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 145

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 145

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Wesley was sent to the rural district school near Independence, and when only fourteen years of age, he started to earn his own living, and left the home of his sister, Mary, the wife of John G. Smiley, a sergeant in the Civil War. He worked for wages on various farms until he was seventeen years old, and then he studied the mechanism of the Singer sewing machine, and became one of the company's adjusters at Kansas City, remaining there until in 1877, when he went to Independence and was in the employ of G. M. Nichol & Bro., until 1880, when he came out to California.

He intended to continue in the employ of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, but after thirty days with the Stockton agency, he took up car- pentering and building with D. M. Chapell, and did so well in the new field that he was very active in Stockton as a carpenter until 1897. Then he went back to the vicinity of his birthplace, and after spend- ing a year in the Middle West, in 1898 he returned to Stockton, but soon went to Lodi, and there worked as a contractor until 1909, when he went to Florida. At Orlando and Jacksonville he again followed building, but in 1919 returned to California. He stayed a short time at Lodi, and then, in June, 1919, moved to Modesto, where he once more took up contracting and building.

Mr. Morris has been twice married. At Kansas City on April 22, 1877, he was united to Miss Joseph- ine E. Pierce, a native of Jackson County, Mo., and the daughter of John and Mary A. Pierce. Her parents came from Knoxville, Tenn., and were early settlers and farmers in Missouri. Again, at Or- lando, Fla., on March 13, 1911, Mr. Morris chose a wife, the lady being Mrs. Mary (Temperence) Houston, a daughter of an Alabama planter. She died on January 30, 1916, near Orlando, Fla. Of Mr. Morris' three children, two are still living. Orie Bliss was well known at Lodi up to 1918 as a poultryman, but he is at present engaged in real estate transactions in Los Angeles. He married

Miss Irene Genevieve Woods and they have four children. Mary Effie, the second child born, has become Mrs. Harry Lansing Boswell of Los Angeles; Mabel Gertrude died at the age of eleven months. Mr. Morris's grandchildren are Gladys Genevieve, Eunice Erma, Nadine Naomi, and Raymond Russell, the offspring of Mr. and Mrs. Orie Bliss Morris; and Harry Lansing, Jr., the child of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lansing Boswell. A great-grandchild is Erma Stella Pearson, the daughter of Roosevelt R. and Gladys Genevieve (Morris) Pearson. Mr. Morris is a member of the Seventh Day Adventists, having been a member of that congregation since 1897. In politics he is strictly non-partisan, voting for the best men and measures regardless of party affiliation.

STITH A. PEARSON .- Prominent among the early-day residents of Waterloo who will always be held in loving remembrance, as they were in their life-time in high esteem, first on account of their high ideals, and secondly because of their years of hard work, self-denial and sacrifice to see those ideals realized, was the late Stith A. Pearson, who passed away, on April 13, 1922, about one month after he had celebrated his ninetieth birthday, from injuries sustained in a fall of fifteen feet from his windmill. He was born in Meade County, Ky., on March 1, 1832, and at the age of eighteen left the home place and engaged in boating upon the Mis- sissippi River, so that tales of his varied and some- times thrilling or amusing experiences with the river craft and river folk of that time were his delight in after years. He was a witness to a good deal in the seamier side of life, and in particular to the ravages of several of the cholera epidemics which swept New Orleans and the lower Mississippi nearly a quarter of a century ago.

In 1851, Mr. Pearson left for California with six head of oxen, and arrived at Stockton in 1852. He remained here a few months, and then left for San Jose; and after a short season of work there, he went to Michigan Bar, where he mined for two years. Buying a team, he freighted to Virginia City; and when he returned to Stockton, he worked as a farmhand for Cole and Dodge, big wheat farmers on the Lockeford Road, beyond the Calaveras River.

On June 3, 1859, Mr. Pearson married Miss Susan Willis, also a native of Kentucky, and they then made their home on the farm seven and one-half miles out on the Waterloo Road. Mrs. Pearson, whose noble character and charming personality al- ways attracted to her a circle of devoted friends, pre- ceded her husband to the grave in 1913, dying on April 12; and when Mr. Pearson came to breathe his last, he too passed away 'on the twelfth day of April. Their farm home was purchased from Captain Weber, and was a very desirable one in many re- spects; and Mr. Pearson became both a successful general farmer and a noted lover of, and breeder of horses, in early days raising many of the best horses in the community.

