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 112

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

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, 1923 > Part 112

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Henry Frye was married in Franklin in 1892 to Miss Minnie Peak, who was born in Missouri, where she grew to womanhood, after which she came to Sacramento. He is a member of the Modern Wood- men of America and she of the Royal Neighbors. Eugene Frye was one of the organizers of the Elk Grove Cooperative Vineyard Association in 1909. They built the winery at Elk Grove with a capacity of 500,000 gallons. Mr. Frye has been active in di- recting its affairs, serving as president and manager. Since the adoption of the eighteenth amendment the farmers are shipping their grapes. He is a member of the board of directors of the California Grape Growers' Exchange, having their headquarters in San Francisco. He has taken an active part in the county farm bureau, serving as secretary of the Franklin Local. As a son of a forty-niner Mr. Frye is interested in preserving early history and pioneer landmarks, and so we find him a member of Elk Grove Parlor No. 41, Native Sons of the Golden West.

LEON R. MILLER .- The flourishing celery indus- try of California owes much of its increasing im- portance to such progressive agriculturists as Leon R. Miller, who owns ninety-five acres of very choice celery land on Lower Andrus Island, below Isleton. He was born near Winnemucca, Nev., on November 21. 1872, the son of Lafayette and Ellen (Richards) Miller, the former a native of Texas, and a school teacher, and the latter a native of Wisconsin. She was brought to California, a babe in arms, in 1852, by her father, John Richards, who was lured to the Coast on account of the hope for gold. John Richards came from Cornwall, England, to Shullsburg, Wis., where he engaged in lead-mining. On learning of the dis- covery of gold in California, he crossed the plains in an ox-team train in 1849, and followed mining until 1852, when he returned to Wisconsin for his wife and little child, and brought them across the plains. He owned the old Potosi mine near Plymouth. Later he located on the Cosumnes, where he became a large landowner in the Sheldon district, and there he spent his remaining days. Lafayette Miller also came to California in early days, and then went to Nevada; and there for a short time he engaged in raising and selling cattle. He then returned to Amador County and taught school at Volcano for a number of years, and from 1879 to 1882 he was county school superin- tendent of schools for Amador County. He also taught the last year of his life in the Slough House district, Sacramento County. He died at the age of sixty-six years, while Mrs. Miller attained her sixty- eighth year. They had four children, Leon being the eldest. Evelyn was Mrs. Dart, and died at Florin; Emma J., who was Mrs. Rust of Sacramento, is now deceased, as is also Lafayette, Jr.

Leon R. Miller attended the local grammar school and Elk Grove High School, and later went to the business college at Sacramento, where he was gradu- ated; and when twenty-one years of age, he started out for himself. He served as assistant secretary, and as secretary, of the State Agricultural Society for thirteen years, and then put in seven years in the city auditor's and collector's office at Sacramento. In 1918 he bought ninety-five acres, half of the old Donnelly ranch on Lower Andrus Island; and here he has since resided, operating the ranch for the growing of celery and truck vegetables. He is a Republican in politics; and as a trustee of the Isleton union district school he has done something for the elevation of public ideals.

Mr. Miller was married at Sacramento on January 1, 1901, to Miss Blanche A. Gilliam, a popular belle of Sacramento, born near Franklin, and the daughter of Thomas and Aceneth (Stephenson) Gilliam, born in Chillecothe County, Mo., where they were mar- ried. During the Civil War their farm was devastated by the army, and their home was burned, and they lost all they had. Soon after the war they came to Cali- fornia. Here they met with success on their ranch near Franklin; and on this farm Mrs. Miller was born. Mrs. Gilliam was married a second time, becoming the wife of George Bailey, a farmer in the Sheldon district, and there the children were reared. By the first union there were five children, the two eldest having been born in Missouri. Arzela is Mrs. F. W. Bond, of Elk Grove; Susie has become Mrs. Buell, of Lodi; N. J. Gilliam lives at Sacramento; Archie is in Franklin; and Blanche is now Mrs. Miller. By the second marriage there was one child, Jas. O. Bailey,

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

of Isleton. Mrs. Miller attended the Reese school. She is the mother of three children. Ruth is Mrs. R. P. Everly, of Lower Andrus Island; and the others are Leon Harry and Alma Marie. Mr. Miller is a char- ter member of Oak Park Aerie of the Eagles, in Sacramento. Mrs. Miller was active in the organiza- tion of the Parent-Teacher's Association, and as presi- dent she presides gracefully over their meetings.

