History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 103

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

USA > California > San Joaquin County > History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 103

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Political life did not appeal to him, but he was once persuaded to run for office of supervisor, serv- ing from 1880 to 1884, then was elected county treas- urer of San Joaquin County by an immense majority on the Democratic ticket in a strong Republican county, serving from 1884 to 1888.

Mr Gerlach was married in Stockton, September 18, 1862, to Miss Amelia P. Mersfelder, a native of Baltimore, Md., who survives him. She is the daugh- ter of Louis and Amelia (Haupt) Mersfelder, who were born in Germany and came to Baltimore where they met and married. In 1853 they came to Cali- fornia via Panama, landing in San Francisco from the steamer John L. Stevens. They located in Stock- ton, where he opened the Eureka Bakery on Weber Avenue between Eldorado and Hunter. Later he bought property on Channel Street between Hunter and San Joaquin and moved his bakery there, con- tinuing there until he sold out and retired. The bakery is still being operated under the same name, the Eureka Bakery.

The father died here at eighty-two years and his wife died five months before him, aged seventy-two years. Three of their children are living; besides Mrs. Gerlach there are Mrs. Louisa Liegenger of San Francisco, and Mrs .- Laura Hahn of Stockton. Amelia Mersfelder as a child came with her parents via Panama and she attended the public schools in Stockton. The young couple first resided on Chan- nel and Hunter streets for nine years, then moved into the present home at 231 East Flora Street. Their union was blessed with eight children: Emma is the wife of Herbert Baldwin of Stockton; Clara, Mrs. John Kearns of Oakland; Rose, the wife of L. E. Doan, died in Los Angeles; Nellie is the wife of T. V. Morris of San Francisco; Louis F. died at two years of age; Fred C., manager of the Gerlach Live Stock Company in Nevada; Laura F. passed away in 1908; Ethel is the wife of A. B. Lang of Stockton. Mr. Gerlach had four grandchildren: Harold Kearns, L. E. Doan Jr., Louis G. Baldwin and Dorothy B. Lang. Mr. Gerlach was eighty-five years old when he passed away. He was an expert fire- man and was always a Democrat in national poli- tics but independent in local matters. As early as 1895 he incorporated his holdings in Nevada as the Gerlach Livestock Company of which he was presi- dent until he died. Th's corporation is still held by the family and the business being managed by his son, Fred C. His widow is now the president and since his death she continues to occupy the old home surrounded by her children, who assist her in every way to manage the offices left by her hus- band.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

WILLIAM A. SPOONER .- A career of more than ordinary interest and prosperity is that of Wil- liam A. Spooner, among the most successful viticul- turists of the Lodi section, whose expert knowledge of the grape industry has been of great benefit to the community. A native of San Joaquin County, he was born at Stockton, Cal., on January 10, 1878. His father, Alden Spooner, a native of Massachusetts, left his native state when seventeen years of age, with a party of friends who chartered a small whaling schooner sailing from New Bedford, Mass., in the fall of 1849. They sailed around the Horn to California and after landing in San Francisco, where they ob- tained additional supplies, sailed up the San Joaquin River and arrived at Weber Point, near Stockton, on July 4, 1850. He spent some time in the mines in Tuolumne County and later ran a general merchan- dise store there. Upon his return to Stockon, he went into partnership with Mr. Mix in the operation of a planing mill under the firm name of Spooner & Mix. Later he plied his trade of ship joiner with the Cali- fornia Navigation & Improvement Company, and also with the P. A. Buell Company, and became a very familiar figure on the water front for many years. He had married Miss Eliza S. Williams while residing in Stockton, and on September 17, 1894, they removed to Lodi, where they purchased a fruit ranch on Cherokee Lane, on the Mokelumne River. This he later sold to good advantage and moved onto the Williams ranch, where he passed away. He joined the Odd Fellows in San Francisco and was a charter member of Truth Lodge of Odd Fellows in Stockton. There are two children in his family: Clarence E., of Stockton, and William A., our subject. The mother is still living, making her home in Stockton.

