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 99
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 99
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is descended, himself a pioneer and an example of these same enduring qual- ities which have made the vanguard of civilization so powerful in their influ- ence upon the nation's life and character.
The life of this pioneer of California is full of interest and the tales that he tells of the early days are like fairy tales to the child of today. born as he must needs be if he is a Californian, amidst scenes of high civilization and culture, and on whom the winds of danger and possible death from hidden perils of the wilds never blow. Mr. Mero was born in Warsaw, Hancock county, Ill., April 9, 1861. His parents crossed the plains the following year, and so the recollections of that eventful journey were not for him. save only as they were oft retold by his father. The grandparents of Mr. Mero came in an early day from France, of which country they were natives. to eastern Canada, where they settled on a farm, later removing to Montreal. where their son. Alex., father of Charles William, was born. The family name, as brought from France was spelled Mereaux, and given the French pronuncia- tion, but the young Alex was determined to be a genuine American. and refused to be so handicapped with a name that was not easily pronounced, and when he later took up his residence in the United States and became a naturalized citizen. he simplified the name to its present spelling of Mero. Having thus identified himself with the interests of his adopted country, the young French-Canadian finally settled in Illinois, where he was married to Miss Sarah Goodrich, a native of Shenandoah Valley, Va., but of purest English descent, and established himself in business in the village of War- saw. In 1862 he brought his family across the plains to California with an ox- team train, consuming much time on the way. The first stage of the journey was from Illinois to Virginia City, Nev., and this required five months of constant traveling to encompass. From there to San Francisco the trip was made in quicker time, and soon the family was safely settled in their new home.
This trip across the plains with his family was, however, not the first of its kind that Mr. Mero had made, and was far from being the most event- ful. In the summer of 1852 he had made a similar trip, with a train of ninety wagons. he being chosen captain. In all matters of general interest it was the habit of the young captain to allow the matter to be decided by a vote of all members of the party. When they reached the point in the trail known as Lander's Cutoff, the question as to whether they should travel by way of the cutoff. which was some three days shorter than the regular road, was decided in the affirmative by a general vote. Mr. Mero, however, was a man who had learned by past experience the wisdom of following his own impressions or "presentiments." and when he became convinced by such a presentiment that it was not well for the train to go by way of the cutoff he was much troubled. He traveled with the party one day, but became constantly more strongly convinced that ill would befall them if they so continued. That night he did not sleep, and before the dawn his mind was made up. Accord- ingly, after the early breakfast he mounted a wagon seat and explained to the assembled company his decision, and the reason therefor, saying that he was going to turn back and take the main trail, but that all who cared to do so inight continue on their way. Owing to the saving of time by taking the cut- off, most of the party continued, laughing at the man who followed anything so illusive as a "presentiment." Three days later, when the little party that
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had turned back was encamped for the night. a lone horseman rode into their midst, and reported that the entire train had been massacred by the Indians, only himself escaping. This he had done by creeping unseen into the low brush, where he had lain hidden while the savages completed the horrible destruction of life and property, he being the unwilling witness to awful mur- ders. Many years later, in 1877, when Mr. Mero was living quietly on his farm in Napa county, a stranger came to his door and asked to stay for the night. During the evening the topic turned on experiences of early days, and the stranger told the tale of the Lander's Cutoff massacre. he being the man who had escaped.
No such unhappy experiences as this, fortunately, overtook the train that held the family of the pioneer Mero, and after reaching San Francisco he established himself in business as a harness-maker and carriage trimmer, with a shop at the corner of Market and Fifth streets. His desire was always to possess a farm, and in 1870 he purchased a property in Foss Valley. Napa county. and established his family thereon, remaining in San Francisco him- self for two years longer, and, with the profits of his business there. developing and improving the farm. Here he remained until in 1877 he removed to Napa City, where he resided until the time of his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-four years. His wife survived him for a few years, and died at the age of seventy-two.
