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 65

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

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HIRAM T. WOOD .- A progressive vineyardist residing one-fourth mile west of the Colony school- house, where he has forty acres of about as desirable land as may be found anywhere in Sacramento Conn- ty, is Hiram T. Wood, who was born in Buchanan County, Mo., on April 8, 1850, the son of William and Rebecca Ann (Barker) Wood, the former a native of Missouri and the latter of Kentucky. Grandfather James Marion Wood, who came from Virginia, was a real frontiersman; he lived to be past ninety-nine years old, and died in Oregon. When two years of age, Hiram T. Wood was brought by his parents, by way of the Salt Lake route, to Willamette, Ore., where his father bought a farm, engaged in general farming, and lived to be seventy-two years of age. He had a pack train, and at one time was very wealthy; but he was attacked by Indians, while jour- neying to Canyon City, and lost all that he had. Mrs. Wood, beloved by all who knew her, lived to the fine old age of eighty-five. The worthy couple had five children as follows: James Marion was the eldest; then came William Henry; the third-born died in infancy; Hiram T. is the subject of our narrative; and John is the youngest.

Hiram Wood grew up under pioneer conditions, on which account his subsequent progress is all the more creditable to him. He had to walk three miles to attend the nearest school, which was open only to those whose parents subscribed to defray the ex- penses; and when eighteen years of age, he set out to make his own way in the world, leasing farm land. In 1870 he went to Seattle, Wash., and the following year came into California for the first time. At this time, he spent two years in the Sonoma Valley; and upon his return to Seattle, he leased several hundred acres near that city. In 1880, he came to California to stay; and going into Sutter County, he first farmed on land about ten miles above Knight's Landing. Later he moved into Yolo County, near Woodland, and then went over into Solano County; and from there he came to Sacramento County, where he farmed for a while. He then spent a short time in San Francisco. Returning from the Bay City to Sacramento County, he purchased a forty-acre ranch in the Don Ray Colony, just west of the Colony schoolhouse. These forty acres he developed into a Mission vineyard, improving the place greatly by the

erection of buildings on the land. Mr. Wood has served his community as justice of the peace of Ala- bama Township, in Sacramento County. He has also been a trustee of the Colony school. In politics, he is a Democrat.

At Knight's Landing, on November 10, 1881, Mr. Wood married Miss Mary A. Miller, a native of Fair- field, Solano County, and the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Barker) Miller. Her father came out to California in 1852, and he was in the same wagon-train, part of the way, while crossing the plains, in which William Wood, Hiram's father, came. At the fork in the trail, William Wood went north into Oregon, and Thomas Miller came to California. Thomas Miller was a native of Virginia, while Mrs. Miller came from Lexington, Mo. He farmed in California, and died at the age of fifty-two; and she passed away in January, 1922, at the ripe old age of ninety. There were nine children in the Miller fam- ily, the eldest, Emily E., being now deceased. The next younger were William H. and Benjamin P., while John died as a boy. The younger children are Mary A., Sarah C., Alfaretta, Letha, and Thomas N. Mr. Miller was fond of the place at Rockville, Cal., where he settled; and there he died.

Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wood. Mary Belle is Mrs. Perley K. Bradford, of Elk Grove; Myrtle Elizabeth is Mrs. Clarence Martin, of Elk Grove: Kathryn Rebecca is Mrs. Walter Martin, of Elk Grove; William Thomas is at Susanville; and Rilla May is Mrs. Ross Clark, of Westwood. Nine grandchildren brighten the family circle. Mrs. Brad- ford has three children, Muriel, James and John; Mrs. Myrtle Martin has a son, James Wood Martin; William has two daughters, Mary Evelyn and Rilla May; and Mrs. Clark has three sons, Thomas Charles, Ross P., and Billie.

WILLIAM D. McENERNEY .- The many prob- lems in agriculture peculiar to California are very familiar to William D. McEnerney, who is ranch- ing about five miles northeast of Galt, on a ranch covering a quarter-section. He is a native son, and was born at Stockton on August 31, 1873. His fa- ther was Patrick McEnerney, a native of Westmeath County, Ireland, and his mother before her mar- riage was Miss Bridget Flaherty, and she was a native of County Galway. Patrick McEnerney came to California in early days, and he had a dairy farm at Franklin, in Sacramento County; and later he settled about four miles east of Hicksville, where he acquired 221 acres of land. After a while, he added a section and farmed that. He died at the age of seventy-seven, highly esteemed by all who knew him. Mrs. McEnerney is still living on the old home place, east of Arno, the mother of eleven chil- dren and the beloved center of a circle of devoted friends.

