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 75
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 75
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Physically Mr. Jones is well fitted for his chosen calling, being tall and broad shouldered, and his industry has won him universal respect, while his optim- istic disposition and dry humor have won him friendly welcome in many cir- cles. He has kept out of active association with public affairs, his growing interests occupying all his time. His success has been creditable from every standpoint. Politically he votes with the Democratic party.
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On December 15, 1897, Mr. Jones married Miss Keziah T. Williams, of Stonington, Ill. They have had two children, Lester and Thyra. Mrs. Jones's religious connection is with the Baptist Church.
NEWTON P. HOWE .- Yet another of the pioneers of California, and one whose life has been practically all passed within the confines of his adopted state, is Newton P. Howe, prominent citizen of Point Arena, and well known throughout Mendocino county as a citizen of sterling worth and of splendid character and ability.
Mr. Howe is a native of Missouri, having been born in De Kalb county, August 24, 1873. His father was also Newton P. Howe, and a native of New York state. He went to Missouri in an early day and there taught in the public schools until the opening of the Civil war, when he enlisted in tlie cause of the Union and served with distinction. Later he again taught in Mis- souri, and in 1876 came to California, locating in Shasta county. Here he followed his profession as a teacher until in 1884, when he removed to Potter valley and continued teaching in conjunction with farming until about 1909, when he retired to Berkeley, dying there in 1912. His wife, and the mother of the present honored citizen of Point Arena, was Laura Bates, a native of Illinois, and is now residing in Berkeley. Of the nine children comprising the parental family Newton P. was the fourth in order of birth.
Coming to California when he was but three years of age, Mr. Howe's earliest recollections are of this state. He received his early education in the public schools of Shasta county and of Potter valley, and afterward attended the Lakeport Academy, graduating in 1891. He was then apprenticed to learn the blacksmith's trade, in Kelseyville, Lake county, serving for three years. He then went to Centerville, Potter valley, where he engaged in blacksmith- ing for two years. ' In 1896 he located in Point Arena. entering the employ of Halliday & Archibald, in the hardware and blacksmith business, where he remained for a year. At the end of that time he purchased the interest of Archibald, and the business became known as Halliday & Howe. It was conducted under this name until 1908, when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Howe retaining the blacksmithing business and Mr. Halliday taking over the hardware interest.
The present business conducted by Mr. Howe is the oldest blacksmith shop in town, and is on the same site where the original business was started by Hugh Graves, many years ago. In 1905 the new shop was built, a structure 42x84 feet, and equipped with modern machinery for blacksmithing and repair work of all kinds. The shop also makes a specialty of the manufacture of a high grade of tools for woodmen, and of the repair of automobiles.
The business interests of Mr. Howe have not taken his entire attention, however, and some years ago he purchased one hundred sixty acres of logged- off land, two miles from town. This he has cleared and improved, eleven acres being set to apple trees. He is also interested in the Bank of Point Arena, and is one of the original stockholders of this institution. He is also a stockholder in the Point Arena Creamery Company.
The marriage of Mr. Howe took place in Point Arena, December 28, 1899, uniting him with Miss Lydia Symonds, a native of New York state, born December 2, 1871. She is the mother of one child, a daughter. Willna Lorine, born in Point Arena, January 11, 1901.
Aside from his commercial interests Mr. Howe is closely associated with the public affairs of Point Arena, and is one of the prominent citizens of the
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thriving little city. He is especially interested in educational matters, and is a member of the board of trustees for the high school and was for some years a member of the local school board. He is prominent in fraternal circles, being a member of the Ancient Order of Foresters and of the American Yeo- men. Politically he is a Republican and a stanch party man. He is keenly interested in local politics, but has never aspired to office, being rather con- cerned in placing the man of his choice, or his party candidate in office.
A special work in which Mr. Howe is now deeply interested is in arrang- ing a Mendocino county exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Expo- sition, at San Francisco, in 1915. He is a member of the county exhibit com- mittee, and is devoting much time and ability to this important work. In religious belief Mr. Howe is a Methodist, being a member of the Point Arena church, of which he is trustee and steward.