There were six children in the family of Alex Mero, all of whom are liv- ing, the youngest being Charles William, present resident of Fort Bragg. He passed the early years of his boyhood in San Francisco, attending the Lin- coln grammar school until he was nine years old. when the family moved onto the farm in Foss Valley. Here until he was fifteen the lad was without educa- tional advantages of any sort, and devoted his time to work on the farm. At the age of fifteen he returned to San Francisco and attended the Spring Valley grammar school until he had completed the course, after which he acted as assistant to Prof. Anderson, the principal, for fifteen months, and studied the higher branches under his direction. At that time he returned to Napa City and entered the employ of the State Hospital located there. where he remained until his marriage to Miss Kathleen Callahan, a native of Australia.
Following his marriage Mr. Mero engaged for a time in the grocery and feed business in Napa City, and later went to Washington, where he was head warden of the Washington State Hospital for the Insane at Steilacoom for two and a half years. On his return to Napa he was elected city marshal. serving for three years. In 1891 he assumed charge of the receiving ward of the Mendocino State Hospital at Ukiah, at the time of its opening, receiving the first patient to be admitted. He remained here for more than six years. but finally desiring a change, he severed his connection with the hospital. and in July, 1900, located at Fort Bragg, where he has since resided with his family. Here he started the Fort Bragg Steam Laundry, in connection with Mr. Jones, and is still in charge. They own the building and the plant is the largest of its kind in Mendocino county. Mr. Mero, however, has never con- fined himself to one line of business but has always been more or less inter- ested in real estate, and especially in timber claims. He located valuable claims on Eel river, but later sold them, and has since bought and sold con- siderable property of a similar nature. Since coming to Fort Bragg he has been prominent in all local matters and in 1912 was elected a city trustee. As
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such he has been able to serve the municipality very ably, and is particularly noted for his interest in and warm support of all progressive measures, and all plans for the betterment of the community. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mero are well known to a large circle of friends, and their position in Fort Bragg would be hard to fill. Their home has been, in days gone by, filled with the happy laughter of children, but all but one have now gone from the parent nest. These children numbered seven, all but one of whom are still living, although scattered. Florence is now Mrs. Richmond of San Francisco; Verona is now Mrs. Ed. Dixon of Folsom, while Kathleen is Mrs. George Preston and Loretta is Mrs. Howard Merritt, both with homes at Fairbanks, Alaska. The youngest daughter, Miss Elvira, still resides with her parents in Fort Bragg. and is a popular member of the younger social set.
Another point of interest for both Mr. and Mrs. Mero is the fraternal life of Fort Bragg, in which they are both prominent and popular. Mr. Mero is a inember of the Fort Bragg Lodge No. 361, F. & A. M., and has the honor of being the first man to be made a Master Mason in this lodge. He is a member of Santa Rosa Lodge No. 646, B. P. O. E., Fort Bragg Lodge No. 24, K. P., and of the Woodmen of the World. He was captain of the local company of the uniform rank, Knights of Pythias, while they were in existence, and was also a member of the fire department until he was elected a city trustee. While in Napa he was the assistant chief of the fire department. Mr. and Mrs. Mero are both members of the Sapphire Chapter No. 230, O. E. S., Fort Bragg.
HARRY D. LA MOTTE .- The elements of adventure and romance which glorify the hardships of pioneer life in California to readers of history as well as fiction have been very real to Harry La Motte. He has been per- mitted to bear more than the average share in opening up this state and the great northwest to civilization, and in his later years did equal service for the southwest. Danger and privation have been his to face and endure, but the splendor of the achievements in which he has had part would be ample com- pensation for bodily suffering and the hazards beyond which the explorer in any field looks to behold his object. Mr. La Motte had a heritage of fearless- ness and courage from his French Huguenot ancestors. His great-grandfather, Jean Henri de la Motte, was a refugee to Holland in the days of persecution, coming thence to Maryland, in the new world. His brother, Admiral De La Motte Pecat, was the first officer ever to salute the American flag in a foreign port, saluting the Stars and Stripes flying from Paul Jones's Bonhomme Richard as she sailed into the port of Cherbourg, France. (See Life of John Paul Jones.)
