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, 1923, Part 108

Author: Reed, G. Walter
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1026

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

passed away on June 28, 1908, at the age of forty-six years, leaving six children to mourn huis loss. Nor- bert Glenn, who was educated at Christian Brothers College in Sacramento, is a horticulturist and farmer on Tyler Island. Frances was a graduate of Mt. St. Gertrude's, and is now the wife of W. A. Creed, re- siding in Napa. Gretta, a graduate of the San Jose State Normal School, was engaged in teaching until she became Mrs. Lloyd Coons; they make their home in San Francisco. William was educated at Christian Brothers College, and is now a farmer at Walnut Grove. Myrtle also attended Mt. St. Gertrude's, after which she married H. F. Hapgood, and now resides near Clarksburg. The youngest daughter, Carmel, also a graduate of San Jose State Normal School, has shown much ability as an efficient teacher in the Sacramento schools, and is now the wife of George R. Arthur, of Sacramento.

Since her husband's death, Mrs. Mosher has oper- ated the ranch, continuing the improvements they had planned, with a view to putting the whole place into fruit. She has been very successful and has purchased the old Osborn ranch of fifty-eight acres adjoining, and also a ranch of eighty-two acres at Walnut Grove, devoted to orchard and asparagus. The home place comprises 200 acres devoted to raising fruit and vege- tables. The last six years, she has made a specialty of raising vegetable sced for large seed houses, which she has found not only interesting but also profitable. To accomplish these results, she oversees and super- intends the work in the various departments, her natural ability and business acumen, coupled with her years of experience, making for her success. Her place is well improved, the residence being large, palatial and modern. A woman of culture and re- finement, coupled with a very pleasing personality, she presides over her home competently and grace- fully, her hospitality and good-will being much appre- ciated by her many friends. A stanch Republican in matters of politics, she is patriotic and took part in the various Red Cross and allied war drives. A be- liever in cooperation, she is a member of the Cali- fornia Pear Growers' Association.

WILLIAM VORTRIEDE .- Throughout a period of residence in California dating from 1887, William Vortriede has filled a number of positions of trust and responsibility in his special line of work, that of landscape gardener. Since 1911 he has held the position of state gardener and at the same time is advising gardener for all the state institutions. In the laying out of public and high school grounds his advice and cooperation is sought and readily given without any thought of compensation.

William Vortriede was born in Germany, Octo- ber 24, 1861, a son of Edward and Paulina (Berger) Vortriede, both natives of Germany, now deceased. Mr. Vortriede received his education in the schools of Germany and at an early age decided to take up gardening as a trade. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty years old, and then came to the United States and went direct to Toledo, Ohio, where he worked for his uncle for four years; then he came West and was employed at Coronado Beach from the beginning of laying out the grounds, for four years, working at his trade during that period. He then removed to Stockton, where he was employed at the state hospital for thirteen years. He was placed in charge of the grounds of the

public schools of Stockton, and for four years was landscape gardener for George West & Sons; then for two years he was with Dr. Samuel Langdon in orchard work at Stockton. In 1911 he was made state gardener at the capitol grounds in Sacramento, where he has given entire satisfaction.

The marriage of Mr. Vortriede united him with Miss Christina Jergensen, and they are the parents of two children, Paulina and Edward. At seventeen years of age, Edward Vortriede volunteered for service in the U. S. Navy, and he served through the World War, and is now in the Sacramento Transportation Company service. In politics Mr. Vortriede is a Republican. His hobby is the study and cultivation of plants and flowers.

HAROLD H. HUSBYE .- A very enterprising, well-equipped concern, always ready for any emer- gency, and always in demand by the most responsi- ble interests in Sacramento City, and County, is the contract-hauling and sand-producing firm of Husbye & Reeves, so efficiently represented by the alert Harold H. Husbye, a native of Norway who has more than made good in California. He was born on December 20, 1882, the son of Hans and Bredine Husbye, now deceased, both of whom enjoyed the es- teem of their fellow-men.

