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 132

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 132

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Mr. Miller's marriage united him with Miss Lillie M. Klewe, also a native Californian, born at Colusa, and they are the parents of one son, Walter H. Dur- ing the World War, Mr. Miller was active in all war work drives; in politics he is a Republican and fra- ternally is a member of the B. P. O. Elks No. 6, and Parlor No. 3 of the N. S. G. W. of Sacramento; lo- cally he belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and the Del Paso Country Club.

SAMUEL WILLIAM KAY .- For the past twenty years Samuel William Kay has been in the service of the city of Sacramento and for the past two years has held the important position of chief engineer of the city water works. He is known as a man of superior scientific attainments in his chosen line of work and one whose skill and ability have brought him to a commanding place in engineering circles. He was born in Chicago, Ill., January 1, 1864, a son of Samuel H. and Susan (Howarth) Kay. When our subject was twelve years old, his parents re- moved to Sacramento, Cal., in 1876, where Samuel H. Kay was engaged as a merchant tailor. Both parents are now deceased. The education of Samuel William Kay was obtained in the grammar and high schools of Sacramento; then he entered the Southern Pacific Railroad shops, where he learned the machinist's trade, which he followed for twenty years with this company. In 1903, he resigned to enter the employ of the city of Sacramento as an engineer, and later advanced to the position of chief engineer of the city water-works, having general supervision of all the pumping plants. The main plant is located at Front and I Streets, pumping direct into the city mains with a capacity of 50,000,000 gallons a day, which furnishes all the water for domestic use in the city. Then there are two sewage pumping stations that pump the rain-water and sewage in the city to the outlet. The city is now building a large filtration plant which will be completed for use by January, 1924. The new plant will have a larger capacity and will supply pure filtered water for a city of 150,000 people.

Mr. Kay's marriage united him with Miss Mary A. Berdolt, a native of Sacramento, and they have two children, Edna M. and Earl Robert, who has just 57

received his appoinment to West Point. Mr. Kay served in the National Guard as a 1st lieutenant, then served in Battery C, California Heavy Artillery, in the Spanish-American War as a Ist lieutenant, after which he was commissioned a captain in Troop B, Cavalry, of the National Guard, and later was pro- inoted to the rank of major. In the World War he was commissioned captain of Company A, 25th Bat- talion, U. S. G., U. S. A., and later commissioned major of the 44th Battalion, U. S. G., U. S. A., in command of the Southern California Border District until after the armistice. He is now major of the United States Reserve Corps and a member of the American Legion, and Spanish-American War Vet- erans, being past department commander. He is a Mason, an Odd Fellow and an Elk. In politics, Mr. Kay prefers to vote for the man best suited for office, rather than be confined to any particular party lines.

WILLIAM CASS BRILL .- Not every day does a public-spirited citizen have such a chance both to serve his fellow-citizens and to attain local, if not general popularity, as has been granted William Cass Brill, the editor of the "Elk Grove Citizen." He hails from Illinois, having first seen the light at Hampshire, on April 24, 1875, when he entered the family circle of John and Martha (Seippel) Brill. His father was a business man, who made it a practice to engage in what he believed he was best fitted for, and what he knew he could manage with success, and who adopted such principles as guaranteed to the patron the square deal, and to himself the reputation of an honest man; and like his devoted wife, who was beloved by all who knew her, he left an enviable record for useful- ness to the world.

Having finished the grammar grades, William Brill tackled the high school course and learned many things of permanent value. Then, like so many am- bitious lads, he began at the bottom to learn the printing business in his home town. Beginning at the bottom as "devil," he worked his way through the various stages until he became a part-owner and editor of the "Hampshire Register"; his partner be- ing his brother, F. R. Brill, now of Roseville, Cal., then the postmaster of Hampshire. For four years WV. C. Brill edited the "Mystic Workers of the World," at Fulton, Ill., the official organ of that fraternal order.

William Cass Brill was married in 1901, at Hamp- shire, Ill., to Miss Grace Stoughton, by whom he has three sons: Wilmer G., a graduate from the Elk Grove high school, class of '23; Don R., in the high school; and Leon B., in the grammar school. Mr. Brill is a member of the Hampshire Lodge of Masons, No. 443, at Hampshire, Ill .; the Elk Grove Chapter of Eastern Star, to which Mrs. Brill also belongs; Elk Grove Lodge of Odd Fellows; Elk Grove Lodge of Rebekahs, of which Mrs. Brill is also a member; Modern Woodmen of America; and the Mystic Workers of the World.

