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 67

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 67

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Mr. and Mrs. Schulze's union was blessed with the birth of four children. Wesley Edward is operating the home ranch; he is married and has two children. Lora May is the wife of R. W. Wilson, of San Francisco. William Perry and Lester Kenneth are still at home with their mother.

Mrs. Schulze is enterprising, and deeply interested in the growth and development of her community. She is a member of the Elk Grove Grange, and is a stanch Republican in politics. Being a strong advo- cate of temperance, Mrs. Schulze was greatly in favor of the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. She is a member of the Elk Grove Methodist Episcopal Church and its Ladies' Aid Society, taking an active part in its benevolences.

MARK TWAIN HUNT .- An interesting and well-informed man who is a native son of the Golden State is Mark Twain Hunt, who was born in Sacra- inento. November 20, 1864. His father, Dennis Rock- well Hunt, was born in Vermont on April 23, 1820, his parents being Albinus and Hannah (Robins) Hunt, who were both of New England descent through some generations, and who both died at the age of seventy years. The family removed to New York when Dennis R. Hunt was about two years old. He was educated in the district schools, and when twelve years of age he hired out on a farm, being thus employed until 1848, when, in partnership with his brother, he bought 150 acres. Leaving the farm in charge of his brother. he set out for Cali- fornia, arriving in San Francisco in due time, and made his way to the El Dorado on the south fork of the American River, above Mormon Island. In 1851 he filed his claim for one hundred and sixty acres on Deer Creek, and in 1852 he raised barley on his own place. But fortune was against him, for his whole crop of hay and barley in stacks, valued at $12,000. was destroyed by fire. It took him many years to recover from this heavy loss; but he held on to the

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land, raised twelve more crops, and sold out in the autumn of 1863, being then worth $16.000. Mr. Hunt then was in the grocery business in Sacramento for about eight months. In 1865 he returned to New York and bought a farm in Madison County and stocked it, with the expectation of making it his per- manent home. He soon found that farming in New York was no longer congenial, however; so he sold out the following year, and returning to Sacramento purchased a livery and sale stable, which he kept ahout two years. In the autumn of 1868 he bought 500 acres at Freeport on the Sacramento River, where he carried on a dairy. The mother of our subject was in maidenhood Nancy A. Zumwalt, a native of Illinois. She was first married to Alex Cotton, and after farming several years they started across the plains in an ox-team train; but on the way Alex Cotton was taken ill and died on the plains, on August 21, 1864. His widow, left with two children, came bravely on to California, and it was here she met and married Mr. Hunt. They met with success in their farming and dairy enterprise, and resided on the ranch at Freeport until they passed on, the mother on April 2, 1904, and the father on April 18. 1913. There were five children born of this second marriage: Major Clarence, of Los Angeles: Frank Linn, residing in Napa; Mark Twain, the subject of our interesting review; Rockwell D., dean of the commercial department, University of Southern California; and George Grant, of Los Angeles.

After completing the local schools, Mark Twain Hunt entered Napa College, where he was duly graduated in 1886 with the degree of B. S. He spent a year teaching in Napa College, and then chose ranching for his life work. Leasing the old home place at Freeport, he engaged in farming and dairy- ing. About this time Mr. Hunt assumed family ties, when he was united with Miss Susie Hubbell, the ceremony occurring in Marin County in 1888. Mrs. Hunt was a native of that county, a daughter of Orton and Elizabeth A. (Howard) Hubbell, born in New York State and Vergennes, Vt., respectively. They were early settlers of Marin County, where her father followed agriculture until he returned to Peta- luma in 1905. His death occurred July 8, 1914, his wife having preceded him many years before, passing away on August 31, 1877. This pioneer couple had three children, Susie being the second in order of birth. Orton B., of Van Nuys, is the oldest; and Dr. George R., a practicing physician in Petaluma, is the youngest of the family. Mrs. Hunt was a graduate of Napa College, in the class of 1885, with the degree of B. S.

In 1901 Mr. Hunt, with his brother. Frank L., pur- chased the old home ranch of 500 acres and divided the place; and here he has continued ranching, spe- cializing principally in dairying. He has improved the ranch with two pumping-plants and is raising alfalfa as well as grain. The place is equipped with suitable farm buildings, including a large silo. His dairy herd comprises eighty head of pure-bred and high-grade Holsteins. Mr. Hunt is a lover of fine horses, and in former days raised some fine roadsters. He is a member of the Northern California Milk Producers' Association.

