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 74
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 74
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The marriage of Captain Reid took place at Burton, Tex., in 1872 and united him with Miss Anna Fisher, daughter of Rev. Orceneth Fisher, D. D., organizer of the Methodist Episcopal Church South throughout California and Oregon. The first wife of Dr. Fisher was Elizabeth, daughter of ex-
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Governor Watts, of Georgia, and six children were born of their union, namely : Electa Chase, who married Judge H. H. Allen, formerly of Houston, Tex .; Mary Sophronia (now deceased), who became the wife of R. B. Wells, a prominent attorney at Gatesville, Tex .; Sarah Brittania (now deceased), who was the wife of W. J. Brockett, formerly the editor of the Houston Telegraph; Asbury O. (now deceased), a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, whose eldest son, Sterling Fisher, is dean of the Corronal College at San Marcus, Tex .; Sterling, for twenty years county judge of Hayes county, Tex., and now deceased; and Anna Angusta, who was only nine months old when her mother died and was then taken into the home of her brother-in-law, Judge H. H. Allen, to be reared. The second marriage of Dr. Fisher united him with Miss Rebecca J. Gilliland, by whom he had three children, namely: Rebecca J., widow of R. A. Blanford, of Austin, Tex., and now chief clerk of the state pension department ; Fannie (now deceased), who was the wife of Frank Noble, a lumberman at Austin; and Orceneth, an attorney in eastern Texas. Mrs. Rebecca J. Fisher, now presi- dent of the Daughters of the Republic and a woman of culture and promi- nence, is a survivor of the Comanche Indian massacre, in which perished her father, mother, two sisters and one brother. The only ones who escaped a dreadful fate were herself and brother, the latter severely wounded by an Indian spear, while she also received a serious wound in the head. The United States rangers reached the scene of the massacre only in time to save her and her brother, and they became wards of Texas, being reared and edu- cated at the expense of the state, from which Mrs. Fisher still receives a pen- sion.
Having completed her education in Madame Howland's private school for giris on Fourth avenue, New York City, Anna Augusta Fisher became in- structor in music in a college at Huntsville, Tex., but resigned her position to become the bride of Captain Reid. One son blessed their union, Seth Barton Reid, whose fine mind brought him admiration in every circle and whose genial temperament won him many warm friends. In February, 1911, lie succumbed to an attack of diphtheria and spinal meningitis. At the time of his death he was thirty years of age. Surviving him are two daughters, Lucile and Anna, and his widow, formerly Miss Eva N. Crutchfield, of Gar- vanza, Los Angeles county. Coupled with other gifts of an unusually high order he possessed a poetic strain, and one of his poems, sent to his father, Captain Reid, on Decoration day, May 30, 1907, as given below, indicates his patriotic spirit as well as his native talent in the realm of poetry :
"The time is here when our thoughts revert to the days of Sixty-one,
When the dark, dread cloud of Civil war obscured the nation's sun,
When brother fought brother and son fought sire,
When the land was scourged with blood and fire,
When to fight and win was each side's desire,
For they both believed they were right.
"Oh, that was a conflict the like of which the world will ne'er see again, For it was waged by the noblest race on earth and that race's noblest men ; But the mighty God of the universe at the end of four bitter years,
Took pity upon His children and acknowledged a nation's tears, And reaching forth His mighty hand he freed the fettered slave,
And united the nation ever to stand, the home of the free and brave.
W
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"Today there is no North, no South,
And the East and the West are one,
And every true man in our glorious land
From rising to setting sun
Is ready to fight as long as there is breath
For the weak and oppressed and home,
Whether it be where his fathers fought or over the ocean's foam.
And even the 'old boys' with hoary hair,
Whose ranks are getting so thin,
Brace up at the sound of the fife and drum Or the bugle's rousing din.
"All hail to the veterans in Union blue and on Decoration day Let every loyal heart in our land remember those over the way,
And let the blossoms be piled high and our country's banner wave In honor of the G. A. R. and its noble veterans so brave."