Daniel La Motte, the father of Harry D., was born in Baltimore, Md., and had a long career as a cotton manufacturer, spending the last fifty years of his life in that business. His family consisted of thirteen children, of whom we have the following record : Margaretta married Alfred Du Pont, head of the Du Pont powder works at Brandywine, Del. ; Ferdinand, who is deceased, was in partnership with his father in the manufacture of cotton : Mary, Mrs. Houns- field, died in Wilmington. Del .; Eleanora was the wife of the late Edwin Gil- pin, who served as chief justice of Delaware; Daniel, deceased, was also in business with his father as a cotton manufacturer; Robert S. is more fully mentioned later ; Eugenia died when seventeen years old; William, who was secretary and treasurer of the Farmers' Insurance Company, of Wilmington, Del .. died unmarried in the fall of 1912; Anna died unmarried; Harry D. is
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specially mentioned later : Alfred V. is engaged in fish hatching at Ukiah, Cal .; Charles Eugene served in the Union army throughout the Civil war. becoming a general, and died unmarried ; Francis died of scarlet fever when ten years old. Of the seven sons who reached maturity five served in the Civil war, all but Harry and Alfred. and one of the family treasures is a letter to their mother from AAbraham Lincoln, in special recognition of the services hier sons rendered their country. The little state of Delaware had the first men in the field when the Rebellion broke out, and it was the prompt action of Robert S. La Motte which helped to hold Delaware in the Union when the crisis came. In anticipation of the war he had organized the Bell & Everett Rangers to stand by the government if necessary. The day before the special session of the legislature called by the governor to declare Delaware out of the Union, James A. Bayard stopped at the house of Judge Gilpin and told him of the action taken by the state executive, and the Judge sent the mes- sage: "Tell the governor if he attempts it I will hang him." Robert S. La Motte lost no time assuring himself of the loyalty of his men, became colonel of the First Delaware Infantry without waiting for authority, and exerted sufficient influence to save the day and commit the state to the Union cause. He subsequently became colonel of the Thirteenth United States Infantry, the regiment General Sherman was commanding at the outbreak of the Civil war.
Harry D. La Motte was born in Delaware county, Pa .. September 6, 1831, and during most of his boyhood was instructed under private tutors, the family home being out in the country. However, he attended private school in Philadelphia for a time. He was only a youth of eighteen when he came to California in 1849. After a short stay in San Francisco he was lured to the placer mining district on the Trinity river by the extravagant reports of its possibilities, and in the spring of 1850 joined his brother Robert in an expedi- tion up the coast. Chartering the steamer Laura Virginia, under Capt. Douglas Ottinger and Mates Seneckson and Buhne, they loaded it with pro- visions and started out to find the mouth of the Trinity river, a quest made also by nineteen more vessels. Proceeding as far up as Trinidad, where they arrived April 10th, some of the party then came back southward under the leadership of Robert S. La Motte, and found the body of water since known as Humboldt bay, which name was proposed by La Motte in honor of Baron von Humboldt, for his great scientific services to the world. Meantime Harry D. La Motte continued north with a party up to Crescent City, under Capt. Numa Duperu, on the schooner Arcadia of the revenue service. On the trip five men were drowned by the capsizing of a boat, and after burying their companions the rest proceeded northward as far as the Klamath river, which was identified by one of their number, Captain Thayer, an old sealer. Finding no other river they retraced their way to Trinidad, and on April 15th entered Humboldt bay, where the provisions were unloaded and the party disem- barked for the enterprise it had set out upon. Eureka, in that vicinity, was named by Capt. Charles Thompson. who owned the schooner Eclipse, out from Baltimore.
The hardy men cut a trail to the Trinity river. and Harry La Motte remained in the Humboldt bay country for two years. With three comrades he built the first house on the bay (immortalized by Joaquin Miller in "The Lost Cabin"), where elk, deer and wild ducks were plentiful in that time of primeval conditions. During his stay there he worked considerably at wood
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chopping. Returning to San Francisco in 1852, he soon went up to Sonoma county and engaged in farming, between Petaluma and Bodega, on the Blucher ranch, remaining there for a period of twelve years.