ROBERT THORNTON HUTSELL .- That excellent opportunities are afforded to farmers of intelligence and thrift by the agricultural lands of Men- ciocino county is proved by the experience of Mr. Hutsell, a successful rancher and large land owner. A task of great difficulty presented itself to him when he first took up general farming. The land was new, its possibilities not wholly understood and the farmer had to feel every step of the way because oi lack of experience. Nor was that the only drawback, for in addition labor was scarce, markets undeveloped, transportation expensive and neighbors few. The first twenty years of his life had been passed in Tennessee, where he was born near Athens, McMinn county, March 21, 1858, the son of George and Mary (McSpadden) Hutsell, born in Wythe and Washington counties, Va., respectively. The parents were married in McMinn county, Tenn., where they were farmers throughout the remainder of their lives. The fact that his grandfather. James Walker McSpadden, was a resident of Mendocino county induced Robert T. Hutsell to come to California with him on one of his trips, and thus he came to Bell valley in the fall of 1878. After working on the ranch of his grandfather for two and a half years and proving himself thor- oughly reliable, he was taken into partnership by his uncle, James O. McSpad- den. In this way he made a start on the road to financial independence. His early educational advantages were limited and obtained in the subscription schools of that day, consisting of short periods in the winter when he could be spared from the farm work.
After a partnership on the Bell valley ranch of about eighteen months and having familiarized himself thoroughly with the management of its twenty- four hundred acres of stock range, Mr. Hutsell married Miss Adda Lee Bon- nett March 4, 1880, and then settled on the tract of one hundred and sixty acres at Boonville that still continues to be his home. Upon him devolved the task of making the land productive and the results have fully justified his labors. The home is one of which he may well be proud. Modern improve- ments add to the personal comfort of the family. To render easy the care of the stock the owner has built concrete bridges over gulches and arroyos, and these are not only a practical convenience, but also a factor in the attractive appearance of the ranch.
While always maintaining the same homestead Mr. Hutsell has bought many tracts and has been a large promoter of farm development. At this writing he owns about three thousand acres of land adjoining his home, pur- chased at different times and as opportunity was offered. Stock-raising is his
R.J. Hwtell
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specialty and renders necessary the use of a large range for his flocks, making a specialty of sheep, besides raising cattle and hogs. A considerable portion of the land, however, is under cultivation and rewards the care of the owner by generous crops in season. The highest principles of integrity and industry have governed all of his enterprises. Animated not merely by a desire to provide for his own family, but by a desire to promote the entire welfare of the community, he has been ready at all times to aid movements for the upbuild- ing of schools and churches and for the material advancement of the people. Anderson valley, which has been his headquarters for so many years, has felt the impetus of his successful activities as a farmer, and the fact that he has maintained a winter home at the corner of Euclid avenue and Eunice street, Berkeley, has not detracted from the deep interest manifested in every project for the growth of Mendocino county.
At the old Bonnett homestead at Boonville occurred the marriage of Mr. Hutsell and Adda Lee Bonnett, the latter a native of Napa county, born October 31, 1860, but from childhood a resident of Mendocino county. Her father, Benjamin Bonnett, a native of Virginia and a pioneer of 1849 in Cali- fornia, became an early settler in Anderson valley. His wife, Rebecca Scott, was a native of Tennessee and both are now deceased. Born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Hutsell are four children, namely: Carl Carson, who is assisting on the home ranch; Mary E., who married William A. Scott, of San Francisco; James, who married Pearl Ornbum, of Boonville; and Ruby R., the wife of Fred Rawles of Anderson valley. The family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, to whose maintenance and missionary move- ments Mr. Hutsell has been a constant and generous contributor. The positive convictions which he entertains in regard to the evil done by intoxicating liquors has led him to vote the Prohibition ticket for the past twenty-four years, this support being with him a matter of principle and an opportunity to give publicity to his deep-rooted opinions on the temperance question.
