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 147

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 147

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HENRY A. HANLEY .- An experienced, con- scientious, and far-seeing business man is Henry A. Hanley, of Hanley & Peyton, who was born on a farm in Eldorado County. He is a son of John Andrew and Mary (Mckenzie) Hanley. Mr. Hanley, Sr., came to California in 1862 and worked as a black- smith, farmer and miner. He and his wife are deceased.

Henry A. Hanley was educated in the public schools, and when he was sixteen years old he en- gaged in mining, at which he worked for five years. He learned the blacksmith trade and in 1915 came to Sacramento, being in the employ of the Bowman Carriage Works until he formed his present partner- ship of Hantey & Peyton, auto bodies, building and repairing.

In Placerville, Cal., Henry A. Hanley was united in marriage with Miss Rose Cola, also a native daughter of Eldorado County. They are the parents

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of two boys: Lawrence, who is with Hanley & Peyton, and Arthur, who enlisted for service in the World War and was in the Rainbow Division. He served overseas three years and fought in fifteen engagements, and received his honorable discharge at the Presidio. He is now in the employ of Thomp- son & Diggs. In national politics, Mr. Hanley's in- clinations favor the Democratic principles. He is an Odd Fellow, being a member of the Encamp- ment, and is an Eagle, and a member of the farm bureau. He is a capable, conscientious, and enter- prising business man, and is deeply interested in the commercial development of his community.

JOHN A. SKOG .- A man who by his own efforts has risen to a prominent place among the business men of the community is Jobn A. Skog, who was born September 19, 1883, in Vestrejötlan, Sweden, the son of Carl and Caroline Skog. His parents emi- grated to the United States when he was six years old, and first located in Archer, lowa. His father, who was a railroad man for some time, retired on a pension and spent his last days in Elmira, Ore. His mother is still living.

John A. Skog was educated in the public schools of lowa. He worked in box factories and planing mills, where he learned saw filing, a business which he has followed all his life. In 1906, he came to Sac- ramento and in May, 1920, he established his own place of business. He is the proprietor of the Sacra- mento Saw and Tool Grinding Company, and his plant is completely equipped to handle knives and saws of all kinds. Through energy and thought in his chosen line of work he has accomplished his ambition.

Mr. Skog was united in marriage with Miss Hilda Olson, a native daughter of Sweden, and they are the parents of two children: John and Thelma. Mr. Skog endorses the platforms of the Republican party. Enterprising and progressive, he is ever ready to aid and give his influence toward the worthy movements for the upbuilding and improvement of the com- munity.

ERNEST A. WESTON .- An efficient and popular director credited with exceptional executive ability and always fortunate in promoting the best relations between the public and one of the most necessary public utilities in Sacramento, is Ernest A. Weston, the wide-awake division superintendent of the gas de- partment of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. What he does not know about the problems of gas- making and gas-delivery under the conditions preva- lent in the municipality of today is bardly worth knowing; and yet Mr. Weston is an industrious stu- dent, alert to every change for the better, and quite aware of some changes for the worse, made in various corners of the gas industrial field.

Ernest A. Weston is a native of the Dominion of Canada, where he first saw light at Quebec in 1882, and grew up for a while in his native country, the son of S. W. and Mary Weston, who came into the States and out to California at such an early date that Ernest A. was able to attend the California schools, after his ninth year. His educational training included the ex- cellent high school course at Alhambra, supplemented by a fine business college course in Los Angeles. Then, unwilling to go forward with mostly theoretical

training, he learned the machinist's trade, and so got down to the most practical problems and fortified himself by actual, personal experience.

Mr. Weston came to learn the details of gas plant management, and for a while was with the Southern California Edison Company as the superintendent of their gas plants at various places. He was also lo- cated for a while at Los Angeles, where he much en- larged his experience, and for seven years following he was the superintendent of the gas plant of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, at Fresno.

In 1919, Mr. Weston came to Sacramento, being transferred, in the service of the Pacific Gas & Elec- tric Company, and on December 1, 1920, he was pro- moted to his present position, his elevation to that re- sponsibility being adequate proof, if any were needed, of the fidelity and the success with which he had dis- charged his duties, both to the manufacturer and the consumer, in the meantime. Besides Sacramento, he has supervision of both Woodland and Davis, and this adds much to his routine program. Mr. Weston finds suitable recreation in golf and tennis. He be- longs to the Elks, and it is needless to say he is among the most welcome members. He is also a Master Mason, holding a membership in Washington Lodge No. 20, F. & A. M., Sacramento, and also be- longs to the Sutter Lawn Tennis Club.

