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 147

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 147

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John Sanguinetti and his first wife came to California while young and settled at Stockton where John Sanguinetti engaged in truck gardening on land where now stands the Sperry Flour Mills, and his wife passed away while residing there. Subsequent- ly he met and married Maria Podesto and they pur- chased a ranch about six miles northeast of Stockton in the Morado section, consisting of twenty-seven acres of bare land, which was developed to orchard. John Sanguinetti died on that place November 21, 1896, aged fifty-one years, and the home place was divided equally between Mrs. Sanguinetti and his two daughters by his former marriage. Mrs. San- guinetti received thirteen acres as her share of the estate, and two years ago she sold her portion of the old home place. Twelve years ago she had pur- chased twenty acres in the Morado precinct where she now resides, and she has added to her original purchase until she now owns forty-one acres in orchard, vineyard and hay land, which is well irri- gated by an electric pumping plant, thus making it productive, so it brings a fine income. While Mrs. Sanguinetti leases most of her ranch, yet she has demonstrated her ability to make good along agri- cultural lines. In politics she is a stanch supporter of the Republican party. She has seen a great im-

Maria sanguinetti

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provement in the county in the forty-three years of her residence here, Stockton having grown from a small place to a large city with handsome buildings and paved streets. She loves her adopted state and would not be content to live elsewhere.

JOSEPH F. STUART .- In 1912 the Ripon Nur- sery & Improvement Company was established and since that time Joseph F. Stuart has been president and general manager; this company deals extensively in handling large stocks of fruit and nut trees, with headquarters on the Cactus Ranch on the Tracy- Lathrop highway. At the present time this company is featuring the Stuart Prolific Almond as well as the Stuart Prune, both being originated by Mr. Stuart several years ago. He was born near Silverville, So- lano County, October 19, 1864, a son of Daniel S. and Lydia Ann (Philpot) Stuart. Daniel S. Stuart was a Californian forty-niner, who started West, but was shipwrecked at Acapulco, Mexico, and packed and walked across the Isthmus; they encountered severe hardships, and many died from the Panama fever. He arrived in San Francisco, Cal., and went to Ama- dor County, where he engaged in mining, meeting · with considerable success on the North Fork of the American River; in 1850 he returned East and spent seven years at his home in Bangor, Maine; then in 1858 he came around the Horn to San Francisco with his wife and five children and they located on the south end of Grand Island in Sacramento County, where he became a successful horticulturist. The flood of 1862 completely inundated Grand Island and Mr. Stuart and family lost all their personal property as well as the houses and barns, horses, cattle, hogs, etc., includ- ing 1000 cords of wood, which was swept away into San Francisco Bay. Thus bankrupt, he removed to Solano County, and started in anew at Silverville. He and his son A. V. went into the mines again for two years and made a good clean-up. The rest of his life was devoted to farming, and at the time of his death he was rated at from $60,000 to $100,000.

Nine children were born to this worthy pioneer couple: A. V., resides in Ripon; J. E., is a well known artist of San Francisco; Annie, deceased; A. W., re- sides in Sacramento; Mrs. E. V. Coleman, resides in Antioch; Mrs. Walter Brady; Joseph F., the subject of this sketch; Annie, deceased; and Nancy Hunt, re- sides in Los Angeles. In 1883 Joseph F. and his two brothers A. V. and A. W. Stuart removed to Stanis- laus County and engaged in grain farming southwest of Oakdale on the lands owned by T. K. Beard, which they farmed for four years. In 1887, the mother of our subject and A. W. Stuart bought 200 acres near Oakdale, and in 1888 Joseph F. was put in charge. Here he developed a fine orchard of a'monds, peaches, apricots and pears. It was while on this Oakdale ranch that he originated the Stuart almond and the Stuart prune. The Stuart prune is a very valuable contribution to California horticulture. The original tree propagated by Mr. Stuart near Oakdale, Stanis- laus County, is now twenty-seven years old and is still healthy and a good bearer. It is a seedling of the Silver prune, crossed with the Tragedy prune, taking its flavor and color from the Tragedy, but retains the meat, size, and sweetness of the Silver. It is an easy dryer, drying in less time than any other prune of its size. The university test discloses 53 to 55% of sugar-the highest of any prune known. Mr. Stuart has several acres in bearing and finds that the Stuart ripens earlier than the Silver, but a little later than

the Tragedy. It takes less lye to cut them than the French, and they dry quicker and heavier than any other prune.