JOEL SHELDON COTTON, A. B .- No occupation in which one can engage can equal in usefulness and benefit to his fellow-citizens the teacher's profession, and the satisfaction which comes to one whose efforts have been conscientiously expended in this calling is enjoyed by Professor Cotton, who is principal of the Fort Bragg Union high school. In the management of edu- cational works so important as are included in his duties as principal, he has the hearty co-operation of the board of education as well as of all of the best citizens of the city, whose highest ambition is the welfare of the schools in their jurisdiction.
The history of the Cotton family is interesting, depicting as it does a strength of character and integrity of purpose that have shone out promi- nently in their every undertaking. Joel S. Cotton, Sr., a native of Reeds Grove, Ill., born June 18, 1851, was the son of Alexander R. Cotton, a native of New York state, born at Beslisle August 15, 1829. His marriage on October 28, 1848, united his fortunes with those of Nancy A. Zumwalt, who was born in Hancock county, Ind., April 31, 1831, but who from the age of three years made her home near Joliet, Will county, Ill. She was the daughter of Jacob and Susannah (Smith) Zumwalt, who were born September 15, 1807, and June 12, 1811, respectively, the latter at Reeds Grove, Ill. Falling a victim to the gold fever, Jacob Zumwalt intended to set out for the eldorado across the plains in the spring of 1849, but his plans were delayed on account of the
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reluctance of his wife to make the trip. Through the importunities of the children, however, the consent of the mother was finally won, and the spring of 1854 witnessed the removal of the entire family to the west, ox-teams forming the motive power. By the time the party reached the Sierras Alex-, ander R. Cotton, who for some time had been in poor health, died as the result of a severe cold, passing away at Twin Lakes August 21, 1854. The grave was marked by the tires of wagons. It was in August of the following year that his widow became the wife of Rockwell Hunt, who was born April 23, 1820, in Windhall township, Bennington county, Vt., the son of Albinus Hunt, the latter the son of Charles Hunt, who traced the ancestry of the family back to three brothers who migrated from England about six generations back. Dennis Rockwell, or Rock, as he was familiarly called, was reared in Madison county, N. Y., and when about thirty years of age, in 1850, left New York City with California as his destination, coming by way of Panama. After reaching San Francisco he lost little time in reaching the mines, but the fact that he soon gave it up for the more dependable occupa- tion of farming is sufficient proof that his success was negligable. It was while he was carrying on a farm on the Cosumnes river that he met and married Mrs. Cotton. By her first marriage she had two children, Albert, now a resident of Seattle, Wash., and Joel S., the father of Professor Cotton. By her marriage with Rockwell Hunt she became the mother of five chil- dren, as follows: Major C., of Seattle; Frank L., of Napa; Mark T., of Free- port, Sacramento county ; and Rockwell D., who holds the chair of Economics and Sociology in the University of Southern California ; and George G., super- intendent of the Tampico Oil Company, at Tampico, Mexico. Rockwell Hunt passed away April 18, 1913.
Joel S. Cotton, Sr., was reared on the farm on the Cosumnes river, in Sacramento county, and was primarily educated in the schools in the vicinity of his home. Later he was privileged to attend Benicia College and in due time graduated from that institution. It was while in Benicia that he met and married Catherine D. Sheldon, who was a student in Mills College, that city, at the same time he was attending Benicia College. They were married September 1, 1872. Catherine (Sheldon) Cotton was a native daughter of California, having been born in Sacramento county. Her father, Jared Sheldon, in crossing the plains had taken the same route which was later taken by the ill-fated Donner party, but he was fortunate in coming through safely. The following spring he formed one of the party sent out to rescue the Donner victims. Mr. Sheldon became one of the very earliest settlers in the Cosumnes valley, where he obtained a grant from the Mexican government. In his efforts to build a dam in 1851 to prevent the river from overflowing his land and destroying his crops and improvements he incurred the enmity of the miners, who shot him down in cold blood. After his mar- riage Mr. Cotton settled down to farming on the Cosumnes river, and was still residing there when he was bereaved by the death of his wife April 16, 1875, when she was only twenty-three years of age. Besides a husband, she left two children to mourn the loss of a loving mother, Catherine. now the wife of Robert Warren, of Bridgehouse, Sacramento county, and Joel Sheldon, the subject of this sketch. Subsequently the father married again, and by this union one child was born, Pearl. While still a young man com- paratively, Joel Cotton, Sr .. died April 1, 1878.