Disposing of his "down East" interests in 1914, he came on to California and Sacramento and spent a year in the state printing office; and in 1915, he bought the "Elk Grove Citizen," with which he has done well. Making it his object to serve the public, to speak the helpful, encouraging and approving word, where- ever and whenever he can, and to work constructively, rather than to waste time, ink and paper in mere

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

opposition, especially of a negative character, Mr. Brill has made the public the best of fellow-citizens with his journal. In May, 1923, he moved his plant to the Foulks-Graham block, where he has a modern business location. In November, 1921, Mr. Brill was appointed postmaster of Elk Grove, and the follow- ing April he took charge of the office and only re- signed in March, 1923, after he had perfected ar- rangements for the removal of the office to its pres- ent location in the Foulks-Graham block, an item of much interest to the citizens of Elk Grove and vicin- ity. He was active in war work, and helped the many other local war-workers in having Elk Grove go "over the top." Public-spirited to a high degree, Mr. Brill has also exerted himself in the matter of build- . ing the new grammar and high schools, and in the modern street paving. In national politics a Repub- lican, Mr. Brill is the best of all non-partisan boosters when local issues requiring general support arc at stake.

WILLIAM HILL .- Born in the extreme north of Ireland, December 22, 1878, William Hill is the son of David and Rose (McMullan) Hill, the father a farmer of the Emerald Isle, where he lived his entire life and died at the age of eighty-three, his wife reaching the same age at her passing. One of ten children born to his parents, William received his education in the north of Ireland, and worked at farming there until the age of twenty-two, when a desire to seek the newer fields of opportunity made him undertake the long journey to the United States. After his arrival he worked for about five years at the Latrobe, Pa., machine works.

In 1905, Mr. Hill came West and located in Sac- ramento, and engaged in the real estate and insur- ance business, remaining here for about thirteen years. He then went to Hood, on the Sacramento River, and worked in the grocery store there for several years. Since locating at Courtland, some four or five years ago, he has been engaged in general trucking business, using two trucks, one with a ton and a half capacity and the other two tons, and he does both local and long-distance hauling, and is known in his locality as a reliable man to engage for his line of work.

The marriage of Mr. Hill, which occurred at Sac- ramento, November 28, 1906, united him with Ella AlcDona'd, born at Waterloo, lowa, a daughter of James and Jessie (Smith) McDonald, the father a native of Edinburgh and the mother of Glasgow, Scotland; about 1872 Mr. McDonald came to Iowa and there the marriage occurred, five children being born to them. The father was a blacksmith by trade and at Waterloo followed this trade; then, when Mrs. Hill was three years of age, the family came to Sacramento, Cal., where he did blacksmithing for the Southern Pacific Railway in their shops for twenty-seven years, retiring with a pension. His death occurred December 7, 1922, aged seventy- eight years; the mother died aged fifty-eight. Mrs. Hill attended the Sacramento City schools and re- ceived all of her rearing in the capital city. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Hill, Janice, and Lillian. In politics Mr. Hill is a Republican; fraternally he is a member of the Courtland lodge of Masons, and of the Sacramento lodge of Odd Fel- lows; both he and his wife belong to the Eastern Star, and until recently were members of the Re-

bekah lodge of Sacramento. They both are interested in the bettering of their community in every way, in advancing its educational facilities and in doing their share toward this end.

FRANK G. AMARO .- A rancher of the Court- land district, Frank G. Amaro was born on Madera Island, January 12, 1878, a son of Manuel and Re- fina (Franka) Madero, the father a rancher of that section, whose death occurred aged sixty years, while his wife died when but a young woman of thirty. The second of four children born to his par- ents, Frank G. had his schooling in the public schools of Madera. In 1892 he went to Brazil, South Amer- ica, and there worked on ranches for about seven years, at the end of that time going to New York. He stayed in the Eastern metropolis only a week, however, and then returned to California, landing in San Francisco the same year. Almost immedi- ately he came to Sacramento County, and started ranching, leasing forty acres of land near Isleton, and raised fruit and vegetables, remaining on the property until 1915, when he came to the Courtland district and has since made his home there. He pur- chased forty acres one and one-half miles south of Courtland, and devotes the land to pears and aspar- agus-raising, his industry and thrift meeting with deserved success. He has just finished the building of a fine modern grey stucco home that stands on the levee of the Sacramento River, on his property, and has also erected a new packing shed for ship- ping fruit on the river boats.