Harold H. Husbye was fortunate in having en- joyed the advantages of the excellent schools in his native land, and when he came out to the United States in 1902, at the age of twenty, he was well- prepared to take up the struggle for a livelihood. He spent a few years in the city of Philadelphia, and in 1908 came out to San Francisco, where he was busily engaged as a sea-faring man up till 1911, when he began trucking and hauling material in San Francisco. Meeting with success, he increased his equipment until he had six trucks. In 1917 he located in Sacramento, where he engaged in the same business, soon associating himself with J. R. Reeves under the firm name of Husbye & Reeves, Contract Hauling and Sand Producers. They have ten trucks and now do much of the hauling for the general contractors, being engaged on city work as well as on private contracts. The firm owns a sand plant at the Twelfth Street Bridge across the Amer- ican River (the plant being located on the north side of the river), and are thus able to furnish their own sand. They have a drag-line cableway with which they take the sand out of the American River. The sand is then screened and washed, after which it is elevated to the bunkers, from which it is loaded by gravity into the trucks for distribution. This plant was built and installed by Husbye & Reeves, and has proved a success, as it provides them with an abundance of excellent sand, in which they are the largest local dealers.

In San Francisco, in 1913, Mr. Husbye was united in marriage with Miss Valborg Larsen, who was born on the beautiful Lake Mjosen, the largest in- land body of water in all Norway. There she was reared to womanhood and received a good educa- tion, after which she came to La Crosse, Wis., in 1905. In 1910 she came to San Francisco, and it was there she met and married Mr. Husbye. Their union has been blessed with the birth of a daughter, Evelyn. Mr. Husbye belongs to the San Francisco Aerie, No. 5, of the Eagles.

Harold Ho. Housbye

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

JOHN A. McGRATH .- A young man who is a successful farmer of Andrus Island is John A. Mc- Grath, who with his brother Eugene farms the 112- acre fruit and asparagus farm belonging to their mother. He was born in Sacramento City on June 12, 1901. a son of Patrick Henry and Mary Jane (Fos- ter) McGrath, both natives of New York State. When Patrick Henry McGrath was fifteen years of age, he came to California and worked in San Francisco. He married Miss Mary Jane Foster in Sacramento. He became identified with the prison board; and later, when he removed to San Francisco, he was secretary for many years of the Bear Gulch Water Company. When John A. was a baby of nine months, his parents removed to Berkeley, Cal., where they resided for nine years. They then removed to San Francisco and there made their home for the following ten years. Patrick Henry McGrath passed away in San Fran- cisco, April 4, 1922, aged sixty-two. The mother of our subject makes her home in San Francisco.

Grandfather James Foster came to California in an early day and settled on Andrus Island, where he purchased 112 acres of land. There he resided to the time of his death, when he willed the place to his daughter, the mother of our subject. Besides the 112 acres on Andrus Island, she owns 600 acres eighteen miles north of Marysville which has a twenty-acre vineyard on it, the balance being used for general farming purposes.

John A. McGrath is the youngest of a family of six children, the others being: James Foster; Walter, deceased; Frank, deceased; Gertrude, now Mrs. A. J. Reed, residing in San Francisco; and Eugene. Mr. McGrath was educated in the grammar school in Berkeley, and attended Star of the Sea Business Col- lege in San Francisco. He spent his summer vaca- tions on the ranch on Andrus Island where he learned fruit-growing. The ranch is irrigated by an electric pumping-plant, and the crops raised are beans, as- paragus and fruit. He also operates his mother's ranch at Marysville. Mr. McGrath is a Republican in politics. Fraternally, he is a member of Courtland Parlor No. 106, N. S. G. W.

WILLIAM R. SELKIRK .- Reared on the links of one of Scotland's well-known golf courses, it is but natural that William R. Selkirk should occupy a fore- most place as an instructor among the devotees of golf; and he is known as the Sir Harry Lauder of California among his many friends. A native of the land of the heather, he was born at Musselborough, six miles east of Edinburgh, on October 6, 1882, the youngest son of a family of five children born to James and Margaret (Dickson) Selkirk. The father, who was keeper of the greens at Musselborough golf links, passed away in 1883, and his widow passed through many a hard struggle in rearing her family. She was a woman of remarkable personality and strength of character, and from her our subject in- herited many of the winning characteristics that have brought him success.