ERNEST M. KIMBERLIN .- A successful, rep- resentative Californian, whom the citizens of Sac- ramento have come to esteem and also to admire, is Ernest M. Kimberlin, the popular manager of the Owl Drug Company, well known, as is his enterpris- ing establishment, throughout and beyond Sacra- mento County. On May 8, 1882, at Selma, in Fresno County, he entered the family of Olin B. and Mary D. (Bassham) Kimberlin, the grandson of J. M. Kimberlin, who had come across the great plains to California as early as 1845, and had become one of the pioneer seed men in this section, and also one of the first presidents of the University of the Pacific, filling that office with distinction for several years. He was a scholarly man, and was eminent as a lin- guist. His father was a grain farmer in Kern County, at one time, and he bought and sold cattle. He was a native son, having been born in Santa Clara County. Mrs. Kimberlin was also horn in California, the daughter of Senator Bassham, one of the first mer- chants in San Jose, and the first senator from Santa Clara; in early days, a man actively interested in mines.

Ernest Kimberlin went to the lower grades of the public school in Santa Clara, and pursued the high school courses under private tutors. He followed his father in raising grain, and then he was in the oil business for two years on the property of the family. Next he entered Heald's Business College, and then he was with the Kern County Land Com- pany. Next he traveled with his grandfather, hand- ling seed. On his return, he finished his high school work, and then he learned the drug business, as an apprentice, in Selma. Then he entered the Univer- sity of California, from which he was graduated with the class of 1905, receiving the degree of pharma- ceutical chemist.

After that, Mr. Kimberlin bought a business at Kingsburg, in Fresno County, in 1910, and while in that town was elected and served as the first city clerk, helped to form a charter, and became one of the board of directors. He was also the first director of the Union high school. Selling out his drug store, he removed to Berkeley, where for eight years he was the manager of the drug-store of Messrs. Powell & Ellis. His increasing reputation as a man of expe- rience in his field led to his associating himself with the Owl Drug Company; and on July 7, 1920, he took charge of the Sacramento store; and since then he has had the real satisfaction of much increasing the volume of the company's business. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Retail Merchants' Association, and also a director in the Ad Club.

At Cupertino, Santa Clara County, in 1907, Mr. Kimberlin was married to Eldora .P. Freeman, of Santa Clara, a graduate of the high school of that town, and also of the Stanford University, which con- ferred upon her the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Two children have been born of this union, Dorothy E. and Olin E. Kimberlin. Mr. Kimberlin has been

active in the Masonic order since becoming a Mason, and is a past master. He is a director of the Y. M. C. A., and also of the Boy Scouts, and he belongs to the Lions Club.

FRANK E. LAUPPE .- A man well-versed as to the many and difficult problems of particular interest to the motorist, and how best to clear away the diffi- culties, or to open up new and better paths, is Frank E. Lauppe, the automobile dealer of 1321 K Street, Sacramento. The son of J. D. and Jeanette (Shelley) Lauppe, he was born on a farm near Sacramento, in the same district in which his father first saw the light. Mr. Lauppe's grandfather was a forty-niner. His father was one of the earliest to enter the auto- mobile field; he is now retired, enjoying life with his devoted wife, who was born in Nevada County, and has always been the center of a circle of appreciative friends.

Frank Lauppe attended both the grammar and the high schools of Sacramento, and then joined his father in the automobile business, thus entering one of the earliest automobile firms established here. When J. D. Lauppe withdrew from active participation in the business, the son bought out his interest; and he has continued to develop the trade along the lines laid down by the honored pioneer, adding many new features of his own. He handles the Nash cars, and his territory includes ten counties; he employs some fifty people, and has one of the largest plants of the kind in the city, covering three floors, and housing a splendid equipment of the most modern appliances for rapid and thoroughly first-class work. Every depart- ment of the automobile industry is represented there, and what the F. E. Lauppe establishment cannot un- dertake, is not worth the trying. Mr. Lauppe belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Automobile Association, and is one of the thousand automobile men in the United States found worthy of being accepted as a member by the National Auto- mobile Dealers' Association; and in each of these or- ganizations he seeks to do what he can in the cause of general progress. Mr. Lauppe also owns consider- able real estate in and about the city of Sacramento, and is a director in several of its largest business en- terprises. He was one of the principal men concerned in the organization of the Certified Public Motor Car Market in Sacramento, which disposes of all used cars for the public on a non-profit basis, thus filling a long-felt want in the automobile world. He is one of its directors and devotes considerable time towards making a success of the enterprise.