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Joel Sheldon Cotton was born at Cosumnes, Sacramento county, March 23, 1875, and thus was only about three years old when orphaned by the death of his father. At the time he had reached school age he was living in Placer- . ville, and consequently attended grammar school in that locality, following this training by a four-year course in Napa College. Still later preparation for his chosen profession was gained through a course in Stanford University, from which institution he was graduated in 1897, with the degree of A. B. On account of his health he came to Mendocino county to take up educational work and was fortunate in securing a position at Cleone, where he continued teaching for three years. Following this experience he came to Fort Bragg, and here too met good fortune in being assigned the principalship of the grammar school, a position which he filled with exceptional ability for six years. The splendid reputation which he had won as an educator in this capacity resulted in his appointment to the principalship of the Fort Bragg Union high school, which was then held in an old hotel in the business por- tion of the town. With the growth of population new and better school facil- ities were demanded and in 1907 resulted in the fine new building now the pride and delight of teachers and pupils as well as the citizens generally. Eighty-five pupils are enrolled at this writing, 1914, and the membership is continually increasing. The curriculum comprises four complete high school courses, and graduates from this school are admitted to any department of the university. Scientific farming is taught in the school, an agricultural depart- ment having recently been added to the course, and six acres of ground adja- cent to the school are given over to experimental purposes. Although Pro- fessor Cotton is a natural agriculturist, in order to fit himself to his own satisfaction for the teaching of this special course he has taken special train- ing in the University of California. In all of the varied departments of the school work he is meeting with the splendid success which his efforts deserve, and the fact that he has the co-operation and support of the citizens lightens his problems and makes it possible for him to render unexcelled service to his patrons.
The marriage of Professor Cotton occurred in Cleone June 10, 1899, and united him with Miss Evelyn MacKerricher, the daughter of Duncan MacKerricher, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this volume. Three children were born of this marriage, John, Ruth and Norman.
GEORGE W. DUNCAN .- A man who in spite of misfortune and physical debility has surmounted obstacles and gained a competency is George W. Duncan, who was born in Boone county, Mo., March 23, 1838, the son of Nathaniel and Amelia (Garland) Duncan, farmers in Missouri. His mother dying when he was six years of age and his father when he was fifteen, George Duncan was obliged to earn his own livelihood at a tender age. His education was limited to six months of school, but being a student he be- came well informed in after years by reading and observation and regularly attending Sunday school. After his father's death he was apprenticed as a blacksmith for four years, and continued at the trade until the Civil war, when he joined his fortunes with the Confederacy, serving under Gen. Stirling (Pop) Price and later under General Shelby, as farrier for the brigade. After the war he continued at his trade until 1867, when he was stricken blind from paralysis of the optic nerve on account of the intense heat from the forge. He had a stake but it gradually melted away. In 1875 he came to Trinity county, Cal., where he had a brother who was in the cattle business ;
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in the meantime he had regained just enough of his sight to do something at the stock business. In 1879 he located in Round valley, Mendocino county, moving onto a rented farm and beginning at the bottom, as he had nothing at the time, but each year he made a success until he purchased three hundred and twenty acres, for which he paid $3400. As in other transactions, on ac- count of his eye sight he was taken advantage of and he lost the place. He then purchased five acres in Covelo and began gardening and has made another success. Some years later he built a hotel and ran it in connection with raising vegetables. Afterward he sold some of the land but retains one and a half acres with the business property. Twelve years ago he started in merchandis- ing with the aid of his wife and they are now the oldest merchants in Covelo.
Mr. Duncan's able helpmate through life was Elizabeth A. Jacobs, whom he married in Boone county, Mo., January 3, 1860, and they had six chil- dren, as follows: Thomas J., who died when one year old; Florence C., Mrs. Azbill, of Buck Mountain ; Fannie O., who died when eight years old; Mrs. Georgie Grist, deceased; James N., who died leaving six children ; and Laura E., Mrs. Russell, of Covelo. Mr. Duncan is a strong temperance man and is an ardent worker for the cause. He is an earnest member of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon. In political principles he espouses the cause of Democracy.