HENRY HANSEN .- Honorable business methods and a thorough knowledge of the plumbing industry have enabled Mr. Hansen to reach a leading position in his line of work, not only in his home city of Ukiah, but also in the entire county, where the skilled quality of his workmanship has met and conquered the most difficult tasks. His high occupative standing becomes especially noteworthy when it is remembered that he has been a resident of Ukiah for a comparatively brief period only, for it was not until 1910 that a search for a permanent location brought him hither. A brief period of employment by the month convinced him that Ukiah has flattering business possibilities, hence in 1911 he decided to engage in a plumbing business of his own. Since then he has built up the leading business of his line in the county and has taken orders for heating plants and sheet-metal work, as well as filled contracts for plumbing and gas-fitting. Among his contracts were those for the City Hall, the Carnegie library, Victory opera house, Gibson building and the Hudson, Cunningham and J. J. Thomas resi- dences.
Although a resident of California from his earliest recollections, Henry Hansen is of German birth and was born at Adenrade, Schleswig, January 25, 1876, being the second child and eldest son of Nis and Sophia Hansen, who were born in Schleswig and died in Napa county. The family numbered eight children and five of these are still living. The father, a hard-working man of little education and few advantages, went to the sea in boyhood and for years followed the life of a sailor, but in 1878 he brought the family to Cali- fornia and took up farm pursuits near San Leandro, Alameda county. Un- familiar with the customs and language of the new country, unacquainted with agricultural affairs, he found the task of maintaining the family extremely difficult and the eldest son, Henry, at the age of eleven years, was obliged to leave school to assist in the general maintenance. After four years in a cotton mill at East Oakland he entered upon an apprenticeship to the trade of plumber with an Oakland firm. Five years were devoted to acquiring a thorough knowledge of the trade and to gaining efficiency in every detail. At the expiration of the five years he entered upon work as a journeyman in Oakland, later in Napa. About 1905 he removed to Tulare county and em- larked in the dairy industry near Pixley, but in 1910 disposed of his interests
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in that section. He then began to look for another location for dairy pursuits, but coming to Ukiah he was induced to take up his trade once more, the result being that he speedily established himself as a reliable and efficient plumber, well qualified to fill contracts requiring the highest skill. Since coming here he has allied himself with the Chamber of Commerce and with other movements for the local upbuilding. In politics he favors Republican prin- ciples of the progressive type. While living in Oakland he married Miss Annie Schaffer, who was born in Koenigsberg, East Prussia, Germany, but has lived in California from early life. Their family comprises seven children, namely : Edward, Charles, George, Helen (deceased), Robert, Ella and Hen- rietta.
FRITZ F. MILLER .- The general manager of the Lake County Auto- mobile and Transportation Company was born September 10, 1851, on the island of Langeland off the east coast of Denmark, and was the eighth in order of birth among eleven children, whose parents, Soren Hansen Miller and Annie (Peterson) Miller, were lifelong residents of Denmark, dying there at the ages of eighty-eight and seventy years respectivly. Various occupations combined to enable the father to earn a livelihood for the family, he being not only a farmer and land-owner, but also a shoe manufacturer, saddler and tanner. The children were reared in the Lutheran faith and confirmed at the age of fourteen years. Immediately after Fritz F. had been confirmed he left home to earn his own way in the world, shipping as a sailor on a freighting vessel that plied the waters of the North sea between Norway and England and Scotland, besides doing business at various ports of Lapland and Russia. A later cruise took the lad to Holland, France, Portugal and Spain, as well as to South America. Three years were given to a long voyage that took him to the North African coast countries. Constantinople and other Mediterra- liean ports, whence he sailed through the Suez canal and on to Calcutta and Bombay. The course of the voyage took him to the port of Valparaiso in South America and around the Horn to Rio Janeiro and other Brazilian ports. An interesting episode of this long voyage took the form of an exploring and prospecting tour up the Amazon river for almost four hundred miles, during which he saw many wild animals of types rarely seen, many strange birds and trees, as well as rare plants and flowers.
