr. and Mrs. Hamlin W. Her- rick and Silas Byrd Herrick. Their patronage grew steadily from the begin- ning. Not only have they built up a large mercantile trade by their good methods and honorable dealing, but have also become interested in other lines which have grown to be as important as the original business. They operate a small ranch near Middletown, under lease, buy and ship wood, shipping on the cars from Calistoga, buy and sell tanbark, and have established an ex- tensive teaming business, owning twelve horses engaged in heavy freighting; at present they are doing considerable hauling for the Yolo Water & Power Company, for the dam on Cache creek.

In 1889 Hamlin W. Herrick was married to Miss Alice Lewis, a native of Sacramento county, daughter of Daniel W. and Alice (Johnson) Lewis, born in Iowa and England, respectively. Mr. Lewis crossed the plains to Cali- fornia in pioneer days. To Mr. and Mrs. Herrick was born one child, Fred R., now twenty-two years old. He was engaged as bookkeeper and assistant stenographer in the state printing office at Sacramento until his father's death, since which time he has devoted his time to The Herrick Company store. On May 6, 1914, while Mr. Herrick was in the store with his brother, O. R. Herrick, he was held up about 9:30 p m. by three desperadoes and was shot down in cold blood, being instantly killed. His brother was bound and gagged and the cash register rifled. One of the three was apprehended and is serving a life sentence, and it is hoped that the other two will also be captured. Mr. Herrick built a beautiful home at Middletown. He was a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West, belonging to Parlor No. 159, at Lower Lake, and though he took no active part in public affairs he was thoroughly interested in questions affecting the general welfare and supported the Democratic party on political issues. His untimely death was a severe shock to a large circle of friends.

SILAS BYRD HERRICK .- As a member of the firm of The Herrick Company, of Middletown, Silas B. Herrick has become known as one of the hustling business men of that town, where he and his brother have been established since 1900. Born in Lake county, and brought up on a ranch, he had an experience in general farming and orcharding covering several years, during which he made a reputation as an expert in agricultural matters, and when he turned his attention to commercial interests he proved equally able, his intelligent comprehension of the demands of business making him a valu- able factor in the success of the general store and the other lines which he and his brother carry on.

Mr. Herrick was born April 17, 1872, at Lower Lake, the son of Hamlin Nelson and Mary Elizabeth (Akins) Herrick, the former the pioneer mer- chant in the southern part of Lake county, the latter member of one of the

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most prominent families of Lower Lake. The father died at Middletown April 10, 1908, at the age of seventy-two years ; the mother, now sixty-five years of age, is living with her son, Ossian R. Herrick, at Lower Lake. Further mention of this family is made elsewhere in this work under the name of Hamlin Webster Herrick.

Silas Byrd Herrick was reared on the home ranch at Lower Lake, and attended grammar school in the town, where he had special advantages, being one of a class of seven who were particularly favored at that time, being given a selected high school course. From boyhood he assisted with the work at home, and his inclination for agricultural work and interest made him a ready pupil in all its branches. Although he never took a regular course at agricul- tural college he acquired a proficiency which few can boast, being particularly interested in orcharding, which he has mastered thoroughly, having an all- around familiarity with grafting, pruning, trimming, winemaking and the many other details of that business. Since eighteen years old he has made his own way in the world. For five years he was employed on the Wrey ranch at Lower Lake, which contained one hundred and ninety acres devoted to orchards and vineyards, besides hundreds of acres of grain, hay and range land. Then he had an opportunity to engage as clerk with the mercantile firm of J. Palstine, at Lower Lake, and in 1898 he was induced to make a trip to the Hawaiian Islands, where he was employed on the estate known as Kappa Hulu, an extensive dairy ranch, becoming general foreman on that property and continuing to hold the position for two and a quarter years. Returning home to Lower Lake in 1900, he soon afterward formed the part- nership with his brother, Hamlin W. Herrick, which existed until the latter's death, doing a general mercantile business at Middletown. In 1912 The Herrick Company, consisting of Hamlin W. Herrick, Mrs. Hamlin W. Herrick and Silas Byrd Herrick, was formed. His business career, from the year 1900. has been the same as his brother's. The record which the Herricks have made as successful merchants, dealers in wood and tanbark, and teaming con- tractors, has been due to their untiring perseverance, competent handling of all the work they have undertaken, and intelligent direction of their .various interests, and their accommodating spirit in dealing with all their patrons has had its just reward.