Thus far, the Ripon Nursery has been unable to supply the demand for this variety, owing no doubt to the fact that growers have found that it returns a greater profit than any other prune. Mr. Stuart continued his operations at Oakdale until 1904, when with his brother A. V. Stuart, he bought 320 acres near Ripon, known as the Ruhl tract; two years later the partnership was dissolved and A. V. Stuart con- tinued in the olive industry and Joseph F. devoted his entire time to orchard development, which was later incorporated in 1912, as the Ripon Nursery & Im- provement Company.

On October 9, 1888, Mr. Stuart was married to Miss Jennie E. Mann, born near Silverville, daughter of Daniel L. and Jane E. (Southern) Mann, both natives of Iowa, who came to California in 1869. The Stuart home was at Ripon until four years ago when they removed to Stockton. Six children have been born to them: Arthur L., is a merchant at Ripon; Ernest F., is a peace officer at Stockton; Raymond S., re- sides in Ripon; Allen E., resides at Ripon; Wesley W., is associated with his father; and Evelyn is the wife of Loren McMullin and they reside in Stockton. Mr. Stuart is a Republican and has always been a strong temperance man and is highly esteemed by all who know him.

THOMAS H. STAGG .- A representative business man of San Joaquin County whose influence in com- mercial circles has increased each year with his own interesting activities, is Thomas H. Stagg, the pioneer harness dealer and auto trimmer of North Main Street, Manteca. He was born in Allegany County, N. Y., on October 24, 1851, the son of Jacob D. Stagg, who came across the plains to California in 1853, and set- tled at Stockton. There, in partnership with R. B. Lane and H. S. Sargent he established and conducted a flour mill on Weber Ave., between San Joaquin and Sutter streets.

Our subject accompanied his mother West by way of the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in Stockton on New Year's Day, 1856. He attended the public schools of Stockton and Santa Cruz, and in 1868 re- turned to Stockton and entered the harness shop of the late Thomas Cunningham, the pioneer and ex- sheriff, where for seven years he worked daily. In 1877, he went to Portland to become a foreman in a large factory; but in 1879, he went to Seattle and was in business until 1885. In 1885, he returned to Cali- fornia and settled at Modesto, and was the foreman for B. Weil & Son, until 1900; on January 1, that year he became a stockholder and department manager in the Turner Hardware Company, at Modesto, and for twenty-one years he was with that firm at Modesto.

At Merced, on April 5, 1875, he was married to Miss Julia Robbins, a daughter of Norman Robbins, a prominent and influential pioneer capitalist at Stock- ton. Four children were born to this fortunate union. Florence married and is the widow of Fred Post; and she resides with her daughter at Stockton. Harry is vice-president of the Turner Hardware Company, at Modesto, and has a wife and two children. Robin has become Mrs. J. C. Adams, and she resides at San Francisco with her two daughters. And Raymond Stagg has a wife and three sons, and is a prominent commercial photographer, with a well-known studio at Los Angeles, being one of the leading artists in his

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line. Mrs. Stagg passed away at Modesto on June 4, 1917, mourned by a wide circle of admiring friends.

After living for thirty-four years in Stanislaus County, Mr. Stagg in September, 1919, removed to Manteca, where he opened a first-class harness and leather-goods shop on North Main Street. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Manteca, is prominent as a Republican and has served on the County Central Committee of that party, and he has been president of the California Retail Harness Manu- facturing Association for the past three years.

