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 58
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105
Concerning the early life of Edward Twitchell little is to be said. It presented the same round of struggle, the same lack of advan- tages, the same deprivation of comfort and the same willing endur- ance of hardship which characterized the lives of the people during the early half of the nineteenth century. No break came in the monotony of labor and isolation until the discovery of gold in Cali- fornia. That event changed the entire life of the young man in Florida. An expedition was organized comprising people from his part of the southeast. Joining the party he traveled by boat to Mexico and then rode on horseback across that country, taking boat
536
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
on the Pacific side and sailing north to the harbor of San Francisco in August, 1849. The trip, though necessarily one of great hardship and privation, was not without its share of pleasure and interest to the young man whose previous knowledge of the world had been limited to his own little corner thereof.
While it was primarily for the purpose of mining that Mr. Twitchell came to the west, we find that the occupation did not engage liis attention for any protracted period. Even when at the camps he found the trade of a carpenter more profitable than looking for gold. Having learned and had experience as a civil engineer in New Hampshire in 1848, under a celebrated surveyor, upon his return to Sacramento he became deputy to Gen. Horace Higley, surveyor-general, and for twenty-five years he remained in the office, meanwhile working under General Houghton and others. For a time he was a surveyor and miner in the White Pine district, in Nevada. During the early days he did considerable surveying in Sacramento, Berkeley, Alameda and Oakland, and at one time owned property in these cities, as well as in Fresno and Yolo counties. While in the government employ he made the first survey of Lake Tahoe, also surveyed in New Mexico and Arizona, surveyed and named Twitchell Island, and had other important expeditions. For many years he owned a large tract of land on Sherman Island. In his last years he had retired from business cares, but still took part in civic affairs and gave earnest support to movements for the local advancement. He died February 8, 1912. He was a member of Sacramento Society of California Pioneers.
The marriage of Mr. Twitchell and Margaret Woodland was solemnized in Sacramento December 20, 1870. They became the parents of three children. The only son, Edward W. Twitchell, M. D., is a prominent physician of Sacramento. The elder daughter, Blanche, is the wife of James H. Jennings, son of an honored pio- neer of San Francisco and himself a well-known resident of that city. The younger daughter, Ethel, married Prof. W. D. Briggs, who is connected with the English department of the Leland Stanford Uni- versity at Palo Alto. Mrs. Twitchell was born in Louisiana, but at the age of six months she was brought by her parents across the plains to California, the journey covering four months. The family traveled up the Mississippi river to St. Louis, thence joined an expedition overland, and finally arrived at Fort Sutter during August of 1849, and Sacramento has been Mrs. Twitchell's home ever since. Not long after arriving her father, James W. Woodland, who was the first assessor of the city of Sacramento, was shot and killed during a squatters' riot that occurred on the corner of Third and J streets, Sacramento, he having taken no part in the trouble, but happening to turn the corner just as the parties came together, and a stray bullet hit and killed him. The fact that he had just
539
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
left his home after the birth of an infant son added to the sad event. Later E. B. Crocker bought the old Woodland homestead and on the ground he erected a building now known as the Scudder House. When Miss Woodland began housekeeping in her own home as the bride of Mr. Twitchell, her mother, Mrs. Jane (Alexander) Woodland, joined her there and afterward remained an inmate of the Twitchell residence, where she died in 1905 at the age of eighty- six years.
ISIDOR SCHAD
Among those many able sons of Switzerland who came to this fertile land to build up their own business and live free, independent lives is Isidor Schad, a member of an old and much respected family in that country .. From an early age he showed himself to be a cap- able, industrious lad, always eager to do better, larger things, with an exceptional trait of adapting himself to any kind of work which pre- sented itself.