In Hayward, Cal., December 15, 1906, occurred the marriage of Mr. Amaro and Miss Virginia Quin- tel, the bride a native of Hayward and daughter of Manuel and Julia Quintel; the father came to Cali- fornia about 1886 and he and his wife were natives of Madera Island also. Mrs. Amaro was educated in the schools of Hayward. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Amaro: George, Ma- tilda, and August. Mr. Amaro is a member of the I. D. E. S. of Isleton and has served in the office of vice-president of the lodge.

DAVID MACAULAY .- For the past four years David Macaulay has been identified with business interests of Sacramento as one of the organizers of the Russell & Macaulay hay and grain business and well known in business circles as an able, resource- ful and successful business man. He was born in County Durham, England, February 24, 1884, a son of William and Jane (Davidson) Macaulay, both na- tives of England. William Macaulay, the father of our subject, is still living at the age of eighty-five, but the mother has passed away.

David Macaulay grew to manhood in the parental home in England and received his education in the schools of County Durham. His first position was with a cement manufacturing concern; then for a few years he was with a ship-building and repairing concern; then with the Copper Smelters & Refineries, being thus employed until 1906 when he came to the United States and direct to San Francisco. In the bay city he became identified with Scott, Magner & Miller, the largest hay and grain house on the Pa- cific Coast. During the thirteen years of his connec- tion with this large establishment, he became thoroughly conversant with the hay and grain busi- ness, so that in 1919, in partnership with Gordon K.

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

Russell, he removed to Sacramento and established a hay and grain business under the firm name of Rus- sell & Macaulay. He has met with unqualified suc- cess in his undertaking.

The marriage of Mr. Macaulay united him with Miss Hanna L. Daly and they have one son, David Jr. Mr. Macaulay is a member of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and the National Hay Asso- ciation as well as the Del Paso Country Club and the Sutter Club.

FRED STIRNKORB .- Another poultryman with a record for enviable success, who is particularly well posted as to California agricultural conditions, is Fred Stirnkorb, who has a well-kept and very inter- esting establishment about three and one-half miles east of Galt. He was born at Saalfeld, in Thuringia, Germany, on December 6, 1875, the son of Jacob and Augusta Stirnkorb, the former a cooper by trade, who both passed away, aged respectively sixty and fifty years. They had three children: Ernest, the eldest, is now deceased; Fred is the subject of our review; and Anna, the youngest, is the only daughter.

After having enjoyed the educational advantages for which Germany was so long famous, Fred Stirn- korb left his native country in 1890 and, coming to the United States, settled in Nemaha County, Kan- sas, where he secured work on farms, and kept busy from 1890 to 1903. From 1899, however, he began to lease land and farm for himself; and in 1903, he came out to San Francisco, where he owned and drove a beer wagon. In 1906, he quit that enterprise and took up odd jobs; and he was six years on the Tivoli ranch in the Sunset district of San Francisco.

In 1913, Mr. Stirnkorb came to Galt and bought ten acres three and one-half miles east of the town; and besides operating this tract, he leases land, and also engages in teaming, as well as raising poultry. He built a baru and a tank-house on the place, and has measurably improved the property. Mr. Stirnkorb was married in Kansas, in 1900, to Miss Nettie Payne, and they have one son, Ernest Stirnkorb.

REXFORD G. COLBY .- Favorably mentioned as a contracting truckman, a native son and a represent- ative citizen of Sacramento County, Rexford G. Colby is making a name and place for himself among the worth-while citizens of this great commonwealth. He was born at Clarksburg, Cal, August 30, 1896, the oldest son and child of Walter B. and Anna (Berken- kamp) Colby. The former is also a native son of California, born in Sacramento County, into the fam- ily circle of Jerry and Mary Colby, who came to this state in a very early period of its history. Jerry Colby followed his trade as a stone mason in Sac- ramento for many years. He and his good wife had seven children to brighten their humble home, of whom only three are now living: Walter B., George and Julia. Walter Colby owns forty-five acres of fine ranch land on Merritt Island which he devotes to general farming. Mrs. Anna Colby was born at Clarksburg, a daughter of Henry and Martha Ber- kenkamp, natives of Germany and Missouri respec- tively, and they were also carly settlers in this state, locating near Clarksburg, where Mr. Berkenkamp acquired ninety acres of land. He reared his little family on his ranch and educated them in the public school near by.