Mr. Pearson was one of the oldest members of Valley Lodge No. 135, A. F. & A. M., and was an ardent Mason, whose life reflected the ideals of his fraternity. Two sons and three daughters survived him: Charles B. and Jesse W. Pearson are both of Stockton, as is Mrs. P. W. Owen, in maidenhood Nellie Pearson; while Juanita Pearson became Mrs. Henry Harney of Lodi. Miss Violet Pearson still resides at Waterloo. Two of Mr. Pearson's sisters

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also survive. One is Mrs. Amanda Owens, of Por- terville, and the other Mrs. Mildred Collins, who lives at Farmersville, near Visalia. The late W. R. Pear- son of Lodi, who passed away in 1920 at the age of eighty-nine years, was Mr. Pearson's brother.

ALBERT A. GRAY .- One of the most enterpris- ing citizens of Tracy is found in Albert A. Gray, the senior partner in the firm of Gray & Strahorn, doing a transfer and heavy trucking business. He was nicknamed "Billy" Gray the day he started school at Linden, and has ever since been called by that name. He was born at Linden, just east of Stockton, San Joaquin County, on October 16, 1877, the only son of the late William J. Gray, a native of Indiana, who was reared in Iowa and crossed the plains to California with his party in 1862. He located in San Joaquin County and engaged in farming and in years became very wealthy and an extensive land- owner. He married Miss Zula Prather, a native of Missouri, a daughter of the late Philip Prather, who was a pioneer of '49. Just before his death, William J. Gray suffered severe reverses and he passed away in 1890. His wife survived him and now resides in San Francisco.

Albert A. was only thirteen years old when. his father died. He realized his responsibility as the main support of the family, and so took up the farm duties, but through no fault of his, after three years of hard work, he was forced to give up 'the ranch. He then hired out to the McCormick Brothers of Stockton, who were then running a butcher business and a stock business, and there young Gray, then about eighteen years old, did everything from butch- ering to herding sheep, for about a year. He next went to work for his aunt, Mrs. Matilda Prather, who was then one of the largest sheep operators in the county. The next year he served as foreman on the Conrad Ranch.

After his marriage the next fall, he rented- the Gilman Chase place at Valley Springs. In the fall of 1902 he leased the dairy and farmed the Sargent Tract, west of Lodi. He operated extensively as a dairyman and at general farming, and things were coming nicely his way when the flood of 1904 drowned him out and he was worse off than broke. He started in again, moved to Bellota, where he ran 150 milch cows. Feed became short and he was obliged to move seven times in eight months to pro- cure feed for the stock. About this time he fell heir to enough money to start him in farming again, from his father's brother, Tillman Gray. With this money he then rented the George Klipple place at Linden but on account of the dry year following he went broke again. Almost discouraged, he sold off what stock and implements he had and moved to Linden and took charge of the Linden Creamery for two and one-half years and then he went to work for the Associated Pipe Line at Linora until he moved to Tracy in June, 1909. He entered the em- ploy of the S. P. Ry. Co. in their car department, but lost his job in the strike of 1911. He then went to work around town wheeling brick, laying sidewalks, doing carpentering, sewing sacks on threshing ma- chines-anything at which he could make an honest dollar. Those were trying times indeed.

In 1918, in partnership with Mr. J. F. Strahorn, he bought out the Tracy Transfer, which they have since operated under the firm name of Gray and Strahorn.

Mr. Gray's marriage occurred in Stockton on Octo- ber 11, 1900, and united him with Miss Lillian M. Sinclair, a native. of Calaveras County, Cal, and they have one daughter, Ramona. Mrs. Gray's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair, are pioneers of California and now reside at Jenny Lind in Calaveras County. Mrs. Gray has been the successful proprietor of the Hotel Francis in Tracy since 1917; they also own some de- sirable property in Roseville, Cal. The transfer and trucking business has gone through some hard years, but by persistence and industry, the business has been brought to a paying basis. Fraternally Mr. Gray is a member of the Elks, Sumner Lodge of Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias No. 118, and Mod- ern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a pro- gressive Repub'ican, and he was elected trustee of the city of Tracy in April, 1922.

