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 72
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As early as 1866 Mr. LaRue had purchased nine hundred acres in Yolo county and to this he added until the ranch contained more than two thousand acres. After the floods of 1868 he sold his interest in the rancho del Paso and gave his time to the Yolo county property,
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but made his home in Sacramento in order that his children might have the advantages offered by the city schools. When the wine in- dustry was still in its infancy he became interested in vineyards and planted one hundred acres to grapes. Other improvements were made, some of which already have been mentioned, while others, equally important, are beyond the limits of this space to present in detail. When advancing years rendered active work less desirable, he turned over to his sons the care of the large property, and retired to private life, with a record of having raised crops for more than fifty consecutive years in California. His agricultural experiences centered in the counties of Colusa, Yolo, Napa and Sacramento.
During 1858 Mr. LaRne married Miss Elizabeth Marion, daughter of Thomas Lizenby, a pioneer of Lewis county, Mo., and also of Colusa county, Cal. Mrs. LaRne was a half-sister of Rev. William M. Rush, D.D., of the Missouri conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, also of Hon. John A. Rush, at one time state senator from Colusa county and later attorney-general of Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. LaRue were the parents of four sons and one daughter, Jacob Engene (who died in January of 1906), Calhoun Lee, Hugh MeElroy, Jr., John Rush and Marie Virginia (who died in 1888). During 1856 Mr. La- Rue became a member of the Sacramento Society of California Pio- neers, of which he served as president several times. As master of the Sacramento Grange he was prominent in another organization prominent in its day. For years he was a member of Sacramento Lodge No. 49, F. & A. M., and also affiliated with the chapter.
For years one of the leading Democrats of his locality, Mr. LaRue never lost his interest in public affairs and when he passed from earth, December 12, 1906, not only his party, but the state as well, lost a patriotic supporter and loyal promoter. During 1857 the Democrats elected him sheriff of Sacramento county by a majority of eight votes, but when the election was contested he lost the office. When again he became a candidate in 1873 he was elected by a large majority. Dur- ing the sessions of 1883 and 1884 he was a member of the lower house of the state legislature and served as speaker. As representative from the second congressional district, in 1879, he served as a mem- ber of the state constitutional convention. While in the legislature he supported the bill providing for the erection of an exposition build- ing for the State Agricultural Association, also supported the revision of the general railroad laws, the county government act, the bill re- organizing the senatorial and assembly districts and the laws relating to taxes. During 1888 he was the Democratic candidate for senator and ran ahead of his ticket, but was not elected.
From 1867 until his death in 1906 Mr. LaRue was identified with the State Agricultural Association. Three times (1879-1880 and 1882) he was chosen president of the organization. After 1882 he was a member of its board of directors. During the expositions he acted as
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superintendent of the pavilion. While president of the board, also while speaker of the assembly, he was an ex-officio member of the board of regents of the California State University at Berkeley. He was National Chief of Viticulture at the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. Elected railroad commissioner from Northern California in 1894, he served as president of the board for four years, besides holding other official positions. With his demise another pioneer passed from the scenes of his successful industry. Another link joining the present with the past was burst asunder and another name was added to those of the illustrious immortals recorded in the annals of the state.
EDWARD LEAL DA ROZA
In all fields of labor the men who lead are those who have been fitted by experience for their peculiar offices and it is a refuted theory that chance plays a part in the progress of those who would attain influence and prosperity among their fellows.
One of the most able leaders in industrial circles of Sacramento county is E. L. Da Roza, who for the past four years has served as manager of the Elk Grove Winery, which forms a portion of his father's estate. A native of the Island of St. George, Portugal, Jose L. Da Roza left his home country for America at the age of seventeen years, arriving in New Bedford, Mass. Proceeding to Sacramento, Cal., in 1881 he became an employe in the service of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, but after five years decided to enter a more lucrative as well as a more agreeable occupation and to that end investigated a business opportunity in Elk Grove, with the result that he became associated with John Nevis, who operated a winery in that section. For nine years he served his employer faithfully, paying strict attention to his duties, at the same time learning every detail of the business. In 1895, having concluded to remain permanently in the field wherein he had become an expert, he purchased the interest of Mr. Nevis, undertaking the control of the plant with immediate success, and until his death, in December, 1909, actively conducted his affairs with the assistance of his son. His wife, Amelia (Vierra) Da Roza, a woman of courageous nature and rare devotion, was a native of Portugal. She became the mother of seven children, as fol- lows: Mabel, Ida, Edward, John, Joseph, Frank and Clarence. The family suffered a deep loss in the death of the wife and mother in 1894.
