USA > California > Sacramento County > History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1913 > Part 57
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FRANK D. RYAN
The Ryan family, of which Frank D. Ryan is a representative member, was founded in America by his grandfather, John C. Ryan, who came to Sacramento, Cal., from Ireland, around Cape Horn, in the early '40s and for years was in the brick manufacturing busi- ness at his extensive yards in this city, south of Y street and the railroad. The father of our subject was Frank D. Ryan, Sr., an attorney at law in Sacramento and well known throughout the state as a prominent politician. He is a past grand president of the Native Sons of the Golden West, past president of the Eagles and also of the Young Men's Institute, and past exalted ruler of the Elks. In his family were one son, Frank D., Jr., and three daughters, Estelle Regina, Ruth Marie and Irene Eleanor. Estelle is the wife of L. E. Starkweather of Walnut Creek. The mother was Miss Ella Boutwell, born near Roseville, Cal.
The younger F. D. Ryan was born in Sacramento, which was also the birth city of his father. Raised under such favorable surround- ings, with the opportunities of education and culture as a foundation, in the capital of this naturally-favored state, he passed his youth, equipping himself for the serious portions and problems of life. After eight years spent in the Christian Brothers' College at Sacra- mento, he attended the city high school for two years, and then for three years studied in the Santa Clara College. After the years of excellent training at these institutions he was a year in the govern- ment survey. Then followed four years with the Capital National Bank, from which he resigned his position April 18, 1911, and imme-
AUFairbank
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diately opened the Ryan's Palace of Sweets, at No. 725 K street. which is said to be the finest confectionery and ice cream establish- ment in northern California. Fitted in solid mahogany, the panels, frames and plate rail present a beautiful background to the walls which are lined with large mirrors, and the large onyx soda foun- tain with large mirror and mahogany background perfects the ar- rangement, giving the entire scheme an appearance of beauty and splendor. It is also equipped with richly furnished quarters in the balconies, which are given over for special parties or for club gather- ings of a social nature. The personal popularity of the proprietor and the artistic elegance of the establishment combine to make it a commercial success, as well as a beautiful addition to the business center.
Mr. Ryan was married October 16, 1909, to Ethel Rocca Holden, daughter of Frederick Holden, a native of Sacramento and in busi- ness as an electrician in that city.
HERBERT A. FAIRBANK
An official connection with the California Fruit Distributors af- fords notable evidence of the prominence to which Mr. Fairbank has attained in the horticultural activities of the state. Further testi- mony concerning the same appears in his forceful association with the Producers' Fruit Company of Sacramento. The organization of this prosperous concern came as the result of his initiative. Suc- cess came through his laborious application and care in every detail. From the year 1892, when his energetic efforts made effective the opening of the business, up to the present time, when the company ships an average of seventeen hundred cars of fruit per annum, the history of the business has been one of steady growth and prosper- ous. development. In the early years of the company's existence he held the office of vice-president, but in 1908 he was elected presi- dent, and this office he still holds, while in addition he has served from the first as manager of the concern and has handled with skill the constantly increasing business.
Although he came to the west from Texas and prior to his resi- dence in the Lone Star state had been engaged in business in South Dakota, Mr. Fairbank claims Illinois as his native commonwealth. His birth occurred April 19, 1860, his parents having been John B. and Ruth B. Fairbank, being descended from Jonathan Fayerbanke, of Dedham, Mass., whose father came from England to Massachu- setts about 1631. Primarily educated in the grammar schools of Jacksonville, Ill., he later took the regular course in the high school
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and was gradnated in 1876, after which he continued his studies in Illinois College for three years. Upon starting out to earn his own way in the world he went to Sioux Falls, S. Dak., and engaged in the wood and coal business until 1883. During the two following years he carried on a lumber business at San Antonio, Tex., but in 1885 he disposed of the enterprise, closed ont his interests there and removed to California. In San Francisco he served as secre- tary of the California Fruit Union until 1888, in which year he re- signed and removed to Sacramento, the center of his subsequent business activities. In this city he acted as manager of the Na- tional Fruit Association, a concern composed of twenty-seven eastern firms, organized under their above title through his personal ef- forts. The position with them he resigned in 1892 in order to de- vote his time to the organization of the Producers' Fruit Company.