ROBERT FRANKLIN WILLIAMS .- A repre- sentative pioneer citizen and farmer of San Joaquin County, where he has spent his entire life, is Robert Franklin Williams. He owns a beautiful estate of thirty-seven acres seven and a half miles north of Stockton, land which constituted a part of the Wil- liams homestead since his father purchased it in pion- eer times. He was born on this ranch, where he now makes his home, June 19, 1855, a son of Miles and Martha J. (Reed) Williams. Miles Williams was a native of Broad Top, Pa., born September 28, 1801, and was thirteen year's old when his parents settled on a farm in what is now Mansfield, Ohio, where he remained until he was married, in 1835, to Miss Martha J. Reed, a native of Ohio, when he engaged in the mercantile business at Mansfield, Ohio, in company with his brother Robert. He moved from Ohio to Illinois, remained a year, and then went to Batesville, Ark. He engaged in the furniture business and farming, remaining there fourteen years, until 1853, when he started, with his wife and chil- dren, for California. They made the trip overland with a large ox-team train and arrived in San Joa- quin Valley after a journey of six months. They camped six and a half miles from Stockton on the place where Septimus Williams had located in 1849, making quite a city of tents. Septimus Williams was one of the first to settle in this part of the country and he became a very prominent man, serving as supervisor. He was known as Captain Williams, hav- ing been a steamboat captain. Miles Williams, the father of our subject, made his home on the ranch purchased in early days, until the time of his death, which occurred November 26, 1870, at the age of sixty-nine years; his wife survived him until 1901, aged eighty-three.

Mr. and Mrs. Miles Williams became the parents of nine children, seven growing to maturity. E. G. died in 1916, and W. C. also passed away here. Malinda A. was the wife of W. B. White and she passed away in Stockton; Eliza S. was the wife of Alden Spooner, a shipbuilder; she resides at the old home; Sarah E. was the wife of J. P. Spooner, the pioneer photographer in Stockton, and she also resides on the old home place. John E., who was born while the family were crossing the plains, resides on part of the old home ranch, and Robert Franklin is the subject of this . story. He attended the Elkhorn district school and from early boyhood learned the practical lessons of agriculture by doing them. As his share of the estate of his parents, he received thirty-seven acres,

RF. Williams

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

on which is the house where he was born and which is today one of the old landmarks in the county. Mr. Williams is engaged in fruit growing and stockrais- ing on his portion of the ranch, and is meeting with merited success.

THOMAS RICHARDS .- A well known and hon- ored resident of the vicinity of French Camp is Thomas Richards, who has continuously resided in San Joaquin County since 1872, where ten years later he purchased his present ranch, located on Lathrop Road five miles south of Stockton, where he owns a large farm devoted to raising of grain. He was born at Devonshire, England, March 9, 1847, and there received a good education. When twenty years of age he came to America, stopping at Geneseo, N. Y., where he remained for four years, coming to Stockton in 1872, where he entered the emplov of the Stockton Lumber Company, which occupied him for ten years. Desiring to better his financial condition, he purchased 177 acres of the Trailer ranch and, in 1884, ninety-eight acres known as the Gallagher ranch; later he bought an additional sixty-two acres of the Gallagher ranch. Enterprise and intelligent · labor have gained for him an influential position among his fellow citizens in San Joaquin County, and he is reckoned as one of the most substantial men of affairs in his community.

In March, 1884, Mr. Richards married Miss Emily Abell, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of George Abell of Stockton, who came West in 1868. Her father was born in London, England, in 1819 and married Mary Ann Marks. Two sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Richards; William Arthur mar- ried Naomi Rolerson, who died in 1915, leaving two sons, Forest and Arthur; Oscar resides at home and conducts the home place. Mr. Richards has many warm friends in the county, where he has established a reputation as an excellent agriculturist.

ST. PATRICK'S PARISH .- In the spring of 1878 the little church known as St. Patrick's was built at Atlanta, seventeen miles southeast from Stockton. The land for church and cemetery was donated by the late John B. O'Malley, and soon the church, which has become a landmark, was completed and dedicated by Joseph Sadoc Alemany, first arch- bishop of San Francisco. Father W. B. O'Connor, of Stockton, at that time pastor of all the Catholic churches in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, was in charge. Before 1878 the nearest church was in Stockton and occasionally the pastor came and held services in the homes, but for the most part the sturdy pioneers brought their families on Sunday to the parish church in Stockton. In the early '80s a parish was formed at Modesto with Atlanta as a part and Rev. P. Walsh became the pastor. Upon the death of Father Walsh in 1884, Rev. Father McGuire became pastor and remained so for several years, when the well beloved Father O'Connor, under whose direction the church was built, became the pastor. At this time a new front was built and the interior of the church decorated. Father O'Con- nor passed away December 26, 1911, and was suc- ceeded by Father W. E. McGough, and during his ad- ministration more land was donated for cemetery purposes and improvements. Also the beautiful stained glass windows which adorn the church today were donated by Father McGough. They previously belonged to St. Agnes Chapel in Stockton and are

