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 82

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 82

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In association with J. H. Rossiter, R. K. Malcolm, and John B. Coleman, of San Francisco, and George B. La Montague of Antioch, Mr. Bryan in 1917 formed the Liberty Farms Company, leasing lands in Solano County and engaging in farming on a large scale. In 1918 they purchased 5,200 acres known as the By-Pass in Solano County, and reclaimed it, the land being now devoted to raising grains, beans, asparagus, celery, and onions. From 1920 to 1922 Mr. Bryan was active in the organization of the River Lands Protective Association, a movement to pre- vent the rice-growers above from diverting the water from the Sacramento River for flooding the rice- fields so that the water of the lower Sacramento River would back up from the tide and become salty, a matter that is still in litigation.

A firm believer in the principles of protection as a national political policy, Mr. Bryan is naturally a stanch Republican.

WILLIAM J. ROONEY .- Interesting as both the descendant and the successor of a pioneer of Califor- nia, and one who has attained to prominence in the real estate business in Sacramento, William J. Rooney, office manager for the firm of Wright & Kimbrough, was born at Perkins, Sacramento County, five miles from Sacramento, February 12, 1890. He is a son of Stephen J. and Mary (Tackney) Rooney, both born and reared in the Golden State and in Sacramento County. Grandfather John Rooney was one of the pioneer miners of '49 in Eldorado County, and became the owner of a fine ranch at Perkins through the pos- session of a note. This land was considered to be of little value at the time but the passing of the years has proven it to be a very valuable ranch. He de- veloped this place and died there at an advanced age. Stephen J. Rooney was reared in this county and took an active part in politics and at one time served as un- der-sheriff to Tom O'Neil. He died in Alaska in 1898; Mrs. Mary Rooney is still living and makes her home in Sacramento.

William J. Rooney attended the public schools and the Brothers College in Sacramento and remained on the ranch with his mother until he entered the employ of Henderson-Longton Company in 1909. He was with this firm for two years and then accepted a posi- tion as office boy with Wright & Kimbrough, and he has gradually worked his way to the position he has occupied since 1919 by his persistency of purpose and careful attention to detail, that each patron might be satisfied. He is well posted on property and values in Sacramento and has easily demonstrated his mastery of the problems arising from day to day.

On October 31, 1914, in Sacramento, Mr. Rooney and Miss Nell Reese, daughter of the late David

Recse, an ex-sheriff of this county and a pioneer of the state, were united in marriage and they have three children: William Reese, David Recse and Barbara Ethel. Mr. Rooney is non-partisan in his political affiliations, voting for the man and the measure rather than the party. He belongs to the Knights of Colum- bus and to Sacramento Parlor No. 3, N. S. G. W., and is accounted one of the progressive men of Sacra- mento city and county.

WILLIAM A. KESNER .- For thirty-two years this sterling citizen, William A. Kesner, has been a resident of Ryde, Cal., where he owns valuable real estate. At Ryde, on Grand Island, is located his ranch of 150 acres, which is devoted to orchard, and to the raising of asparagus and beans. He was born at Keyesport, Clinton County, Ill., October 30, 1850, and received his education in the local public schools. At twenty-five years of age he left home and came to California on one of the early trains, arriving in 1875, and settled on the Sacramento River, where he worked for five years; then he removed to Colorado with his family and spent five years there.

On December 17, 1871, at Keyesport, Mr. Kesner was married to Miss Mary Clark, also a native of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Kesner are the parents of one son, Wilfred C., who was born in Keyesport, I11. Wilfred Kesner received his education at the Isleton and Rio Vista district schools, and supple- mented his public-school training with a course at E. C. Atkinson's Business College in Sacramento. On October 5, 1905, he was married to Miss Patricia McAlister, a native of Illinois and a daughter of John and Mary McAlister. John McAlister passed away in 1917, aged seventy-five years; his widow still sur- vives him. Wilfred C. Kesner has one son, Roy C.

Wilfred C. Kesner, with his father, owns 250 acres four miles west of Ryde which is devoted to the growing of asparagus. He is a Republican in poli- tics; and fraternally he belongs to Franklin Lodge No. 143, F. & A. M., Courtland, and is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, belonging to the con- sistory in Sacramento; formerly he was a member of Islam Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in San Francisco, until he demitted to become a charter member of Ben Ali Temple in Sacramento. He be- longs to the Order of the Eastern Star and Sacra- mento Lodge No. 6, B. P. O. E. Wilfred C. Kesner has served as a trustee of Reclamation District No. 3 of Grand Island, and at the present time is clerk of the board of trustees of the Beaver union school district.

