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 52
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 52
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Riverside county ; Joseph, a well driller, lives at Downey ; Davis is in the real estate business at Los Angeles ; Ralph and George both live at Rivera.
Charles Oliver Reynolds passed the first twenty-five years of his life in his native county, receiving common school advantages and serving an apprentice- ship with a tinner and plumber in the town of Downey. He spent five years learning the business, and then went into the hardware business at Whittier. In 1897 he came up to Lakeport, Lake county, where he was married, at that time running a tinning and plumbing shop in Lower Lake. In the spring of 1900 he went to Oregon and at New Pine Creek, that state, entered the employ of a Mr. Smith, in the State Line Flouring Mill. Subsequently he formed a partnership with H. Barnes and leased the mill, which they operated for five years. the firm of Barnes & Reynolds doing a successful business. They then came to Kelseyville and bought the mill south of the town on Kelsey creek, which furnishes ample power. They purchased the mill and adjoining property in 1907, and still continue to own it, but the mill is at present leased and operated by Reynolds & Akers. It is a full roller process and has a capacity of forty barrels per day. Besides the "Clear Lake" wheat flour they manufac- ture high-grade cornmeal. Mr. Reynolds is a well balanced business man, and possesses mechanical as well as executive ability, being able to look after his various interests personally, with a good understanding of their details. He is a substantial citizen, and occupies a respected position in the com- munity where he has settled.
At Lakeport Mr. Reynolds married Miss Annie Stanley, and they have a family of four children : Ilma, Ralph, Florace and Jean. Mrs. Reynolds holds membership in the Christian Church at Lakeport.
SIDNEY H. McKINLEY .- The members of the Mckinley family, though noted for their lack of pretense and conservative methods, have by reason of solid worth long maintained a recognized position among the promi- nent residents of their section of Lake county. Sidney H. Mckinley has his home in Loconoma valley, on the Lakeport road, at the Callayomi Flour Mills, which Mckinley Brothers operate, the mills and electric light and power plant operated by the same waterpower having been part of the estate et his father. George E. McKinley. The latter was the first permanent settler in the valley, and his three hundred and twenty-acre ranch, also owned and operated by Mckinley Brothers, is the oldest cultivated property there occu- pied by one family continuously from the date of settlement. The home on the ranch is also near the mill, and is occupied by the widow of George E. McKinley and three of her children, the two sons who run the farm and the youngest daughter, who supervises the household affairs. In 1909, after the death of George E. Mckinley, some five years ago, his sons incorporated the interests under the name of Mckinley Brothers. The capital stock is twenty-one thousand dollars, two hundred and ten shares with a par value of one hundred dollars, and the officers of the concern are: Charles Mckinley. president ; Sidney H. McKinley, secretary, treasurer and manager; directors. Archie, Sidney H. and Charles Mckinley. The mother, Mrs. Caroline Mc- Kinley, owns half the capital stock. Sidney H. Mckinley looks after the flour mills and electric light plant (operated under the name of Callayomi and Middletown Electric Light and Power Company), located on the Lakeport road about three and a half miles out from Middletown ; and the farm, a tract of three hundred and twenty acres on the Middletown road, devoted to the
Sidney H.M-Kinley
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raising of grain and stock, is looked after by Charles McKinley and his brother Archie L. There is some timber on the place. The agricultural interests are very valuable.
The Callayomi is one of the oldest mills in Lake county, having been built about fifty years ago by Madison J. Harbin for a sawmill. Mr. Mc- Kinley sold it to Berry & Davis, who ran it until the timber was all cut from the land. They then sold the water right and buildings to Jessup & Stevens, who converted it into a stone flour mill and later sold it to Heyser & Corothers, who continued to run the mill until they sold it in turn to Mr. Stoddard. In 1885 the old stone mill burned down. Andrew Rocca then acquired the property and in 1887 built the present mill, which he sold to the McKinleys the next year. The water power is obtained from the headwaters of Putah creek, at the foot of Cobb mountain, and is brought down by flume or pipe for three-quarters of a mile to the mill, whereby a "Fell" water wheel is generating forty-five horsepower, used for operating the mill and also furnishing power and lights for Middletown. The mill is picturesquely located at the foot of Cobb mountain, on. Putah creek, and is one of the beautiful sites in the county.