In 1850 Mr. La Motte became a member of the old California Guard, the first military company in the state, and is proud of his connection with this earliest body of citizen soldiery on the Pacific coast, the names of many of whose members are perpetuated in San Francisco in her street nomenclature. Thus Post street was named after Corporal Gabriel Post; Howard street after Capt. W. D. M. Howard, who was the first captain of the guard and later the first president of the Society of California Pioneers; Bryant street after Edwin Bryant, from Louisville, Ky .. a literary man, author of "What I Saw in Cali- fornia," who came across the plains in 1846; Brannon street after Samuel Brannon : Folsom street after Capt. L. J. Folsom ; Larkin street after Thomas O. Larkin, who came to California in 1828; Bluxom street after Capt. Isaac Bluxom.
Subsequently Mr. La Motte joined the City Guard, and was a member of the vigilance committee in whose operations the City Guard had an important part. When John S. Ellis was elected sheriff of San Francisco county in 1860 (succeeding Charles Doane, who had been elected as candidate of the People's party), Harry D. La Motte was sent for and appointed deputy and he continued to serve under four successive sheriffs. Ellis, Henry L. Davis, P. J. White and James Adams. the last four years of the time as under- sheriff.
When he returned to business pursuits after his official experience, H. D. La Motte went with General Beale on the vast Tejon ranches, taking charge of the sheep department. in which capacity he had the care of ninety thousand head, on the Tejon, Castec Los Alamos and Lievre ranches. He was thus occupied until 1878. Returning to San Francisco he was engaged for some time looking after the Horace Hawes estate. and next took a position with the Southern Pacific Railway Company, in the legal department. He acted as right-of-way agent for the company, and as such secured the right-of-way for great stretches of the Southern Pacific and Mexican Central railways- from Los Angeles to San Antonio, Texas; from Saugus to Santa Barbara ; from San Francisco to Santa Barbara on the coast: from Santa Rosa to Car- quinez ; from Los Angeles to the Soldiers' Home road. His most notable industrial achievements are compassed within these years. His wonderful executive ability and skill in construction work were highly valued, and time has proved the real worth of the feats he accomplished in carrying out what to him seemed the mere responsibilities of his position. His life during this . period was as rich in adventure as ever, and many narrow escapes might be recorded in the history of those years. After leaving this service, some twenty years ago, he continued to live in San Francisco for three or four years. partially employed by the Southern Pacific Company. Some seventeen years ago he came to Lake county, making his home at Lower Lake for about three. years and since at Lakeport. Since settling there he has lived practically re- tired, though by no means inactive. Local interests have provided interest and a field for his restless mentality, and he has given the town the benefit of his large experience and capacity for handling affairs. He was a member of the board of town trustees of Lakeport for seven years, and chairman of that body four years. He is a member of the California Pioneers' Association. one
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of the celebrated figures which that organization has taken pride in enrolling.
In 1861 H. D. La Motte was married, at the Yount Adobe (the first house in Napa valley, built in 1828), to Miss Catherine Clayton, sister of William J. Clayton, of Lower Lake, and daughter of Capt. George C. Clayton, an old East India sea captain, who began his career as a mariner while serving in the British navy, and later was in the British East India service, running trading vessels from Calcutta to Liverpool. He was an officer on the trans- port which took Napoleon from France to St. Helena. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. La Motte: Robert Smith, who is engaged in the Crocker Bank; Engenia, wife of William Andrew Riddell, of Alameda, Cal .: Harry C., a retired navy officer, a carriage painter by occupation, now living at Lakeport, Cal .: Emily, wife of Cullen K. Sturdyvant, of Seattle, Wash .; William, who died when two years old; and Anna, wife of George 11. Neal, of Lakeport.