JOHN MILAN THORNTON .- For more than a half century John Milan Thornton has been a success- ful agriculturist in San Joaquin County, his ranch- ing activities being in the locality of Escalon. He has been an eyewitness of the growth and development of this portion of the county and in no small measure has aided in its advancement. He was born in Van Buren County, Iowa, January 9, 1850, and is the youngest son of a family of seven children, three sons and four daughters. His father, Calvin S. Thornton, was a native of New York, who migrated to Iowa with his wife in 1840 with wagons drawn by ox teams. In 1861, Calvin S. Thornton with his wife and family started West; their mules and horses were command- eered by the rebel forces and the party was delayed in Missouri for some weeks and when they were ready to resume their journey, their wagons were drawn by oxen. Captain Brown was in charge of the train of 100 wagons. Six months were spent on the way, and they narrowly escaped the Mountain Meadow massacre. Of the 100 wagons that started from Miss- ouri only about twelve completed the journey to Cali- fornia, the others remaining in Oregon. The Thorn- ton family took up their residence on the John Pollock ranch near Bellota and experienced the great flood of 1862, but remained there until 1864; then they farmed near Waterloo until 1866, when they settled in the Lone Tree district. The original purchase was 160 acres of government land, which was mostly farmed to wheat; the first schoolhouse was built on a por- tion of this ranch and there the Thornton children attended school. Since John Milan Thornton was fif- teen years old he has been interested in farming. He was associated with his father, and on his father's death, February 2, 1894, he continued to farm the home place for his mother until she passed away ten years later. In 1878, Mr. Thornton bought eighty acres in the Elliott district of San Joaquin County and this he farmed in conjunction with his father's place.

On January 4, 1886 in Modesto, Mr. Thornton was married to Miss Laura Peatross, a native of Califor- nia, born near Bodega, July 26, 1863, a daughter of William W. and Hester (Phelps) Peatross, the father a native of Virginia and the mother of Illinois; and the father was a California forty-niner. They are the parents of four children: Frank Sumner, also repre- sented in this volume; Ethel H .; Elmer P .; Merle E., resides in Utah. Mr. Thornton has served as trustee on the school board and also on the board of trustees of the Methodist Church at Escalon. He owns a choice ranch of ninety acres near Escalon and owns a fine residence in town where he makes his home; he also owns other valuable real estate. His labors have been effective in promoting the educational, social and material advancement of his community, and he endorses every measure which tends to advance the general welfare.

MR. AND MRS. JAMES HAMLINE HIGH .- In August, 1905, Mr. and Mrs. James Hamline High located in Lodi, Cal., and bought a fifteen-acre ranch in the Kettleman tract, on Cherokee Lane. now known as the High Ranch, where they passed their sunset days in peace and quietness. James Hamline High was born in Hillsdale County, Mich., on April 16, 1844, a son of Hiram and Rebecca P. (Kellogg) High, the former a native of Lyons, N. Y. and the latter of Connecticut, both families living close to the state lines of Connecticut and New York.

The first marriage of Mr. High occurred on De- cember 11, 1867, at Sharon, Mich., and united him with Miss Phebe A. Peck, a native of Michigan and the daughter of Wait and Lucinda (Mills) Peck, both natives of Connecticut, their forbears dating back to Revolutionary days. They were pioneers of Michigan when it was still a territory and the patent to their land was signed by President Andrew Jackson. Mr. High with his young wife settled on a small farm in Cass County, Mo., where they endured the hard- ships of pioneer life in a new country, starting at the bottom round of the ladder. The first great sorrow that entered his life came in March 1870, when his wife died and left him with an infant daughter only ten days old, now Mrs. P. H. Walker of Lodi, the mother of two daughters, Irene and Elizabeth. Mr. High manfully entered into his new task and be- came a devoted, loving father and tenderly cared for the little life entrusted to his keeping. He was of the hardy, vigorous, energetic type and entered into farming and stock raising with zeal and determina- tion, and success crowned his efforts.

Mr. High's second marriage occurred on April 18, 1871, near Harrisonville, Mo., and united him with Miss Elizabeth A. Cook, a daughter of John and Mary (Campbell) Cook, both parents descendants of early Virginian stock who had migrated to Mis- souri in frontier days. She assumed the responsi- bility and care of the daughter and reared her with all the loving care of a mother. After a lapse of fourteen years, during which time the family came to California intending to locate, the conditions not being favorable he, with his wife and daughter, moved to North Dakota, where he engaged in agriculture and sheep raising on a large scale. His land was in the hard wheat belt and products from that vast prairie district were mentioned as coming from the "bread basket of the world." After the hardships of twenty years in the extreme cold north, both Mr. and. Mrs. High began to feel the inroads of the se- vere winters on their health and felt a change was necessary, so they sold the land and stock and after traveling a few years, settled down once more, this time in the beautiful fertile county of San Joaquin, and here Mr. High made a new venture, in a new place, that of viticulture. When they located in this vicinity they became an integral part of all that was good and best in the community. They united with the Congregational Church and devoted their lives to the welfare and uplift of humanity and for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God; they loved their neighbors and friends and always extended the cordial hand to the stranger for the betterment of those around them.