William McEnerney attended the Arno school, and remained at home with his folks until he was twenty-seven years old. He then went to Sacra- mento, and worked for two years, and after that he conducted a store at Arno for a year. He then moved onto the ranch where he now lives, about five miles east of Galt, having purchased a quarter section, and there he raises stock, and has a Mission grape vineyard of twenty acres which he set out. There was a house on the ranch, and this our sub- ject remodeled, making of it a modern home, and he

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has also built some other buildings on the ranch. Besides his own place, he leases land and puts in about 300 acres to grain, and has about 300 acres of summer fallow land each year. He is a Democrat, but esteemed rather for his broad American patriot- ism which leads him to place men and measures above partisanship; a member of the Knights of Columbus of Lodi, and a trustee of the Brown district school, and a member of the Grange and the Cham- ber of Commerce at Galt, he does what he can for the good of all.

Mr. McEnerney was married at Sacramento on June 17, 1901, to Miss Genevieve Bolton, a native of Clay, Cal., and the daughter of Curtis and Eliza- beth (Louins) Bolton, the former a well-known pio- neer whose life-story is sketched elsewhere in this work, and who died in June, 1922, at the age of eighty-six. Mrs. Bolton was the first woman to prove up on land in Sacramento County. Mrs. Mc- Enerney attended the Clay district school. She has five children: William Curtis; Thomas P .; Elizabeth G. and Dorothy G., high school students; and Mar- jorie G., a pupil in the grammar school.

FRANK M. COONS .- With the history of the development of Sacramento County, Frank M. Coons is thoroughly familiar, for he has spent his entire life within its borders and represents one of the old- est families of the state. For the past ten years his attention has been given to agricultural pursuits, and his farm on the Auburn road is one of the de- sirable properties of this district. He was born at Elk Grove, Sacramento County, August 1, 1860, a son of George W. Coons, a native of Maryland. The father grew to manhood in St. Louis, Mo., and in 1849 started for California, lured by the discovery of gold, making the journey across the plains with ox-team and wagon. He built the first quartz mill used in the vicinity of Hangtown, but subsequently abandoned mining and turned his attention to the cultivation of the soil. He purchased a farm near Elk Grove, and there his marriage occurred.

Frank M. Coons is the sixth in order of birth in a family of ten children. He acquired his education in the schools of Sacramento County and when sev- enteen years of age began working on the grant owned by J. B. Haggin, in whose service he remained for twenty years. He was promoted from time to to time and at length was made superintendent of all of the stock-raising operations of his employer, hav- ing charge of the mighty Salvatore, the pride of the Haggin stables. The horse-breeding business sprang into prominence in 1880, at the time Mr. Coons brought in the first two carloads of horses to the Hag- gin grant. Among the most valuable of the stock owned by Mr. Haggin was the horse O'Mondy, which he brought from the British Isles, paying for the animal the sum of $150,000. In 1904 the busi- ness began to decline, and in that year Mr. Coons resigned his position as superintendent, entering the service of the state in the capacity of guard at the Folsom prison. For nine years he faithfully dis- charged the duties of that position, and in 1913 pur- chased the Coyle place, a forty-four-acre tract situ- ated thirteen miles northeast of Sacramento, on the Auburn road. He specializes in the raising of grain, and takes justifiable pride in his ranch, which is a well-improved property, reflecting the care and labor bestowed upon it by its owner.

Mr. Coons married Miss Mary Ellen Coyle, a daughter of the late Edward G. Coyle, a pioneer of 1852, and they have become the parents of three children: Millie, who married Earl Ford of Sacra- mento; Rose, the wife of Clarence Sturgis; and Edith, who is employed as a stenographer in the corporative department of the state.

Mr. Coons is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West. His political suport is given to the Democratic party. Throughout his career he has made each day count for the utmost, improving the opportunities of the hour and discharging to the best of his ability the tasks that have devolved upon him. Therefore the years have chronicled his prog- ress along lines leading to success, and he merits and receives the respect and confidence of his fellow- men.