Mr. and Mrs. William A. Kesner returned to Cali- fornia after their five years' residence in Colorado and settled for three months in Fresno County; then they returned to Sacramento County and Mr. Kes- ner conducted a butcher shop at Isleton for five years. In 1891 he located on Grand Island, about four miles below Walnut Grove, and that same year a post-office was located in that part of the county, which was called Ryde. Mr. Kesner's first land purchase was a tract of forty acres. He built a house and developed the land to orchard; and he has added to his holdings until he now owns some 150 acres. Mr. Kesner erected a store and hotel at Ryde and also a modern garage building; and he owns and conducts a six-apartment building. Mr. Kesner is a Republican in politics. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of the Odd Fellows at Isleton and the Elks, No.

W CV Kesner

Mary @ Kroner,

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

6, of Sacramento; and for a number of years both Mr. and Mrs. Kesner were members of the Rebekah Lodge. Mrs. Kesner was also a member of the East- ern Star. She passed away on November 21, 1922, at the age of seventy years. For many years Mr. Kesuer served as a trustee of Reclamation District No. 3 of Grand Island; for many years, also, he served as school trustee of the Good Hope school district, and of the Beaver union school district.

HON. PERCY G. WEST .- A distinguished and popular representative of the people in the halls of state legislation is the Honorable Percy G. West, the well-known attorney who is a member of the Califor- nia legislature as assemblyman from the fifteenth district. He was born at Orange, in Orange County, on March 16, 1883, and his father was Henry West, who had married Miss Sabina Harriett Austing. They were married in the city of London, December 24, 1871, and in May, 1872, came to San Francisco, Cal. In 1876 they located on a ranch at Orange, Cal., which they eventually improved to an orange or- chard. They now both live retired in that beautiful Southern city. They had nine children, six of whom are living, Percy G. being the third in order of birth.

Percy West attended the public schools of Orange County, and in time studied law in the office of Robert A. Waring, state inheritance tax attorney, and J. M. Inman, state senator, and also pursued a spe- cial course in the School of Jurisprudence of the State University at Berkeley, and on July 2, 1919, was admitted to the bar in California. He had previous- ly worked for the Southern Pacific system, first as a telegraph operator, and then as ticket agent; in 1904 he came to Sacramento and then became travel- ing freight and passenger agent for the Harriman lines. In 1918 he was paying and receiving teller in the Capital National Bank, and the following year he became undersheriff. In 1920, after having resigned from his office, he took up the practice of law; and on November 2, 1920, he was elected assemblyman from the fifteenth district. He then began the practice of law, in which he has met with success. In 1922 he was reelected to the assembly without opposition. In the session of 1921 he was chairman of the committee on labor and capital. In that session he was the author of the bill creating the California State Agri- cultural Education Committee, which investigated all the colleges of agriculture in the United States, while formulating a definite policy to be pursued by the University of California in agricultural education, and as a result the State Farm at Davis has been made a branch of the University of California. In the session of 1923 he was chairman of the committee on claims, and he served as a member of the judiciary commit- tee during both sessions. Republican in matters of national import, Mr. West, through his active partici- pation in the affairs of the Native Sons of the Golden West, seeks to stimulate patriotic sentiments and in- fluence. He is past president in that organization, and he has been secretary of the Native Sons Hall Association for fifteen years, since the organization was formed. He belongs to the American Order, Sons of St. George; Sacramento Lodge No. 6 of the Elks; Capital City Lodge No. 499, F. & A. M., and Sacramento Pyramid of the Sciots, and to the county, state and national bar associations.

At Sacramento, in 1911, Mr. West was married to Miss Ethel G. Trainor, of that city, the daughter of

WV. F. Trainor, who was for years paying teller in the California National Bank. They have one son, Robert G. West. Mr. West has vested interests in ranch and home property. He believes in getting out into the open and is fond of hunting.