The third oldest of the children in the parental family, Edward L. Da Roza, was born in Elk Grove, Cal., October 27, 1891. After a
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preliminary course in the schools of his home section he became a student in the schools of San Francisco, two years later, however, returning to Elk Grove and completing his studies in the high school of this place, from which he graduated in 1908. He then accepted a position as bookkeeper in his father's office, and by patient application and intense interest in all matters pertaining to the success of the enterprise became an important factor in the business, and after his father's death he was made manager, fulfilling his duties with ability and tactful leadership. Fortunate indeed was the circumstance which led the young man to become associated with the business, for a year later the responsibility of his father's interests devolved upon him. Rising to the occasion with quiet confidence in his own powers and a sincere desire to control affairs to the best of his ability, however, his faithfulness to his work continued worthy of the highest com- mendation. In his service are eighteen men, all of whom bear hearty good will toward their employer, and inasmuch as the capacity of the plant is a million gallons annually, it may be readily understood that its management requires the utmost care and good judgment. The winery is complete with a full line of machinery, including two steam engines and boilers, two large stills, a crusher with a capacity of thirty- five tons per hour, and is admirably located on an eleven hundred foot spur from the Southern Pacific Railroad. In connection with the winery there is a ranch of one hundred and eighty acres, one hundred acres being in vineyard. In addition to the grapes supplied from their own vineyard they buy about five thousand tons of grapes to supply the demand. It is interesting to note that the elder Mr. Da Roza doubled the business after he bought it, and since his death the busi- ness has been doubled again. A branch house is maintained on Beach street, New York City, and a large trade is supplied to the Hawaiian Islands.
Mr. Da Roza is a member of Elk Grove Parlor No. 41, N. S. G. W., Sacramento Chapter No. 42, R. A. M., and is also affiliated with Elk Grove Court No. 103, Foresters of America. Progressive and public spirited, he maintains a deep interest in civic affairs and is widely known as a man of generous principles and unswerving honor.
CAPT. WILLIAM M. JENKS
When Illinois was still in the incipiency of its development from a frontier region to a cultured commonwealth an eastern family became identified with LaSalle county. The head of the house- hold, Livingston Jenks, was a native of Rhode Island, but at a
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very early age he had migrated to Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Sallie Buffington, a native of that state. While making their home in Warren Center, Bradford county, Pa., a son, William Morgan, was born February 20, 1834. Two years later, in 1836, the family loaded their household effects in the primitive vehicles common to that period and traveled across the country to Illinois, taking up a government claim at Vermillionville, LaSalle county. The father was a man of considerable ability and not only trans- formed his claim into a productive farm, but in addition he con- ducted a small country store and also for thirty years served as justice of the peace of his township. After lives of usefulness and honor he and his wife entered upon eternal rest many years ago. Captain Jenks is a lineal descendant of Gov. Joseph Jenks of Rhode Island.
An eager desire to obtain an education characterized the youth of William M. Jenks. His own persevering efforts made possible academie advantages. Later he studied law and during 1857 was admitted to practice before the supreme court of Illinois. For a long period he engaged in general practice in Chicago and Mor- rison, Whiteside county, Ill., whence he removed to Pawnee Rock. Barton county, Kans., in 1876, hoping to recuperate his strength by a change of climate and by outdoor employment. During the four years of this residence in that state he gave his attention al- most wholly to agricultural pursuits. Upon his return to Chicago he resumed professional work and also became associated with a brother in the real-estate business, helping him in investments that later made a fortune for the brother.