As a boy, William A. Spooner attended the Weber and Freemont schools in Stockton, and later was graduated from the Lodi high school. After finish- ing school, he assisted his father on the ranch for a time, but in 1901 he entered the employ of Hender- son Brothers, hardware dealers, as a clerk. In those days the business was small and he was the only clerk. In 1906, the business was incorporated, and three years later the corporation absorbed the Hen- derson interests and Mr. Spooner became the presi- dent of the company, where he remained for eleven years, during which time it became one of the largest hardware firms in the county, at the present time employing twenty men. On July 1, 1920, Mr. Spooner sold his interest and retired from the firm to devote his full time and attention to his realty interests. He is associated with Louis Sanguinetti and James G. Anderson in an eighty-seven-acre vineyard of Tokay and wine grapes, which requires a vast amount of care to bring the most satisfying results.

The marriage of Mr. Spooner united him with Miss Mary L. Anderson, a native Californian, a daughter of James A. and Mary L. (Hummer) Anderson, early settlers of the San Joaquin Valley. They are the parents of one child, William Anderson Spooner. Fraternally, he is past master of Lodi Lodge of Masons, No. 256, and a member of Stockton Chapter, No. 28, R. A. M., of the Stockton Elks, No. 218, and Lodi Parlor, No. 18, N. S. G. W. In July, 1922, Mr. Spooner was appointed a member of the city council to succeed C. A. Rich, and is chairman of the Public Utilities Committee.

THOMAS JEFFERSON GILL .- A native son of the great Golden state, who, by hard, intelligent work has won a place for himself in the business world, is Thomas Jefferson Gill, residing with his family in Stockton. He was born near Liberty, San Joaquin County, on his father's farm, February 17, 1862, a son of W. J. and Elizabeth (Coffer) Gill, the former a native of Lexington, Ky., and the latter of Illinois. His father, who was a minister of the Chris- tian Church, crossed the plains with an ox-team in 1852. He purchased the old Jahant ranch of 160 acres near Liberty and engaged in stockraising; later he traded the ranch and moved to Inyo County and engaged in stockraising there until his death at Inde- pendence; the mother is also deceased. They were the parents of five children of whom three are now living: Thomas Jefferson, the subject of this review; Mrs. W. J. McCowan, of Portland, Ore .; H. D., of Lone Pine; George M, deceased, was Superior Judge of Inyo County; Lafayette, a prominent attorney of Riverside, is also deceased.

In 1885 Thomas Jefferson Gill returned to San Joaquin County where he has made his home ever since. His marriage, which occurred in Stockton, united him with Miss Lulu M. Harris, a native of Stockton, where her father was a pioneer blacksmith. Mr. and Mrs. Gill are the parents of one son, Claude M., an attorney. The latter was educated in Stock- ton, was graduated from the Stockton high school; later studied law and was admitted to practice in 1909; he is a member of the Masonic order. He is married and has one son, Melvin C., also born in Stockton, thus making three generations of the Gill family who were born in that city. Mr. Gill is a strong Republican, and co-operates in all movements for social uplift, as he shows his public-spiritedness in endeavoring to raise civic standards.

PLINY E. HOLT .- When the history of motor- ized artillery is written, Pliny E. Holt and the Stock- ton plant of The Holt Manufacturing company will be accredited with much of the success in modern- izing the United States field and coast artillery. Pliny E. Holt was born in Loudon, Merrimack County, N. H. on August 27, 1872, a son of W. Harrison Holt, the eldest of the four brothers who were the founders of The Holt Manufacturing Company, the other brothers being Charles H., A. Frank, and Benjamin, sons of William R. Holt, who owned and operated a saw mill and lumber business in Merrimack County, N. H. W. Harrison and Charles H. Holt came to California in the late '60s. These two broth- ers saw the opportunity to bring hardwood lumber from the east and sell it at a profit, and in 1871 the Holt Brothers Company was established in San Francisco, conducting a wholesale business in hard- wood lumber and wagon wheels. W. Harrison Holt returned to New England to handle the eastern end of the business. In 1873 a factory was built in Con- cord, N. H., for the manufacture of spokes, hubs, felloes, wheels, bodies and running gear, and in 1883 the Stockton factory was established for the assem- bling of the wheels. In the meantime W. Harrison Holt had removed to Tiffin, Ohio, to look after the lumber interests of the company, which were under his personal supervision until the early '80s, when he retired from active interest in the company and moved to Minnesota; where he resided until shortly before his death which occurred in Stockton in 1903.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Pliny E. Holt was ten years of age when his parents removed to Minnesota, and as a lad attended the public schools and when he had finished high school, entered the University of Minnesota, working his way through by conducting an electrical repair shop in the afternoons and attending his classes in the forenoons. On February 15, 1896, he became associated with The Holt Manufacturing company and from that date until 1906 he was connected with the company in various capacities, generally in the engineering department. During these ten years, he was closely associated with his uncle, Benjamin Holt, the president of the company and its inventive genius, and took a very active and important part in all the experimental and development work of the company, the "Caterpillar" Tractor being the principal product.