In the year 1907 Silas B. Herrick married Miss Cora Brooks, a native of Middletown. Like his brother he is a Democrat in political opinion. Socially he belongs to Lower Lake Parlor No. 159, Native Sons of the Golden West.

W. S. PHILLIPS .- The Phillips family has been well represented among the most creditable citizens of their section of Lake county, where they have resided since 1871, when James Phillips, father of W. S. Phillips, came to the property the latter still occupies. Mr. Phillips has sold some of his land, at present holding but forty acres, which, however, is one of the most attrac- tive farms in the Bachelor Valley precinct. With the ambition and energy for which the family is noted, he has made notable improvements on his place. and has prospered steadily, becoming one of the substantial farmers in his locality, where his personal worth and thrifty habits are well known and appreciated. Mr. Phillips is a native of Wayne county, Iowa, from which state his parents moved to Nebraska when he was quite a young child, and later to California, making the trip with horses and wagons. They arrived in Contra Costa county in October, 1865, and lived there for several years, hav-

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ing settled east of Mount Diablo, one and a half miles from the "Stone House" on the Marsh grant. In the spring of 1871, after three dry seasons, several families decided to leave that neighborhood, and among them were the Phillips and Mendenhall families, who came into Lake county together, settling in Scotts valley, in what is now the Bachelor Valley precinct, where these names have ever since been deservedly respected. Mr. and Mrs. James Phillips lived and died in the house where their son, W. S. Phillips, now resides, and the forty acres which he owns was part of their ranch. He sold his interest when their estate was probated, but later bought the land, and has since sold eighty acres.

W. S. Phillips was born April 12, 1858, and spent his boyhood in the several states where the family resided, receiving such common school advan- tages as the various localities afforded, and a practical knowledge of ranch life by first-hand experience. He has put much labor and care into the im- provement of his land, keeping abreast of modern methods in his work, which he has carried on profitably, doing it so well that the results are a benefit to the whole vicinity. His enterprising and systematic operations have brought their own rewards to him in crops remarkable for abundance and quality.

Mrs. Phillips, whose maiden name was Armelda Catherine Harmon, is like her husband a native of lowa, and is a cousin of Judge Judson Harmon. They have had three children: Clarence L., living in the Bachelor Valley precinct, who married Miss Delia Wilson; Melvin, who assists his father on the home farm; and Bernice, who is in her senior year at the Clear Lake Union high school.

Mr. Phillips supports the Democratic party on political issues. His brother, W. C. Phillips, is at present serving as supervisor from the Third district of Lake county. His paternal grandmother was Eliza Douglas, a cousin of Stephen A. Douglas.

WILLIAM H. STARKEY .- As a director of the Lake County Fruit Growers' Association. the Taxpayers' League of Lake County and the Cali- fornia Cured Fruit Exchange of San Francisco, and as a farmer and fruit grower, Mr. Starkey holds intimate association with local interests. One mile south of the Lakeport courthouse lies his well-improved farm of thirty- seven acres, all devoted to grain and hay with the exception of about seven · acres in sugar prunes and peaches. Through the rental of orchards from other owners he has the control and management of sixty acres, principally in French prunes, but also to some extent improved with bearing pear and peach trees. In the county he has a reputation as one of its most successful fruit growers and progressive citizens. Not by luck or by any accidental good fortune in birth or heritage did he rise out of poverty. He was not born with a "silver spoon in his mouth," but nature gave to him something infinitely better, to-wit: A clear, analytical and systematic mind, two strong and willing hands, a heart inclined to deal justly and a disposition to do well whatever he found to do. Particularly is he gifted with the power to make exact observations, and he is furthermore endowed with a character embrac- ing such honesty, intelligence and executive ability as to gain the confidence and co-operation of his fellowmen. It is needless to say that the meager payments he receives as a member of the Lake County Fruit Growers' As- sociation are inadequate to compensate him for his time, but he receives benefit through the fact of being himself a large fruit grower. As a prominent member and director of the California Cured Fruit Exchange, with headquar-

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ters at San Francisco, he has become familiar with fruit growers all over the state, and in recognition of his ability, interest and experience in horticulture he was appointed by the board of county supervisors as a member of the Lake County Board of Commissioners to the Panama-Pacific Exposition.