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hunt resulted in the birth of four children: Ray Orton, who is assisting his father; Lester Clarence, a carpenter in Sacra- mento; and Grace Mildred, the wife of Arnold Scrib-

ner, and Myrtle, the wife of Allan Showler, both of Sacramento County. Mr. Hunt is a member and past grand of Sacramento Lodge No. 2, 1. O. O. F., and also of the Independent Order of Foresters; and both he and Mrs. Hunt are members of the Grange. Deeply interested in the cause of education, Mr. Hunt has served for many years as a member of the board of school trustees of Freeport, being clerk of the board. Mrs. Hunt is a member of the Parent- Teachers Association and the Red Cross. During the war, Mr. Hunt was local chairman of the various Liberty Loan and allied war drives. He is liberal and enterprising, and greatly interested in the growth and development of the county. Having always taken a stand for a high standard of morals, he was se- lected as foreman of the county grand jury in 1914.

GEORGE L. HERNDON .- An enterprising, ex- perienced and thoroughly capable and dependable industrial leader is George L. Herndon, of the well- known firm of Herndon & Finnigan, general con- tractors, with offices and mill at 1814 Seventeenth Street. He was born in Sacramento County on May 1, 1865, the son of William L. and Sarah (Neil) Hern- don, the former a pioneer of the Argonaut days of '49, who crossed the great plains with oxen and tried his luck at mining. He returned to St. Louis in 1852; but the next year he made for the Pacific Coast again, this time being accompanied by his young wife and traveling by way of the Isthmus. Upon arriving in San Francisco Mr. Herndon there followed his trade of building contractor, which had been his busi- ness while he lived in St. Louis. In 1854 he came to Sacramento and was made foreman on the original Capitol Building; after that he contracted extensively, and many of the old-time buildings in the city are the result of his handiwork. He erected the old "Union" building and raised the street to the new grade level. His most notable job was the raising of the St. George Hotel building to the new grade level. In the work of raising the building, he used all the jack-screws there were in Sacramento; this was the largest undertaking of its kind in the state at the time, and was accomplished without mishap, Mr. Herndon being an experienced mover of buildings. He was also the foreman on the construction of the present Capitol Building. He died on March 27, 1883, deeply mourned by a wide circle of admirers. Mrs. Herndon passed away in 1905.

George L. Herndon attended the public schools in Sacramento, and then went to work on a ranch, con- tinuing until 1880. when he learned the trade of the bricklayer. This he followed in Sacramento, San Francisco, and other cities as a journeyman until 1893; then he became a contractor on his own respon- sibility, sometimes working with a partner but most of the time alone. Among the earlier buildings he erected in Sacramento, we mention the Ruhstaller Brewery, the Hanrahan Building and the Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph building. In 1911 he went on a ranch he owned in Solano County, where he farmed until 1916: and he also owned a fifty-acre almond orchard in the Arbuckle district, where he was among the pioneer almond-growers. Both of these properties he sold in 1915.

Leaving the ranch in 1916, Mr. Herndon returned to Sacramento and formed a partnership with Henry Finnigan, under the firm name of Herndon & Finni- gan; and they have erected many of the notable

Seo LeHerndon

Adolph Teichert

(Biography, Page 376)

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structures in this part of the state since that time. Among the buildings they have constructed or remod- eled in Sacramento are the Mull Building, the Red Men's building, and the Tong Sung Company's build- ing, and they also did work on the E. B. Crocker Art Gallery and the Perfection Bakery. In Lincoln they built the Auditorium; at Redding, the post-office, as well as a fine school building. They also built four school buildings at Modesto, one at Davis, one at Arbuckle, and one at Clarksburg. They con- structed a large hotel at Arbuckle, a church and bank at Fairfield and Suisun, and the Sacramento Northern depot at Marysville, besides many fine garages and homes. In 1920, Herndon & Finnigan erected a planing-mill, where they do all that is necessary for both their interior and exterior finishing. They own valuable property adjoining the Dreher Tract, on which they erected the A. Meister Building, which they lease; and they contemplate constructing a large planing-mill with every modern appliance at the cor- ner of Seventeenth and North B Streets in the fall of 1923.