Since June of 1888 Captain Jenks has made his home in Sacra- mento, where he was admitted to the bar of California about a year after his arrival and since then has been a member of the State Bar Association. However, it was only for a few years that he engaged in professional activities. For some time he acted as secretary of a corporation engaged in the manufacture of grape baskets. In addition for several years he was secretary of the nursery firm of C. W. Reed & Co., and managed the papers necessary to secure in- corporation for the concern, whose largest stockholder, C. W. Reed, was his brother-in-law. As a citizen he has been progressive, de- voted to the welfare of California and intensely loyal in his al- legiance to the nation. When the Civil War began he immediately offered his services to the Union and May 24, 1861, enlisted in Com- pany G, Thirteenth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service as first lieutenant. In recognition of his meritorious conduct he was commissioned captain of his company on August 10, 1863. Although he participated in all of the engage- ments of his regiment he was injured only once and that proved to be a mere flesh wound. In the Siege of Vicksburg he was stand-
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ing by the side of a thirteen-inch mortar when it exploded and the concussion caused the bursting of one of his ear drums. As a re- sult of the accident he became slightly deaf, and as a consequence he gave up his profession. At the expiration of his time he was honorably discharged, June 18, 1864, with his regiment, and he returned to his Illinois home. For thirteen years he served as chaplain of Sumner Post No. 3, G. A. R., at Sacramento, and he has long been prominent in the local work of the Grand Army of the Republic.
A few months after his return home from the war Captain Jenks established domestic ties, being united February 1, 1865, with Miss Mary E. Allison, a native of Vincent, Pa., but from early child- hood a resident of Mount Carroll, Ill. She was a member of the first graduating class of Mount Carroll Seniinary. For years her father, Rev. J. V. Allison, was a minister in the Baptist denomina- tion until his death, which occurred at Pawnee Rock, Kans., at the age of seventy-five years. The deepest bereavement in the lives of Captain and Mrs. Jenks came in the loss of seven of their eight children when they were yet young. The sole survivor, James Wal- lace Jenks, born in Chicago, Ill., July 23, 1882, followed in the footsteps of his father in giving his services to his country in time of need. Volunteering in the Spanish-American war, he enlisted July 27, 1900, in the United States Marine Corps at Sacramento, being assigned to the navy yard at Vallejo. Three months later he was ordered to the Philippine Islands and saw service on the Oregon and Solace and the Island of Guam. On account of an injury received while in the service he was given his honorable dis- charge at Vallejo, August 29, 1903, when he returned to Sacra- mento and became associated with his father in the nursery busi- ness under the firm title of W. M. Jenks & Son. By his marriage with Miss Mary A. Crabbe, a native daughter of Sacramento. James W. Jenks has one son, William Morgan, named in honor of his grandfather. Among the people of Sacramento Captain Jenks has an enviable reputation for character, integrity and intelligence. For years he has officiated as a deacon in the First Baptist Church of Sacramento and in other departments of the church work he also has been helpful and prominent.
LEONARD M. LIMBAUGH
The father of Leonard M. Limbaugh, James B. Limbaugh, was born in Missouri and crossed the plains with ox teams among the gold seekers of 1849. For five or six years he lived in San Fran- cisco, then came to Brannan Island, where he lived out the re-
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mainder of his days. His first employment in California was as a miner, but it was not long before he took up government land and began to raise and handle stock. His wife, who before her mar- riage was Eliza Jane Craib, was a native of Canada. She died leaving seven children, all living in California except a daughter in Philadelphia, Pa.
Leonard M. Limbaugh, a resident of Andrus Island, was born in San Francisco March 30, 1862, and during his boyhood was taken by his parents to Brannan Island. After receiving a public school edu- cation he became a clerk in a general merchandise store at Isleton, remaining there five years. Four years after his marriage he turned his attention to farming and has followed this occupation ever since. Four years ago he bought one hundred acres of land on Andrus Island opposite Ryde, where he has since lived, devoting himself to the raising of fruit, vegetables, alfalfa and stock.
