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 79
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CLAY W. EMIGH
A resident of Sacramento and a member of Sunset Parlor, N. S. G. W., by virtue of his birth in Rio Vista, Solano county, December 21, 1881, Clay W. Emigh is realizing the popular idea of the enterprising
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citizen laboring not alone for his personal and family advancement, but for the best interests of his fellowmen and for the general good. His parents were Thomas P. and Rachel Emigh, and they believed in education as a basis for success in America. Consequently they sent their younger son to the public and high schools at Oakland, after completing which he entered Heald's Business College, from which efficient institution he was graduated in 1900.
At Suisun City, as a clerk in his brother James L. Emigh's store, Mr. Emigh began his business career. He remained there, obtaining a wide knowledge of the hardware trade, till 1904, then came to Sac- ramento and accepted a position as salesman with the wholesale hard- ware house of Miller & Enright, which he served faithfully and suc- cessfully till 1908. Next we find him in San Francisco, a salesman in the employ of George H. Tay Company. There he advanced well in his chosen field and in 1910 he came to Sacramento to become the partner of his brother, James L. Emigh, doing business under the name of the Emigh Hardware Company, carrying builders' supplies in addition to hardware. In his present business he has been success- ful beyond his expectations, and his brother attributes the prosperity of their house not a little to Clay W. Emigh's trained ability as a salesman and his indomitable devotion to their common interests. In 1912 the brothers joined forces with the Capital Hardware Company under the new incorporation of Emigh, Winchell, Cline Company, of which Mr. Emigh is a director and in charge of the builders' hard- ware department. They now have the most extensive hardware establishment in Sacramento county, if not in the whole of Northern California.
The Republican party includes Mr. Emigh among its most de- voted members. He was made a Mason in Tehama Lodge No. 3, F. & A. M. In December, 1904, he married at Suisun Miss Grace Oliver, who was a native daughter of that place. He finds time from his business to consider public questions and public measures, has a clear understanding of the needs of the people at large, economic- ally and politically, and gives himself patriotically to such service as comes to his hand with the promise that by accepting and discharg- ing it he may do something toward the promotion of the public welfare.
BURTON F. HULINGS
The possibilities available to a man of energy and determination, notwithstanding a handicap of poverty and orphanhood, are revealed in the substantial degree of success and civic prominence of Burton
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F. Hulings, a leading representative of the realty interests of the Sacramento valley and one of the young business men whose pro- gressive spirit and intelligent energy are promoting the local welfare. His early years were entirely deprived of advantages with the exception of such as he made for himself by his own force of will and painstaking industry. Born at Hamilton, Ohio, January 31, 1871, he lost his father and mother by death when he was only six years of age. On that account the struggle to secure a livelihood was particularly trying. His first work was the carrying of news- papers and in this he did so well that he was able to earn his way through school. With little to encourage him, he nevertheless did not permit himself to become depressed or disheartened. The bound- less optimism of youth helped him through many a difficult struggle and enabled him to eventually make a place for himself in the world of affairs.
An eastern experience as a railroad employe enabled Mr. Hulings to secure similar employment when he came west to San Francisco in 1900, at which time he entered the passenger department of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Later he was sent to the capital city to represent the Sacramento Valley Development Association and after- ward went to Oregon to represent the railroad company at the Port- land Exposition. Upon his return to San Francisco he continued in the railroad office in that city until after the great fire, when he came to Sacramento and here he since has engaged in the real-estate business. His special sphere of activity has been in the development of tracts at Orangevale and Fair Oaks, while since October of 1911 he has had a general supervision of the entire improvement of the Hagen grant, taking charge of the planting of fruit orchards and orange groves for non-residents.