In 1896, Mr. Herndon was married to Mrs. Carrie P. (Kinsner) Black, who was born in New York but has lived in Sacramento since her girlhood; and they have since maintained a home noted for its Califor- nian hospitality. Mr. Herndon is a member of Sac- ramento Parlor No. 3, N. S. G. W., and he also be- longs to the Elks, the Red Men, the Builders' Ex- change, the Chamber of Commerce and the Exchange Club. Politically, he is a Republican. Mr. Herndon is a pioneer in the building business in Sacramento, and has won the esteem of a large circle of friends, who are gratified with the success he has made on his own responsibility. He had a hobby of liking and owning good horses, and he is still fond of hunting and fishing and other out-of-door sports.

WILLIAM KLEINSORGE .- A sturdy, success- ful pioneer whose name men still love to repeat, and in whose life-story there is no end of interest and inspiration, was the late William Kleinsorge, one of the earliest merchants in the Sacramento Valley. He was born in Germany, and came to America when he was six and one-half years old. He was reared and educated in St. Louis, and from Missouri he came to California in 1862, traveling by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He located at Sacramento, and became a member of the well-known firm of Milli- ken Bros., wholesale grocers. Later, he became a member of the firm of Lindley & Company, whole- salers, and owned a fourth interest in the business. He was a successful business man, and his early de- mise at the age of thirty-nine was widely lamented. He belonged to the Odd Fellows, and there was no more popular member in that fraternal order.

In 1865 Mr. Kleinsorge married Miss Emma Stose, the daughter of Clemens Stose, the California pioneer, a native of Württemberg, Germany, who also came to America when he was a little boy. He grew up in Columbia, Pa., and later became a pioneer resident of Chicago. In October, 1852, he came out to Cali- fornia by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He had been a blacksmith by trade, but in California he engaged in the mercantile trade in San Francisco for a time, and then came to Sacramento and conducted a ranch about nine miles from the city until he was driven out by the flood. Then he returned to San Francisco, where he passed the rest of his life, dying

at the ripe old age of eighty-two. His good wife was Margaret Bauder before her marriage, and she lived to see her eighty-fifth year. Mrs. Kleinsorge is now the only living child; and she has two children, William E., and Mary L., who is the wife of Dr. C. A. Haines of Sacramento. Mr. Kleinsorge died Decem- ber 7, 1880.

WALTER SCOTT GRIMSHAW .- A very en- terprising, progressive and successful horticulturist, who is a native son proud of his association with the Golden State, is Walter Scott Grimshaw, who was born on the old Grimshaw place at Mocosumnes. now Cosumne, Sacramento County, January 15, 1868, a son of William Robinson Grimshaw, who was born in New York City, a son of John and Emma ( Rob- inson) Grimshaw. The father was born in England of a family who were manufacturers in Manchester. The mother was of an old American family, being of the Robinsons of Rhode Island. John Grimshaw dealt in cotton and cotton goods and traveled a great deal. William R. spent most of his time in England from the age of two until eleven years of age. He was bercaved of his father in early life and was reared in the home of his uncle, Thomas Minturn.

On his return from England, William R. Grimshaw was sent to Mobile, Ala., where he spent four years at college. Again returning to New York, he spent some time there and in Burlington, Vt., completing his education, and then spent a short time in a drug store. At the age of twenty-one he "shipped before the mast" on the "Isaac Walton," owned by his Uncle Minturn and bound for California. Arriving in Monterey he shipped on the "Anita," a naval ten- der, which he left in October, 1848, to accept a posi- tion as bookkeeper for Sam Brannan & Company at Sutter's Fort at a salary of $400.00 a month. In November, 1849, he went into partnership with Wil- liam Daylor and kept a store on his ranch on the Cosumnes. Mr. Daylor died of cholera in 1850, leaving no issue.