gifts of the pioneers whose names they bear. Four years ago a new parish including Manteca, Lathrop and Atlanta was formed with Rev. John Marchisio as pastor. Recently the church has been thoroughly re- novated, newly painted and more furniture added, the work being done under the direction of the pas- tor. It is worthy of note that through all the vicissi- tudes of time from 1878 to the present this church at Atlanta has remained free from debt and in good standing, and no small credit for this is due to the pioneers, among them being John O'Malley, Michael Carroll, Peter Vinet, Daniel Brennan, Pat- rick Brennan, Thomas Brennan, Michael McCormack, Lawrence Hearty, John Murphy, Cornelius Lamas- ney, John Gannan, Michael Donnelly and Vincent Brignolia.

ELI H. RIDENOUR .- In the long time that has passed, covering more than forty years, since Eli H. Ridenour came to California he has taken an active and helpful interest in the substantial improvement and development of the central section of the state, more especially along educational lines, and is num- bered among the honored pioneers whose intelli- gently directed efforts in early days enabled them to lay a foundation for a commonwealth, upon which has been builded a superstructure of which they have every reason to be proud. His advantages in youth were limited, but he has worked his way upward through perseverance and diligence, overcoming all difficulties and obstacles in his path, and is now one of the substantial residents of San Joaquin County. He was born near Johnstown, Pa., January 1, 1853, a son of George and Martha (Miller) Ridenour. The father, George Ridenour, removed to Clayton Coun- ty, Iowa, when Eli H. was a small child of a year and a half, and was a frontiersman in that. country, purchasing 240 acres of land from a Mr. Potts, who was the original settler of Clayton County. There were eleven children in the family: James, Thomas, Samuel, Alexander, deceased, Emily, deceased, Mary Ellen, Anna Liza, Mark and Richard, deceased, Emanuel and Eli H. The father passed away at the age of fifty-five, the mother surviving him until she was eighty-five years old.

Eli H. Ridenour began his mental training in the public school in the vicinity of his home and after finishing the grammar grades secured a school near his home where he taught for three terms, living at home with his parents during that time. In 1872, he entered the Western College, now Coe College. at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, working his way through this college and graduating în 1880. Immediately after graduation, he received a telegram from the San Joa- quin Valley College at Woodbridge offering him a position as instructor of mathematics, which he ac- cepted, remaining in that position for one year, when he returned to Iowa and in 1881 was married to Miss Delilah Harris at Postville, her native town. She was a daughter of Elisha Harris, an extensive farmer in the vicinity of Postville, and there Mrs. Ridenour be- gan her education, finishing at Western College. Returning to California with his wife, Mr. Ridenour continued as the professor of mathematics at the San Joaquin College at Woodbridge until 1894, when he settled in Stockton and became the principal of the Weber school for one year. Then he became an instructor in the Stockton high school, where he taught for twenty-four consecutive years, resigning

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

his position in 1919 to give his attention to his vine- yard west of Woodbridge.

Mr. and Mrs. Ridenour are the parents uf seven children: Mildred Athena died in infancy; Rheda, Mrs. Buell of San Jose, has two children, Warren Henry and Robert Allen; Hazel resides at home: Alice is Mrs. Woodhull of Stockton; Edith Mignon is Mrs. Del Monte, and with her husband resides on her father's ranch; Dr. Harris Ridenour is an in- structor in the Affiliated College of Dentistry of the University of California at San Francsico; Dr. Irving Ridenour is a practicing dentist at Lodi. In 1902 Mr. Ridenour purchased twenty-eight acres of unde- veloped land west of Woodbridge, which he has de- veloped until it is now a full bearing Tokay vine- yard; this ranch is under the Stockton-Mokelumne ditch. For many years the family have resided at 1900 North El Dorado Street, Stockton and the active management of the ranch is entrusted to Mr. and Mrs. Del Monte. Mr. Ridenour gives his poli- tical allegiance to the Republican party and frater- nally is identified with the Masons Lodge No. 19 of Stockton. His daughter Edith is a member of the O. E. S. In citizenship he is loyal and progressive and favors everything that tends to improve the county, elevate society and advance the educational interests of his state. He and his family are identi- fied with the Central Methodist Church of Stockton, and his influence has ever been given in behalf of public progress and improvement.