DRURY DE WOLF BUTLER .- Distinguished among the efficient public officials of Sacramento County may well be mentioned Drury De Wolf But- ler, the popular and proficient county surveyor, a native son proud of the Golden State in which he was born and wherein he has demonstrated his pub- lic-spiritedness in many ways, including his enthusi- astic advocacy of better roads and bridges. He first saw the light near Folsom, in Sacramento County, on November 22, 1877, the son of John E. Butler, who crossed the plains to California, arriving in February, 1850. Afterwards, he went into the mines, and then settled on Cache Creek, Yolo County, where he re- mained until 1864. He then bought the Half-Way House in Sacramento County, on the Sacramento- Placerville road, and conducted it as a hotel. After- wards he embarked in the sheep business, in which he continued until 1904; and then having sold out, he died seven years later. He served in the California Assembly in 1894, and made there a very creditable record for intelligent and fearless advocacy of the best interests of the people he served. In 1875, at San Jose, he married Miss Electa De Wolf, a mem- ber of a pioneer family from Ohio; and she is still living, making her home in Sacramento, with many happy memories of days in California dating back to 1874.

Drury De Wolf Butler enjoyed the advantages of public education in California and in 1890 was grad- uated from the old White Rock grammar school near Folsom. For six years he studied by himself and then in 1897 he was graduated from the Sacramento high school. In 1899 he entered the University of California, and in 1903 he was graduated in mining, with his degree of B. S. He was a mining chemist for the Boulder Reduction Works in Jamestown, Colo., and next he was field engineer for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in Butte County; he was also assistant engineer for the Sacramento Southern Railroad. He went to Chile to engage in mining work, but returned in 1908.

Mr. Butler was appointed deputy county surveyor upon his return to California, but 1911 found him again in the more inviting field, from certain stand- points, of private practice. In 1914 he was elected county surveyor, and on September 1, 1920, he was appointed by the board of supervisors to be county engineer. In 1921, when the office of county engineer was abolished, Mr. Butler again took up the work of county surveyor. At the general election in Novem- ber, 1922, he was reelected to his present office. He has carried through some very difficult work, acquit- ting himself very creditably; and among other mer- itorious undertakings, he designed and constructed the Folsom bridge, which has a span of 209 feet and is made of concrete.

In 1917, at Sacramento, Mr. Butler was married to Miss Lalita Jodon, born in Portland, Ore., although a resident of Sacramento since her childhood. They have one child, Jacklyn Lauretta. Mr. Butler is a Republican and is a live wire in the Sutter and Rotary Clubs; he belongs to the Masons, and is a past mas- ter of Union Lodge No. 58, F. & A. M .; is past wise

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master of Sacramento Chapter No. 6, Knights Rose Croix; is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason and belongs to the Consistory, in which he is knight commander of the Court of Honor; is a member of Sacramento Commandery, K. T., and belongs to Ben Ali Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is past patron of Columbus Chapter No. 117, O. E. S. He also he- longs to Granite Parlor No. 83, N. S. G. W. and to the Odd Fellows, and he is a member of the Ameri- can Society of Civil Engineers. He shows his public spirit in many ways, always for the betterment of local conditions and for the development of the re- sources of the county.

THE REV. FATHER WILLIAM FRANCIS ELLIS .- True to her tradition, to hold in sacred memory all who materially aided in the foundation and development of the great Golden State, Califor- nia will never cease to honor the late Rev. Father William Francis Ellis, the faithful founder and be- loved pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church, at Sacramento, who died on September 6, 1922. He was born in Ireland on July 24, 1881, and after pass- ing through the elementary schools there, he pursued higher studies at St. Mel's Diocesan College, and at Mount Mellary, conducted by the Cistercian Fathers. Having completed the intermediate course in letters, he then repaired to All-Hallows' College, Dublin, to pursue his philosophical and theological studies in preparation for becoming a missionary priest; and it was while he remained there for five years that he chose the Sacramento diocese as the field of his min- istry, and his services were received by the late Bish- op of Sacramento, the Rt. Rev. Thomas Grace, D. D. From All Hallows', he went to the Collegio Irland- ese, a constituent college of the Propaganda Univer- sity at Rome; and at that noted institution of ecclesi- astical learning, he completed his course for the priesthood, under the tutorship of the distinguished Mgr. O'Riordan, and was ordained to that office in the Lateran Basilica on May 28, 1904.