ALBERT E. LEITCH,-An enterprising, success- ful representative of the kind of aggressively progres- sive men who go to make up the substantial charac- ter of Sacramento's industrial and commercial leaders, is to be found in Albert E. Leitch, the proprietor of the Leitch Draying Company, at 1116 Second Street, in the capital city. The Leitch Draying Company is a partnership and is composed of the two Leitch brothers, namely, James G. and Albert E. Leitch, who was born in the historic old town of Sacramento, on February 29, 1880, the son. of Ed. Minor and Olive (Annis) Leitch, who came here individually about 1860 and were married some five years later; and the father was a well-known and popular con- ductor on the Valley Railroad. Having become ini- tiated into transportation, he, the father, established this much-needed draying business, as far back as 1872, and he was fortunate in seeing it grow and develop, and in knowing that it came to play its part in the progress of the city and outlying districts. When he died, in September, 1914, be was mourned by the many who had come to esteem him Mrs. Leitch is still living, the center of a circle of admiring and devoted friends.

Albert Leitch had the good fortune to be able to attend the excellent schools of Sacramento, and to be so well prepared, both as to book knowledge and industrial efficiency, that he was able to take a good post as fireman on a locomotive, and to hold down his job, with satisfaction to everyone, for the round period of five years. Then, with his brother Jim, he took over their father's business, and now under their spirited management, they keep five trucks steadily going, and maintain a safe and commodious storeroom besides. A Republican in matters of national political moment, but always a good non- partisan booster for his locality when it comes to getting the best men in office and endorsing the best measures, Mr. Leitch did patriotic duty as a vigorous captain of drives during the World War home cam-

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

paigns, and has the satisfaction to feel that, while hc and his brother have naturally looked well to their own business interests, they have also never turned a cold shoulder nor a deaf ear to worthy appeals for cooperation in matters of human suffering or the general welfare.

At Sacramento, on April 11, 1906, Mr. Leitch was married to Miss Hazel Scott, who shares his enviable place in social affairs. He is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Elks, the Odd Fellows, and derives part of his recreation from his attention to baseball and motoring. He is also a live wire in the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club. He is also a Royal Arch Mason, being a member of Sacramento Blue Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M., and also the Sacramento Chapter.

MATT SAPUNAR .- An experienced caterer, who has helped to make Sacramento more popular with the ever-coming and ever-going strangers and other visitors, is Matt Sapunar, the genial proprie- tor of the Tourist Restaurant at 817 Second Street. He was born in Dalmatia, and grew up in that coun- try, attending the well-conducted Dalmatian schools; and when sixteen years of age, he crossed the wide ocean; rather an undertaking for a lad of his years, and after inspecting the great American metropolis, he pushed on to the more promising West, and hailed Sacramento as his own.

Matt Sapunar worked hard for several years, in order to get a modest start in business. In 1920, he established his present place and took into partner- ship with him Matt Rakela and Marko Sapunar, and the trio have been successful, the experienced and observing public in the capital city not being slow to appreciate their efforts to furnish a better restaurant service for the traveler than anyone had provided before.

In 1913, Matt Sapunar was married to Miss Hazel Ellers, of Portland. Mrs. Sapunar shares her hus- band's liking for athletics, and also for outdoor life and pleasures. He belongs to the U. A. O. D. Soci- cty, and for five years he has served as secretary for that order. Politically, he is a Republican.

CASPER G. AMACKER .- A man of recognized worth and ability, highly respected and honored among his many acquaintances, is Casper G. Amacker. who was born on March 24, 1893, at Tacoma, Wash., the son of Casper J. and Effic (Towles) Amacker. His father was born in Switzerland and the mother in Huron, S. D., of Scotch parentage. His parents came to California in 1898. Casper J. Amacker has been employed by the Sacramento Transportation Company for a great many years as superintendent of the construction work in the boat yards, and he and his wife are now residing in Sacramento.

Casper G. Amacker, the second oldest of two chil- dren, was educated in the public schools of Sacra- mento. He attended Howe's Academy and was employed as a fireman on boats for the Sacramento Transportation Company. He soon became barge pilot and then pilot, and in 1920 received his papers as captain and has had charge of boats ever since.