The establishment of a home of his own dates from the resi- dence of Mr. Fairbank in South Dakota, where at Sioux Falls, Sep- tember 6, 1882, he was united with Miss Lillian E. Bnek, a popular and cultured yonng lady of that city. One daughter blessed their marriage, Gladys, now the wife of W. H. Dement and a resident of Berkeley. The religious sympathies of the family are with the Congregational Church and they have contributed with constant generosity to the missionary movements of the denomination. In his political views Mr. Fairbank always has supported the Repub- lican party, but at no time has he songht official honors or aspired to the activities incident to public life. Of recognized culture and breadth of mind, he has been a welcomed guest in the most select circles of the community. The Sutter Club has received his sup- port as an active member and his social relations are enlarged through membership in the Union League of San Francisco. The Masonic Order has received his sympathetic support in the varied philanthropies that mark its existence, he being a member of the Knights Templar and Shrine, while in addition he has maintained fraternal associations with the Woodmen.
HUBERT J. HUMBERT
An engineering experience extending into different portions of the United States and Mexico has established the reputation of Mr. Humbert as an expert in his specialty and gives to him a standing abundantly justified by his talents. While his association with the business interests of Sacramento covers a comparatively brief period only (he having come to this city during the year 1908), already he has won the prestige connected with occupative ability and the in- fluence established by a previons gratifying record. It was his good
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fortune in youth to receive excellent advantages and thus his natural talent found rational development under the supervision of efficient instructors. After he had completed the studies of the St. Louis schools he matriculated in the Polytechnic of that city and there took a thorough course in engineering, so that he received the training nec- essary to the success of later labors. His parents, Frederick and Angusta (Ochs) Humbert, gave him every advantage within their means and in the city of St. Louis, where he was born January 11, 1871, he received the training so indispensable to the most complete mental development.
As an erecting engineer connected with the St. Louis branch house of the New York City firm widely known as the De La Vergne Machine Company, Hubert J. Humbert acquired a valuable experience in his chosen occupation. During 1895 he resigned from that position and engaged with the Consumers' brewery in St. Louis, where he held the position of assistant engineer for eighteen months. Next he transferred his services to the Anhenser-Busch brewery of St. Louis in whose large plant he served as assistant chief engineer for seven years. When finally he resigned from that company he went to Mexico and became chief engineer in a brewery at Monterey. Two years were spent in Mexico and he then returned to the States, where in New York City he engaged as erecting engineer with the De La Vergne Machine Company, continning in that very important place until 1908, the year of his location in Sacramento. Here he engaged with the Buffalo brewery as assistant chief engineer, a position that he has filled with the intelligence, fidelity and efficiency characteristic of him in every business connection. In addition he is manager and a director of the Sacramento Pump Manufacturing and Supply Company, engineers, machinists and founders, operating a large plant at No. 1800 R street, and carrying in stock a complete assortment of centrifugal pumps for all purposes as well as refrigerating plant supplies. The company has as its president H. I. Seymour, while R. MeElwaine is secretary and treasurer.
The discharge of personal business duties has left Mr. Humbert little leisure for participation in public affairs, but in every place of his residence, whether east or west, he has kept in touch with civic progress, has contributed to municipal prosperity and has been a fac- tor in the general welfare. Politically he votes with the Republican party in general elections, while fraternally he is identified with the Masonic fraternity and Legion of Honor. When he came to California and settled in Sacramento he brought with him his cultured yonng wife, whom he had married in St. Louis November 26, 1896, and who bore the maiden name of Lena Dieterle. Their position since has been one of prominence among the most refined circles of Sacramento society, where their worth, education and attainments make them hon- ored guests.