George E. Mckinley was a native of New Brunswick, born August 9, 1837. When he was five years old his parents moved to Burlington, Iowa, where they resided until 1849, then settling on a farm near by, upon which they remained until 1852. That year George E. Mckinley crossed the Rocky mountains, and for four years was employed in the stock business. In 1856 he came to California, and after a few months spent in Plumas county pro- ceeded to Lake county, arriving in December of that year. Before long he went into Napa valley, but returned in the summer of 1857 and settled on the place in Loconoma valley which has since been known as the Mckinley ranch. It comprises valuable hay, grain, grazing and timber lands, which became highly developed and productive under his intelligent care. About five years before his death he bought from Andrew Rocca the flour mills now known as the Callayomi mills, which had been built in 1887 by Mr. Rocca. In January, 1907, they installed the water power and electric light plant at the mill, which furnishes light and power to Middletown.
Mr. Mckinley led an earnest and useful life, and the example of his industry and unpretentious but worthy efforts was a permanent influence for good in his community. His kindly attitude toward all his fellow men, his hospitable nature and neighborliness, attracted the regard of a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and the high standing he enjoyed was due as much to his sterling personal qualities as to the material success which rewarded his work. He was a consistent member of the Church of Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ, to whose faith his family also adhere.
On December 10, 1862, Mr. McKinley married Miss Caroline Springston, a native of Pennsylvania, who was twelve years old when she came to Cali- fornia with her parents. Mrs. McKinley, now seventy-one years of age, is still living at the old ranch home near the mill, with her sons Charles and Archie and daughter Frances. Though she has lost her eyesight. she retains the cheerful, considerate disposition which has won her the loving esteem of all who know her, and is happy in the affection of her family and friends. Her interest in the household is continued as far as possible. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McKinley: Sidney H., the eldest. is mentioned below ; Ella died when two years old ; George A., who lives near Yountville.
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Napa county, is a stockholder in the Mckinley Brothers Corporation; he married Florence Evelyn Wood, of Alameda, and they have three living children, Clifford. Horace and Margaret Elizabeth. Eva, who is living at Fresno, Cal., is the wife of E. Frank Yount, a merchant, and has three chil- dren, Inesse, Frances and Dorothy. Ada is the wife of W. L. Kellum, a capitalist, of Spokane, Wash., and has two children, Carroll and Ruth. Lillie died unmarried at the age of thirty-two years. Mary is married to Darring- ton Christopher, of Alameda, a bookkeeper, and they have one child, Bernice. Charles, Archie L. and Frances E. live at home. The three last named were born on the ranch, where they reside with their mother, and they give her loving attention. She is one of the oldest surviving pioneers in her section of the county. Mr. Mckinley died in December, 1908.
Sidney H. Mckinley was born at the homestead in Loconoma valley, January 22, 1863, and obtained his education in the schools of the neighbor- liood. He became familiar with farming as his father's helper, and his close association with actual business from boyhood made him capable and reliable. Under his management the mill has had a steadily increasing trade, and in addition to milling the Mckinley Brothers deal in flour, bran, rolled barley and mill stuffs. They supply electric light and power to Middletown from their plant, which has been very successful. Though never spectacular in his ventures or their conduct, Mr. McKinley is alert to innovations and adopts the most approved modern methods wherever it is possible to intro- duce them in his work. Upright in all his transactions, and attentive to every detail of his business, he has the thorough confidence of the best element in his section, and deservedly.
In 1884 Mr. McKinley was married to Miss Louisa Augusta Van Sickle, of Cobb Mountain, Lake county, and their only child, Gussie Louise, is now the wife of Lorenzo S. Peterson, of the Spring Hill farm. Mr. Mckinley has a comfortable home near the mill. He is a Democrat in his political prefer- ences. His religion is that of his parents, who united with the Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ. Always interested in the cause of educa- tion, he has served as trustee of Callayomi district (where he himself went to school) for ten years. Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World.