In 1905 Pliny E. Holt became the president of the Aurora Engine Company, which was later incor- porated in The Holt Manufacturing Company, this company supplying the gas engines used in the Holt gas tractors. During the years of 1905-09 he was treasurer of the Houser-Haines Company of Stock- ton. In 1909 he went to Peoria, Ill., and established the Holt Caterpillar Company and purchased the Colean plant for the manufacture of the "Caterpillar" Tractor. During the year of 1913, a consolidation was brought about whereby The Holt Manufactur- ing Company absorbed the Holt Caterpillar Com- pany of Peoria, Ill., the Houser-Haines Manufactur- ing Company of Stockton, the Daniel Best Manufac- turing Company of San Leandro and the Aurora Engine Company of Stockton. Mr. Holt then re- turned to Stockton and was made vice-president and general manager of the company.

Early in the great war, Mr. Holt retired from the management of the company and decided to take a well-earned rest, but when the United States entered the war he went to Washington, D. C., to offer his services to the government in the emergency and remained there in charge of important work until after the armistice was signed.

England and France had already adopted the use of the "Caterpillar" Tractor for hauling their heavy artillery and supplies and this innovation in military equipment had proven so successful that the use of these tractors by our own army was determined upon as one of the very first steps in this country's preparation to participate in the conflict.

During the time Mr. Holt was in Washington, he not only supervised the design and building of the "Caterpillar"-ten ton-five ton-and two and one- half ton artillery tractors, but also made the pre- liminary study of the one-man tank, which was later built by the Ford company. He also supervised the work of preliminary design of the 150-ton tank and started work on the 1,500-ton tank, at the re- quest of the Naval Consulting board, which work was finally completed in conjunction with the engi- neers of the Westinghouse company.

In his early connection with the Government work, Mr. Holt continued his connection with The Holt Manufacturing Company and his association with the work was in the nature of an offering of his personal services and those of the company for any disposi- tion that might be of great value to the Govern- ment. Later. as Mr. Holt's mechanical and inven- tive genius came to be more fully recognized, it be- came desirable for him to sever his connection with the company for the remainder of the war and de-

vote his entire time and energy to Government work. He was offered a commission, which, after consid- erable consideration, he declined, feeling that he could be of greater service in a civilian capacity. Gen. C. C. Williams, Chief of Ordnance, then ap- pointed him to serve in a civilian capacity as chair- man of the board organized to handle the production of the "Caterpillar" Artillery program. This ap- pointment became effective July 3, 1918, and Mr. Holt immediately took up the work of developing the "Caterpillar" idea from that of a tractor used to haul artillery, to that of a self-contained unit. the gun being mounted directly on the tractor. The first of this kind was the "Caterpillar" Mark I-Gun Mount, which carried an eight-inch Howitzer, weighed 58,000 pounds and had a road speed of one to four miles per hour. The "Mark II" and "Mark III" were developed later. The "Mark IV" was a slight de- parture from the other models. The armistice was signed about the time the first four models were completed. The astounding success of these ma- chines indicated that they would constitute the com- ing type of artillery.

Mr. Holt then returned to California to continue this work at the Stockton plant of The Holt Manu- facturing Company, and the "Mark VII" was de- signed and built there during 1919. This mount car- ried a seventy-five millimeter gun and achieved a speed of eighteen miles per hour. Later this mount was equipped with a water-proofed motor, which enabled it to travel at a considerable depth under water, making it possible to cross rivers. The "Mark VI" was also completed early in 1921 and in test runs reached a speed of thirty-one miles per hour, a test run being made from Stockton to San Fran- cisco and return which was successful. Firing tests of the Howitzer were successfully made at Fort Scott. It means much to Stockton to be the home of such an achievement and this city may well feel proud of Pliny E. Holt and the service he has given his country. As a result of his zeal and loyalty, America today is in a position, if occasion should demand, to launch a war program of artillery construction which no other nation in the world can match on short notice.