After a pleasant sojourn in the paternal home, Fa- ther Ellis left the family circle and bade good-bye to his native land, setting out for America and Califor- nia. He reached Sacramento in due time, and on arriving at the bishop's house, he was assigned at once to a curacy at Eureka, under Mgr. L. Kennedy, V. G. He worked there to the entire satisfaction of his superiors and the people until November, 1909, when he was commissioned to form the new parish of the Immaculate Conception in the southeastern portion of Sacramento; and how well he succeeded, the condition of the young parish at his death indi- cates. Ground was purchased at once to take care of future needs of the parish. A temporary church set up there was in 1916 replaced by a handsome struc- ture that cares for four or five large congregations each Sunday, and at other special times; and pro- vision was made for a house for the use of the pa- rochial clergy, together with a spacious hall. During his pastorate, Bishop Grace attached Elk Grove ter- ritory to his parish; and while attending to the spir- itual needs of his people there, Father Ellis built, on a half-block centrally situated, one of the handsomest country churches to be seen anywhere, and called it St. Joseph's.

All this work of a material character he prosecuted with vigor; yet while it was in progress, he kept the best that was in him for the more spiritual things of

life. Social by nature, and a lover of manly sports, there were to be found almost hourly at his house those who were also interested in providing healthful recreation in the open for the citizenship at large, and the officers of various fraternal and beneficial organizations of Sacramento, as well as from other parts of the state. At the state conventions of those bodies, Father Ellis was no stranger; and he always took a leading part in the debates. He possessed a keen mind and a buoyancy of spirit that imparted itself quickly to his friends and acquaintances; he carried with him a joyous spirit wherever he went, and he had a humorous illustration for well-nigh every circumstance he encountered-a peculiar gift and a characteristic that contributed to putting him at ease with the stranger, and to render him excep- tionally popular with those not of the same house- hold of faith. In the pulpit and on the platform, his wit was instantaneous; and conversely, amid the sad- der aspects of life that confront a priest's ministry, every utterance by him breathed of the pathos his heart felt. He had the rare gift of expressing himself both lucidly and tersely, and although of slight frame, he spoke with clearness of tone that easily extended to the entire audience, who listened to him with pleasure and advantage. Somewhat of the same gift flowed through his pen; and at intervals when his official duties permitted, he contributed articles of historic interest to some of the leading magazines of the United States and of Europe.

At the earliest opportunity after coming to the United States, he became an American citizen, and henceforth concerned himself very much about the outcome of nearly every important national, state and civic question that arose and called for discussion and settlement; and much preferring to make an enemy rather than to be false to any of his convictions, he left no doubt in anybody's mind as to how he leaned on the disputed issue. In his deep devotion to American ideals, and in harmony with the general American outlook on life, he was also most actively interested in the turn of national events in his native land; and this was especially true since the Easter week of 1916. He had a thorough grasp of the phi- losophy and history of the Irish Republican move- ment, and being a stanch champion of civil and reli- gious liberty, he gave the best that was in him, and all that his meager means could afford, to add new impetus to the movement for an Irish republic like unto the United States, founded upon the proper recognition of human rights, and having personally met the leaders of that stormy period of Irish his- tory, that interest in Erin grew until his death. When, too, America entered the World War, his undivided interest was given in favor of winning those things for which we entered the great conflict. At the opening of the Mather Aviation Field, he became chaplain; and one of the most treasured gifts he had was a loving cup presented him by the corps in appre- ciation of his work amongst them.

The work, however, that held the central place in his thoughts was the giving to those who might be sick of body, or sick of mind and of heart, a new hope and a new start; and many a business man grew weary of his importunities to give a chance to one who he thought might yet prove successful; and although almost daily busy on just such errands, he seldom failed in his mission. He had the confi- dence of non-Catholics, as well as of his co-religion-

REVEREND WILLIAM FRANCIS ELLIS

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY

ists; and his work was rendered more effective by this widespread esteem and good-will from his fellow- citizens generally. His frequent visits to the County Hospital were to him occasions of great interest; and he bestowed infinite pains on meeting the various demands made upon him, whether by day or by night, by his charges, so many of whom found in him their one ray of hope.