Mr. Lauppe has had many years of experience in the automobile trade, and has been very successful; and he is one of the few automobile dealers financially able personally to carry 100 per cent of his time-pay- ment contracts.

The marriage of Frank E. Lauppe and Miss Neva Shore, a popular belle of Sacramento, took place at Sacramento in 1915, and has proven one of exceptional happiness. Two children have blessed the union, a daughter named Jule Marie, and a son named Norman Shore. Mr. Lauppe is a Master Mason and a mem- ber of the Royal Arch Chapter; and he also belongs to the Elks, the Sutter Club, and the Del Paso Coun- try Club. He is fond of hunting and fishing; but he also likes a quiet hour at good reading, and is inter- ested in the history of Sacramento County as the record of a section bound to be the richest and, most attractive agricultural area in the Golden State.

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

OSCAR F. BROWN .- What progress has been made by the moderns in the most practical and economical methods of moving houses, is well illus- trated by Messrs. Brown & Fredricksen, the popular house-movers of 2108 I Street, Sacramento, so well represented by the senior member, Oscar F. Brown. He was born in San Jose, on August 25, 1879, the son of Cornelius and Josephine (Crowley) Brown, and often heard his father tell how he came to California about 1870, and how Grandfather Peter Crowley had come to San Francisco with his wife, in the gold- rush days, landing here after a voyage of six months. Cornelius Brown was a house-mover of early days, and he built all the early bridges in Santa Clara County. He is now dead, but his excellent record for honest and efficient work survives him. Mrs. Brown is living, and the center of a flattering circle of devoted friends.

Oscar F. Brown went to the public schools of San Jose, and then studied at St. Joseph's College; and since then he has been continuously engaged in busi- ness, for a while having been with his father. In 1918, at Vallejo, he formed the partnership with Mr. Fredricksen, and the latter has charge there, while our subject is in charge here. As a sample of the kind of work they undertake and do, it may be men- tioned that they moved eight large buildings one mile for the United States government, at a cost of $24,000 to the authorities. This branch was opened in April, 1922, and is well established.

Mr. Brown married Miss Emily Nolan, a native daughter of San Francisco, and their one child is named Leona. He is a Republican in politics, a Moose in fraternal circles, and a devotee of both hunting and fishing.

JOHN HENRY ARNOLD .- The remarkable de- velopment of the automobile industry in Sacramento owes much to the experience, the foresight and the broad-minded enterprise of such optimistic and level- headed leaders as John Henry Arnold, the president of Arnold Bros., the popular dealers in motor-cars, with their attractive headquarters at 1300 K Street. He was born at Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1875, and his par- ents were Thomas and Martha (Wickman) Arnold. They believed in a good training such as the public schools afford, and encouraged the lad to get a broad and practical education.

Coming early to California, with his parents, John Henry Arnold lived for a while in Nevada, where his father operated in the mines; and this may have had something to do with his fortunate choice of the machinist's trade, which he mastered, and at which he worked for years, in the service of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Then he embarked in the livery business in Sacramento, and this was a very natural step into the automobile field, with which he identi- fied himself in 1906. He is now in partnership with two of his brothers, H. D. and A. G. Arnold, and the latter is foreman in charge of the shop.

Aside from an enviable reputation for expert re- pair work, Mr. Arnold and his brothers have come to be known widely for their thoroughly dependable method in the sale of cars. They handle the Hudson and the Essex, and have for their territory besides Sacramento County, part of Sutter and Yolo, and all of Placer and Eldorado counties. They employ

thirty-five men, and even with this rather large force of expert salesmen and mechanics, they are hardly able to cope with the increasing demands upon them. Arnold Brothers are the oldest dealers in automobiles in Sacramento County; and they belong to the Sac- ramento Chamber of Commerce and the Exchange Club, and in both of these excellent organizations find pleasure in making their influence felt in favor of trade growth and stability.