At the St. Nicholas hotel in San Francisco, September 4, 1901, occurred the marriage of Burton F. Hulings and Miss Dora Calder. There are two daughters of the union, Doris, born in Alameda, and Minota, born in San Francisco. Mrs. Hulings is a daughter of Wil- liam and Mary Calder, now of Orangevale, and at one time prominent members of the theatrical profession. Mrs. Calder, who descends from an old English family, has been a popular actress on both sides of the Atlantic ocean, while Mr. Calder not only rose to fame as a theatrical star, but also succeeded as a manager and had charge of the first European tour of Buffalo Bill (Colonel Cody). The Calder family has lived at different times in New York City, London and other leading cities of the world, their choice of a location being necessarily governed by the demands upon them in their pro- fessional work. Eventually, after having risen to prominence by his masterly delineation of Rip Van Winkle and other legendary char- acters, Mr. Calder retired from all professional work and bought a home at Orangevale, where he is now engaged in the raising of
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fruit. No citizen of the colony has been more helpful in its develop- ment than Mr. Calder and his standing in the community is the highest. In his tireless efforts to secure a betterment of conditions at Orangevale he has had the enthusiastic assistance of Mr. Hulings, who himself is not only loyal and patriotic, but also sagacious in plans and capable in counsel. Although not a partisan he gave con- stant service during the campaign of Governor Johnson and is him- self a staunch Democrat of the progressive type. Fraternally he is connected with the Golden Gate Lodge, F. & A. M., of San Francisco. Through his arduous and untiring efforts a right of way was secured for the trolley service which it is planned to extend from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and which will be operated under the name of the Sacramento and Sierra Railroad. In religion he is an Episcopalian and a believer in the creed of the denomination, a supporter of its charities and a contributor to its missionary movements.
ALBERT MEISTER
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John Meister, the father of the subject of this sketch and the pioneer dairyman of the Capital City, was born in Switzerland, April 17, 1820. He attended the excellent public schools of that education- loving republic, and was brought up on a farm, thus laying the foundation for the life-success that came to him in this country. He immigrated to the United States, eventually coming across the plains, arriving in Sacramento in September, 1852. After a short period in the mines he returned to the city and went to work in a dairy. In two years he was a partner, and soon after became owner of the business. His brother Jacob arriving from the old country bought a share in the establishment and this pair of industrious men carried on the business for twenty years. It was originally located near the site of the old Sutter's Fort. In 1876 the brothers dis- solved partnership, Jacob retiring.
Mrs. John Meister was Miss Pauline Herr, a native of Baden, Germany. She died in 1872, leaving four children, viz: Albert; An- nie, now the wife of G. H. Luchsinger, of San Francisco; Pauline, of Sacramento, and Louisa, wife of Dr. W. J. Taylor of this city. John Meister's second wife was Miss Arelia Wirth, whom he married in 1876. He retired from business in 1900, and died at his home in Sacra- mento April 13, 1911.
Albert Meister, who succeeded his father in the fine dairy busi- 'ness, also succeeds the elder in the business ability that made the Capital Dairy from its beginning one of the finest establishments of
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the kind in the state. It is stocked largely with Holstein cattle, the milk supplied by three hundred and twenty-five cows the year around. The depot and distributing point is located at No. 315 Sixteenth street, while the herd is kept on the farm near Elvas which com- prises three hundred and fifty acres. Here the fields of alfalfa are irrigated by means of a pumping plant, and Mr. Meister also en- gages in horticulture on this tract. He superintends the business of the dairy personally, and it is a source of gratification to him to be able to lead in the industry he has chosen for his life work. He has lived all his life in Sacramento, is a typical Californian and deeply interested in the welfare of the Golden State. Fraternally he is an Elk and a Scottish Rite Mason, Knight Templar and a Shriner.