In April, 1851, Mr. Grimshaw was married to Mrs. Sarah P. (Rhoads) Daylor, the widow of his late partner. Some years later they moved to Sacra- mento, where for a time Mr. Grimshaw was a law clerk with Winans & Hyer in 1857. By private study and through experience gained in the legal business be prepared himself for practice as a lawyer, and was admitted to the bar in 1868. However, he quit the practice of law in the spring of 1869, not finding it as congenial as he had anticipated. He was justice of the peace for fourteen years, and also taught the Wilson district school toward the close of his life. In 1876 he made a voyage to China for his health, but without marked improvement. He died Septem- ber 14, 1881, and his widow survived him until Janu- ary 11, 1898. She was an early pioneer of Sacramento County, having come hither with her father across the plains in an ox-team train in 1846. Mr. and Mrs. Grimshaw were the parents of twelve children, seven of whom grew up: William R., deceased; Emma G., Mrs. Lawton, who died in Sacramento; Thomas M. and George R., both of Sacramento; John F., deceased; Frederick M .. an horticulturist at Cosumnes; and Walter Scott, the subject of this in- teresting review.

Walter Scott Grimshaw spent his boyhood on the home ranch, receiving a good education in the local public schools, which was supplemented with a

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course at Howe's Business College in Sacramento, after which he engaged in horticulture on the home ranch. He was among the first to set out orchards of prunes on the Cosumnes River and also engaged in raising hops. He has made a study of growing fruit and by research finds the river sediment land the finest in the state for the growing of prunes. The quality is most excellent and the fruit is much larger than grown in other portions of California. The yield here is three tons to the acre, as compared with one ton to the acre in Santa Clara County, for the trees grow very large and healthy in this deep, rich sediment soil. He has just completed a dehydrating plant with a capacity of about seventy-five tons a day. Mr. Grimshaw owns the old Grimshaw home place of fifty-five acres all in prunes and hops. He also owns a half interest in the Mahone ranch of 800 acres, 160 acres of which he has set out to prune orchard now eight years old, one of the finest orch- ards in California. The balance of the ranch he devotes to stock-raising. In the operation of his ranch he uses tractors, trucks and teams, giving it his personal attention and looking after every detail, and as a result he is meeting with excellent success. Being a firm believer in cooperation as the successful way of marketing the farmer's produce, he is a mem- ber of the California Prune and Apricot Association. Politically, he is a Republican. He takes well-de- served pride in his well-kept orchards as well as his beautiful gardens of flowers and vegetables, and lawn, his place being one of the show places in the county. Fond of hunting and fishing, he spends much time hunting in the high Sierras and at his hunting club in Butte County, enjoying the diversion of his week-end trips to the latter place to the fullest. Mr. Grimshaw is liberal and progressive, aiding in the development and upbuilding of this favored section of the land of gold and sunshine. Well-read and posted, he is a pleasing conversationalist and one is indeed fortunate to enjoy his dispensing of the true old-time California hospitality.

ADOLPH TEICHERT .- An honored and well- known citizen of Sacramento is Adolph Teichert, the senior member of the paving-contracting firm of A. Teichert & Son. Through a residence of forty- eight years, Mr. Teichert has firmly established him- self in the regard of those with whom he has come in contact, and his attitude toward public questions has always been that of progressive citizenship. He was born in Germany, November 20, 1854, a son of S. D. and Betty (Brandt) Teichert, both natives of Germany and both now deceased. Adolph Teichert was educated in the public schools of Germany and was eighteen years old when he left his native land and came to New York City, where he remained for two years. Although a stonemason hy trade, he worked for a party named Schillinger who had a patent for the construction of cement sidewalks pro- viding for proper joints to control the cracking due to contraction in the setting of the cement. In 1875 he was sent to San Francisco, Cal., to instruct the California Artificial Stone Paving Company in the construction of this new type of cement walks. In 1877 his firm secured the contract to lay the cement walks in the Capitol grounds in Sacramento, which occupied a period of two years. He was therefore the first cement finisher in the state of California. In 1887 he entered the cement business independently

and was engaged to lay all the walks in the city, some of which are still being used. In 1912 he took up road and street work. In Sacramento County he paved the road from Galt to Thornton; and in Santa Clara County he was contractor for the road from Santa Clara to Mountain View. He also paved the road from Fresno to Kingsburg in Fresno County, and from Lindsay to Richgrove in Tulare County. He has also done considerable street-pav- ing in different California cities.

The marriage of Mr. Teichert united him with Miss Carrie Knaul, a native of Zanesville, Ohio; and to them have been born three children. Bertha is now Mrs. W. G. Hansen; Adolph, Jr., is associated with his father in the paving business; and Caro- line is now the wife of Ralph Skinner. There are seven grandchildren in the family circle, five boys and two girls. Mr. Teichert is a thirty-third-degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Knight of the Court of Honor, a member of the Commandery, and a charter member of Ben Ali Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Sacramento, and with his wife is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. He is also a member of the Elks, and since 1875 has been a member of the Germania Club of San Francisco. In politics he is a Republi- can.