The marriage of L. M. Limbaugh occurred in 1886 and united him with Sallie Poage, a native of LaGrange, Mo., the daughter of Julius and Sallie (Hatton) Poage. Five sons have been born of this marriage, as follows: Edwin J., Harold B., Eugene B., Thomas A. and Albert N., all of whom have been or still are students in the schools of Sacramento county. Born in Kentucky in 1825, Julius Poage came to California in 1875 and settled on Andrus Island, which was his home until death. His wife, formerly Sallie Neal Hatton, was born in Missouri and died in Sacramento.
Mr. Limbaugh has been a member of the board of school trus- tees and the board of election. In politics he is a Democrat. Mrs. Limbaugh is a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sacramento.
JOHN MARION HARLOW
The once prominent rancher and business man whose long familiar name is given above was born in Illinois, January 24, 1849, and died on his California farm in June, 1899, aged about fifty years. His father long held the office of public administrator of Sacramento county, but he and his wife have been dead many years and their names have passed into local history to be listed with those of pioneers. Mr. Harlow was fifteen years old when he was brought with the re- mainder of father's family from their old Eastern home to California His education, which was begun in public schools in the Prairie state, was finished here and he associated himself with his father in the lat- ter's ranching operations and remained with him until he was twenty- four years old. Then he married Miss Susie M. Bagnall, a native of
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England, who survives him. Three years after her husband's death she moved to Sacramento, where she has a home at No. 2301 P street. Immediately after his marriage he bought a ranch at Perkins, which he condneted successfully as long as he lived.
When she was three months old Mrs. Harlow was brought from her native England to the United States by her father, Cornelius Bagnall. By means of ox-teams they crossed the plains to Salt Lake City in 1853 and in 1860 they came to California and settled in Sac- ramento. Both parents passed away in this state. Mrs. Harlow be- came the mother of seven children, of whom six are living, as follows : Mrs. Eva Maguire, of San Francisco; Mrs. Ida Casselman, of Sacra- mento; George M., of Perkins; John, of Sacramento; Herbert, of Live Oak, and William, of Idaho.
GUSTAVE ADOLPH KESTLER
The life which this narrative depicts began August 31, 1860, and closed March 31, 1909, and throughout that entire period was iden- tified with the city of Sacramento. The earliest experiences of the child were associated with this then straggling and unimportant city. Here the boy passed through the grammar and high schools and here he entered upon the task of earning a livelihood. Here, too, when destiny called him into eternity, he closed his eyes upon the scenes of earth while still in the prime of manhood, when it might not have been unreasonable for him to anticipate many fur- ther years of industrious application to his chosen work. It is to such intelligent and industrions citizens as Mr. Kestler that the city owes its high standing, growing prosperity and substantial develop- ment, and as a native-born son and lifelong resident his name is en- titled to perpetuation in local annals. While in his youth and imme- diately after leaving school he acquired a thorough knowledge of the trade of wagon-maker, which he followed afterward, working with his father for many years and eventually acquiring a business of his own. The death of his father, Martin Kestler, the pioneer carriage maker of Sacramento, occurred prior to his own demise, but his mother still survives and continues to make Sacramento her home. On the organization of the Oak Park Lodge of the Odd Fellows he became a charter member and his active connection with that society continned unbroken until his death, besides which he also held membership with the tribe of Ben Hur in his home city. In politics he voted with the Republican party, but took no part in partisan affairs and at no time solicited official honors, preferring
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to enjoy in his home and among his friends such leisure as the ac- tivities of business allowed him. Every movement for the advance- ment of the city and county received his support and he belonged to that class of public-spirited citizens whose quiet but positive identification with righteous and progressive principles makes for the upbuilding of a community.