At Sacramento, Mr. Arnold married Miss Bessie Bath, of Sacramento; and their union has been blessed with the birth of two children, Raymond and Gladys. Mr. Arnold is a Scottish Rite Mason and also belongs to the Elks. Mrs. Arnold shares with her husband his patriotism and public-spiritedness, and both are often found actively engaged in various movements for uplift and advancement of social con- ditions.

H. F. GOODRICH .- A thoroughly experienced automobile man, widely recognized as a leader in the motor industry in California is H. F. Goodrich, senior member of the firm of Goodrich & Ballard, of Seventh and M Streets. Sacramento. He is a native of Michi- gan, which has contributed so many men and women of action and worth for the development of California, having been born at Marshall, Colhoun County, on April 25, 1883, the son of Fred and Louise (Kapser) Goodrich, both of whom are still living, after busy, useful lives.

H. F. Goodrich attended the public schools, and then went to Cleary Business College, Ypsilanti, from which he graduated; and after that, for four years, he was employed in the purchasing agent's department at Detroit for the Michigan Central Railway. He next went into the service of the great Ford organiza- tion in Detroit, and served in the purchasing, mann- facturing and producing departments for four years; and then, coming out to Los Angeles in 1911, when the Ford Motor Company opened their branch in that city, he continued with the company there as sales- man for another four years. Since August, 1916, Mr. Goodrich has been established as a dealer in Sacra- mento, at first under the firm name of Goodrich, Ballard & Rouse. Later, Mr. Rouse's interest was taken over and the business was continued as Good- rich & Ballard. Thoroughly familiar with every detail in the automobile field, the firm of Goodrich & Ballard have a growing business. They handle Fords and Fordson tractors, and are among the largest dealers in Ford cars in northern California. They are mem- bers of the Motor Car Dealers' Association, the Na- tional Automobile Dealers' Association, and the Auto- mobile Club of Northern California.

Mr. Goodrich's marriage occurred in Sacramento, uniting him with Miss Mavis Scott, a native daughter of Sacramento and a representative of one of the old families. Mr. Goodrich belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and also to the Sutter Club, and is a sub- stantial pillar in the historic Republican party. He is a Knight Templar Mason and a charter member of Ben Ali Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Sacramento, and is an active member of the Patrol Drill Team of the Shrine. He is also a member of the Sciots and the Grotto, while Mrs. Goodrich is a member of the Eastern Star. He also belongs to Sacramento Lodge No. 6, B. P. O. Elks; and being fond of outdoor life, is an active member of the Del Paso Country Club.

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

CHARLES S. CHALMERS .- A worthy repre- sentative of the ranching industry in Sacramento County is Charles S. Chalmers, who was born at Chatham, Ontario, Canada, February 28, 1867. He was the next to the youngest in a family of five boys and three girls born to Peter S. and Catherine Chalmers. The former was born in Scotland and came to Ontario as a young man, and there he was married, after which he followed farming. His wife passed away in 1870. In 1883 Peter S. Chal- mers brought his family to Sacramento, where he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. He soon became watchman of their American River bridge, a position he filled so well he retained the place. After eighteen years he re- signed his place and retired, spending his last days in Woodland. He died at the advanced age of eighty- nine years.

Charles S. Chalmers is the next to the youngest of their eight children. He attended the public school in Ontario and in 1883 came to Sacramento, where he completed his education in the public schools of the city. Meantime during vacations he worked on the farm. After his school days were over he was employed on the Haggin Grant and there he learned the raising and curing of hops. In 1893 he leased Dr. Caples' hop ranch of 100 acres on the Cosumnes, and some years later he leased the whole ranch of 485 acres, which he has since operated successfully .. In 1923, finding no market for hops, he quit raising them and now devotes the ranch to beans, grain and stock. As a hop-grower he raised some big hop crops, often averaging two tons of dry hops to the acre. Years of experience and study made him an expert in the curing of hops, for he came to know the conditions of heat, etc., that were necessary. Hc built the hop-houses, kilns and furnaces and superin- tended the drying and curing himself. His experience in hop-culture was recognized and his advice was sought by others. In earlier days Mr. Pabst, of Mil- waukee, would make the trip to California each year, visiting the ranches and purchasing the hops.

