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 66
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was to purchase the plant outright, for its editorial columns were not for sale. This the company did, and the paper was combined with the railroad journal and appeared thereafter as the Record- Union, many of the old-timers frequently referring to it as the 'Wrecked-Union,' and the hybrid heading remained until a new management tore off the barnacle and restored its old and respected name. The name looks good and sounds good to the last of the Mohicans of the tribe of 1855, and may its life be a long and pros- perous one."
During the early years of his residence in the west Mr. Larkin tried mining without success and he therefore devoted his attention principally to his trade, being foreman in the composing rooms of the Bancroft Book Company in San Francisco for several years, also filling a similar position with the San Francisco Post and the Sacra- mento Union. Early in 1875 the men who owned the Union sold out, and Mr. Larkin then decided to embark in the newspaper business for himself. On the 8th of March he published the first number of the Sacramento Evening Herald, but this paper was discontinued at the expiration of four months. Next he started the Sunday Leader. which for several years in the '80s was the official county paper aud profited from the public advertising. The Weekly Leader was personally superintended by Mr. Larkin until shortly before his death, when his son, William H., succeeded to the management. Through all of his mature years he was a stanch Republican, but with the exception of a term as clerk of the police court he never accepted political honors. When Sacramento was a village and he was young, he was considered one of the best amateur minstrels in the west and sustained a high reputation as a song and dance artist. However, it was as a pro- moter and organizer of manly sports that he will be remembered best by lovers of those relaxations which tend to build sturdy men and keep them sonnd. He organized and for a long time managed the Alta baseball team, the superior of any team on the coast in the days when a free fight was a fitting close to every game. Until the days when he was last stricken he occupied a particular seat in the grandstand when league games were on, freely criticising the plays, and comparing the artists with those of old who blazed the way. Few men in the city had more warm personal friends than he pos- sessed. The newspaper writers of the city always were ready to rally to his assistance when he announced a special edition, and it was only a few years before his death when one of those specials contained an article from each member of the reportorial staff of both daily papers.
After an illness of almost three months resulting from a para- lytic stroke, John N. Larkin passed away May 22, 1911, at the family residence, No. 1021 Twenty-second street. The funeral was held under the auspices of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, to
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which he had belonged for years, and interment was made in the city cemetery. City Justice W. A. Anderson, whose acquaintance with Mr. Larkin dated back further than that of anyone else in Sacra- mento, adjourned the police court as a last testimonial of respect for his old friend, who had once served as a clerk of that court. In referring to the passing of his old-time friend Mr. Anderson offered this tribute: "John Larkin was a remarkable character. Forty years ago, when the call of Abraham Lincoln came for more troops after the disastrous battle of Bull Run, John Larkin was one of the men that answered the call: 'Yes, Father Abraham, we are coming, five hundred thousand strong.' I, too, was one of those who ran away from college and enlisted in the service. John Larkin was part of the history of Sacramento, where he has always borne a splendid reputation. Of course, he had those peculiar traits of character that we denominate crankism, but I think sometimes that crankism is akin to genius. Many years ago he founded the Leader, and it has re- flected his own individual ideas. It is a pity that a man so useful should be stricken down, but he lived more than his allotted time of three score and ten (a year over that) ; still, he is a man who will be missed in this community. My associations with him always have been of a friendly, social and very intimate character."
Surviving Mr. Larkin are his widow, formerly Miss Sallie Fern, and a son, William H., and daughter, Florence E. The son was born in Sacramento December 17, 1866, and attended school here and in San Francisco and Oakland. For three years he clerked in the law office of Henry E. Highton of San Francisco, after which he learned the printer's trade. From that time he was associated with his father, whom he succeeded as publisher of the Leader and man- ager of the job office with its modern equipment and valuable plant. During 1902 he married Miss Jeannette Cantrell, of Yolo county, and they are the parents of two daughters, Mary Louise (born in 1904) and Jeannette Josephine (born in 1907). Mrs. Larkin is a member of the Tuesday and Saturday clubs, while Mr. Larkin is identified with the Masons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Improved Order of Red Men, Native Sons of the Golden West and Fraternal Broth- erhood, while in addition both he and his wife have been connected prominently with the local lodge of Rebekahs.