CARLETON ALLSOPP CURTIS .- As superintendent of the California Western Railroad and Navigation Company, operating between Fort Bragg on the coast and Willits. Cal., on the Northwestern Pacific, this young man, a civil engineer by profession, today holds one of the most important positions open in the central section of the state, and fills it with success. This little road, only forty miles in length, is being recognized as a power in the life of the country, and its service is acknowledged to be eminently satisfactory in every detail. Carleton Allsopp Curtis is a descendant of one of those pio- neers who came into the wilderness of the west when the nineteenth century was young and whose children and children's children have pushed west and peopled the coast. His father, Allen Allsopp Curtis, was born in New Jersey and came to California in 1859 by way of the isthmus. For several years he followed mining here, and later in Nevada, where he married, and where his son Carleton was born. Returning to California, he started the Pacific Lum- ber Company in 1885, and built several saw-mills at Scotia. Humboldt county. He became president and manager of the company and engaged in the manu-
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facture of lumber until 1898, when he sold his interests, and has since then been interested in redwood lands in Mendocino and Humboldt counties. He is also interested in the Glen Blair Redwood Company, with headquarters at Glen Blair, and of which he is president. Another of his interests is the Pacific Coast Redwood Company, whose affairs he largely controls. He makes his home in San Rafael, where his wife, Mary Curtis, died in 1905.
There were two children in the Curtis family of whom the younger is Carleton, born November 22, 1883, in Austin, Nev. He removed with his parents to California in 1884, when they first located at San Rafael. There were centered the scenes of his boyhood, and there he received his elementary education, first in the public schools, then at Mt. Tamalpais Military Academy, graduating in 1900. Later he entered the University of California, at Berkeley, where he remained for four years, completing a course in civil engineering and receiving the degree of C. E. Immediately after graduation he entered the service of his father's company as a surveyor, being so engaged for a year. Then he came to Fort Bragg and in 1905 became associated with the activities of the California Western Railroad and Navigation Company as a surveyor with the locating parties. He commenced his work as an instrument man, later being given charge of the preliminary survey work, and was eventually given the position of chief of a party on preliminary and location surveys. Following this his next promotion was to assistant engineer in charge of construction, and in February, 1912, he was appointed general superintendent of the line. Since then he has given his time exclusively to the manage- ment of the affairs of the road under his charge, and it is certain that he has found the position no sinecure.
The road, which is so few in the matter of miles and so large in the matter of business possibilities, is considered to be one of America's most scenic railways, passing as it does through a country of rare beauty. It is fast becoming known as "The California Scenic Line Through the Land of Opportunity," and it has opened up a marvelously rich region, as well as offering unusual opportunities for recreation and scenes of unusual charm and beauty. The superintendent is so keenly interested in his railroad that it has been said he knows every foot of the line by heart, and he certainly does know each and all of the employes, and enjoys the confidence and respect of them all.
Mr. Curtis is greatly interested in the progress of Fort Bragg and Men- docino county and never hesitates to give of his time and means as well as the influence at his command to further the development of the vast possi- bilities nature has bestowed on this section of the state. He is a member of Fort Bragg Lodge No. 361, F. & A. M., and is a communicant of the Episcopal church at San Rafael.
In his ascent to prominence Mr. Curtis is but following in the footsteps of his father, who is acknowledged to be one of the most substantial and influ- ential persons in his region of the state. The younger man, however, has not been dependent upon the wealth or influence of his father in the achievement of his own success, but rather has carved out for himself the position which he fills.
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ELIJAH DOOLEY .- The events that have wrought history in Mendo- cino county since the arrival of Mr. Dooley on the 20th of October, 1865, indicate the long period of his identification with the same neighborhood. At that time the great trans-continental railroad had not been built to bring together the east and the west; telegraphy and the telephone had not added their remarkable benefits to the welfare of mankind; travel was via the old- fashioned "prairie schooner" or by steamer; the swiftest mail was carried by the pony express and all was the environment of the frontier at the dawn of civilization. As all of these improvements were progressing in the world about him, he placidly continued at his work, clearing land, plowing, sowing, harvesting, and doing the serious work of the husbandman with intelligence and thrift. On reaching this county he filed a claim to a tract bordering on the southeast corner of the Sanel rancho. Previous to this, about 1858, he had bought two hundred and thirty acres, being among the first men to purchase land from the Sanel Spanish grant. This farm, which has contin- ued to be his home through all of these years, lies two and one-half miles east of Hopland on the main road leading to Lakeport, Lake county. As might be expected from a man of his enterprise, the acreage has been enlarged and many improvements made on the property since it came into his possession.