In Portland, Ore., on January 13, 1912, Casper G. Amacker married Miss Clarice Johnson, born in Alameda, a native daughter of the Golden State. She is the daughter of Christ and Clarice (Weiding)

Johnson, old-timers in San Francisco, where her father was chief engineer on the Southern Pacific ferry-boats till his death. Her mother resides in Alameda. Mr. and Mrs Amacker are the parents of three children: Alberta, Dorothy, and George, all of whom are attending school. Captain Amacker is nonpartisan in his political affiliations. He is a Red Man, and a member of the National Mates and Pilots' Association of America, and is very fond of hunting. fishing, and all outdoor sports, especially baseball. He is deeply interested in Sacramento, and does his utmost to be numbered among the public-spirited citizens of his community.

FREDERICK S. HARRISON .- A very interest- ing personality is the distinguished representative of the architectural profession in Sacramento County, Frederick S. Harrison, who was born in far-off, roman- tic and beautiful Tasmania, having first seen the light at Hobart, on July 23, 1885. His father was Arthur Harrison, an influential gentleman of that country, who had married Miss Alice E. Sharp; and fortunate in such progressive parents, our subject enjoyed the best of educational advantages. He spent his boy- hood days in Honolulu, and then went off to Toronto, where he pursued the thorough courses, first of the preparatory school and then of the college proper, at the Upper Canada college in that city. After that, he entered the office of Messrs. Gregg & Gregg, archi- tects, of Toronto, where he spent a year very profit- ably, and on his return to Honolulu, he took charge of the Arthur Harrison Mill Company, Ltd., for a couple of years. After that he was in the United States district court as deputy clerk for Honolulu, an office he filled with signal ability, for three years.

During this time, too, Mr. Harrison worked at his profession, architecture; and after the San Francisco fire, he came to the United States, and for two years was engaged in wrecking operations at the scene of the great disaster, and also in superintending import- ant rebuilding. Then he was with Messrs. Bliss & Faville, architects, for a couple of years, and after that he took up special studies at the University of Cali- fornia, where he mastered the work he essayed so well that he was the only one to make Grade 1.

In 1912 Mr. Harrison came to Sacramento, and was for three years in the state architect's office. Then he was chief draughtsman for Messrs. Cuffs & Diggs, and drew the plans for the Thompson-Diggs Build- ing, the Travelers' Hotel, and Chauncey Dunn Apart- ments, and became superintendent for the city of Sacramento on the construction of the Western Pacific warehouse. Then he continued in the engi- neer's department of the city as architect and draughtsman and worked out the architectural prob- lems of the Inhoof Tanks and the Ice Plant, the incinerators, the remodeling and the addition to the Water Works. He was also superintendent of con- struction of Oak Park fire station. Then he was deputy building inspector, and city building inspector for five years.

Mr. Harrison opened his own office as architect in the People's Bank Building in 1918, and ever since he started there he has been more than successful. His wide and varied experience, his expert training, and his agrecable disposition as a professional adviser anxious to serve and to please his patrons, have all contributed to provide for him an enviable clientele.

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He is a member of the Exchange Club, and the Architects and Engineers Club. He is a member of Schiller Lodge No. 105, I. O. O. F., and is a past grand. He served two years as president of the Odd Fellows Club and was also vice-president of the Odd Fellows Relief, and is a member of Sacramento Lodge No. 6, B. P. O. E., and an appreciated member of the Chamber of Commerce of Sacramento. He is also a member of the Press Club of San Francisco. He resigned his professional position in order to join the engineers in the World War, but on account of his domestic ties his application was not accepted.

At San Rafael, Mr. Harrison was married to Miss Lillian E. Taylor, a native of Denver, Colo., but a resident of Sacramento; and their fortunate union was blessed with the birth of two children: Lillian Alice and Ruby Florence.

SAMUEL W. GREEN .- A very interesting per- sonality is revealed to all who become acquainted with Samuel W. Green, the popular postmaster at Iselton, although a native of old Jolon, in Monterey County. He was born within a mile of the famous San Antone Mission, on December 24, 1888, and his parents were Harry and Zoy (Avala) Green. Even his maternal great-grandfather was a native of Cali- fornia, and they could boast that their people were numbered among the earliest settlers in the Golden State.