A brief experience as a sailor on a German vessel was ended when the agitations leading up to the Franco-Prussian struggle necessitated the return of Mr. Miller to Hamburg and his withdrawal from the crew of the ship. Thereupon he shipped on board the Plymouth, a vessel of the American navy, and after he had arrived in Boston November 23, 1868, he was formally ac- cepted in the United States service. Later he was transferred to the frigate Franklin, and for three years remained in the navy. Next he sailed on the steamer Providence, in the Atlantic coast service, after which for one year he was connected with the New York and Fall river service. During 1872 he came to California via Panama. Since then he has been connected with the stage business. Transportation is and always has been his hobby. As a sailor, enduring the vicissitudes incident to life on the high seas, he made a study of the business of water transportation and since he left the sea he has studied transportation by land. Not only was he a capable, efficient sailor, but he is also now one of the most successful stage line managers on the Pacific coast. After having had charge of the stage line from Marysville to Colusa for one year he and his brother, W. P. Miller, became the owners of the first stage
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line from Colusa to Bartlett Springs and operated their line to connect with river boats before there was any railroad to Colusa. From 1873 to 1888 he made Colusa his home. In the year last-named he moved to Mendocino City and became interested in a stage line from that place to Casadero, also in another line to Ukiah.
The marriage of F. F. Miller and Miss Helen Smith was solemnized at Mendocino City February 29, 1892, and five children were born of the union. The deepest sorrow of their married life came to them with the loss of their eldest sons, William and Andrew, both of whom died at the age of nine years, and in the death of Margaret, their little daughter of eight months. Ray- mond and Myrtle are the surviving members of the family. During the sum- mer of 1852 William Smith, a native of Boston, Mass., joined in the gold rush to California. Later he took up timber lands in Mendocino county and erected at Albion a sawmill, of which he engaged as superintendent, remaining at Albion until his death about 1891. A few years after he first crossed the plains he returned east for his wife, Margaret (McArthur) Smith, a native of Connecticut. Their daughter, Helen, was born in San Francisco and reared in Mendocino county, attending the public schools at Albion. During 1898 Mr. and Mrs. Miller removed to Lakeport, and at the same time Mr. Miller started a stage line from this place to Hopland. After he had continued the business successfully for almost a decade, in 1907 he sold out the line to the Lake County Automobile and Transportation Company, of which he is a large stockholder and since 1908 the general manager. The equipment of the com- pany includes three White auto trucks of one and one-half tons, three seven- passenger touring cars, thirty horses and fourteen stage wagons. During the period of his residence in Mendocino county he became identified with the Mendocino City lodge of Odd Fellows. From the time of coming to the United States he has been an adherent of the Republican party and a firm believer in the wisdom of its policy. Although not identified with any relig- ious sect, he is a believer in the uplifting influence of true religion and has contributed to various church enterprises, notably those of the Catholic Church, to which his wife belongs. Exceptional judgment and a high order of executive ability on his part have brought success to the Lake County Automobile and Transportation Company, whose lines from Pieta to Lake- port via Highland Springs and also from Hopland and Lakeport, have a grati- fying patronage at almost every season of the year, but particularly during the summer months, when city dwellers are seeking the cool resorts of the moun- tains and lakes.
HENRY WILLIAM LITTLE .- Some one has very aptly said that the difference between a politician and a statesman is that a politician serves himself and a statesman serves his state; also everyone remembers the wise old saw of the immortal Lincoln about one's ability to fool the people; and following closely on this it may be remarked that when a man is elected to fill a prominent position within the gift of the people, and fills it so well that he is re-elected, and then continues to perform his duties so satisfactorily that he is again re-elected, and this time without an opposing candidate, all other aspirants not caring enough for certain defeat to enter the race, which was certain to be no race at all, it is reasonably safe to say that such a man is a statesman in the broadest and best sense of the word, and that he is really serving the community, else the people would by that time cease to be fooled, and his official head would be the penalty exacted. This is the tribute that
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has been paid to Henry William Little, present incumbent of the office of city treasurer of Fort Bragg. Mr. Little was first elected in 1910, being the candidate presented by the Republican party. In 1912 he was re-elected with an appreciable increase in his majority, and in 1914 he was again re-elected, this time without opposition. That his record as city treasurer has been more than clean, that it has rather been a bright and shining light is quite natur- ally to be inferred from the confidence of his friends and neighbors, thus evidenced at the polls. Also it may be likewise affirmed that Mr. Little is personally very popular, that he is progressive, broad minded and liberal in all his views, and that the welfare of Fort Bragg is as dear to his heart as is the wife of his bosom.