Rexford Colby attended the Clarksburg school and

worked on the home ranch with his father during vacations and until he was twenty-one; then he struck out for himself, gaining a broad and varied experience which has been of inestimable value to him in later years. Since 1920 he has engaged in trucking, doing local and long-distance hauling, and with his brother John owns two trucks of one and a half tons capacity each, and they have built up a profitable business. He makes his home on Randall Island, about one and one-half miles north of Courtland.

On December 3, 1917, occurred the marriage that united Mr. Colby with Miss Marion Brill, a native daughter born at Crockett, into the family of John and Frances Brill. They have one son, Warren Colby, and twin daughters, Peggy June and Betty Jane. Mr. Colby is a Democrat in national politics and fraternally is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West.

RUSSELL DURBIN .- An energetic, progressive and very successful rancher is Russell Durbin, son of the oldest native son of California. His parents are Madison L. and Margaret Russell (Brownlee) Durbin, whose sketch appears in this volume. Rus- sell Durbin received his early education in the gram- mar schools of Fresno County, and afterwards at- tended Stanford University, where he studied en- gineering and medicine. He then took a position with the Price Pump & Engine Company of San Francisco, continuing with them for seven years. I 1912 he came to Walnut Grove and since that time has been engaged in farming. He purchased 250 acres on Tyler Island, and also leases approximately 1,400 acres with Alexander Brown of Walnut Grove as his partner. An army of men (about 250) are employed for the upkeep of this vast acreage, which is given over to the growing of asparagus. These partners have put their very best efforts into mak- ing their property one of the best producing aspara- gus ranches in the country.

In February, 1908, Russell Durbin was united in marriage to his first wife, Helen A. Brown, born at Walnut Grove, the daughter of Alexander and Cath- erine S. Brown. She received her education at the Girls' High School of San Francisco and Mills Col- lege of Oakland. Her father, Alexander Brown, came to California in the sixties. He became a leading business man and today is the financier of the Alex- ander Brown Bank of Walnut Grove. Alexander and Catherine S. Brown were the parents of five children: John S., cashier of his father's bank; Arthur, of Wal- nut Grove; Frank; Helen, deceased; and A. R. Brown. Helen (Brown) Durbin passed away on December 5. 1914. She was the mother of two children, Robert A. and Jean M., both now living with their father.

On June 20, 1917, at Sacramento, Mfr. Durbin was married a second time, to Edna E. Castello, born at Elk Grove, Cal., the daughter of James H. and Sarah Castello. James H. Castello was born in Indiana and was among the early settlers of California. He is a blacksmith by trade, and also a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Castello were the parents of seven children: Hattie, widow of Mr. Bandy, of Sacramento; Georgie, deceased; Lee, of Elk Grove; Mrs. Andrew Elliott. of Elk Grove; Clarence; Edna E., Mrs. Durbin; and Walter. Mrs. Durbin was reared and educated at Elk Grove. Mr. Durbin is a Republican. He is a member of the Gamma Eta Kappa high school fra- ternity and the Nu Sigma Nu college fraternity.

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

C. GUSTAF JOHNSON .- Pleasantly situated in Sacramento County, not far from Courtland, C. Gus- taf Johnson has been engaged in ranching for many years, and in his free and independent life has met with the success attendant upon habits of industry and thrift. Born in Wermland, Sweden, September 14, 1881, Gus Johnson, as he is commonly called, is the son of Johannes and Kaisa (Anderson) Johnson, and carly learned the details of farming on the home farm in the old country. The father lived to be eighty years of age, in a life spent in tilling the soil, and the mother died aged forty-seven.

The youngest of a family of nine children, Gus Johnson had the advantages of a grammar school education in Sweden, and when sixteen years old came to the United States, and a year later, on the twenty-eighth of April, 1898, he came to Sacramento. For the succeeding seven years he worked for wages on the C. W. Clark ranch, about three miles north- east of Courtland, and since 1905 he has leased this same ranch, consisting of 800 acres. At first he en- gaged quite extensively in the stock business, but of recent years he has sold off most of the stock and now raises grain almost entirely, thus becoming one of the large grain-raisers of the county, for 800 acres devoted to one product is not common in these days of smaller ranches.