Harry Green was a native of that other Mission town, San Luis Obispo, the son of Grandfather Green, who came from Philadelphia to California via Cape Horn during the days of the early gold excitement. Harry Green was a carpenter and bridge builder with the Southern Pacific Railroad at San Luis Obispo. He was accidentally killed on a railroad crossing when he was fifty-four years of age. His devoted wife still resides at San Luis Obispo. They had three children: Samuel, the subject of this narrative, is the oldest; and then comes Harry D. Green, who is with his mother; and in the same old town of his- toric fame, Rosie, who is married and has become Mrs. L. Bittick, is also living.

Samuel W. Green went to the grammar school of San Luis Obispo, and later attended the Mission school in San Francisco, and then he pursued the usual courses of study in the Mission high school at San Francisco, where he graduated in 1905. Still later, he attended the Hastings Law School for a year and eight months, and he also took a business course at Heald's College, in San Francisco. At present, he is enjoying a law course in Sacramento Law School and is now in the Junior year, having commenced to do clerical work of a legal nature when he was seventeen. On February 27, 1918, he came to lselton as bookkeeper for Libby, McNeill & Libby at the Isleton plant. In 1919 he took the civil service examination for postmaster and was appointed postmaster of Isleton, in 1920, and he has been dis- charging the heavy responsibilities of this bustling office ever since. He has faith in the town, and the town has faith in him, especially since he purchased valuable property here and thereby demonstrated his expectation of a bright future for the place. While at San Luis Obispo, Mr. Green did justice court work in the district attorney's office, and that has made his legal studies, and even his administration of the post-office, easier and more successful. In national political affairs, he is a Republican.

Mr Green was married at Sacramento, on Febru- ary 15, 1919, when he took Miss Elna Isabel Jensen, a native of Isteton, for his bride. She was the daugh- ter of Jens and Sophie (Hallander) Jensen, worthy folks of their day and generation. Jens Jensen was a native of Denmark, who came to California when eighteen years old. Her father is an old-timer in Isleton and an interesting sketch of the Hallander family appears elsewhere in this historical work. Elna Jensen Green is the oldest of three children, the others being Violet and Roy. Mr. Green is a member of Rio Vista Lodge No. 208, F. & A. M .; and of Pyramid No. 3, of the Sciots, of Sacramento. Both Mr. and Mrs Green are members of Rio Vista Chapter No. 222, Order of Eastern Star. Taking an interest in law he is naturally a notary public; and being active in civic and social affairs, he is valued as a member of Isleton Chamber of Commerce, as well as of the National Postmasters' League.

GEORGE EDWARD DUTTON. - Foremost among the plumbing contractors of Sacramento is George Edward Dutton, a native son of the Golden State, who has contributed his share in the upbuild- ing and in the growth and progress of his commu- nity. He was born on November 23, 1888, at Sac- ramento, the son of William Bancroft and Zilpha (Mars) Dutton. His father was a native of Eng- land, who came to Sacramento in 1868, where he has resided for fifty-five years. His mother was born in Springfield, Ill. They are the parents of seventeen children, eight of whom have passed away, and there were three pairs of twins. On January 25, 1923, these hardy pioneers had been married for fifty-one years. For forty-four years William Bancroft Dutton was employed as a pit boss in the shop of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, but he has now retired and receives a pension.

George Edward Dutton was educated in the public schools and the practical school of experience. When he was fourteen years old he learned the plumbing trade, and has done this work all of the time since that age. He was employed in San Francisco, Marysville, and Stockton, and in January, 1923, he opened his own place of business, doing general plumbing, and has five men in his employ. He has had charge of the work on different farms, where he was employed, and has installed the plumbing in many fine residences and apartments. His business is carried on under the name of George E. Dutton Plumbing Company. Mr. Dutton served two years in the United States army during the World War, enlisting in Battery C, 347th United States Artillery, September 7, 1917. He trained at Camp Lewis until he was sent overseas in July, 1918, via New York and Liverpool, to Bordeaux, and to the front. He was in Meuse-Argonne and St. Pierre till after the armis- tice and was also in the Army of Occupation in Ger- many till he was brought back and honorably dis- charged as mechanic at the Presidio, April 26th, 1919. He received the Victory Medal from Congress, and belongs to the Sacramento post, American Legion.