California is the native heath of this able citizen, he having been born at Iowa Hill, Placer county, August 3, 1865. His father was Charles H. Little, a native of Kentucky, who crossed the plains in the early '50s, and set- tled in Placer county. There he married Jennie Brace, a native of Michigan, who crossed the plains to California with her parents when she was but a little girl. Mr. Little, Sr., was a contractor and builder and was well known in the early days of Placer county. He constructed the great flumes for the Iowa Hill Canal Company, and other such large undertakings. The death of his wife at Iowa Hill severed his interests with that locality, and he removed to Nevada, where he died some years later.
There were four sons born in the Little family, of whom Henry William was the second. He grew to boyhood in Iowa Hill, and was educated in the public schools of that locality. When yet a boy his indomitable energy caused him to seek employment, and he worked in the hydraulic mines for a number of years. In 1886 he left the scenes of his childhood and went to Cummings, Mendocino county, where lived an uncle, F. A. Cummings, the founder of the town which bears his name. After a brief visit he journeyed on to Westport, where another brother was engaged in teaming, and where Henry secured work as driver for the stage on the coast road. Later he fired in the old mill at Fort Bragg for more than a year, when tiring of this occupation he returned to teaming and stage driving. After some years of this roving life Mr. Little purchased a store on Franklin street, Fort Bragg, and engaged in the fruit and vegetable business for a number of years. When the gold excitement broke out in Nome, Alaska. the training of his boyhood came back to him and he joined the rush to the North. The North did not hold him for long, however, and on his return he again engaged in business, this time as a painting con- tractor. This enterprise has flourished under his able management, and dur- ing the past ten years he has painted and decorated all of the finest and most substantial buildings that have been erected in Fort Bragg. Prominent among these may be mentioned the Holmes residence, the Shafsky, F. C. White, and H. A. Weller residences, the Red Men's hall, Union Lumber Company store and offices, both banks, the Baptist church, and many other equally attractive structures. Mr. Little himself owns a fine residence on McPherson and First streets, where he has his shop in the rear. He handles all his own paints and supplies, and has the largest stock of painters' materials in town. Also, in addition to his regular business as a painting contractor, Mr. Little has the agency for the Overland automobiles and is making some very good sales. When one remembers that in addition to all this, this energetic man is a good husband, a kind and thoughtful neighbor, an influen- tial member of half a dozen or more fraternal and social organizations. city
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Maso. a. M. Nelu
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treasurer and deputy county clerk, one begins to have some idea of his char- acter and real achievement. Among the orders where Mr. Little is most active may be mentioned the Eagles, Druids, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, and the Native Sons of the Golden West, Alder Glen Parlor No. 200, of which he is past president and at present holds the secretary's chair.
For many years the present city treasurer has been a meinber of the Fort Bragg fire department, and for the last six years has been chief of the department. During that time he has succeeded in having three hose-cart houses built in different part of the city, besides a new central department headquarters. In fact there are but few activities for progression during the past decade with which Henry William Little has not been more or less closely associated, and which have not felt the impetus of his strength and courage and will power.
Since locating in Fort Bragg Mr. Little was married to Miss Anna Ross, a native of Caspar, Mendocino county, and daughter of David Ross, an old Caspar county pioneer.
MRS. A. M. HELM .- The distinction of having conducted the first hotel in Laytonville, and then being the proprietors of the leading hostelry there for a period of thirty-five years, has been that of Mr. and Mrs. Martin V. Helm, the former of whom passed away in 1908, leaving behind him a most estimable memory among all. who knew him. The lives of this splendid couple are most interesting to the reader of pioneer experiences, for the year 1870 witnessed their coming to Mendocino county, where they ever afterward made their home and helped to build up the interests of their vicinity.