FREDERICK BARTLETT FANCHER
The migration of Frederick . B. Fancher of Sacramento from the east towards the west is an interesting one. One peculiarity of this big trek is that at every point on the trail there was something eventful. He made his start in Orleans county, N. Y., his birthplace, in 1852, and his next place of appearance is the state of Michigan, with the date along in 1865. There he was educated, passing through the State Normal School at Ypsilanti. He was in Chicago in 1871, just before the big fire, and was engaged in fire underwriting. He was kept exceedingly busy for several years, as one in this occupa- tion in that locality would likely be. In 1881 he was in North Dakota, where he followed farming. He not only handled his own farm but undertook the management of several thousand acres of land for eastern parties. He organized and was made the president of a strong local insurance company, and continued in that office for six years. During the same period he was president of the board of trustees of the North Dakota Hospital for the Insane. In 1889 Mr. Fancher was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, was chosen president of that body when it met and much credit is due its presiding officer for the excellent constitution it gave North Dakota. In 1894 he was nominated by the Republican State Con- vention for the office of Commissioner of Insurance, and was elected and on the expiration of his term he was re-elected. But the crown- ing honor of Mr. Fancher's Dakota political life came when the State Republican Convention of that state in 1898 unanimously nomi- nated him for governor. He threw himself into the campaign with his customary fervor and was elected to that high office with a large majority. His administration was clean and the public interests were
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conserved during his official term. He was renominated for the office, and under such favorable auspices that he would have been re-elected, if his health had not broken down. Chief Executive of one of the Dakotas is not an easy job and Governor Fancher was not physically equal to it. He declined to accept the renomination, se- lected his successor, and retired from public life, after twenty years of hard work in the upbuilding of the territory and state.
Mr. Fancher's next and last appearance was in Sacramento, where he is secretary and treasurer of the American Cash Store. This was several years ago and since that time he has persisted in his determination to remain out of politics. The Lincoln-Roose- velt organization desired him to make the run for mayor of Sacra- mento, but Mr. Fancher declined, and his private business fully occupies his time and mind. The ex-governor of North Dakota has other qualities besides those mentioned. He is considered the premier toastmaster of the Capital, a fluent after-dinner speaker, and is hailed where good-fellowship reigns. His response to the toast "The Ladies," at the Commandery some years ago, is still remembered.
Mr. Fancher married, January 1, 1909, Miss Clemma Buck of Minneapolis, Minn. His Masonic affiliations are advanced and ex- ceedingly fraternal. He has taken the thirty-second degree, is Past Eminent Commander of Wihaha Commandery, K. T., of James- town, N. D., and is a member of Blue Lodge, Royal Arch and Con- sistory of Scottish Rite.
GEORGE P. SELLINGER
Possessed of the qualities of perseverance and industry inherent in the Teutonic race, Mr. Sellinger has made an unqualified success of his well-directed life, good management and unswerving honor having distinguished his smallest effort. A native of California, his birth having occurred July 6, 1863, in Sacramento, where he makes his home today, Mr. Sellinger is the only living child of Charles and Mary (Simmons) Sellinger, who were united in marriage in December, 1859, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, Charles Sellinger, was born in Baden Baden, Germany, December 20, 1831, and, ac- cording to the custom in the homeland, left public school at the age of fourteen, becoming an apprentice to a baker. Two years later, imbued with a desire to start life in America, glowing reports of which filled his young mind, he set sail. Arriving in New York City, with the dogged determination which characterized his after life, he searched for a situation and found it in a meat market, his services proving so valuable that he was indneed to remain with his em-
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ployers during the succeeding five years. In 1853 he went to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where he became a hotel cook, but a year later he engaged in the liquor business, meeting with fair success. In 1856 he disposed of his interests and emigrated to San Francisco, where for three years he served as a hotel cook, resigning this position to establish a butcher shop in Sacramento. In 1864 he opened a hotel and successfully conducted it until 1879; upon the sale of this hotel he engaged in the manufacture of ice. Later, as the agent of the Union Ice Company, he engaged in the wholesale and retail trade of ice until 1904, when he sold this business to his son and retired from active labor.
Until the age of fifteen years George Sellinger attended public school, and upon relinquishing his studies he became a clerk in a meat market, faithfully performing his duties for four years. In 1882 he entered upon the life of a Texas ranger, but after two years on the plains returned to his native city and became associated with his father in the ice, coal and feed business, on Third between J and K streets; but in 1891 they changed their location to the present place at No. 521 I street, and he is now the owner and manager.
Mr. Sellinger was married August 4, 1883, to Miss Annie Fay, of Sacramento, and to their union four children were born: Ethel, who in 1910 graduated from Miss Head's School, Berkeley, Cal .; Charles, who is attending Boone's College, Berkeley; Madeline, and George, Jr., who are attending Sacramento high school.