Mr. Holt is now in charge of all engineering work at the Holt plant, taking up the work of the late Benjamin Holt. He was the first president of the Good Roads Association of California and is a pio- neer in the development of highways which have made California famous all over the world. During the years when he was first connected with The Holt Manufacturing Company in an executive capac- ity, he was vice-president of the Chamber of Com- merce of Stockton.

Mr. Holt's marriage united him with Miss Florence Guernsey, a native of Stockton and a daughter of a San Joaquin County pioneer, and they are the par- ents of four children. Pliny Guernsey, Frank Har- rison, Richard Eastman, and Harriet. Fraternally he belongs to the Morning Star Blue Lodge of Masons and all branches of Masonry, including Aahmes Temple of Oakland; is a member of the Stockton Elks, the Rotary Club, being one of the first members to join the local order; a member of the Stockton Golf & Country Club, the Yosemite Club and the Union League Club and Transporta- tion Club of San Francisco.

638

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

EDWARD P. WILSON .- A prosperous and en- ergetic farmer whose activities along agricultural and viticultural lines have brought him success is Edward P. Wilson, on the Waterloo road. His birth oc- curred in Madison, Wis., February 14, 1876, the third child in a family of thirteen children born to Robert Jacob and Mary (Conlin) Wilson, the former a na- tive of Wisconsin and the latter of Massachusetts. Robert Wilson's parents settled in Wisconsin in early days and there Robert grew to manhood and took part in the Black Hawk and Mexican wars. He owned and conducted a wholesale grocery business in Madison for many years and passed away there at the age of seventy-four. The mother of our subject is still living. Edward P. Wilson received his educa- tion in the schools of his native city, then spent two years at the University of Wisconsin, where he pur- sued a mining engineering course. At twenty-three years of age he came West and engaged in mining engineering at Thunder Mountain, Idaho, and at various points in the northwest.

In Stockton, July 13, 1905, Mr. Wilson was mar- ried to Miss Bertha L. Jones, a native of San Joaquin County, born five miles from Stockton on the Upper Sacramento Road, a daughter of Hiram M. and Lovina S. (Morton) Jones. Hiram M. Jones was born in White Hall, N. Y., and in the winter of 1849 crossed the plains with an ox team to California; subsequently he made fourteen trips to the East, bringing back stock each trip. He was engaged in mining and farming and also kept a store in the early days. For two years he lived in Prescott, Ariz., and he is known as one of the men who laid out the site of that mining town. Hiram M. Jones' first marriage occurred in Santa Clara County and four children were born of this marriage: Filmore and Fremont are twins and both live in San Joaquin County; Mary and Semore are deceased. Mr. Jones next moved to San Francisco, where he conducted a dairy busi- ness for some time, then about 1873 came to San Joaquin County and settled five miles northeast of Stockton, where he thereafter resided. The ranch on the Upper Sacramento Road was the home place and he also owned 480 acres at Escalon and a third ranch of 300 acres at Linden. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Jones was married the second time, and Mrs. Wilson is the only child of this marriage. Hiram M. Jones lived to be seventy-nine years old, dying June 26, 1905, and his wife died when seventy-six, February 14, 1917. Mrs. Wilson was educated in the Stockton grammar and the San Francisco Poly high school and at the death of her parents inherited the home place, where she now makes her home.

During the Spanish-American War, Mr. Wilson was a member of Company G, First Wisconsin Vol- unteer Infantry in the Fifth Army Corps under Gen- eral Shafter; later he was placed in the Seventh Army Corps under General FitzHugh Lee. During 1898-99 he was in the Cuban campaign, entering as a private and was advanced to second lieutenant. After the war, Mr. Wilson removed to Tonopah, Nev., where he became mining engineer for the Tonopah Mining Company; at that time this company owned the largest silver producing mine in the West. In 1913, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson removed to the ranch where they now reside, consisting of 120 acres of rich land, a portion of which is in vineyard and the balance is

devoted to grain raising. A system of irrigation fur- nishes ample water for the entire 120 acres. Mr. Wilson served as assemblyman for two terms in Nye County, Nev., and he is fraternally connected with the B. P. O. Elks No. 1062 of Tonopah, Nev., and politically is a stanch Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of one son, Pliny Edward Wilson.