GEORGE W. HOTCHKISS
George W. Hotchkiss, the subject of this sketch, was born in New Haven, Conn., October 16, 1831. He came to California in the ship Susan G. Owens, arriving in San Francisco October 8, 1849.
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He came to Sacramento as a clerk for Scranton & Smith, who had brought from the east a house frame and stock of goods for a gen- eral store. They erected the second permanent building in the city near Third and J streets. They paid $500 a thousand feet for lumber to complete their store, and young Hotchkiss acted as both clerk and cook. In speaking of his experiences he says: "I think it was the last part of December, 1849, that I went one morning to the slough four or five hundred feet back of the store to get a pail of water, and found the water just cutting through the bank, and, yelling for help, I tried to scrape enough mud with my foot to hold the water back, but had to run for the store, where all floor goods were at once placed on the counter, and within an hour or two the water washed the under side of the floor. This was the big flood of '49 and '50, when the water stood eight feet deep a couple of blocks to the south of us. For a month or more all our travel was by whale boat. As the waters receded teams tried to enter the streets, until in March there were at least a dozen teams of oxen and many horses, which it was impossible to save after they mired, that died and dried up in their tracks."
In July, 1850, Mr. Hotchkiss went to the mines and set up a tent store, doing well in it, but his father's letters telling of failing health made him homesick, and there was also "the girl I left behind me" writing letters saying she would be glad to see him. He took passage for Panama in the bark St. Mary's, walked across the Isth- mus and canght the steamer Folsom for Havana, assisting during the trip in burying twenty-eight of his fellow passengers who died of cholera. For twenty years he was a member of the Western Asso- ciation of California Pioneers, which disbanded in 1911, when only fifteen members were left, with an average age of eighty-seven years. He is now secretary-treasurer of the Illinois Lumber Dealers' Associa- tion, at Chicago.
ELISHA SAMPLE DRIVER
Born in Indiana April 18, 1829, E. S. Driver of Antelope, Sacra- mento county, was the son of John and Abigail (Mills) Driver. De- prived of the love and guidance of his parents when he was scarcely more than a babe, he was taken into the home of an uncle and treated as one of the family until 1836, when he was about seven years old. He then went to Henry county, Iowa, and there made his home with an uncle until 1850. At that time he was lured to California by ac- counts of fortunes made by gold seekers who had come hither, and on March 25, 1850, he started from Iowa with an ox-team and provisions
Est. Driven
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for the overland journey. His experiences through the Indian country were trying, having to fight the redskins on four different occasions, but he finally reached California on August 1, halting at Ilangtown, now Placerville. Until 1854 he worked in different mines along the American river, but not with such success as his imagination had pic- tured; so he came to Sacramento and engaged in teaming to the mines, which promised an income sure and steady if not large. He busied himself thus till 1857, most of the time quite profitably, so that he was able to buy twelve hundred acres in one body near Antelope, Sacramento county, and go into farming and stock-raising which, with dairying, have commanded his attention to the present time. Alto- gether he followed the dairy business about fifteen years, milking as high as one hundred and fifty cows, and manufacturing butter for eight years, following the latter enterprise by cheese making and dis- posing of his product in Sacramento. His success as a rancher en- abled him to amass a comfortable fortune and he is now living in well- earned retirement, though he is still giving watchful supervision to his property, which is now devoted to raising cattle, mules and hogs. He is assisted in the management of the ranch by Richard Clemons. his son-in-law.