Mr. Selkirk's first remembrance of golf dates back to his fourth year, when he first began to handle a club, although at that time he was nearly as broad as he was long. At the age of ten he started to work in the mines during the winter seasons, spending his summers on the golf course; and his enthusiasm for the sport enabled him to make rapid strides, so that at sixteen he entered his career as a professional

golfer. He also took up his work as instructor and continued in Scotland until 1906, when he came to California. Arriving in San Francisco at the time of the great fire, he at first busied himself in reclama- tion work there and did his part in the rebuilding of the city. The following eight years were spent as instructor at Lincoln Park links there, and he then came to Sacramento as instructor at the municipal links for two years.

In 1917, Mr. Selkirk was importuned to become instructor for the newly organized Del Paso Country Club, near Sacramento; and he has since continued with them, enjoying an ever increasing popularity. In 1920 he was called to the bedside of his mother in Scotland and was away for five months, although it was not until two months after his return that the sad news of her death came. On the eve of his de- parture he received from the members of the club a handsome leather wallet and autographed script set- ting forth the high esteem in which he was held per- sonally, as well as for his splendid services; and on his return he received an equally appreciative greet- ing. His ability as a golf instructor is known throughout the Northwest, and he holds the unique record of having given a complete set of thirty-six lessons in golf instruction within a twenty-four-hour day, starting on the links at six, a. m., and completing on the indoor course at two, a. m. Mr. Selkirk is also an authority in the laying out of golf courses. In 1922 he completed several courses in northern California, as follows: For the Napa Club, Oroville Club, Marysville Club, Davis Club, Red Bluff Club and Chico Club; and these stand out as the most beautiful in that part of the state.

GEORGE BELENEY, SR .- From his young manhood, George Beleney has been a resident of California; and the greater part of his life since his nineteenth year has been spent in the commission business in San Francisco. He was born in France, August 9, 1855, and in his nineteenth year came to California and located in San Francisco, where he first worked for wages. Then he went into the whole- sale commission business on Washington Street, and this business has since engaged his attention. In 1900 he built a home at Lockspur, near San Rafael, Cal., where he has since made his home; but his business headquarters are in San Francisco. In 1903 Mr. Beleney purchased 560 acres on Grand Island, two miles northwest of Ryde, 100 acres of which is in orchard, and 250 acres in asparagus, while the balance is devoted to beans, beets and general farming.

The marriage of Mr. Beleney occurred in San Francisco, and united him with Miss Marie Blanche, also a native of France, who came to California a short time previous to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Beleney are the parents of four children. Blanche is now Mrs. Ussery; Jeanette is deceased; George, Jr., is the trustee of the ranch on Grand Island which is leased to Lee Chong; and Marie is Mrs. Strong of Healdsburg.

George Beleney, Jr., was born in San Francisco, Angst 13, 1893, and was educated at the Belmont Academy, where he was graduated in 1912. After his graduation he entered the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, and worked his way up from the bottom to the position of receiving teller. On March 8, 1918, he entered the United States Army and was

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

sent to Camp Lewis in Company Mf. 363rd Infan- try, of the 91st Division. He sailed for France on June 20, 1918, and was in all the battles which his regiment engaged in. He was among the reserves at St. Mihiel, was wounded by shrapnel, and sus- tained a severe laceration of his left leg during the Meuse-Argonne battle and was sent to the hospital at Bordeaux. Following his recovery he rejoined his regiment just as the armistice was signed. Return- ing to the United States with his regiment he was discharged in April, 1919, at the Presidio. On his return he resumed his old position as receiving teller in the Bank of Italy, and continued there until March . 19, 1921, when he resigned his position to take charge as trustee of his father's ranch at Ryde. He is a member of the American Legion of San Rafael.

George Beleney, Sr., is a member of the Masonic order; and both father and son are active members of the Asparagus Growers' Association.

FRANKLIN L. YOUNGMAN .- Much of the attraction of California, and especially of Sacra- mento County as a place of residence, is undoubtedly due to the adequate facilities for medical treatment and service furnished by such representatives of the drug-trade and the medical profession as Frank- lin L. Youngman, the popular druggist of 2700 Twenty-fourth Street, Sacramento. He was born at Lake View, Mich., on July 1, 1876; and his parents were George C. and Julia (Kilborn) Youngman, who came out to California in November, 1907. George Youngman was widely known as a very progressive ranchman, and he is now enjoying a well-earned retirement.