FRED J. SCHLEEF .- A native son and lifelong resident of California, Fred J. Schleef is an enterpris- ing agriculturist and vineyardist residing on his beau- tiful ninety-one-acre orchard and vineyard located on the Lower Sacramento Road one mile south of Woodbridge and one and a half miles west of Lodi. His undertakings have been unusually successful, and he is esteemed for his co-operation with all move- ments for the good and advancement of his commun- ity. He was born in San Francisco, October 28, 1883, the son of John and Lena (Brack) Schleef, natives of Germany and California respectively. The father, John Schleef, was a young man when he left Ger- many for America. Arriving in California in 1863, he settled in San Francisco, where he engaged in the wholesale merchandise business. The mother is a daughter of that sturdy pioneer of 1849, Jacob Brack, whose interesting biography can be found on another page of this work. They are the parents of three children: Fred J., Anna and Margaret. His parents are living retired in San Francisco at present.

Fred J. Schleef attended the grammar schools of San Francisco and the California School of Mechani- cal Arts; then entered the University of California, where he studied hydraulic engineering, but did not remain until he had graduated. Removing to Lodi he farmed 750 acres of the Brack estate, which was de- voted to garden truck and grain farming, and which engaged his attention for eight years. He then went to Lathrop and rented 726 acres, engaging in stock- raising and dairying, having an average of 250 cows. Success crowned his labors and industry until the great flood of 1909, which wiped him out completely, so that he was compelled to abandon his dairy. The next year, 1910, he returned to Lodi and built and developed the James Henderson dairy at Brack Sta- tion, where he had 200 acres of land and sixty head of Holstein cows; and he operated this dairy for

six years. From 1913 to 1916 he was superintendent of the Stockton and Mokelumne Ditch Company, and from 1916 to 1919 devoted his entire time to the affairs of this company.

The marriage of Mr. Schleef occurred in San Fran- cisco, Cal., on April 5, 1918, and united him with Miss Lillian Gerard, the daughter of James Steven and Annie C. (Penny) Gerard, and a granddaughter of that old and prominent pioneer, John H. Gerard. She received her education in the schools of San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Schleef are the parents of one daughter, Jean Caroline. In 1919 Mr. and Mrs. Schleef moved to their present home containing ninety-one acres, eighty acres of which Mrs. Schleef inherited when her grandfather's estate was divided, this being a portion of the Gerard tract one and a half miles west of Lodi on the Lower Sacramento Road, now entirely devoted to young vineyard. Mr. Schleef owns a five-ton and a two and a half ton truck, and engages in hauling building material for the various contractors of Lodi. In politics he is a Republican, and fraternally belongs to the N. S. G. W. of San Francisco and the Elks, No. 218, of Stockton.

MRS. CANDIDA GIANNINI .- A pioneer of 1877 is Mrs. Candida Giannini, who arrived in Stockton on January 6 of that year. Before her marriage, Mrs. Gainnini was Miss Candida Bertazzi, the daughter of Joseph and Louise (Rosselli) Bertazzi. Her birth occurred July 7, 1851, at St. Gotthard, Canton Ticino, Switzerland, where her parents were also born. Mrs. Gainnini is the only surviving member of a family of four children. Joseph Bertazzi was a school teacher and a well-to-do farmer in his native coun- try who passed away when his daughter Candida was only nine months old. When she was twenty- four years old she left home for America with a party of friends and upon her arrival in New York she went to live with her sister, Mrs. Rosselli, who had preceded her to America by two years. On Jan- uary 6, 1877, she arrived in Stockton and on the 27th of the same month was married to John Giannini, also a native of Canton Ticino, Switzerland, born March 19, 1837, in the village of Quinto. His par- ents, Antone and Johanna Giannini, were farmers and were the parents of twelve children. When John

Giannini was eighteen years old he accompanied his brothers, Joseph, Balthisar and Andrew and two sis- ters, Elizabeth and Mary, to America. John Gian- nini came direct to San Francisco and later engaged in mining in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties; in the sixties he came to Stockton, where he purchased land in partnership with his brothers Joseph and Andrew, and engaged in grain raising on land now known as the Sunnyside Addition to Stockton. In 1877 the holdings of the brothers were divided, John Giannini receiving twenty-two acres as his portion, a part of which is still owned by Mrs. Giannini. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Giannini; Albina, the widow of Adolph Carigiet, who assists her mother to preside over the home; Alfred, de- ceased, and Celia who also resides at home. Mr. Giannini received his U. S. citizenship papers in Stockton and was a staunch Republican. He passed away on March 1, 1892, honored and beloved by all who knew him. Since her husband's death, Mrs. Giannini has handled the property in a most conser- vative and businesslike manner and it has become one of Stockton's most favored residential sections. In

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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 145

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