A short distance from Nashville in the state of Tennessee, Elijah Dooley was born January 30, 1833. In childhood he accompanied his parents to Missouri and settled in Greene county, where he attended school whenever possible. As the schools of that day were few and far between, being con- ducted on the subscription plan, his education is largely the result of his habits of close observation and careful reading. About 1845 the family re- moved to Dallas county, Mo., and there he began to earn his own livelihood, his parents being very poor and unable to assist him in any way. When a large expedition crossed the plains during the summer of 1852 he was hired to drive an ox team for Silas Rogers. October of that year found him in Santa Rosa, grateful for a safe ending to a tedious, fatiguing journey. For ten years he had employment in or near Santa Rosa, but in 1862 disposed of his interests there and went to Nevada to work as an engineer in the Silver City mines. A few years sufficed to weary him of the isolation and environ- ment and in 1865 he settled in Mendocino county to take up agricultural activities. The land which he secured was in the original primeval condi- tion of nature, but in the first year he was able to clear a considerable portion ready for the plow. Since then he has worked earnestly and indefatigably, so that the property is now in excellent condition. Of the entire farm of six hundred and sixty-six acres about two hundred acres are under cultivation, the remainder, owing to hills, being suitable only for stock range. An orch- ard of ten acres responds to his intelligent oversight with profitable crops of fruit, and there is also a vineyard of twenty acres.
Mr. Dooley was married in McDowell valley, Mendocino county, July 3, 1865, to Miss Lucy E. Moore, who was born in Davis county, Iowa, and was a young child when she crossed the plains with her parents behind ox-teams in 1852. The family were six months in reaching Nevada City, which city was Mrs. Dooley's home for about ten years, or until she came to Hopland with her mother, residing here until her marriage. To Mr. and Mrs. Dooley were born fifteen children, of whom all but two attained maturity: Laura, Mrs. Bailey, of San Benito; Adelaide, Mrs. Shields, who died at Hopland, leaving two children (Nellie, Mrs. Alvarez, and Bertha, both of Oakland) ;
Elijah Dooley Lucy & Dooley
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Warren L., who assists on the ranch; Franklin W., a merchant in Hopland ; Charles W., who died when twenty years of age; Lucy Ella, Mrs. Johnson, of Lakeport ; Mary Eva, residing at home; Arthur W., who died at the age of thirty ; Sarah, Mrs. Hughes; Edna, Mrs. Harpe; Walter Carlton ; Marvin W .; Clara E., Mrs. Allen, of Hopland; and Bertha and John, both of whom died in their first year. Mr. and Mrs. Dooley were charter members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South at Hopland, of which he has been a member of the board of trustees since its organization. Mr. Dooley was made a Mason in Santa Rosa Lodge No. 57, F. & A. M., but is demitted. A pioneer of the county and one of the three first families to settle in this section, he and his family have been prominent and popular throughout the community and have the prestige due to a long residence in the valley. For twenty years he served as justice of the peace in Sanel township, where he is known as a leading Democrat and intelligent citizen and man of affairs. In the upbuild- ing of this region he has been a positive factor and his success as a farmer indicates what is possible to men of thrift and industry in the occupation of agriculture.
IRVIN H. DREWRY .- A stopping place in high favor with automo- bilists who frequent the road between Willits, Mendocino county, and Eureka, in Humboldt county, is the East View hotel. It is located on the Drewry ranch in southern Humboldt county, about one and one-half miles south of Harris, on the main line of travel in that region. The hotel and ranch are owned and operated by Irvin H. Drewry and his sister, Miss Sarah E. Drewry. and though they took possession at a recent date the popularity of the resort is already widespread. These young people have undertaken considerable in their present venture, but they have made a beginning which promises well Mr. Drewry has the principal care of the ranch, and he has already made a reputation as a stockman, cattle buyer and drover. With the Drewrys resides their maternal grandmother, Mrs. Sarah F. Williams, by whom they were reared, and who has been in California since 1852, having been brought to the state when three years old.