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GEORGE H. MAYER
Exceptional success in the management of the interests con- signed to his supervision proves that Mr. Mayer possesses talent of an high order. His long retention with and frequent promotions by a company of vast influence and worldwide enterprises prove that, in entering its service after having engaged temporarily in other activities, he found a congenial occupation and one well suited to his ability. The experiences of early life were not different from those of other youths who, uncertain of their own preferences in occupative employments, accept any available opening until they prove their own abilities and ascertain their own inclinations. It was not long, however, before the desired opportunity came to him and since that time he has won steadily increasing recognition in the line of his specialty. At this writing and since October of 1910 he has acted as manager of the Sacramento branch of the Standard Oil Company and as special agent for the famous organization he has won considerable prestige throughout the state.
A graduate of the high school of Reading, Pa., his native city, Mr. Mayer has supplemented the study of text-books by habits of thoughtful reading and observation, so that he now possesses a fund of information and a general knowledge unsurpassed by many uni- versity graduates. Travel throughont his native country and abroad has added to his mental outlook and broadened his judgment, giv- ing to him a cosmopolitan culture that renders his presence a dis- tinct acquisition to the most refined circles of society. For a time during young manhood he engaged as bookkeeper with a large firm in Reading, but dissatisfied with the position he left it and took up a more remunerative engagement as traveling salesman for a large cigar manufacturer. Meanwhile he had acquired great proficiency in music and his high standing in that art led to his selection as musical director in one of the most prominent military colleges of the east, where he remaned until 1900, the year of his first asso- ciation with the Standard Oil Company.
First as clerk and then as bookkeeper, Mr. Mayer passed two years in the San Francisco office of the Standard Oil Company. During 1902 he had the distinction of being chosen the first specialty salesman on the Pacific coast and as such he continued for two years. In 1904 he was sent to South America in the interests of the house. Returning to California in 1905 he was sent immediately to Honolulu for the purpose of establishing the company's busi- ness on the Hawaiian Islands. Several years were devoted to the interests of the company at that distant point and it was not until March of 1909 that he had the work so systematized as to render
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longer residence unnecessary. Coming again to San Francisco, he soon was sent to Tacoma, Wash., in the interests of the company and after several months was transferred to South America for the purpose of looking after very important interests of the com- pany which were just developing in that country. Returning to San Francisco in 1910 he went to San Jose as special agent of the local branch, and after four months he was transferred to the Sac- ramento office as manager of all of Northern California, Southern Oregon and east to the Utah line. In this responsible position he has made good and his efficiency is a matter of common knowl- edge among officials in charge of the western work of the Standard Oil Company. With all of his business cares he has found leisure for prominent participation in Masonry and is a member of the vari- ous bodies, including the Knights Templar, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and is a life member of Islam Temple, N. M. S., San Francisco. Locally he is a member of the Sutter Club, the Cham- ber of Commerce, and various other bodies. Politically he has been independent, voting for the man and the principle rather than for any certain party. In religion he has been an attendant of the Episcopal Church and a generous contributor to the phil- anthropies and missionary movements of the denomination.
WILLIAM A. JOHNSTON
To be reckoned among the influential and successful citizens of a community requires both industry and good business judgment and seldom does a man retain his position without the possession of innate honesty and regard for others. The fact that throughout his career, which was cut short August 14, 1911, William A. Johnston received naught but esteem and friendship from his many associates through- out Courtland and Sacramento county in general, bears witness to the altruism and unwavering honor which formed the leading attributes of his character. His father, William Johnston, who was born in Wilkinsburg, Allegheny county, Pa., eight miles from Pittsburgh, emi- grated to California as a member of a train comprising three hundred people in 1849, a year whose experiences were engraven upon the mem- ories of those who answered the summons of the western gold fields. After mining in Eldorado county about a year with varying success, he purchased a squatter's claim consisting of a quarter-section sev- eral miles south of Sacramento, and engaged in farming, his executive ability and good citizenship playing a prominent part in the progress of the community. As a Granger, he occupied the highest chairs in
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the state organization and twice served as delegate to the National Grange. For some years he was president of the Grangers' Co-Opera- tive Business Association, and from the time of its founding until his death he served as vice-president or president and director of the People's Savings Bank of Sacramento. He was one of the officers of Franklin Lodge, F. & A. M. From 1871 to 1873 he served as a mem- ber of the Legislative Assembly, and from 1878 to 1882 as a member of the state Senate, of which body he was chosen president pro tem. In 1883 he received membership in the State Board of Equalization and in his earnest and single-hearted service to the public won unanimous com. mendation. As a staunch Republican he rendered material support to his party and both in public and private life was deemed a man of broad and generous principles, his death in 1905 being the occasion of sincere sorrow on the part of his many friends and colleagues. His wife, Elizabeth Hite, was a woman of rare tact and unfailing sym- pathy and in all her husband's interests expressed the deepest con- cern, her death, which also occurred in 1905, depriving the household of its mainspring of affection and tenderness.