Franklin L. Youngman was given the advantages of both the grammar and high school courses of study, and after that he worked for a while on the home ranch. He then clerked in a drug-store, studied and became a registered pharmacist; and for a while he was active in the general merchandise business in the East. Returning to Sacramento he established a drug house at the corner of Fourteenth and J Streets, but at the end of three years he sold out, and reopened at 2700 Twenty-fourth Street, where he founded his present well-known house. At that time, there were only a few people in that section, but now it is thickly populated, the streets are paved, and there are other modern improvements, due in part to Mr. Youngman. He also had a store at 3826 Stockton Boulevard, and these stores he is now converting into general merchandise headquarters. He employs six people, and is very successful. A real pioneer at Highland Park, he feels a particular inter- est and pride in the locality. He is a Republican, and as such has always tried to effect legislation likely to prove beneficial to the community.

When Mr. Youngman married, in 1903, at Lake View, Mich., he chose for his life companion Miss Jennie A. Royce of Michigan; and their union has been blessed with four children: Beatrice, Rosa- mond, Hugh (now a registered pharmacist), and Bertha. George C. Youngman, the father, was a supervisor of Cato Township, Montcalm County. Mich., for fifteen years and he himself served as jus- tice of the peace for four years, and still takes a deep interest in public affairs. In Masonry, too, he is active, and is a master Mason, being a member of Ivanhoe Lodge, No. 380, F. & A. M., of Lake View, Mich.

WILLIAM DOUGLAS .- A very efficient execu- tive who has again and again proven of great service to others, and especially to those in affliction, is William Douglas, the superintendent of St. Joseph's Cemetery, and one of the most public-spirited of men in Sacramento County. He was born in Ireland, on July 15, 1869, the son of John and Ellen (O'Gor- man) Douglas, and came to the United States in 1889, followed later by his parents. His father owned large quarries in Ireland, and was a man of affairs.

William Douglas attended the excellent Irish schools, and then learned the trade of a stone-cutter, following it for sixteen years. Coming to Sacramento, he established a marble and granite yard, equipped to turn out headstones and monuments, but on January 1, 1905, he accepted the post of cemetery superinten- dent, and since then he has made many improvements at St. Joseph's Cemetery. Mr. Douglas was superin- tendent of this cemetery for nineteen years under Bishop Grace, and during that time a strong attach- ment sprang up between them and they came to have great confidence in each other.

In Sacramento, Mr. Douglas was married to Miss Katie Brennan, a native of Ireland, who had lived in California from her twelfth year, thus growing up in intimate understanding of Californian institutions. Three children have blessed their union: Helen, the eldest; Loretta, Mrs. William Van Maren, of Fair Oaks; and William Thomas, now attending school. Mr. Douglas is a member of Sacramento Lodge No. 6, of the Elks, and belongs to Council No. 953, Knights of Columbus, and to Bishop Manogue Assembly, fourth degree, and is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and also of the Y. M. I. Mr. Douglas is deeply interested in the history of Sacramento County, where he has come to own considerable property of value. In politics he is a Republican. Both Mr. and Mrs. Douglas have a host of friends.

WILLIAM BOTZBACH .- Well-known the residents of Galt and vicinity, William Botzbach has served as the efficient postmaster here since 1916, and is identified with all the progressive movements of the community. He was born at Lodi, Cal., March 7, 1888, the son of Henning and Helene (Neun) Botz- bach, the former a native of Schleswig-Holstein, while Mrs. Botzbach was born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany. Henning Botzbach came to California in 1882 and settled at Lodi, where he was a baker and confectioner; later he removed with his family to Galt, where he continued in this line of business until his death. On board the steamship coming to America Henning Botzbach met his future wife, Helene Neun, who was a fellow-passenger on the same ship bound for America. He went on to California, which was the place of his destination, while his fiancée stopped in New York City, where she secured employment for one and one-half years before coming on to California. They were married at the M. E. Church at Lodi, Cal .. April 12, 1884. Henning Botzbach died June 8, 1900. Mrs. Botzbach built the modern Botzbach two-story frame hotel building in Galt in 1906. It has twenty- one guest chambers and Mrs. Botzbach is still its suc- cessful and genial proprietress. Of their five children four are now living, a daughter having passed away.