John P. Drewry, father of Irvin H. and Sarah E. Drewry, is a large land- owner in the same vicinity, having a ranch of fifteen hundred acres lying in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, which he rents at present, however, to Ed. Smith, of Ukiah. He is now engaged as a captain of the guard at the Folsom City (Cal.) penitentiary. His first wife, whose maiden name was Mary E. Williams, died when her two children were very young. Sarah but eighteen months old, Irvin eleven days. Mr. Drewry remarried, and by his second union, to Mrs. Sarah Jane (Yeates) Hepburn, has one child, Carl Perry, now (1914) thirteen years old.
Irvin H. and Sarah E. Drewry were born in Mendocino county, and as their mother died so young they were reared by their maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. James H. Williams, on their Leggett valley ranch, situated on the south fork of the Eel river, about twenty miles due east of Rockport .. They have had public school training, and have continued to hold their interests in common, working together most satisfactorily. They made their first business venture in 1910, when they began by keeping a lodging house and store in Ukiah. As it proved a success they undertook more, renting a half interest in the McKinney ranch (a tract of nine hundred and sixty acres), which they operated for two years. There they became quite extensively interested in cattle, keeping about one hundred head, as well as a hundred
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hogs. It was there also that they had their first experience in the conduct of a summer resort, the Hunter's Home on that property doing well under their management. In December, 1913, they purchased the East View ranch and summer resort from Olive E. Snooks-five hundred and twenty acres of land and the hotel located on the highway as above related. After investing all their capital in this property these courageous young people still have an immediate future full of busy promise. But they are cheerful, capable workers, and have every prospect of carrying their enterprise along success- fully. The hotel is a comfortable and restful resort, and its guests partake of the best ranch products, fruits, vegetables, milk, cream and eggs noted for their high quality and freshness, and cooked and served under the efficient supervision of Miss Drewry, whose culinary skill has already become known to the patrons. Her competent oversight of all the details necessary to the comfort of guests contributes much to their health as well as pleasure, and the wholesome restfulness of the place is one of its greatest attractions. The patrons are principally automobilists.
As a ranchman Irvin H. Drewry is progressing notably. He has profited well by his varied experience in the stock business, and is regarded as an exceptionally good judge of cattle and hogs, his own success being substan- tial evidence of his all-around knowledge in this particular line. He is a very tall man-six feet, six inches in height. His industry and good ideas on ranch management have even in the brief time he has had his present property be- come apparent, and his ambitions for its development along the most ap- proved lines have already commenced to be realized. There is a good home orchard and vegetable garden on the property, providing abundant supplies for the table. Mrs. Williams retains all her interest in the welfare of her grand- children, willingly advising and assisting in the conduct of their affairs, and they thoroughly appreciate the substantial aid she has extended to help them take advantage of their opportunities in their present enterprise. With the family an old friend, Mr. Mitchell, has made his home for many years, and he has been most solicitous in encouraging Mr. Drewry and his sister in their attempts to make a success of their work. Mr. Drewry is a Progressive in his political sympathies.
James H. Williams was a native of Kentucky, a "forty-niner," and a pioneer settler in northern Mendocino county, where he lived for almost forty-five years. His first removal westward from the state of his birth was to Missouri, whence he came out to California in 1849, making the journey across the plains with ox-teams. He mined at Placerville, and in Butte and Plumas counties. After his marriage he con- tinued to live in Plumas county for a few years, carrying on a dairy, and in 1869 moved over to Mendocino county, where he bought the Leggett valley ranch, purchasing the rights of three different squatters to obtain the land he desired. His active disposition and nobility of character made him a most desirable citizen from every standpoint. He had the energy and ambition to improve his property and assist in the opening up of his section to civilization, and his many fine traits encouraged the proper kind of citizenship, the example he set influencing many to public-spirited efforts in behalf of the community as well as to enterprise in the management of their own affairs. His death oc- curred January 20, 1914, at Garberville, Humboldt county, when he was eighty-six years of age. Eight children were born to his union with Miss Sarah F. Rucker who attained maturity : Cedelia is the wife of S. F. Webber :
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