Mr. Sellinger is one of the best known citizens of Sacramento and is a man of keen business ability and generous principles. Fra- ternally, he is identified with Sacramento Parlor No. 3, N. S. G. W., Sacramento Lodge No. 6, B. P. O. E., and Sacramento Court No. 12, F. of A. He is a staunch Republican, intelligently interested in all political movements.
DR. MARION F. AND MRS. SARAH E. CLAYTON
The city of Sacramento and indeed the entire surrounding coun- try owes so much to the ability and influence of Dr. Marion F. Clayton and his estimable wife, Mrs. Sarah E., that it would he difficult to enumerate their wonderful accomplishments here for the benefit of the residents and especially the children of this part of the country. Their benevolence, their charitable, unselfish labors to secure better conditions in the homes and hospitals, their untiring effort toward furthering the interests of all hygienic movements, were the means of bringing about a wonderful improvement, and their memories shall be ever held in high regard by all who were
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recipients of these benefactions. A suitable monument has been erected by their loving children to their memory, but it was not necessary that this material thing should be done to hold them dearly, for their work and its excellent results is one of the most fitting monuments they could have.
The life of Dr. Clayton is filled with interesting events, for his experiences were many, and his coming to a new country opened up a newer and larger field of work than one of his profession is acenstomed to handle. Born in Knox county, Ohio, in 1826, he spent his early days in Crawford county, that state, receiving his elementary education there. He matriculated at the Eclectic Medical College, in Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1855, and began active practice in northeastern Indiana, where he remained for about four years. Reports were constantly being brought from the west, and eager to see a new country, equipped with his profes- sional knowledge to aid him in securing a position in the working world there, he came overland with ox and horse teams in 1859. It was a hard, long trip, and during his travels he had many oppor- tunities to practice his profession, as there was much sickness and necessity for his services. He suffered many trials, not the least of which was the death of his horse when he was two hundred miles from human habitation, thus being forced to tramp the remainder of the journey, and on September 15, 1859, he arrived at Placerville, bare- foot, almost naked and nearly starved.
Dr. Clayton immediately found a great deal of work to do. His first patient was a man suffering from a gunshot wound, whom he found in a very precarious condition, but through his skill as a sur- geon he saved his life, and this was the foundation of his wide and most successful career in this section of the country. After eight laborious years at Placerville, Dr. Clayton removed to Sacramento and opened an office on J street between Fifth and Sixth streets, which place he occupied for two years, rendering valuable service to the citizens there. In January, 1870, Mrs. Clayton and their four children came from the east, and the doctor about this time pur- chased the Pacific Water Cure and Health Institute, which was sit- nated at the corner of Seventh and L streets and was at that time a beautiful home, surrounded by shade trees, and fitted in every way for the care of the sick. This establishment was most excellently equipped with every modern appliance for the purpose, being ar- ranged for the giving of Turkish, Russian, electric and medicated water and vapor baths. This institute the doctor operated for many years, until his death, and he met with gratifying success, as he had the benefit of his many years' professional experience, and the ex- ceptional natural power to administer to the sick.
When the State Eclectic Medical Society was organized Dr. Clay- ton was one of the promoters, and served as its president and vice-
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president several terms. For three years he was a member of the State Eclectic Board of Medical Examiners, being its chairman for two years. He was a strong prohibitionist, and during the campaign of 1888 was a member of the state executive committee of the Prohibition party. He owned considerable land in Eldorado county, which proved a good investment.
Mrs. Sarah E. Clayton, wife of Dr. M. F., was a most suitable wife and helpmeet for such a worthy man. Her career has been quite as full of experiences which tended toward the welfare of the sick and unfortunate as was his, and there are many of her achievements which are today the material evidences of her unfailing effort to give of the best that was in her, and her unselfishness and thoughtfulness will never be forgotten by many who received from her generous heart and hand. Born December 7, 1826, in Delaware, she was of Welsh and English extraction, her parents being Rev. John T. and Harriette Davis. Rev. John T. Davis was born in Wales, and was a Methodist minister in Ohio, his service in the ministry covering a period of fifty years. Mrs. Clayton's family removed from Dela- ware to Ohio in 1830, finally settling in Bucyrus, Crawford county. From 1846 to 1851 she taught school, at which time she was married to Dr. Marion F. Clayton, and they were the parents of four chil- dren: Hattie C., wife of A. J. Gardiner, of Sacramento; Mrs. Clara M. Crawford; Frank W., of Seattle; and Willis M., deceased. The last named, Willis M., was accidentally killed while in London, Eng- land, in 1881.