GEORGE P. ANDERSON .- The Mendocino County Abstract Bureau, which Mr. Anderson purchased in the spring of 1906, was established at Ukiah as early as 1885, having therefore the distinction of being the oldest abstract office in the county as well as one of the most representative institu- tions of its kind in Northern California. The bureau maintains a complete abstract of the records of Mendocino county and employs expert accountants and searchers of records familiar with every detail of the business of survey- ing and conveyancing. The modus operandi, the Saylor, McCraney and Durfee systems, is the most reliable known in the title and abstract world, and enables the bureau to furnish abstracts in the most approved manner showing everything of record down to the date of issue. The offices on School street, directly across from the Hall of Records, contain an equipment for the protection and simplification of the books and documents, and fireproof vaults furnish a safe place for the preservation of valuable papers and records.
The secretary of the bureau, who is likewise a member of the general mercantile firm of Holbrook & Anderson at Potter Valley, was born at Santa Rosa, Sonoma county, this state, October 30, 1884, and is a graduate of the Santa Rosa high school. From a very early age he has been familiar with the abstract business, his first knowledge concerning the same having been gained by a long experience in the offices of the Sonoma County Abstract Bureau in Santa Rosa. From that city he came to Ukiah in the spring of 1906 and purchased the abstract business of Smith, Donohoe & Co. During 1908 he admitted into partnership E. G. Busch, who has since been connected with him in the general abstract and title business. During 1907 he was made a Mason in Abell Lodge No. 146, F. & A. M., of which he is a past master. He is the present high priest of Ukiah Chapter No. 53, R. A. M., and is the junior warden of Ukiah Commandery No. 33, K. T., besides which he is a member of Casimir Chapter No. 252, O. E. S. Religiously he is an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Ukiah and is clerk of the session. For the past seven years he has been superintendent of the Sunday school. In 1909 he was the lay commissioner of the Benicia Presby-
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tery to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church that met at Denver, Colo.
STEPHEN BYRON MARTIN .- The first call for volunteers in the Union army at the opening of the Civil war found Mr. Martin eager to respond. It is significant of the patriotic spirit of the family that not only he, but also five of his brothers, gave courageous service to their country in tune of need. Previous to the Civil war he had lived principally in Illinois, where he was born near St. Mary's Mission, Edgar county, January 6, 1837, the third in order of birth in a family numbering nine children, seven sons and two daughters. The parents, Charles K. and Sarah (Basham) Martin, were natives, respectively, of Breckinridge county, Ky., and Botetourt county, Va., and became early settlers of Illinois, where both remained until death. The spirit of patriotism possessed by the sons came as an inheritance from their father, who was a brave soldier in the Black Hawk war.
Few advantages brightened for Stephen Byron Martin the drudgery of toil on the home farm in the years of his boyhood. At times he attended school in a cabin with a puncheon floor and slab benches, wholly destitute of equipment considered a necessity in schools of the present generation. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he was employed in Burlington, Iowa, and when the first call came for troops he enlisted under Captain Streator in Company E, First Iowa Infantry, for three months of service. During this time he took part in the battle of Wilson creek, where General Lyons was killed. After nearly four months of active service he was mustered out at St. Louis. Returning to Edgar county, two months later he volunteered in Company K, Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry, and went to the front with the commission of first lieutenant. Among his principal engagements were those of Shiloh, Stone River and Chicamauga. After the last named battle lie was detailed and placed in command of a guard of the First Ohio Infantry, whose officers had been captured by the enemy. Under his leadership the guard conveyed ammunition from headquarters to Chattanooga and Chicka- mauga. In the battle of Stone river he had been wounded in the right side by a shell and after a time he became so troubled by the injury that in 1863 he resigned on account of physical disability. For some time after leaving the army he remained in poor health, but gradually overcame the effects of the wound and regained his former rugged physical condition. The following years were spent in Missouri and Kansas, where he had various unfortunate experiences in farming and met with not a little hardship and privation.
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