ELISHA HOLT FINE .- In a history of agricul- tural development of San Joaquin County mention should be made of Elisha Holt Fine, that worthy pioneer who began his farming activities in the coun- ty fifty years ago. His death on March 14, 1921, marked the passing of a progressive and influential citizen of the Linden district of the county. His career was crowned with a gratifying success which he had honorably won and his exemplary life could well be imitated by future generations. His birth occurred in Lafayette County, Mo., November 28, 1836, on his father's farm, where he was reared to young manhood. In April, 1853, the family started across the plains to California, driving a herd of cattle and five months later, in September, they ar- rived in San Jose with about eighty head, having lost a great many. They encountered considerable in- convenience crossing the plains on account of the scarcity of water, but reached their destination with no serious trouble with the Indians. The family set- tled at Mayfield, where they remained for a few years, then moved to Contra Costa County and lo- cated in Moraga Valley, where they acquired ex- tensive grazing land and engaged in the stock busi- ness on a large scale; Mr. Fine for years ran his stock in San Luis Obispo and Tulare counties main- taining a large number of cattle. During the dry years of 1864-5 he suffered severe reverses, but with true, pioneer spirit he met and overcame them.

The marriage of Mr. Fine occurred in Tulare County, September 22, 1864, and united him with Miss Martha Ann Blair, also a native of Missouri, born January 9, 1847. At ten years of age she ac- companied her parents across the plains to Califor- nia. her father, Rev. Jonathan Blair, being a Presby- terian minister. They landed in Red Bluff, Cal., but their destination was the Sonoma Valley. Mr. Fine continued to reside in Moraga Valley until 1872, when he sold out and located on a ranch. at Linden, where he reared his family of six daughters and one son. When Mr. Fine came to the ranch some of it was heavily timbered, which in time he cleared and in 1895 he planted orchards of prunes, peaches and apricots. The home ranch consists of 220 acres northeast of Linden and the improvements and developments which Mr. Fine accomplished on this ranch were indicative of his industry and thor- oughness. He served as a trustee of the Linden school and was an honored member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge. His family were members of the Meth- odist Church. South, of Linden. On March 12, 1920, the home was darkened by the passing of the wife and mother and on March 14, 1921, Mr. Fine passed away, sincerely mourned by the entire community where he had labored so faithfully for forty-nine years. After the parents' death the ranch was di- vided among the heirs, the portion with the fam- ily residence being now the property of Miss Lena

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& HleFine

Martha An Fine

643

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

E. Fine and her thirty-three-acres, nearly all orchard, is among the choicest properties in this section of the county, and she is a worthy representative of this honored pioneer.

IRA W. LADD .- Passing away in his seventy- ninth year, Ira W. Ladd left behind him a record of success and great worth and esteem among all with whom he had had relations of a business or personal character, and it is safe to say that few of the California pioneers passed their careers in great- er usefulness to home and community than did Mr. Ladd. He came to California seventy years ago, when a lad of about fifteen years, but sturdy and in- dependent, and from the first showed his ability to paddle his own canoe He came. to California with his brother, the late George S. Ladd, in 1852, com- ing via Panama from Vermont, his native home and the abode of his ancestors for some generations back. His father, Seneca Ladd, had come from Ver- mont to California in 1850, but had returned to old home state in the same year that his sons ventured out to seek their fortunes in the Golden West. Sene- ca Ladd remained in Vermont until his death, in 1868. His wife was Parmelia Esterbrook, and they were both natives of the Green Mountain state.

Ira W. Ladd was born in Caledonia County, Vt., February 26, 1837. He was deprived of his moth- er's tender care when he was nine years old, and all conditions worked together to push him out of the home nest at an early age, thus he became very self reliant. He lived in his native state receiving a good education and when he was fifteen years old, he joined his brother on the ever memorable voyage to the Western Coast. For several years after arriving in this state he was engaged in various lines of employment. In 1856 he came to Stockton, and for some years thereafter was engaged principally in freighting from that point to the Southern mines. During the '70s he located on the ranch now owned by his daughter, Lillie I. Ladd, where with the ex- ception of a few years spent in Stockton he resided and centered his activity until his death in 1916. The home ranch comprises 368 acres of land under an excellent state of cultivation, and he also owned 800 acres in Solano County as well as land in Fres- no and Merced counties.

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History of San Joaquin County, California : with biographical sketches of leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 103

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849 Publication date: 1923 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1660

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660