Mrs. Helm was born in Corydon, Harrison county, Ind., the daughter of Charles B. and Mary (Fleshman) Dyer, both natives of Indiana, who were farmers there and spent their last days in that state. Of their eight children, Artiemecia was the eldest, and she received her educational training in the local public schools of Corydon, where she was married July 7, 1864, to Martin V. Helm. He was a native of Decatur, Ill., and after his graduation from college he was engaged in teaching for a period. He saw active service in the Civil war as a member of an Illinois regiment. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Helm followed farming in Harrison county, Ind., until 1870, when they came to Long Valley, Mendocino county, to engage in farming and stock-raising. Purchasing nine hundred acres just north of Laytonville, they remained there for a few years, then selling out and embarking in the hotel business at Laytonville, which was the first of its kind there. When the residence of Mr. Layton was burned, they purchased the property, built a new hotel, and the Laytonville hotel became a prominent place for travelers from all over the country, its excellent service, genial hosts, and favorable reputation for the many splendid details of its management, attracting many guests to its doors. Especially was it known for its fine table, Mrs. Helm herself personally superintending all the cooking, and the neatness of her table, the abundance of good food, and the sunny, pleasant manner of the hostess brought comfort to the hearts of a great many lonesome travelers. In about 1905, the hotel was destroyed by fire, and Mrs. Helm rebuilt just across the street, where she had previously purchased a hundred and forty acres. This was a fine, modern house, with all conveniences essential to the comforts of their patrons, and the hotel business was successfully conducted by Mrs. Helm until in May, 1912, when she sold the entire property and retired from all activities of a business nature. In the meantime, however, she has
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acquired several valuable pieces of property, including a residence and several business buildings. Besides the hotel interest, during these years, Mr. Helm conducted a stage line from Laytonville to Westport, for about four years, becoming well known throughout that locality.
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Helm, Demaris, who became a Mrs. Corn, and is now deceased; and Cora, Mrs. Greenfield, of Minority, N. Mex. Mrs. Helm's business ability and unusual executive forcefulness may be recognized in that she served for nine years as postmaster of Laytonville most acceptably, and she was also agent for the overland stage line between San Francisco and Eureka for twenty years.
JOHN W. JONES .- There is a picturesque bit of country in the Bartlett Springs precinct, in the northern part of Lake county, known as Twin valleys, so called because it consists practically of two small valleys of about equal area separated by a low range. About all the good farming land in both sec- tions is owned by John W. Jones, who has lived there since 1907. He has ac- quired valuable interests in agriculture and stock, and is engaged to some extent in dairying, supplying Bartlett Springs and other nearby resorts with choice milk. Mr. Jones belongs to a pioneer family of Lake county, being a son of the late John W. Jones, who came to California in young manhood, in 1856, and to Upper Lake about 1866. He was born in 1836 in Pulaski county, Mo., and died in June, 1911, on the old Jones homestead, in his seventy-sixth year. When he came to this state he first settled in Plumas county, where he engaged in teaming, also doing business as a stock buyer. Buying cattle in Lake and Mendocino counties, he would drive them over to Colusa county, and thus he became familiar with this region. In 1866 he settled in Lake county, and here engaged in ranching throughout his active years in what is now the Clover precinct, becoming one of the well-to-do men of that section. In 1867 he married Miss Mary E. McCabe, who was born in Josephine county, Mo., and is still living on the old Jones homestead. Nine children were born to this union : John W .; Edward, who died unmarried, when twenty-two years old; Franklin, who died when twenty years old; Lucinda, who died at the age of thirty-two years, unmarried; Andrew and A. Zeno, both of whom are stockmen in Burns valley, Lake county; Catherine, wife of A. A. Pluth, and living with her mother at the old Jones homestead; Aaron, who died in infancy ; and Narcissa, who died when seventeen years old.
John W. Jones, Jr., was born June 20, 1869, on the old homestead in what is now the Clover precinct, and received his education in the public schools of the locality. He has always followed agricultural work, and when he com- menced ranching on his own account he rented land in the Upper Lake country, in 1897, remaining there until 1907. Then he bought his present place, which lies about five miles northwest of Bartlett Springs, his first purchase being the Mrs. Clark tract of one hundred and sixty acres, to which he subsequently added three hundred and sixty acres which he bought from Mrs. Ford. On this place he has eighty head of stock cattle, and consid- erable poultry, and during the resort season he keeps seventeen milch cows.
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