L. H. LANDIS .- A worthy pioneer whose record for substantial accomplishment will long be treas- ured in the memory of those who delight to honor the pathfinders in history, was the late L. H. Landis, a native of Ohio, who arrived at Marysville, Cal., on New Year's day, 1857, the third son of Samuel Landis, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1804 and moved to Virginia in 1829. Four years later, he migrated to Ohio, and in 1858 he followed his son to California, and together in 1864 they took up their residence at Nicolaus and engaged in farming. In 1828, Samuel Landis had married Miss Hannah Fair- child, who was born at Pittsburgh in 1808.

In 1872 L. H. Landis married Miss Lovicy O. Smith, who was born in 1841 in Indiana, and came to California in 1870, traveling eleven days on the railroad. Mr. Landis farmed extensively in Sutter County until 1885, when he and his family returned East to Bloomington, Ill., where he continued farming for three years. They then came back to California, arriving at Orangevale early in 1889. Four children were born to this worthy couple. Frances E. is living on the old home place in Orangevale, where she has long been active in community affairs. Harry S., born in 1875, is at home, engaged in ranching. He has a son, Dick Mason, born April 5, 1914. Charles W., two years the junior of Harry, was graduated from the University of California a civil engineer, and resides at Oakland. Anthony L. Landis, born in 1879, is a rancher, and is also living at home.

When L. H. Landis removed to Orangevale, two families were residing permanently in the vicinity, and they were named Carmichael and Thompson; but both have long since moved away. The Landis family are referred to nowadays as the pioneer set- tlers of Orangevale, and on this account enjoy a unique position, being highly esteemed and honored. Mr. Landis bought twenty acres of land on Pecan Avenue, and he and his three sons farmed together until 1905 when, the day after Christmas, 1905, he died. Mrs. Landis passed away on May 15, 1909, survived by the four children, who in their affection- ate devotion were always a source of happiness to their parents, and also a credit to the community.

As early as 1904, the three brothers became promi- nent at Orangevale as horse-breeders; and hy subse- quent purchase they acquired 2,000 acres of land, upon which they engaged in stock-raising. In 1906 Harry Landis made his first trip to Europe, in the interest of his brothers, who had become horse im- porters; and according to all records, he was the first

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Californian to go to Europe to buy horses for in- portation. In 1907, he was accompanied on his second trip by his brother, Anthony L. Landis, and together they made a very enjoyable tour for ninety days. The following fall the Sacramento State Fair was made much more attractive by the fine exhibit of Landis Brothers, a string of twelve horses which captured eight blue and three red ribbons.

Late in 1907, they sold the champion coach horse "Silesto" to R. J. Sherwood of the Cone ranch at Red Bluff, and they also made sales to ex-Senator Kerns of Salt Lake City for stock sent to his Santa Rosa ranch. The brothers Landis boasted a total of four different importations of horses brought to America, dealing strictly in coach and draft horses, and placed them in their large barns and headquarters at Orange- vale. The German coach horses were all bought from H. Lubin, a member of the Reichstag and a prominent horsebreeder at Oldenberg, near Berlin, where Mr. Landis and his brothers were wont to visit, on their return trips to Germany, and where they were always well received. The Percheron stock were imported from France. Altogether, over 100 head of prize stock were imported by the Messrs. Landis and sold again to horse-breeders in Nevada, Oregon and California.

Early in 1908 the opening of Cardwell Colony by Landis Brothers began with the putting of some 2,000 acres on the market, their own choicest land, H. S. Landis allowing the Carmichael Realty Company to assist in placing the sales; for, although Messrs. Lan- dis had for some time been selling horses on long- time terms, they saw that the demand for horses was lessening, and they were equally sure that the land could be sold to advantage on long terms. The result was that H. S. Landis took over the sales and suc- cessfully located enough people in new and attractive homes to make the experiment a success. Not a sin- gle piece of property was forfeited or relinquished by the original buyer, and on the other hand, a great many wage-earners were given a chance to buy choice acreage and hold it as a safe investment, eventually selling, perhaps, at a handsome margin, for in a short time the increased values were apparent. In the matter of subdividing, perhaps no better record was ever made in California than with the Cardwell Col- ony. The Messrs. Landis developed many ranches, in each case both selling out to good advantage and always adding to the material growth of Orangevalc.