The marriage of Mr. Johnson, occurring May 2, 1907, at Sacramento, united him with Ingaborg John- son, a native of the same part of Sweden as himself and daughter of Johannes and Martha (Jonason) Johnson, one of five children born to her parents; she received her education in the grammar school of Wermland, and in 1904 made the long trip to Cali- fornia by herself. She passed away with pneumonia February 23, 1921, leaving her sorrowing husband and two children, Carl Elmer, and Martha Elizabeth. Mr. Johnson is a Republican in politics, a firm believer in right habits of life, and in the future of unlimited prosperity in store for this part of the Golden State.

JAMES W. CASSIE .- A successful contractor and builder of Courtland, Sacramento County, Mr. Cassie is a native of Scotland, born in Aberdeen, February 23, 1882, a son of John and Ellen (Dickie) Cassie, who were farmer people of that country and there died, the father aged fifty years and the mother reaching sixty-three years. The second in a family of seven children born to his par- ents, James W. was educated in the grammar school of Aberdeen, and when twenty-one he came to Can- ada. and for nine months stayed in Toronto. He had taken up the trade of carpenter in Scotland when fourteen years old, and was a full-fledged journey- man at his trade before he was twenty; for two winter seasons he attended Gordon College at Aber- deen.

From Toronto Mr. Cassie went to Chicago and there worked at his trade one and one-half years, and in 1906 he came to San Francisco and for the next sixteen years made his residence in that city, working on building jobs. In 1922 he came to Court- land. Sacramento County, as superintendent in charge of the construction of the new union high school building for the McLaren Company of San Francisco, contractors, and after this building was completed he remained at Courtland, making his home there. He engaged in building contracting for himself and at present is just completing the new

Masonic Temple at Courtland, and also has other buildings in the course of construction.

The marriage of Mr. Cassie, at San Francisco, June 5, 1909, united him with Miss Catherine Ritchie, also a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, where she was educated and came to the United States with her parents, who were farmers in the old country, just two years previous to her marriage. Four chil- dren have blessed their marriage: Helen, Katherine, June and Florence Marian. Mr. Cassie took out his American citizenship papers at Oakland, and in both civic and national politics he has always voted for the man he deems best fitted for office; he is a mem- ber of the Oakland lodge of Masons, and both he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star of that city.

CHARLES W. JARVIS .- A native son of Cali- fornia, Charles W. Jarvis was born in Alpine County, March 27, 1874, a son of M. W. and Jane (Brown) Jarvis, the father a native of New York and the mother of Iowa; the father came to California after the close of the Civil War in 1866, across the Isthmus. The elder Jarvis, who was an able machinist and cap- able blacksmith, settled in Alpine County, his death occurring when he reached seventy-four years, while his good wife is still living, at Oroville, Cal. Both of the subject's parents are of Scotch lineage. The father was a veteran of the Civil War, having en- listed and served throughout that struggle with a New York regiment of volunteer infantry. He re- ceived an honorable discharge and soon after the close of that war came to California, settling in Al- pine County, where he met and married his wife. She crossed the plains on the way to California with her parents, whose train passed through only two days ahead of the "Mountain Meadow massacre." They would no doubt have been killed, as were the rest, had it not been that the wife of the doctor of the company was an own sister of Brigham Young's first wife, whose intercession, it is believed, was the means of the safety of their train.

Charles W. Jarvis was the second in a family of six children, and when he was a lad his parents moved to Gridley, Butte County, and in the public schools of that town he received his education. When four- teen years old he took up the trade of blacksmithi and at the age of nineteen became a full-fledged journeyman at the trade, and worked in different places in the state until 1917, which year marks his arrival in Courtland, Sacramento County. In 1918, he bought a blacksmith shop in Courtland and has since that time been steadily engaged at his place of business. In December, 1922, the shop burned to the ground and at the present writing. 1923, Mr. Jarvis is erecting on the property a three-story build- ing, the main floor of which he will occupy, 'one floor will be used for his warehouse and the remaining floor will be leased to the Martha Washington Com- munity Store.

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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 132

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