Born September 13, 1857, in the canton of Solothurn, which is in the northwestern part of Switzerland, he there attended school. When he was fourteen years of age he was brought to the United States by his parents, who located in Eldorado county, Cal., and here he at- tended school until he reached the age of sixteen, learning the English language. Ambitious to do for himself, he soon found work on the Pierce ranch in Solano county, a property comprising thousands of acres, where he labored for about seven years, meanwhile acquainting himself with the different phases of the work and learning the country and its customs. He left this employment to join his brother Thomas on the old homestead in Eldorado county, as his father at that time needed them on the farm, and he remained there until after his father's demise. It was in 1888 that he located in Sacramento and bought out a restaurant ; in the following year his brother Thomas pur- chased an interest in the business, and their interests have since been conducted under the name of Schad Brothers. Their place became popular and dependable and was continued at No. 309 K street with increasing success for twelve years. Subsequently they maintained a similar place at No. 424 K street, on the present site of the large department store of Weinstock & Lubin. The latter place was con- ducted for eight years, and in the meantime Isidor Schad purchased and operated the Fashion stables. He has always been a lover of the horse, and although the stable has been sold he still keeps a few fine specimens. During his years of business activity Mr. Schad has worked steadily to bring his varied interests to the point of prosperity,
32
540
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
and in 1908, with the satisfaction of having won a hard-fought battle, the brothers retired from the restaurant business in order to devote their time to the development and reclamation of their land on Sher- man island and to looking after their large real estate holdings in Sacramento. Besides the interests above mentioned, Mr. Schad and his brother purchased a half interest in the St. Francis hotel, which they still own and which is proving a profitable investment.
Mr. Schad is serving his eighth year as a trustee and secretary of Reclamation District No. 341, on Sherman island, having been a landowner on the island since the project was started to reclaim the ten thousand acres. He also owns land in and is trustee of District No. 1002, where the owners are reclaiming seven thousand acres of land twenty miles south of Sacramento. A Republican in politics, Mr. Schad is one of the most public-spirited and zealous citizens in the city. In fraternal circles he unites with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, in which he is most popular.
Mr. Schad was married to Augusta Grossherr, a native daughter of Sacramento, where they make their home, among many sincere friends, who ever find a most hospitable welcome at their home. His only child is named Eleanor.
THOMAS SCHAD
The name of Schad is one that is very popular and well known in the city of Sacramento, members of that family having been as- sociated with its business life for a quarter of a century or more, and always exhibiting characteristics that have been trustworthy, honor- able and persevering. Thomas Schad and his brother Isidor have united their interests in this city to such an extent that they are gen- erally known as the Schad Brothers, and as such are proprietors of the well-known St. Francis hotel here, which is one of the largest hotel buildings in the city.
Like his brother, Thomas Schad is a native of Solothurn, Switzer- land, having been born there June 4, 1866. He was quite young when, in 1871, he was brought by his parents, Jacob and Ida Schad, to Eldo- rado county, Cal., where he grew to manhood, attending the local pub- lic schools and afterwards helping his father on the homestead in that county. It was after his parents' death that he came to Sacramento and became interested with his brother in business and real estate operations. He has become most successful, owning a large amount of real estate and being partner with his brother in the ownership of the large ranch on Sherman island. After nineteen years of deter- mined effort in the conduct of the Palace restaurant, in which they
541
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
were successful, the brothers purchased a half interest in the St. Francis hotel, which is also proving a successful venture. The latter interest does not consume all of Mr. Schad's time, for he is also actively interested in the improvement of the real estate which he owns with his brother, including the reclamation of a ranch in District No. 1002 south of Sacramento.
For his wife Thomas Schad chose Daisy Hunger, formerly of Placerville, and they have one child, Thomas Schad, Jr., who is a student at the Christian Brothers college in Sacramento. Mr. Schad is a stanch Republican in his political views, taking a deep interest in the cause and welfare of his community and country, and giving of his time and means whenever needed. He is an active member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
It is fitting to add that the St. Francis hotel, which the Schad Brothers own and of which Thomas Schad is the manager, is modern and up-to-date in every particular, equipped with all convenience for the comfort of their guests, and situated in a very central and beauti- ful part of the city.