H. S. Landis was active in nurserying in 1902, at the time of the Fair Oaks subdivision, and he made several trips to southern California, buying over 125,- 000 young citrus trees from Riverside and the Sonth- ern California Nurseries and bringing them to north- ern California, these trees being the nucleus of those making possible the citrus industry in Sacramento County today. Messrs. Landis have also engaged, for the past ten years, in viticulture and horticul- ture, and in 1922 they erected an immense warehouse and packing plant on the home-place, with a capacity of two carloads of choice fruit a day. This plant is equipped throughout with modern, scientific machines for the economic and easy handling of the fruit grown in the district. The Landis Brothers also own and operate a stock-farm, where pure-bred Hereford and Durham cattle for range and breeding purposes are raised. Sacramento County may well feel proud of three such representative sons of a worthy pioneer family.

GEORGE H. MENKE .- An exceptionally inter- esting man is George H. Menke, the Sacramento pioneer living at 621 Twenty-eighth Street, in the capital city, where he was born on April 28, 1861. His father was Antone Menke, who had married Miss Mary Wolker, born in Germany. Both are now deceased. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom three are living today, all in Sac- ramento. Josephine, now the wife of J. J. Glacken, is the eldest; then comes George H .; and the young- est is Fred William.

Antone Menke was born at Dalhausen, in West- phalia, Germany, on May 22, 1822. Leaving his native land, he arrived in New Orleans on January 12, 1844. He enlisted for service in the Mexican War in May, 1846, and he saw six months of service under the command of Jefferson Davis. In 1851 he came to St. Louis; and on April 6, 1854, he started across the continent, traveling by means of ox teams. He reached Sacramento on October 2, 1854, after a six- months' trip. Being a willow-worker or basket- maker by trade, he rented a home on L Street, and cut his willows along the American River, to use in the manufacture of his handiwork. Later, he rented a rauch to the northwest of Sacramento, and followed farming and cheese-making for a while. Returning to Sacramento, he engaged in business and lived in a place on J Street, between Ninth and Tenth, where he made baskets and sold cigars and fruit; and later his place of business was located on J Street between Fifth and Sixth. In 1875, he rented a ranch of 114 acres on the Folsom road, eleven miles east of Sac- ramento, near Mills; and in 1880 he bought the place and there followed scientific hop-raising for a while. He was quite an extensive landowner, and at one time possessed three different ranches. He belonged to the Masons, being a member of the Consistory and the Shrine, and also to the Druids, and was popular in each. He died December 22, 1912, and the wife and mother died in February, 1890.

George Menke attended the Sacramento schools, and then worked at willow-basket making with his father. When sixteen years old, he went onto his father's hop ranch near Mills; and later he was in charge of the same. Later he bought the home ranch, which he has greatly improved. Eight years ago he planted sixty acres to peaches and pears, and set ont a vineyard. Among the varieties of peaches he grows are the Phillips, Tuscan, and Levi clings; and he re- cently planted twenty acres to Pelora cling-stones. His crop for 1922 was 863 tons of peaches. His son, George H. Menke, Jr., is now in charge of the ranch.

On November 11, 1882, Mr. Menke was married at Sacramento to Miss Anna C. Fitzgerald, a native of Sacramento County and the daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Fisher) Fitzgerald, well-known California pio- neers; and three children were born of their union. Mary E. is the wife of Frank Davis, of Florin; Flor- ence A. is the wife of Chester Lambert, of Sacra- mento, and they have three children, Bethel, Ruth and George; and George H., Jr., is the father of two children, Wilma and Russell. Mrs. Anna Menke died on March 26, 1914; and on April 28, 1915, Mr. Menke was married to Miss Rachael Ross, who was born in Canada and was a trained nurse, having been educated in Philadelphia. Mr. Menke was the trus- tee of the Brighton school district for thirteen years. He is a director in the Farmers and Mechan- ics Bank of Sacramento, and a director in the Cali-

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fornia State Life Insurance Company. Fraternally, he is a member of Sacramento Parlor No. 3, of the Native Sons of the Golden West. Mr. Menke loves all out-of-door sports, especially hunting and fish- ing, and is a member of Wild Goose Gun Club; he also enjoys clay-pigeon shooting, and is always able to hold his own with the other members of the club.