William A. Johnston was born November 11, 1858, at Hood, then called Richland, upon his father's Sacramento county farm and supplemented a grammar and high school education by a course in the Pacific University at San Jose, graduating in the class of 1882. For a time he assisted his father, who presented him in 1892 a tract of one hundred acres, which the young man stocked with cattle and horses, also continuing agricultural pursuits. Later he added to his holdings one hundred and three acres, and by means of keen business judgment and firmness of purpose in all his dealings he won a place among the largest stock raisers in the county. The new town of Hood is laid out on a part of this place.
On September 5, 1885, Mr. Johnston was married to Miss Lizzie Richards, who was born in Sacramento county, her death occurring in April, 1890. Two years later, on July 3, 1892, at Clarksburg, Yolo county, he married for his second wife Miss Carrie Connor, a native of Courtland, Sacramento county, Cal., whose parents Hamilton S. and Amanda (Wilson) Connor, were natives of New Hampshire and Iowa respectively. Her father came to California via Panama in 1858 and her mother crossed the plains with her father, George Wil- son, making the journey with ox-teams in 1852, the trip consuming six months. Mr. and Mrs. William A. Johnston had three children: Mrs. Matie Hollenbeck, whose husband rents from Mrs. Johnston the one hundred and three-acre tract belonging to the estate; Glenn William, who is a student in Atkinson Business College, Sacramento; and Dwight, who attends the Richland public school.
Mr. Johnston was a Republican of progressive spirit, and was a consistent and energetic member of the Franklin Christian Church.
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His widow has many times proved herself capable of the trust left her, not only giving a mother's attention to her ambitious children, but managing her affairs with unquestioned business ability.
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ISAAC J. TRAINOR
For twenty years and more connected with the ice business in Sacramento and vicinity Isaac J. Trainor, senior partner of the firm of Kane & Trainor, has experienced a career of personal endeavor and well merited success which has marked him an exemplary and valued citizen of his community. His is the story of a self-made man. Born in Broderick, Yolo County, Cal., September 18, 1861, he is the son of H. C. and Rose (Toland) Trainor, natives of New York state and Boston, respectively, who were pioneers of California. The son was reared in Sacramento, where he received his education in the public schools. His first employment was on a survey corps, with whom he worked for two years, and then for twelve years he trav- eled extensively, selling goods all over the Pacific coast. On March 23, 1893, he embarked in the wholesale and commission business in connec- tion with the Union Ice Company and the National Ice Company, and then for ten years was junior partner in the firm of Kane & Trainor, which business he was largely instrumental in organizing. Mr. Kane passed away in December, 1909, and soon afterward W. H. Quaas became a member of the concern. In connection with the two above mentioned companies they also handle the Buffalo Brewing Com- pany's ice. To the details of this business Mr. Trainor has always given close attention, having brought to the task the experience gained in a valuable business career which had taught him the pe- culiarities of men of all classes.