As is well known, the Taxpayers' League of Lake County is an organiza- tion formed to resist the encroachments of the Yolo Water & Power Company (said to be a branch of the great American water-power trust) in the damming up of Clear lake for power purposes and in the damming of its outlet, Cache creek, thereby raising the waters of the lake. The first object is to force the corporation to pay all damages to citizens who are injured by their appropria- tions of water. The second object is to seek to have the corporation pay Lake county an annual sum commensurate with the value of said water power. Third, if they fail in the first two objects. they desire to have the county over- take the franchises and holdings of the Yolo Water & Power Company, thus giving the citizens the profits from the greatest asset of the county, Clear lake, which, according to a recent article in the San Francisco Examiner, is, by the admission of one of the company's attorneys, worth $50,000,000, truly an asset which if retained under control and utilized intelligently would make Lake one of the richest counties in the entire state.

In taking up the personal history of Mr. Starkey we find that he is of Virginian pedigree on the paternal side. His father, Peter, removed from the Old Dominion at an early age and settled in Indiana, where he met and mar- ried Paulina Magdalene Caskner, a native of Ohio. Shortly after marriage they removed to Illinois and settled on a tract of raw land in Edgar county, building there a cabin home, where, March 6, 1855, occurred the birth of their son, William H. By dint of self-denial and untiring industry the father be- came the owner of two fine farms in Illinois. At the opening of the Civil war he and his brothers took their families back to the old home neighborhood near Clinton, Ind., the object being to have the wives and children near relatives, while the male members of the family served in the Union army. Three brothers went to the front and gave loyal service to their country, but before the fourth, Peter, had enlisted he had his leg broken in a runaway accident, and this put an end to all his hopes of becoming a soldier under the stars and stripes. In 1868 he took his family to Missouri and settled about one hundred and fifty miles southwest of St. Louis, where he took up a home- . stead in a country then new and sparsely settled. Later the only brother of William H., a capable young man named Benjamin Franklin Starkey, was crushed and killed while working in a sawmill in the Ozark country. There were four sisters in the family, one of whom died in Illinois at the age of twenty-four years; the other three still live in Missouri. William H., who started out for himself at the age of seventeen, is the only member of the family to locate in the west. He first located in Bourbon county, Kans., and after three years as a farm hand in that state, during 1876 he came to Cali- fornia, intending to remain three years and then go back to Missouri, but he changed his plans and settled here permanently, a decision he has no cause to regret, for, while he has had many discouragements, in the main he has prospered. For a few years after coming to Lake county, in 1876, he worked for Young & Co., in a sawmill near Bartlett Springs. Later he worked for the same concern with a freight boat on Clear lake. Next he rented land and embarked in farming pursuits. For a considerable period he rented one- half section for grain and hay. During thirteen years of connection with the

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baling business he pressed perhaps seven thousand tons of hay. More recently he has devoted his time principally to the fruit industry and has endeavored to secure for Lake county prices commensurate with the quality of its dried fruit. As a rule this county has been paid one-half cent less per pound for its prunes than the Santa Clara valley receives, although competent judges declare the prunes of Lake county to be the better in quality. It has been the steadfast contention of Mr. Starkey that Lake county should receive a higher price than Santa Clara county. While his efforts have been fruitful of an advance in prices, he is still far from satisfied and is solicitous to promote in every way possible the securing of first-class markets for first-class fruits, such as this county sends out to consumers. He has invented and perfected reversible plow attachment by which the dirt can be thrown either to or from the trees and still use two horses, the first known appliance of the kind.

The marriage of Mr. Starkey was solemnized in 1881 and united him with Miss Annie L. Young, daughter of L. A. Young, his former employer and a leading citizen of Big valley. Three children blessed the union, Lila L., Clarence LeRoy and Harold C. The daughter married Harry Stnieff, of Lakeport. The older son, a jeweler at Lakeport, married Miss Grace Johnson, of the state of Washington, and they have two children, Ruth and Dixie. The younger son, who in 1913 married Miss Sophia Fees, of Lake county, is an electrical engineer of marked efficiency and at this writing is engaged as manager of the Swartz ice plant at Lakeport. The family hold membership with the Lakeport Christian Church and Mr. Starkey is one of its trustees. Nominally a Democrat, he considers men and their qualifications, principles and their application to the case in hand, rather than adherence to any given platform under all circumstances. It is against his policy to accept any political office, and the only local or general position he ever consented to fill was that of school trustee. On the organization of the Lakeport Lodge, A. O. F., he became one of its charter members, but with that exception he has not identified himself with any fraternal or social organization.

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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 49

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