Surviving Mr. Kestler is the lady who from their union in 1888 until his death remained his devoted wife, wise counselor and capa- ble assistant, and who since his demise has managed the affairs of the estate judiciously, meanwhile continuing her residence at No. 2608 S street. Mrs. Kestler, formerly Miss Minnie M. Steadman, was born in Hudson, Ky., and was reared at Laporte, Ind., being a daughter of Arthur H. and Adeline (Dean) Steadman, natives, respectively, of England and Kentucky. Deprived of parental care by the death of both her father and her mother when she was yet very young, she made her home with friends in girlhood in Indi- ana and received a common-school education and later at Northern Indiana Normal at Valparaiso. Since the year 1887 she has been a resident of California. The early loss of her parents was not the only bereavement she was called upon to bear, for an even greater blow came in the death of her devoted husband, and the shock of the bereavement was doubled by the loss on the very same day of their only son. Father and child passed away within an hour of each other and were interred in adjoining graves. The son, Harold D., a lad of unusual intelligence, was born in 1896, and at the time of his death was twelve years and seven months old. As a pupil in the grammar school he not only won the friendship of all associates. but also established a record for scholarship and rapid progress in his studies.
HARRY DOLE OWEN
The associations of a lifetime bind Mr. Owen to Sacramento county in ties of deepest intimacy. Here he was born in the city of Sacramento December 26, 1863; here he received a fair education in the city schools ; here he entered upon life's activities as a member of the great army of farmers whose efforts have transformed the com- monwealth into a garden spot of beauty and productiveness; and here he now owns and occupies a ranch of five hundred acres near Bruce- ville. The raising of grain is the principal business on the farm, but stock is also kept, and hogs particularly have proved a profitable investment. A fine orchard of twenty-five acres of Bartlett pears, apricots and plums is to be seen on the farm, and the marketing of
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the fruit adds to the annual income in a gratifying degree. The entire appearance of the tract indicates the thrift and energy of the pro- prietor and furnishes silent testimony as to his farming ability.
The Owen family has been identified with American history for several generations. The first of the name in the new world settled in New England, according to tradition. The exact date of immigra- tion is unknown. Suffice it to state that there were a goodly number of the name to assist in the agricultural upbuilding of the northeast. Eben Owen was born in Portland, Me., November 26, 1812, and at- tended the common schools of his native city. At the age of sixteen he left school and began to assist his father in a general mercantile store, continuing in the same establishment until he had reached the age of thirty-six. A desire to see something of the world led him to New Orleans, where he taught in the city schools for one year. About that time the discovery of gold brought California into world-wide prominence, and he determined to join the thousands of Argonauts seeking fortunes there. By way of the Isthmus of Panama he came to California in 1849 and landed in San Francisco, whence he pro- ceeded immediately to Michigan Bar, a mining camp of great tempor- ary importance. For one year he followed the adventurous and exciting existence of a miner.
Upon leaving the mines and establishing headquarters in Sacra- mento Mr. Owen opened a wholesale grocery establishment, which he conducted with remarkable success. In 1857 he sold the business, re- turned to Maine and at Portland, July 30, of the same year, was united in marriage with Miss Mary Dole, who was born at Alna, Lincoln county, that state. Accompanied by his wife, he again came to California in 1858 and settled in Sacramento, where their happy wedded life was terminated by the death of Mrs. Owen September 28, 1865. He long survived her, living retired from business activities, but personally superintending his property interests until shortly before his demise, which occurred October 28, 1892. He left two sons, Eben B., who is a farmer on a part of the old home, and Harry Dole Owen. The latter had been of the greatest help to him during his later years, for he personally cultivated the large ranch of thirteen hundred acres, attended to the dairy department of the ranch, took charge of the sowing of the grain, worked untiringly in harvesting, threshing and marketing the wheat, and proved altogether a genuine talent for agricultural work. His subsequent prosperity proves that he made no mistake when he selected ranching for his chosen occu- pation. His ranch comprises five hundred and twenty-two acres, located on the Cosumnes river, about one and one-half miles east of Bruceville. Irrigation for the ranch is supplied by means of a ditch from the Cosumnes as well as a pumping plant.
December 15, 1886, H. D. Owen was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Utter, a native of Franklin, Sacramento county, and a
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