William Botzbach received his education in the Gait grammar school and spent a short time in the Stock -. ton high school. When he was nineteen he started

W™ Douglas

Frank M. Fuller

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

out to make his own way, and entering the newspaper business conducted a weekly paper at Galt called the "Weekly Witness"; later the name was changed to the "Galt Herald" and Mr. Botzhach conducted it until 1921, when he sold it to the present proprietor, F. W. Wing. Mr. Botzbach also conducted the "Elk Grove Citizen" for a time, but was compelled to give it up on account of his health.

On July 16, 1916, Mr. Botzbach received the ap- pointment as postmaster of Galt under President Wil- son, and he was reappointed by President Harding on October 21, 1921, a just recognition of the faithful and efficient service he has given. Besides his own home, Mr. Botzbach owns other real estate in Galt; and as secretary and ex-secretary of the Chamber of Com- merce there, he is a leader in all that concerns the progress of the city. He is a member of Stockton Lodge No. 218, B. P. O. E., past grand of the Knights of Pythias of Galt, past president of Galt Parlor. N. S. G. W., and belongs to the Patrons of Husbandry.

ROY H. BROWN .- An aggressively progressive . man who made himself felt in the automobile world, is Roy H. Brown, now residing at 1229 L Street, Sac- ramento, in which city he was born on Septem- ber 26, 1896, the son of Henry P. and Anna Rose (Mier) Brown. Both the father and the mother were natives of California, and came from old Sacramento families. H. P. Brown was secretary of the J. P. Breuner Company, and died in 1902, when our sub- ject was only four years of age. This misfortune left the lad with a serious handicap, but with his natural resources he was able, nevertheless, to forge ahead. He not only went through the usual grammar school courses, but also enjoyed the excellent high school training at his disposal, and then he matriculated at the California Agricultural School, at Davis. The great World War, however, making its wide appeal to humanity because it so widely involved the nations and the whole cause of liberty and progress, led Roy Brown to enlist, on April 7, 1917, in the United States Navy, where he saw eighteen months of vigorous ser- vice; and when he had returned home, honorably dis - charged and with the satisfaction of feeling that he had fulfilled a sacred duty and lined up with the rest of young American manhood, he engaged in farming for a year. He always made a success at whatever he undertook; but it was evident that agriculture was not his forte, and he returned to the city and commenced to sell automobiles.

On March 12, 1920, Mr. Brown and C. W. Bormuth established the Biltwell Garage, at L and Ninth Streets, where their service and repair work of the highest standard and most reliable character steadily brought them more and more patronage. They con- tinued this partnership only a short time, and then disposed of the business and Mr. Brown began taking contracts for cement work. Mr. Brown's name is found on the roster of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, and also as a member of the Progressive Business Club; and he endorses the platforms of the Republican party, making as they do for better trade conditions.

On October 15, 1919, at Sacramento, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Irene Burns, one of the popular belles of Sacramento; and she shares with her hus- band the society of a wide circle of devoted friends.

FRANK M. FULLER .- Sacramento has always been fortunate in numbering among its citizens many men of marked constructive ability and thorough experience, well qualified to undertake extensive and important contract work. Such a man is Frank M. Fuller, the widely operating plumber, who well rep- resents this class of industrial leaders, so closely associated with the growth of both city and county. He was born at Woodland, Cal., on March 30, 1889, and came to Sacramento early enough to enjoy the exceptional educational advantages of the city's schools. His father, Robert H. Fuller, came around the Horn to California; while the mother, who was Miss Hattie Nichols before her marriage, came across the great plains and mountains to the Golden State. They were married here, and here they are still living. the father now being seventy-five years of age. He worked in the Southern Pacific shops, and in time received a pension; and he enjoys the good name of a steady, first-class workman upon whom his employers could always depend.

Frank Fuller was apprenticed to the plumbing trade, and for some years worked as a journeyman; and in 1920, after patriotically serving in the avia- tion branch of the United States Army for nine months during the World War, he established him- self in business. He undertakes general contracting in the plumbing line, using only the most up-to-date, sanitary methods, and only first-class materials and appliances. He renders careful personal service, for which he expects to be fairly paid. His shop is at 2010 M Street, and is one of the model workshops of the town.

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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, 1923, Part 108

Author: Reed, G. Walter Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1026

Author: Reed, G. Walter
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1026