EDWARD HENRY KRAUS .- A very popular executive, whose proficiency has enabled him to ren- der the most efficient service, and whose willingness to place his talents at the disposition of others has surrounded him with a group of devoted friends, is Edward Henry Kraus, the experienced custodian of the Native Sons of the Golden West Building. He was born at Sacramento on June 5, 1858, the son of Edward and Gertrude Kraus, the former a pioneer who came out to California in 1850, to be followed to the Golden State soon after by the talented lady des- tined for his wife. They were married at Sacramento, after which Mr. Kraus engaged in the hotel business, first at San Francisco and then, on his return to this city, in Sacramento; and in the hotel field Mr. Kraus remained, an interesting figure because of his untiring efforts to improve the hotel conditions for the trav- eler, until 1860. After that he engaged in the nursery business, continuing to promote that branch of Cali- fornia husbandry until his death, on March 22, 1890. While in San Francisco, he was a member of the Vigilance Committee, and contributed his share toward the maintenance of law and order at a time when the failure of patriotic citizens of good red blood, such as he, would have left the public and the most cherished of institutions at the mercy of the merciless mob.

Fortunate in the heritage of a good name, Edward Henry Kraus attended the public schools and Atkin- son's Business College, and on October 25, 1875, he entered the service of the Central Pacific Railroad. Here he was apprenticed as a car-finisher, and estah- lished a record for ability and fidelity.

Mr. Kraus had always been prominent among the Native Sons of the Golden West; and when that popular organization decided to erect its building, he was made president of the Native Sous Hall Asso- ciation of Sacramento, Incorporated, which position he has filled with signal ability and most commend- able devotion since 1906, his term of office being ren- dered locally notable in the erection, by the Native Sons, of an edifice costing $200,000. He has always

Edward Henry Krause

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been enthusiastic about the work of the Native Sons, and this interest has doubtless been stimulated by his personal associations with notable people in the past. Among his recollections, always entertaining to oth- ers, are impressions of Marshall, the original discov- erer of gold, with whom he shook hands far back in 1884. He has also been fond of outdoor life, and is fully appreciative of the attractions of California, and particularly of Sacramento County. A bachelor still, Mr. Kraus finds his social enjoyment, outside of the Native Sons, with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a member.

MORRIS A. JENKINS .- The rapid upbuilding of the West furnishes an excellent field to the engineer, the architect and those engaged in allied lines of business. In the field of civil engineering, Morris A. Jenkins of Sacramento is using his talents, and his professional skill has been called into play in con- nection with the construction of many important public projects. He was born in Elk Grove, Cal .. July 22, 1874, and is a son of Thomas and Addie H. ( Harrington) Jenkins, the former a native of Wales. The father crossed the plains to Utah and thence made his way to California in 1860, settling upon a ranch in Sacramento County, being actively engaged in farming until 1920, and is now living retired in Sacramento. He has taken an active part in public affairs, having served as supervisor of Sacramento County. He is widely and favorably known in this section of the state and the mother is also living.

Morris A. Jenkins was reared in his native county and in 1896 completed a course in the Elk Grove Union High School, being a member of the first class graduated from that institution. He then entered Heald's Engineering School at San Francisco and later attended the Ohio Northern University, at Ada, Ohio, receiving the degree of Civil Engineer in 1902. Meanwhile, in 1897, he had engaged in contracting and after completing his professional training he re- entered this field on a larger scale. He chose Sac- ramento as the scene of his operations and from 1904 until 1918 was a member of the firm of Jenkins & Wells. In the latter year Mr. Wells retired but the business continued under that style until March, 1921. when the present firm of Jenkins & Elton was formed. They are engineers and general contractors and specialize in bridge and heavy construction work. They have been awarded many large contracts and built the bascule bridge over the Sacramento River at Walnut Grove and have just completed a similar one at Isleton. They also do pile-driving and foun- dation work. They have contributed materially to the upbuilding and improvement of this section of the state and their work represents the highest de- gree of efficiency in their line.

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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 67

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