In Sacramento county, February 22, 1860, Mr. Driver married Miss Mary E. Forsyth, who was born in Missouri and crossed the plains with her parents in 1853. Mrs. Driver passed away in Sacra- mento in 1903. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Driver the fol- lowing are living: Philip, a lawyer in Sacramento; Grant, who is mining in Alaska; William S., a real-estate dealer of Sacramento; Frank, also a lawyer in Sacramento; Charles, a rancher in this county; Clarence, a rancher at Warner Lake, Ore .; Mrs. Birdenia Clemons, who, with her husband, is included in her father's household; Abbie, the wife of William Lewis, of Antelope; and Lester, a rancher near the old home. Two children are deceased, Mrs. Elizabeth Dunlap, who died at the age of thirty-two, and John when sixteen years old. Poli- tically Mr. Driver is a Republican and has long been active in the local work of his party, in which he has been influential and helpful.
CHARLES P. NATHAN
The imposing three-story store of Charles P. Nathan, corner of .J and Sixth streets, Sacramento, tells the story of the coming of the proprietor of that establishment to the state capital. He landed in this country from his native Germany at the age of seventeen. inex- perienced, but with a good common school education, and he had what every bov of his race inherits, an inclination to work. Young Nathan was variously employed in the eastern and southern states for three
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years, and the year 1869 found him in California. The $3 he had in his pocket when he landed on American soil had grown a little, so he started in a little store, in a small way, the business that now looms up three floors in Sacramento city. It is one of the largest stores in Northern California, modern in every respect, and is a department store, a city emporium. It was practically begun in 1904 and finished in 1909, being changed and remodeled at different times.
Charles Nathan was married October 26, 1873, to Miss Anna Joseph, the daughter of Michiel Joseph, a clothing merchant in Sac- ramento. He died in 1876, and his wife in 1911. In the Nathan fam- ily were born four children. Birdie, now the wife of Dr. Arthur Lach- men, professor in the University of Oregon for several years, but now head of the Arthur Lachmen Wine Company of San Francisco. They have two daughters, Gertrude, aged twelve years, and Ruth; aged six. Mrs. Lachmen was born July 25, 1874, and graduated from the San Francisco high school. Lillian Nathan was born in Sacra- mento July 27, 1878, and graduated from the state university, and is now the wife of Morris Ballin, a wholesale manufacturing and furnish- ing goods merchant of San Francisco. Their two children are Edwin, aged five, and Richard, two years old. Mitchell W. Nathan was born in Sacramento September 26, 1879, graduated from the University of California, and is now general manager of the C. P. Nathan store in Sacramento. Mr. Nathan practically has always been associated with the business, and under his competent management the establishment thrives commercially. In May, 1905, he was married to Miss Isabell Hammond of Sacramento, formerly of Utica, N. Y. They have a daughter, Caroline, born in May, 1906. Mitchell W. Nathan is a di- rector of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, and was president of the "100,000 Club" organized for the purpose of lifting Sacramento's population to that figure. Emile Nathan, the youngest son, was born December 3, 1883, and after passing through the city schools, gradu- ated from the University of California. He was an earnest student and prominent in class debates. He is now manager in a ladies' de- partment in the store and spends much of his time in New York select- ing for the store. In 1909 he married Miss Lillian Cottrell of Berkeley. a fellow university student. Mrs. Charles Nathan comes from a fam- ily of high educational attainment, many of its members being gradu- ates of well-known institutions, and her brother had the distinction of receiving his college degree, in France, from Emperor Napoleon III.
Mr. Nathan is largely interested in real estate and farm lands, owning six hundred and forty-five acres five miles from the city and three hundred and twenty acres fronting on the Sacramento river, besides which he owns the entire store property. He has practically retired from active business, and spends much time in Paris and New
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York City, although his winters are spent in California. Mrs. Nathan's mother died in June, 1911, at the age of eighty-one. She left an estate valued at one-half million dollars.
JEREMIAH K. BEEDE
The varied occupations that engross the attention and kindle the aspirations of men represent the different ideals formed in their youth, the different environments of their early years and the different talents and tastes implanted in their minds by nature. The occupation in which Mr. Beede has been exceptionally success- ful, that of telegraph operator, reflects his own personal preferences and inclinations, but his identification with such work began with the apparent chance which seems to govern the lives of many. An opportunity came when he was a mere lad, undecided as to future occupational preferences but anxious to earn his own livelihood, to act as messenger in a telegraph office in San Francisco and while in that position he learned the art of telegraphy, making such praiseworthy advancement that he determined to follow the occupa- tion as a permanent source of income. Nor has he had reason to regret the decision made in early life, for he has proved efficient and capable as an operator and has risen by successive steps to the management of the Postal Telegraph and Cable Company at Sacra- mento.