Mr. High was a faithful member of the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar and a Shriner, but his favorite place was among his brothers of the Blue Lodge and he carried its teachings throughout

I. H. High. Mre Elizabeth a. High.

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his life; his "compass" pointed to truth and veracity and his life was measured on the "square" to his fellowmen. Mr. and Mrs. High enjoyed, beside their church affiliation, the social order of the Eastern Star where they found enjoyment in mingling with men and women interested in the affairs of life. In politics he was a Republican, but maintained the in- dependence of personal thinking where he put man above party and principle above platform. He was always vitally interested in local, national and inter- national affairs. He was a student of moral policies and was ever alive for the moral, social and indus- trial welfare of our country.

As the sun goes down on the Western horizon, so he went down at the close of a well-spent life and his posterity rise up to call him blessed. He passed away on October 23, 1917. Mrs. High tarried a few years, but the empty void in her life bore down upon her frail body after her husband departed this life and she quickly succumbed to the ravishes of dis- ease and joined him on July 6, 1920, in "a home not made by hands, eternal in the heavens." Her life was gentle, sweet and lovable and she was endeared to all who knew her. Where her body was frail her mind was strong in the faith of God. While their ashes have returned to the dust of Mother Earth, their spirits have taken flight to the God who gave them and the sweet memories of their lives will abide and live in the hearts of all who knew them.

Lives of great men oft remind us, We can make our lives sublime And departing leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time.

FREDERICK R. POLENSKE,-Since coming to Lodi in 1914, Frederick R. Polenske has built up a splendid business entirely through his own efforts, and now as proprietor of the Service Laundry, his patronage is steadily increasing. Mr. Polenske is a native of Nebraska, and was born at Kenesaw, Adams County, December 25, 1890. His father, Emil G. Polenske, is one of the largest brick manufacturers of the Middle West, and was the founder of the firm of Polenske Bros. & Schellak Brick Manufacturing Company, their plant at Hastings, Neb., having a capacity of 20,000,000 brick per year.

The family removed from Kenesaw to Hastings, Neb., and here Frederick R. Polenske attended the public schools, later taking a business college course. From the age of fifteen he was associated with his father in the brick manufacturing business, remaining there until 1914, when he came to California, locat- ing at Lodi. Here he entered the employ of the Lodi Steam Laundry and after a few months bought a half-interest in the concern. He operated this laun- dry until August, 1920, when he started a laundry business of his own, under the name of the Service Laundry, of which he is the sole owner. He pur- chased a lot at 505 North Sacramento Street and there erected a modern building, especially equipped for this business, and he has been successful from the start, two wagons now being kept busy in handling his increasing trade. He has solicited all his busi- ness personally, and still continues to give individual attention to all its details, a feature much appreciated by his patrons. His first week's receipts were $147, and the twenty-first week showed a business of $480, while the 112th week showed a business of $900, dem-

onstrating plainly that he was living up to his motto, "The best of service."

On July 7, 1914, at Humboldt, Iowa, Mr. Polenske was married to Miss Olga Kuchnast, who was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and they are the parents of two children, Emma Louise and Virginia. Pro- gressive in all his ideas, Mr. Polenske can be de- pended upon to contribute to any movement for the upbuilding of his community, and is a member of the Lodi Business Men's Association and the Na- tional and State Laundrymen's Associations, and the Exchange Club of Lodi of which he is a director.

FRANK SUMNER THORNTON .- One of the esteemed and helpful citizens of San Joaquin County is Frank Sumner Thornton, who occupies the position of assessor and collector in the South San Joaquin Ir- rigation District, having been elected to this office in February, 1919. To his effective work as promoter may be attributed the rapid growth of the business and he has proved his exceptional qualifications for the duties imposed. He was born on his grand- father's ranch near Sebastopol, Cal., October 18, 1883, a son of John Milan and Laura (Peatross) Thornton, natives of Iowa and California, respectively, whose sketch will be found elsewhere in this history.