The first marriage of Mr. Dutton united him with Meta Evelyn Woods of Sacramento, by whom he had one son, Leslie George. His second marriage occurred in Woodland, uniting him with Mrs. Lilly Valentine. She was born in Sacramento, and by her first marriage she has one child, Dolores. In national

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politics Mr. Dutton is a Republican. He has been the business agent for the local plumbers' union for one year. He is very fond of sports and athletics, and is especially fond of boxing.

ALBERT L. POLLARD .- An efficient executive both within and without the fraternal orders with which he is connected is Albert L. Pollard, secre- tary of the Maccabees, and of the general relief committee of the I. O. O. F., with headquarters at Sacramento. He is a native son, having been born at Grass Valley, Nevada County, on October 19, 1863, and his parents were James P. and Mary (Gulliver) Pollard, the former a sturdy pioncer of 1850, who crossed the Isthmus to get to the Golden Gate, and once here, went after the real gold, mining in California and Nevada. He was a carpenter by occupation, and when he died at Sacramento in 1916, where the family had settled, he left an excel- lent record for usefulness. Several years ago, Mrs. Pollard, a lovable woman, also passed away.

Albert Pollard attended the public schools of the historic Grass Valley, and was graduated from the high school there in 1879. Then, after coming to Sacramento, he followed car-building for the Southern Pacific for seventeen years, having previ- ously been both carpenter and farmer. In 1907, his present position was offered him, and he left the Southern Pacific to make the change. How much more he has accomplished than was really demanded of him, his untarnished record of steady, faithful, interested work in behalf of the order, attesting to unusual proficiency, will show. In national political affairs, Mr. Pollard is a Republican; but he never allows partisanship to interfere with his professional duties or with a hearty support, such as his fellow- citizens have a right to expect, of all approved measures and candidates deemed best for the locality.

Mr. Pollard married Miss Nellie R. Webster. She was a genial, accomplished woman, who made so many friends that her death in 1901 was widely lamented. A daughter, Nellie Fay, is now Mrs. N. D. Baker and she has two children. Mr. Pollard is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Encampment, Canton Cabiri, and the Rebekahs; and he also be- longs to the Maccabees, the Moose, and the Knights of Pythias. He likes out-of-door life and sport, and is especially fond of hunting the deer.

ROYAL MILLER .- An acknowledged leader in the California motor world is Royal Miller, the pop- ular president of the wide-awake and progressive Miller Automobile Company, at 1615 M Street, Sac- ramento. He was born at San Francisco on Decem- ber 4, 1884, the son of Charles E. Miller, at one time notable as among the most important business men of the bay city, used to the doing of worth-while things. He helped to establish the firm of Miller. Sloss & Scott, afterward the Pacific Hardware and Steel Company. He married Miss Margaret Knowl- ton, popular in her day as a gifted and most charm- ing woman. Both father and mother were born in San Francisco, the children of genuine forty-niners; and Grandfather Miller, who died in 1914, was the oldest living member of the Odd Fellows in San Francisco. Both parents are still living in Berkeley.

Royal Miller attended the grammar and the high schools of Berkeley. He next entered the machine

shop supply trade in the service of the Pacific Tool & Supply Company, remaining with that concern from 1906 to 1911, and in the latter year he joined the Standard Motor Car Company, as a helper, remain- ing in the shop one and three-fourths years. He next removed to Sacramento, and helped form the Miller- Coffing Auto Company, to conduct a Ford agency; and in 1915 he sold out to his partner, C. M. Coffing, and established an agency for the Dodge Brothers motor car, under the name of the Miller Auto Com- pany. In 1916, Mr. Coffing gave up his Ford agency, and that was joined with the agency of the Dodge Brothers, and now Miller has all of the Sacramento Valley for the Dodge Brothers car, and he has been very successful. He is public-spirited and has been .a director of the Chamber of Commerce for three terms.

At Berkeley, in the year 1909, Mr. Miller was mar- ried to Miss Irene Hamblin, of Berkeley, and they are now the prond parents of three children: Mar- garet Ruth, Charles H. and Royal, Jr. Mr. Miller belongs to the Masonic order, the Commandery and the Shriners. He is also an Elk, and he belongs to the Sutter and the Del Paso Clubs. He is patriotic, as is amply proven by his enlisting in the United States army service on August 20, 1917, for a part in the great World War. He received the commission of first lieutenant in the air service, and served eighteen months.

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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 147

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