The childhood of Jeremiah K. Beede was passed uneventfully in the city of Newburgh, N. Y., where he was born January 13, 1868, and where he passed many happy days in becoming familiar with the attractive environment of Orange county and the Hudson river. At- tendance at school was not neglected and he made satisfactory pro- gress in his studies. During 1881 he came to California with his parents, Napoleon and Sarah (King) Beede, and settled with them in San Francisco, where for the next two years he studied in the public schools. The necessity of self-support caused him to relin- quish his studies at the age of thirteen years, when he engaged as a messenger with the Western Union Telegraph Company of San Francisco. After four years in the one position he entered the employ of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company as an operator, remaining with them from 1887 until 1889. During July of the latter year he came to Sacramento as operator for the Postal Telegraph and Cable Company. Such was his efficiency and capa- bility that at the expiration of six months he assumed the manage- ment of the office, which he has since filled to the satisfaction of all
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concerned. For some years he has been an interested member of the National Union, and Tehama Lodge, No. 3, F. & A. M., also Sacramento Chapter No. 3, R. A. M. At the time of his removal to Sacramento he was unmarried, and two years later he established a home in this city, choosing as his wife Miss Hester Dashiell, a native of Dixon, Solano county, by whom he has two children, Bennen King and David Leonard.
WILLIAM JAMES ANDREW
The congenial environment and profitable labors that have char- acterized the identification of Mr. Andrew with Sacramento county form a striking contrast to the scenes and privations incident to his early experiences in life. The place where he was born December 22, 1864, was a farm on Prince Edward Island, lying near the mouth of the St. Lawrence river and in the gulf of the same name, not far from the storm-tossed shores of Nova Scotia and equally close to the prov- ince of New Brunswick. The imagination will readily comprehend the isolation and loneliness of his youth, the lack of educational advan- tages and the necessity of arduous labor to secure a subsistence. The death of his mother when he was a very small child made his loneli- ness the more noticeable, for he was taken into the home of relatives and deprived of the companionship of those whom he had held most dear.
When manhood brought the possibilities of a change into the life of Mr. Andrew he sought the opportunities of the vast west and dur- ing 1889 arrived in California, where he became one of the very first settlers in the Orangevale colony. With a brother as a partner he bought twenty acres of unimproved land. Working together, they brought ten acres under cultivation to varied fruits and planted the other ten in oranges. Ultimately William J. acquired the brother's interest, since, which time he has built a substantial packing house and four buildings, thus transforming the once unimproved tract into a beautiful homestead. Few men of the colony are more familar with citrus culture than he, and it has been one of his specialties to bud and propagate orange trees. In addition to managing and packing his own oranges, he has taken charge of ranches owned by others, packing and shipping their oranges. Without question he is one of the men to whose energy the development of Orangevale is dne, and very justly he has an enviable reputation in the district.
In his marriage Mr. Andrew became connected with an honored pioneer family of Sacramento county. At Orangevale, December 22,
Williamy. Andrew
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1893, he was united with Miss Maude Camfield, who was born near Sacramento and reared and educated in this county. She is the daughter of E. D. and Mary (Frame) Camfield, natives of New York and Indiana respectively. Both crossed the plains with ox teams. The father died in 1890 and the mother resides in Orangevale. One child, Vera, blesses the union of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew. The family are active members of the Orangevale Methodist Episcopal church and contribute not only to its maintenance, but also to the support of many other movements for the upbuilding of the locality and the advance- ment of the community religiously, morally and educationally. In political views Mr. Andrew is a Republican of the progressive type and a participant in public affairs, but at no time a candidate for office. One of the organizations in which for years he has been in- terested is the Grange, but there are also many other enterprises and organizations of valne to the country in which he bears a decided in- terest. A man of sterling worth and unquestioned integrity, he main- tains the confidence of the community and has many warm friends in the district.