Mr. Chalmers was married in Elk Grove, being united with Nellie Davis, a native of that place, and a daughter of Morrow Davis. He was proprietor of the railroad hotel, but being a tanner he removed to Napa and was employed in Sawyer's Tannery in that city until his death. Nellie Davis was educated in the public schools and at Napa College. Their union has been blessed with three children. Rollo served in the United States Army in the 91st Divi- sion and was sent overseas, seeing active service at the front, and he went over the top three different times. He is now assisting his father on the ranch. Then there are Arthur, also assisting on the ranch, and Mrs. Harriette Huckleborn, of Elk Grove. Mr. Chalmers and his two sons are members of the Odd Fellows Lodge in Elk Grove, and each is a past grand, the sons also being members of the Encamp- ment; while all the family are members of the Re- bekahs, the wife and daughter each having served as noble grand, and the daughter now being secretary of the lodge. Mrs. Chalmers and her daughter are also members of the Elk Grove Parlor, N. D. G. W., the latter being a past president, and both sons are members of the Native Sons of the Golden West. Rollo Chalmers is a member of the American Legion. Politically, the family are Republicans.

WILLARD PRESTON ROUSE .- Another expert in the automobile field who has enthusiastically sup- ported every forward movement, not only in the development of those things making for the welfare of the motorist, but also in the advancement of the Golden State as the greatest center of motordom, is Willard Preston Rouse, agent for Willys-Knight and Overland automobiles, whose place of business is lo- cated at 1301 K Street, Sacramento. He first saw light at Saline, Washtenaw County, Mich., where he was born on January 3, 1891, the son of Preston Rouse, who had married Miss Minnie Forbes, a charming lady who never failed to make friends, and who, now that she has closed her earthly career, is pleasantly remembered by many. Preston Rouse is still living, and is also identified with the above- named firm.

Willard P. Rouse went to the public schools at Ann Arbor, enjoying also the advantages of the high school there, and then he put in a year with the Weston Motor Company at Flint, Mich., and later a year at Adrian College. After that, he joined the Ford Motor Company at Detroit, with whom he remained for three years, and then he accepted a place with the Arizona Copper Company, in Morenci, Ariz. Later he was tendered a position with the Los Angeles branch of the Ford Motor Company, which he ac- cepted, and when he had satisfactorily concluded an engagement of three years there, he came to Sacra- mento in 1916, and with his partners, H. F. Goodrich and M. J. Ballard, also experienced Ford men, estab- lished the concern which did so much to advance the Ford interests in this section. As Goodrich, Ballard & Rouse, the company made a decided success. In November, 1922, Mr. Rouse sold his interest in the firm; and after taking a much needed rest, during which time he traveled extensively over the state, im- bibing new business ideas and becoming still better satisfied with Sacramento as a commercial center, he purchased the local branch of the Willys-Overland Pacific Company in the capital city. This branch covers the retail trade for Sacramento City and County for the above cars. Centrally located at the corner of Thirteenth and K Streets, he occupies a three-story brick building 80 hy 160 feet, with the most elaborate and beautiful show-rooms as well as a well-equipped and complete repair department; and it is the consensus of opinion that the volume of his business in the sale of autombiles is among the largest in the city. The cars he represents are so well-known and so popular that they need no special recom- mendation; and by well-directed energy Mr. Rouse has built up one of the best automobile-merchandising or- ganizations in this city. As a rule he has about thirty employes on his staff, and his business hids fair to require an early increase.

When our country entered the World War, Mr. Rouse joined the United States Army. Enlisting in the month of August, 1917, he trained at Camp Lewis and served in the 363rd United States Infantry, 91st Division, being in the first contingent sent overseas. He took part in the St. Mihiel offensive; in the Meuse- Argonne, where he went over the top; and then on the Belgian front, where again, with his comrades, he went over the top. He was in Europe twenty months, and was still serving there when the armistice was signed. He remained in France till May, 1919, when he re- turned and was mustered out in Battle Creek, Mich., the same month. Then, after visiting his family, he

Wieland P. Cause and P . -

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

returned to Sacramento and took up civil life, again entering his former business. He received from Con- gress the Victory Service Medal.

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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 112

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