CHARLES RAUDIO .- Among the men who have made a success of agriculture and market gardening we find Charles Raudio, a very enter- prising and useful citizen. He was born in Kokola, Sweden, December 3, 1862. Two years later his father, Anders Raudio, removed from Sweden to Vatsó, Norway, where he engaged in cod fishing, his family joining him in 1869, and he and his estimable wife still continue to make Vatsó their home. Charles Raudio was the third oldest child of a family of thirteen children and from the age of six years was brought up in Norway, where he received a good education in the local schools. From a little lad he had helped his father fishing and by the time he had completed the public school at fourteen he had also mastered sailing and fishing and at that age took charge of a boat of his own and continued in the cod-fishing industry until 1888. Read- ing and hearing of the larger opportunities in the United States and particu- larly California, induced him to come to the far west, so in the above year he made his way to San Francisco and thence came immediately to Little River, Mendocino county. On his arrival he found employment at tie mak- ing, which he followed for two years. In 1890 his wife and three children joined him, the brave woman having made the long and tedious journey alone with her little ones. In 1890 Mr. Raudio entered the employ of the Caspar Lumber Company at felling timber and as a carpenter. Thus he continued for them until 1904, when he quit their employ to engage in farm- ing. Purchasing thirty acres on the Noyo river one and one-half miles from Fort Bragg, he located on it with his family. It is rich bottom land and splendid soil and he has met with much success raising vegetables and potatoes for the Fort Bragg market and he has also set out an orchard of . fruit trees. He has installed an irrigation system by building a dam in a gulch fed by strong springs, and he has a reservoir with a capacity of thirty thousand gallons which furnishes him ample water for irrigation. The water for domestic use is obtained from a large spring near his commodious and comfortable residence.
The marriage of Mr. Raudio occurred at Vatso, Norway, uniting him with Miss Maria Kuoppela, a native of that place and a woman of refinement and a strong character who has been an able helpmate to her husband in his acquirement of a competence. To them were born thirteen children, of whoni two died in infancy. Of the others we mention the following: Sigrid H .. the wife of Ed Hendricksen, died leaving four children ; Hjalmar and Charles both reside in Fort Bragg: Sophia, Mrs. Albright, resides in Inglenook ; the
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next in order are Ida and Hilda; Fred was accidentally drowned in the Noyo at the age of eleven years; the next children are Annie and Mabel ; Charlotte L. died when four years old; and Isaac completes the family. Mr. Raudio is a member of the Kalevala Brotherhood, of which he is president. The family are members of the Lutheran Church of Fort Bragg, and Mr. Raudio is a member of the board of trustees.
AUGUST GAMBERG .- In 1875 August Gamberg came to California, landing at the mouth of the Noyo river, Mendocino county, April 25 of that year. He was born in Kemi, Oulunlaani, Finland, August 24, 1850. There were no public schools in that section at the time he was a youth and he was taught by his parents to read and do sums at home. By continued read- ing and self-study he has become a well informed man. From a boy he learned farming as it was done in his native country, but he could see little opportunity in his surroundings and so determined to try his fortune in the land of the Stars and Stripes, of which he had heard and read much. In 1871 we find him in Minneapolis, Minn., in the employ of the Chicago, Mil- waukee & St. Paul Railroad. After remaining with the company for two years he removed to Calumet, Mich., being employed in the woods until 1875. when he came to the Noyo river, Mendocino county, and entered the employ of McPherson & Weatherbee at logging until Mr. McPherson died in 1878. In that year he began making ties on contract, a business he followed for many years. Meantime, in 1882, he took a preemption of one hundred and sixty acres on the Noyo river, proving up on it in due time and making ties of suitable timber until 1887. when he sold the tract. In 1896 he purchased thirty-five acres on the Noyo, two miles from Fort Bragg. Twenty-one acres of the place was rich bottom land, where for many years he raised large crops of potatoes and vegetables which he sold at a good profit. In 1903 he sold the ranch and built a residence in the same vicinity in which he resided until 1906, then moving to his present residence on the corner of Redwood and Whipple avenues, Fort Bragg. a place he had owned since 1893. Since he sold his ranch he has been working at the carpenter's trade.
Mrs. Gamberg was in maidenhood Maria Elisa Anderson, her marriage to Mr. Gamberg occurring in Fort Bragg March 30, 1899. Like her husband a native of Finland, she came to Calumet, Mich., in 1870, where she was first married to Henry Hendrickson, a miner. They came to Mendocino county in 1875, and there Mr. Hendrickson died on his farm near Albion. By her first marriage Mrs. Gamberg has three children, as follows: Albert, Edward and Henry. Mr. Gamberg is a member of the Kalevala Brotherhood and is a staunch Republican. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church, to which as well as other worthy enterprises, they are liberal contributors.
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