SIDNEY GILL THORP
The associations of childhood and youth were such as to famil- iarize Mr. Thorp with machinery of all kinds, for he passed his early life in the great manufacturing town of Manchester, England, where he was born December 6, 1883, and where for a long period representatives of the name had been identified with the avocations that brought fame and prosperity to the city. He was the only son of John and Ann (Harding) Thorp, natives of Yorkshire and Cheshire respectively. From his earliest recollections he was inter- ested in the operation and control of machinery and as soon as he had completed the studies of the city schools he began to serve an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade. Under the direction of the firm that made the original type of a certain kind of cotton-spinning machinery, he studied the intricacies of the occupation and acquired considerable efficiency as a workman. To complete the trade, how- ever, required an apprenticeship of seven years and he was eager to come to America; therefore at the expiration of five years he relin- quished his connection with the firm and cast in his destiny with the far west, coming in 1903 to Sacramento, where he has since re- sided. During the first four years of his association with this city he was employed in the machine shop of the Southern Pacific Rail- road and later he spent two years as a draughtsman with the same company.
542
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
In the meantime a desire to acquire a knowledge of some other occupation had been formulated in the mind of Mr. Thorp, who in December of 1909 retired from the railroad service and allied himself with the Weinstock-Lubin Company, proprietors of one of the largest department stores of Northern California. For a time he held the position of floorwalker. In order that he might famil- iarize himself with the art of salesmanship he later served in various retail departments and with accurate precision studied the different stocks. When qualified for greater responsibilities he was promoted to be assistant superintendent of the establishment and in this posi- tion he has a general supervision of all of the employes in the establishment. In business he is proving himself to be efficient, intel- ligent and capable, attentive to the smallest details, yet grasping in their entirety the largest plans made by the company for the development of the concern. An unfailing courtesy and attention to the wishes of customers characterize him, while a progressive temperament leads him to promote the latest improvements adopted in the business world. Not only is he progressive and popular in commercial circles, but socially he also has a high standing and as a member of the Sutter Club his name has been associated with prom- inent civic enterprises and select social functions of the capital city.
The marriage of Sidney G. Thorp was solemnized in Grace Pro- Cathedral, San Francisco, by Bishop Nicholls, January 11, 1911, and united him with Miss Ethel Gillett, a graduate of the Leland Stanford University and one of the most popular and promising young ladies in Sacramento. Mrs. Thorp is a daughter of Hon. James Norris Gillett, who was born at Viroqua, Wis., September 20, 1860, came to California in 1884 and settled at Eureka. From 1897 to 1899 he represented the Eureka district as state senator. During 1902 he was elected to congress and at Washington his service was so effectively beneficial to the state of California that he was re-elected, his second term ending in 1906. The next year witnessed his election on the Republican ticket as governor of Cali- fornia and he continued as chief executive until 1911, meanwhile devoting considerable attention to the securing of the Panama Expo- sition for San Francisco and also aiding to secure an appropriation of $18,000,000 to construct the state highway from the Oregon bor- der to the boundaries of Mexico. Since the expiration of his term as governor he has devoted his attention largely to the preparation for what promises to be the greatest exposition the world has ever known, besides looking after his varied interests, making his home in Oakland. Mr. and Mrs. Thorp are members of St. Paul's Epis- copal Church and not only lend their influence and support to the philanthropies of the congregation, but to all worthy movements for the betterment of the conditions of the citizens of their adopted city.
545
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
GEORGE WASHINGTON HIPPLE
Well known in Sacramento as the proprietor of the Superior Garage, George W. Hipple has acquaintances in all parts of the civil- ized world, and has had an experience in some respects unique. He was born in St. Paul, Minn., August 3, 1877, and spent his childhood at Glencoe, that state, and in the public schools of that town he received his education. After leaving school he was for three years a hotel clerk in Minnesota and Iowa, and later was identified for some time with the business interests of his sister, becoming her manager after the death of her husband. On both continents she was known as "Papinta" the Fire Dancer. For eight years he traveled with her wherever she booked, all over the civilized world, and re- mained with her until her death. She appeared in the leading theaters in America and on the Eastern continents. For thirty-two consecutive weeks she appeared at Hammerstein's, New York, which was a longer engagement than that of any other artist in her line. She was billed sometimes as the Myrriad Dancer and was the first dancer to use electrical effects. She died in Germany November 21, 1907, while on one of her professional tours.