During the Civil war Dr. W. H. Davis, brother of Mrs. Clayton, went to the front as surgeon in an Iowa regiment, and his death occurred at Pittsburgh Landing in 1862. Mrs. Clayton was the secretary of the Sanitary Commission at Fostoria, Ohio, for five years, and she considers that period the most important and pos- sibly the most useful of her life, as the duty then of a sanitary commissioner was as constant and as arduons as that of the soldier on the battlefield. Soon after her arrival in Sacramento, in 1870, she found the old county hospital at the corner of Tenth and L streets to be a very unsanitary place, poorly supplied with con- veniences of any sort for the inmates, and badly in need of attention in many ways. She persuaded the supervisors with the influence of the press to build a new hospital three miles east of the city, and upon its completion Dr. G. A. White was made its superintendent. She then appealed to the citizens of the city for reading matter, and so generous was the response that in a short time the institution had a large and valuable library for their new hospital. Among the books donated was a Greek Bible two centuries old, and this rare volume was probably the most valuable book given. It is a most unfortunate fact to relate that the new building was burned soon after completion, and the entire contents destroyed.
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This was, however, only one of the many invaluable accom- plishments of Mrs. Clayton. As one of the managers of the Protest- ant Orphan Asylum of Sacramento, in 1873, it was her duty to look after the children who had been taken out of the home on trial, pending adoption. She served as director of the board of this asylum for fifteen years, and in her capacity as manager had many difficulties to encounter, but she was thoroughly capable of handling the matter at hand, and going before the legislature, procured several laws governing this work. By her earnest endeavor she soon had an almost perfect system established, by which the homeless wards were found comfortable and permanent homes with worthy people, and the law of the land assisted in the work. With others she after- ward founded the Sacramento Foundlings Home, now the Sacramento Children's Home, of which she was a director at the time of her death, on October 28, 1911. Too much cannot be said in praise of such a woman whose entire life had been given to help others, and whose every thought had been to comfort the sick and help the needy. No problem too hard for her to solve, no task too hard to undertake, if it was to benefit deserving ones she was ready to make the attempt. It may well be said of her: Well done, thou faithful servant !
Mrs. Clayton was an ardent worker in the First M. E. Church, on Sixth street, and it was from this religious home that she was conveyed to her last resting place. Her husband had preceded her to the grave, having passed away April 28, 1892, mourned by many friends. In 1910 their daughter, Mrs. Hattie C. Gardiner and her husband, A. J. Gardiner, erected in Sacramento on the site of their old home, the Hotel Clayton, in honor of her father and mother. It is a five-story reinforced concrete and brick structure, with steel frame, and built on concrete pile foundation, and is elaborately fin- ished in every detail. It is considered by builders the best building in the city and one of the most artistically constructed.
CHARLES C. PERKINS
Lifelong identification with Sacramento county binds Mr. Per- kins intimately with this portion of the state. The earliest memories of life are with him associated with a small village named in honor of his father, for years its leading business man and one of the largest property owners. The family name still is linked with this suburban town, for since the death of the honored pioneer his son, Charles C., has succeeded him in the management of the business
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enterprises and in the development of properties at this point. Close as have been the ties to bind him to the village, yet he has found leisure for other activities and has entered into commercial associa- tions with the city of Sacramento, where he is known as the president of a large and growing general store on J street. Inheriting from his father the qualities of energy, business acumen and foresight, he is prepared to meet the manifold emergencies that arise in com- mercial circles and to surmount the obstacles that throw their gloomy shadows over the path to snecess.
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