MELVILLE DOZIER, JR.
Reliance on his own intelligent judgment and confidence in his own resources are absolutely necessary to the achievement of permanent success, and these qualities have entered largely into the progress made. by Mr. Dozier, Jr., in his chosen calling. Possessing large ability, which had been broadened by excellent educational advantages, he entered into avennes of western activity and speedily rose to prom- inence. This advance represented no prestige of wealth or environ- ment and no aid of adventitious circumstances, but the results obtain- able by devotion to duty, force of will and energy of temperament. During the period of his connection with railway companies he gave skilled service and uniform satisfaction, but eventually the induce- ments to enter business for himself became so alluring that he re- signed the excellent position he then held and in 1911 organized the Dozier Construction Company, of which he since has acted as presi- dent and general manager.
The distinction of being a native-born son of California belongs to Mr. Dozier, who was born in Santa Rosa and educated in the gram- mar and high schools of Los Angeles, also in the University of Cali- fornia, where he took an active part in college activities and athletics and from whose engineering department he was graduated in 1899, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. An opportunity to put into practice the theories acquired in school came to him immediately 37
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after graduation, when he went to Santa Barbara as assistant en- . gineer in charge of the construction of the coast line of the Southern Pacific railroad. Until 1901 he continued in that place, after which he became assistant engineer at Los Angeles in charge of the con- struction of the Pacific Electric railroad. From 1904 until 1906 he served as chief engineer of the maintenance of way for the Pacific Electric railroad and the Los Angeles Interurban Railway Company. Coming to San Francisco in 1906, he incorporated the Vallejo-North- ern Railway Company and as president and chief engineer located and planned the electric system which is now being constructed be- tween San Francisco and Sacramento, but two years later resigned in order to accept a place as assistant general manager of the Northern Electric Railway Company, and with that road he continued nntil a determination to embark in business independently induced him to tender his resignation.
The Dozier Construction and Engineering Company of Sacra- mento, organized the summer of 1911 by Mr. Dozier, has made a speci- alty of reclamation, railroad and concrete construction work. During the brief period that has elapsed since its incorporation the company has received many contracts for the construction and improvement of reclamation districts throughout the Sacramento valley. In addi- tion to the construction of the sewer system in the town of Winters, Yolo county, the new company has located two railroad systems whose combined length will extend from San Francisco to Red Bluff throughout the west side of the Sacramento valley. This company has also recently completed the construction of portions of the electric railroad connecting Sacramento and Woodland, and is at the present time engaged, among other things, in the development of municipal water systems. The Dozier Construction and Engineering Company has recently combined with the Haviland & Tibbetts Engineering Company of San Francisco as Haviland, Dozier and Tibbetts, civil engineers, thereby extending, to a great extent, the scope of its en- gineering work. With large financial credit and unimpaired com- mercial footing, the organization appears to be on the threshold of a business career of permanent influence and growing importance, and its labors in the material upbuilding of this part of the state already have assumed proportions greater than presaged in the early visions of the manager and founder.
The marriage of Mr. Dozier and Miss Elizabeth Kinsey was sol- emnized in Oakland, this state, on New Year's day of 1902, and has been blessed with two children, Elizabeth and Janet. So busy has been the life of Mr. Dozier and so engrossing his enterprises that he has had no leisure for participation in politics and has been con- nected with public affairs in no manner except through his private business interests. His genial, companionable disposition has found pleasure in social and fraternal activities and he has greatly enjoyed
J. 8. Boggess
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his membership of the Sutter club of Sacramento, at the same time retaining his membership of the Jonathan club of Los Angeles. In addition he holds membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Personally he represents the ideal type of western business man, alert, keen and vigorous, quick to discern an opportunity and equally eager to grasp the same, a progressive citizen and true patriot, mani- festing in every public measure the spirit which has made California great and which is bringing to her men of action and of thought the regard of the world.
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