After his sister's death Mr. Hipple returned to Contra Costa county, Cal., where she had owned a valuable stock ranch of one hundred and sixty acres and which she had bequeathed to him. For two years he carried on the ranch, which was devoted to the breeding of thorough- bred horses, but subsequently he sold both ranch and stock. It was in the fall of 1910 that he established the enterprise of which he is now the owner, known as the Superior Garage and located at Nos. 1209-1215 J street, Sacramento, where he transacts a general garage and auto-vehicle business. His establishment is one of the best known and one of the largest in Northern California and under his popular yet conservative management his business is constantly increasing. The garage is 80x160 feet in dimensions, and is thoroughly equipped in every particular. Mr. Hipple is distributing agent for the Marion automobile, and has the agency of this make of car in eleven connties in California.
In his political sympathies Mr. Hipple is a Republican. Frater- nally he affiliates with Alamo Lodge No. 122, F. & A. M., of Walnut Creek, and he is also identified with Martinez Chapter No. 31, R. A. M., and Onward Lodge No. 106, K. of P., of Oak Park.
546
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
DAVID AHERN
The Celtic origin of the family appears not only in the name of Mr. Ahern, but also in the cheerful energy, the genial tact and the physical alertness with which he fills the responsible office of county sheriff. However, while claiming Ireland as the home of his ancestors and Sacramento as the center of his personal business activities as well as his home from boyhood, he is a native of an old southern city that wielded a wide influence in the prosperous era prior to the Civil war. The imperishable memories of childhood cluster around the Old Dominion and the then flourishing city of Richmond, where he was born September 22, 1859, being a son of John and Katharine Ahern. The family had been established in the new world by the father, who, born in county Cork in 1830, left Ireland in early life and crossed the ocean to America, where he hoped to find better op- portunities for advancement. For some years he was employed in the Tredical Iron Works in Virginia and made Richmond his home, but in 1864 he came via Panama to California and settled at Sacra- mento. For many years, indeed, almost until his demise in 1900, he engaged in construction work along the lines of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
After having attended public school between the years of six and thirteen, David Ahern then turned his attention to the learning of a trade and the earning of a livelihood. As an apprentice he learned the trade of a horse-shoer under John Doyle, with whom he continued for thirteen years, meanwhile developing into a skilled and capable blacksmith. When finally he left the old shop it was to embark in blacksmithing for himself and from that time up to the present he has continued at the head of a large shop of his own. The demands of the shop have been constant. The necessity of earning a livelihood and the desire to accumulate something for old age kept him at unceasing toil until finally he allowed public affairs to interest him, thus creating a fortunate diversion in his life of hard work. During 1893-94 he served acceptably as fire commissioner. From 1906 until January, 1911, he represented the first district as a member of the county board of supervisors, having been elected on the Demo- cratic ticket.
The satisfaction afforded to the people through the loyal, clean and conscientious service of Mr. Ahern in the office of supervisor led to the mention of his name as a candidate for the shrievalty by his intimate friends, but was fought by the bosses of both parties. In spite of this, however, he received the nomination in the Demo- cratic convention and although the county is nominally twenty-five
547
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
hundred Republican, he received a majority of one thousand, the fight being won on his record as a public official.
Since his election he has given his time to the exacting duties of sheriff, in which he has proved to be a strict upholder of the law, an impartial administrator of justice and a successful guardian of the peace. Various organizations have had the benefit of his mem- bership, included among these being the Sacramento Turners, Elks, Eagles and the Young Men's Institute. By his union with Miss Mar- garet O'Toole of Sacramento, solemnized December 22, 1891, he has an only daughter, Kathaleen, who is a graduate of the Sacramento high school, and is popular among the younger social circles.