Being of an unselfish character, all thought for him- self was given only a secondary place, with the result that he took far less care of a frail physique than most men do. Although failing physically, his mind remained buoyant; and to those who visited his dying bed his conversation was not about his regaining strength, which he had come to regard as hopeless, but about the joys and sorrows, and the daily vicissi- tudes of life that interest the majority of people. Be- fore his many friends, therefore, could hardly realize that such a calamity was possible, he breathed his last, .September 6, 1922, at the Sisters' Hospital, in Sacramento. His funeral was held on Monday, Sep- tember 11, from the Immaculate Conception Church, which he had founded; and now his frail body lies in the hallowed clergy plot of St. Joseph's Cemetery. The funeral cortege included Bishop Keane and about a hundred clergymen from different sections of Cali- fornia, as well as representatives From the different organizations of both Sacramento and San Francisco in which he had so interested himself. The various municipal and civic bodies, too, of Sacramento and Sacramento County, regardless of religious bias, also had their representatives there.

Reverend Father Ellis left, to mourn his loss in his own family, four brothers-like himself, all manly men. One is the Rev. John H. Ellis, who has since taken his brother's post at the Immaculate Concep- tion Church; another brother, James P. Ellis, resides in New York; while the Rev. Thomas H. Ellis and Dr. Vincent C. Ellis are both citizens of free Ireland.

THE REV. FATHER JOHN HENRY ELLIS .- Prominent among the distinguished representatives of the Christian clergy whom Californians delight to honor, the Rev. Father John Henry Ellis, the popular pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church, at the corner of Sacramento Avenue and . Thirty-second Street, Sacramento, appeals to an unusual number of his fellow-citizens because of his broad-mindedness and sympathetic, patriotic attitude toward the com- munity in which, since the death of his lamented brother, the late Rev. Father William Francis Ellis, he has become one of the central figures. He was born in Ireland, the eldest of six boys, and received his early education at the Christian Brothers' schools, and his philosophical and theological training for the priesthood at All-Hallows' College, Dublin, in which city, too, he was ordained priest, in Holy Cross Col- lege, on December 24, 1899, by Archbishop W. Walsh.

During the following month, he set out for America and the diocese of Sacramento, in California, and reached here in 1900. His first assignment was to Grass Valley parish; and for two years he served the churches of Grass Valley. and Nevada City. In 1902, he was appointed curate to the Cathedral in Sacra- mento; and ten years later, he was made pastor.

In 1912, after a visit to Europe, he was sent to Jackson; and while there he looked after the spiritual needs of the boys at the Prison School of Industry at lone. He remained at Jackson until 1919; and the

state biennial reports contain the official records of his work at the school. From Jackson he was trans- ferred to Folsom, made pastor of the local church there, and appointed chaplain to Folsom Prison; and the biennial reports published at San Quentin show officially what work he did up to September, 1922, the limit of his stay in that field, where his services were both needed and appreciated.

In that month and year, Father Ellis was appointed to fill the pastorate made vacant by the death of his brother, William, whose inspiring life-story is very properly sketched elsewhere in this volume; and he has remained at his new post of growing responsibility ever since.

GEORGE CENTENNIAL DOBBINS .- Born at Rio Vista, July 4, 1876, George C. Dobbins is the son of James and Delia (Hansbury) Dobbins, early set- tlers in California, who came from Great Britain to make their home in the West; the father, a native of Gloucester, England, came in 1860, and the mother, born in County Galway, Ireland, made the long jour- ney some time later. Settling in Solano County, James Dobbins was a butcher and salmon fisher in the days when the river fishermen used to row a boat loaded with salmon from Rio Vista to Sacramento to market; and for the last twenty years of his life he kept the Russ House and the Riverview Hotel at Rio Vista; he lived to the age of eighty-five, while his wife died aged seventy.

The fourth in a family of five children born to his parents, George C. received his education in the Rio Vista grammar school, and St. Gertrude's Academy; when sixteen years old he started working, and later went into the general merchandise business at Rio Vista, for eight years. Desiring a change of occupa- tion, he was purser on Sacramento River boats for four years, and then for two years engaged as ac- countant for the Southern Pacific Railway, at San Francisco. At the end of this period, Mr. Dobbins took up his present business, that of commission mer- chant, and he is now district manager for the Earl Fruit Company, taking in all the Courtland vicinity.

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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 82

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