February 6, 1895, Mr. Trainor married at Sacramento Anna Stephenson, a daughter of C. H. Stephenson, D.D.S., of this city, a young lady of many accomplishments who has developed into a matron of many attractions and much usefulness in the community in which their lot is cast. Dr. Stephenson died December 25, 1905, regretted by a wide circle of acquaintances. While Mr. Trainor is not in the ordinary sense of the word a politician, he is deeply interested in public affairs and well informed concerning them, and he consistently supports such men and measures as he believes prom- ise most for the public good.
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CHARLES S. ROBB
Although by no means one of the earliest settlers of California nor a pioneer in the accepted meaning of that term, Mr. Robb claims the honor of having been identified with the state ever since the year 1871. With the exception of a brief period of railroad employment in Nevada, he has remained in the state ever since the time of his ar- rival, and he dates his residence in Sacramento from 1875, when he established a home in this city and entered upon a residential connec- tion with the town that has continued up to the present time. Rail- roading has been his chosen occupation in life, and until his retire- ment from the service he was counted one of the most popular and efficient conductors on the Southern Pacific system, for his long ex- perience, innate courtesy and broad intelligence admirably qualified him for the many responsibilities of the position.
Born in MeHenry county, Ill., January 8, 1848, Mr. Robb is a son of William Scott and Rowena (Whittemore) Robb, natives of Peter- boro, N. H., and New York state respectively. As a boy he attended public and private schools in the home neighborhood, and when eighteen years of age he began to give his entire attention to the task of assisting in the enltivation of his father's farm. During October of 1870 he married Miss Candace Snyder, a young lady who was born in Cuba, N. Y., but from the age of thirteen was reared in McHenry county, Ill., and who enjoys with him the warm esteem of their circle of acquaintances. Shortly after his marriage and when twenty-three years of age he came to California and settled at Emigrant Gap, Placer county, where he engaged in mining for six months. From there he went to Reno, Nev., and secured employment with the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Returning at the expiration of one year to Emigrant Gap, he continued to work as fireman on the Central Pacific road for two years, with headquarters at that point. Next he was transferred to a run out of Sacramento as brakeman and after eighteen months he was promoted to be conductor on a freight train. When the name of the road was changed to the Southern Pacific he continued among the old and valued employes, and in recognition of efficiency of service received promotion from conductor on a freight route, where he had been for seven years, to the charge of a passenger train. From that time until his resignation in January, 1909, he con- tinued among the most trusted and honored of the employes of the company.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Robb consisted of two daughters, the younger of whom, Miss Mary, resides with her parents at the family home, No. 2030 Twenty-third street, Sacramento. The older daughter, Myrtie Rowena, is the wife of D. W. Carmichael, a prominent real
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Chan & Rable
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estate agent residing in Sacramento. For years Mr. Robb took a very warm interest and an active part in the Order of Railway Con- ductors. Politically he has been staunch in his allegiance to the Re- publican party, but owing to the nature of his life occupation it never was possible for him to hold official positions or identify himself prominently with public affairs, hence his association with the city has been that of a private citizen only, one who is desirous of ad- vancing the general welfare and who possesses a firm faith in ultimate civic prosperity. During the period of his railroad service he invested in oil lands and real estate, and since his retirement he has devoted considerable attention to the supervision of these interests.
EDWARD TWITCHELL
The pioneer instinct has been strong in the Twitchell blood. It was that which led the first representatives of the name in America to leave the comforts of European civilization and identify them- selves with the stern environment of New England. The same love of the frontier appeared in the history of a New England couple, the husband, Capt. Timothy Twitchell, from New Hampshire and the wife, Susan (Watson) Twitchell, from Vermont, who gave up home and friends and sought the unknown territories of the south, there to make a temporary home in the ancient city of Pensacola, Fla. During the sojourn of the family at that point a son, Edward, was born November 8, 1828. There were two other sons, George and Amos, equally talented as the one previously named, but their ability led them into different lines of activity and one became a very successful physician, the other a scientist. Capt. Timothy Twitchell was a seafaring man; as early as the '20s he sailed around Cape Horn to the California coast, as well as up to the shores of Alaska, trading in hides, horns and tallow, and he is known to have put in at the Bay of Monterey.
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