PHILIP SCHELD
To those who but casually observe the mere fact of success the life of Philip Scheld reads like a romance, but the student of human nature readily detects that there is less romance in his career than tireless industry and persistent application. It is the testimony of his friends that his large degree of success comes from personal application to the duty in hand. Step by step with the most labor -- ious energy he rose from a position of commercial insignificance to a high standing among the business men and the bankers of Sacra- mento. It has been his interesting experience to witness the devel- opment of the capital city. Here he first landed during the latter part of March, 1850; here he spent infrequent intervals of labor dur- ing the pioneer era; and here, still in the pioneer period of the '50s, he identified himself with the brewery business that by his own industry and sagacity brought him a fortune. Here later he rose to an influential position among the bankers and in 1901 was elected president of the Sacramento Bank, whose early growth he had pro- moted through his wise services as a director.
The town of Giessen in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, is the native place of Philip Scheld, and October 13, 1827, the date of his birth into the home of John and Kate Scheld. For several successive generations the heads of the Scheld family had followed the wheelwright's trade and this likewise remained the life occupation of John Scheld, but in addition he conducted a small farm. From the age of six until he was fourteen Philip Scheld at- tended the government school of his home town and after leaving school he helped his father on the farm. June 4, 1845, he and his brother, Henry, took passage on the sailing vessel, Neptune, at Bremen and on the 11th of the next month they landed at Philadel-
548
HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY
phia, where Henry worked as a cabinet-maker and Philip found employment in a bakery for several years, later going to Baltimore.
News of the discovery of gold in California caused Henry Scheld to join a party of twenty-four young emigrants, who came west via New Orleans, Monterey, Durango and Mazatlan, thence by sailing vessel to San Francisco. For years he engaged in mining, but afterward settled in Eureka and became one of the most successful business men of that town. Shortly after he landed in the west he sent a letter to his brother, Philip, in Baltimore, advising him to come immediately and the advice was taken without delay. To this step Mr. Scheld attributes much of his good fortune, for the west pre- sented opportunities that were not possible to residents of the east. February 4, 1850, he left Baltimore on the steamer Philadelphia, and proceeded to Panama. His personal effects were conveyed across the isthmus on the back of a mule, but he was obliged to walk the greater part of the distance. On the west coast of the isthmus he took passage on the ship California, which cast anchor in the harbor of San Francisco on the 24th of March. From that city he paid $16 for the river trip of one and one-half days on the steamer Hart- ford to Sacramento, whence he traveled with a team of four oxen to Coloma, Eldorado county. Meanwhile his brother had left that place and no one knew his whereabouts, but by chance they met several weeks later at Volcano, where a company was attempting to flume out Volcano Bar.
With another young emigrant, Daniel Troy, as a partner, Mr. Scheld contracted to do the baking for a hotel at Coloma, but they soon found the proprietor was in an unfortunate financial condition. In the end they were obliged to take the hotel as their only wages. There they continued business until the need of .larger quarters obliged them to build a larger house. Later they erected the Sierra Nevada hotel, which is still running. All of the supplies for the hotel were purchased in Sacramento and hauled to Coloma by wagon. On the day of the great fire he was buying in Sacramento as usual, but had started on his return trip before the fire broke out, so that he did not learn of the disaster until the next day. Shortly after- ward he sold his interest in the hotel and removed to Sacramento. where he underwent the hardships incident to the great flood of 1852. For a time he engaged in teaming between Sacramento and the mines, but finally, in 1853, he bought a brewery on East M street. rebuilt the plant and developed the Sacramento Brewery, which is one of the most profitable properties of the kind in the state.
The marriage of Philip Scheld took place April 7, 1858, and united him with Miss Margaret Fritz, who had settled in Sacra- mento during the previous year. She was a native of Germany and was born near Mayence on the Rhine. The only child of their union, Adolph, is a prominent citizen of Sacramento and a director in the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.