Frank Sumner Thornton was reared on a farm and began his education in the district school known as the Lone Tree district, San Joaquin County. In 1905 he was graduated from the San Francisco Business College. He then found work as a stenographer and bookkeeper in the Bay City for a short time, when he went to Folsom, where he found employment with the Folsom Development Company, which occupied him for eighteen months; he then removed to Los Angeles to take charge of the Southern California branch of the California Moline Plow Company, and in 1907 was transferred to Stockton in the employ of the same company. On account of impaired health he gave up his position within three months after arriving in Stockton and went to ranching on his father's place near Escalon. The following year he returned to the business college in San Francisco, where he took re- view work, then went to Siskiyou County, and there worked for six months for the Northern California Lumber Company; then he received an offer from the Natomas Consolidated Company at Folsom as billing and shipping clerk, and while in their employ billed out the rock and gravel used on many highways in Central California, the shipments reaching thirty car loads per day. Returning to Escalon, Mr. Thornton again took up the realty business until 1911, when he purchased the Escalon Tribune. This he successfully operated for some four years, when he sold his interest to Mr. Morgenson. Mr. Thornton has also success- fully engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Escalon.

On August 16, 1911, Mr. Thornton was united in marriage with Miss Edna E. Early, born near Stock- ton, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. M. Early, ranchers and pioneers of the Weber district, six miles south- east of Stockton. Mr. and Mrs. Thornton are the parents of three children: Lucille, Evelyn E., and Mil- dred Marie. Mr. Thornton is secretary of the Escalon Water & Light Company and is now a stockholder and director of the company; he was the vice-presi- dent of the Escalon Commercial Club and chairman of the board of trustees of the Escalon grammar school, who have just completed a new $18,000 building. Fraternally, he is a past noble grand of the I. O. O. F.,

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at Manteca and Mrs. Thornton is active in the Parent- Teachers Association of San Joaquin County, the Home Department of the Farm Bureau, the Woman's Improvement Club and the Ladies' Guild of the Pres- byterian Church in Escalon. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thornton are enthusiasts of the outdoor life and a por- tion of each season is spent in the high Sierras or at the seashore with their family.

JOSEPH C. MARSHALL .- A vineyardist of ex- ceptional experience, the outcome of varied and suc- cessful enterprise, is Joseph C. Marshall, better known as Charles Marshall, and in business matters usually signified as J. C. Marshall, a native of Washington, Pa., and now residing on his ranch at the corner of Cherokee Lane and the Galt-Elliott road, some seven miles north of Lodi. He was born on March 8, 1878, a son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Clark) Marshall, natives of Somersetshire, England, who reached America on the sailing vessel "Underwriter," only after surviving three shipwrecks. Frederick Mar- shall was a coal miner in England. He was an or- phan, who worked his way up, step by step, until he became a coal operator in the Pennsylvania mines. In early life he belonged to that class of heroic workmen, laboring under the most trying of conditions, to whom society owes so much for its advancement as well as for its very preservation. He became well-to-do and operated his coal mine on Chartiers Creek, in Pennsyl- vania, but when the Johnstown flood came, it flooded his mine and ruined him financially. Ten children, five boys and five girls, made up the family of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall; and owing to the large number to be fed and clothed, J. C. Marshall early did what he could to aid his parents, and from his eighteenth year made his way alone in the world.

He first became an iron-moulder in Pennsylvania, and later removed to Ohio; then he went to the Man- nington, W. Va., oil fields and became a driller. In 1908 he reached California, and for the next ten years he was at Maricopa in the West Side oil fields of Kern County. He then went to Desdemona, Texas, and later went to Oklahoma and was in the Duke field soon after going to Texas, where he worked in the Desdemona oil fields as a driller.

At Washington, Pa., on April 17, 1900, Mr. Mar- shall was married to Miss Ellen McClain, a native of that same district, the daughter of Samuel and Clara McClain, and of Scotch-Irish descent. One of a fam- ily of six children, she was reared at Washington, Pa., and there attended the grammar school, the high school, and business college. From Duke, Okla., Mr. Marshall returned to California, on December 1, 1920. He had a ranch of twenty acres on the Chero- kee Lane road, about six miles north of Lodi; and having sold that about a year ago, he purchased the old John Quiggle ranch at the corner of the Galt- Elliott road and Cherokee Lane. This ranch has a vineyard of eleven acres on it, and is amply irrigated from an independent pumping plant owned by Mr. Marshall, who likewise maintains a small dairy there.

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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 147

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