OLE O. GOODRICH .- Few residents of Sacra- mento County can recall the reminiscences of the early days as vividly as Ole O. Goodrich, one of the county's honored pioneers, and the sole survivor of those who engaged in the nursery business here over fifty years ago. Born in Norway, February 22, 1838, Mr. Goodrich was the son of Ole and Ida Goodrich, who brought their family to the United States in 1852, settling in Wisconsin. The father became one of the pioneer farmers of Dane County, and passed away there in 1854, Mrs. Goodrich surviving him until 1859.

The youngest of a family of four sons and four daughters, Mr. Goodrich is now the only one living. Reared to young manhood on the home farm in Wis- consin, he later took up the profession of photogra- phy, and was thus engaged during the early days of the Civil War, when in the camps he often made as much as fifty dollars a day. In December, 1863, he started from New York to Panama, coming on the steamer "Ariel" to Aspinwall and on the "St. Louis" to San Francisco. For a time he worked in the bay region, and then spent several months traveling in the mining region as a professional photographer, receiv- ing handsome returns for his work. An interesting souvenir of these days is some mining stock which he received in payment for his services.

Mr. Goodrich then took up ranch work, becoming foreman of the Flint and Olsen hop yards near Sac- ramento, and remained with them for five years. This was at the time that hop-growing was first intro- duced into California, and Mr. Goodrich was among the first men to plant this crop on a commercial scale. Entering into a partnership with J. S. Harbe- son, he established a nursery business, their associa- tion continuing for eleven years, and during this time they encountered heavy losses on account of the breaking of levees and the flooding of their fields by the Sacramento River. In 1883 Mr. Goodrich pur- chased thirty-four acres of J. Burke, on which he developed a pear orchard, and in 1888 he purchased an additional seventeen acres from D. Rocca; this place was three miles south of Sacramento and east of the old site of Sutterville, of gold-day famc. For many years Mr. Goodrich devoted his time to his nursery; and among other valuable contributions he made to horticulture may be named two excellent varieties of peaches, the Goodrich and the Sacra- mento, which are still very popular, the first a very early peach and the latter a late variety which bears after most of the other peaches are gone. An ener- getic man and a hard worker, Mr. Goodrich made a good success in the nursery business and built up a reputation for reliability and honest dealing which proved a great asset in all his undertakings.

On January 1, 1876, Mr. Goodrich was married to Miss Mary A. Grundon, who was born in England in 1850 and came to America when fifteen years old. Her uncle, John Grundon, was a well-known pioncer rancher and capitalist of Sacramento. Three chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich: John 23

William, who is in the employ of the State Forestry Commission in Sacramento County, resides at home; Ida Elizabeth married Frank L. Milne, a civil engin- eer of Sacramento, and they have one son, Frank G .; Minerva is the wife of Charles S. Cowgill of North Sacramento, and they have a son, Raymond Ole. Mrs. Goodrich passed away on January 11, 1919, leaving an irreplaceable void in the Family circle.

In 1912 Mr. Goodrich sold his ranch near Sutter- ville, and later invested in the newly subdivided tract now known as North Sacramento; here he built a modern home on El Camino Avenue, and it was one of the first houses completed there. He has other real estate interests there; and, hale and hearty at the age of eighty-five, he continues to take an active interest in his business affairs. Mr. Goodrich has been a Republican from the time of Lincoln, and one of his cherished possessions is a copy of a New York paper in which is a speech delivered by President Lincoln at Cooper Institute in 1860.

MRS. MILLIE FREDERICKS .- Among the well known native Californians of Sacramento is Mrs. Millie Fredericks. Here she was born in the family home located near the corner of Fourth and L Streets, the only child of Charles and Selma (Riehl) Riehm, the former a native of Alsace-Lor- raine, born in 1826. and the latter a native of Balti- more, Md., born in 1832. In 1854 Charles Riehm brought his bride to California via Panama, arriving in Sacramento in May of that year. He had followed his trade of machinist for a number of years before coming to California, and after his arrival here was employed by the Central Pacific Railroad at the company's shops in Sacramento; and he was one of the first men to receive a pension from this company For capable and long-time service. Mr. Richm was one of the first men to be employed by the Central Pacific, and he finished the making of the shovel that turned the first dirt at the building of the roads, con- necting the East and the West. This shovel is on exhibition in San Francisco at the Southern Pacific offices. On December 31, 1880, Mrs. Riehm passed away. She was survived by her husband until De- comber 12, 1915, when he died, aged cighty-nine years. He had been a member of Eureka Lodge No. 4, I. O. O. F., for fifty years.

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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 65

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