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 149

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 149

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WILLIAM F. VON SOSTEN .- A thoroughly ex- perienced farmer, whose intelligence and industry have earned for him and others a well-merited pros- perity, while his uprightness of character and general dependability have won for him the confidence of all who know him, is William F. Von Sosten. He was born on his father's ranch four miles west of Tracy on January 4, 1871, the eldest son of the late Fred- erick and Anna (Finck) Von Sosten, honored pioneers of the West Side.

William F. received his education in the Lammers- ville district school. While yet a youth the farm work became so heavy that he was obliged to leave school and devote his full time to the ranch work, and this he did until his marriage.

Mr. Von Sosten's marriage occurred September 7, 1898, and united him with Miss Kathrine Hansen, a daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hansen, honored pioneers of the West Side section of San Joa- quin County, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Von Sosten was born on the Hansen ranch and was reared and schooled in the Lammers- ville district school, she and her husband being school mates. They are the parents of four children: Fred W., passed away at the age of six years; Edna C .; Ethel A .; and Hazel Marie. All their children were born on the ranch near Bethany and all are being edu- cated in the schools of Tracy. During the years of 1898 to 1900, Mr. Von Sosten engaged in farming at Union Island, the chief crops being wheat and barley. In 1901 he returned to Bethany and successfully en- gaged in grain farming and stock raising and is the owner of 236 acres of rich farming land, in the West Side Irrigation District. In 1911, a modern family residence was completed from plans drawn by Mrs. Von Sosten and on Thanksgiving Day of 1911 a house warming, christening and family reunion was held in the commodious residence, located on Eleventh Street, Tracy, which is beautiful in appointment and furnish- ings. Fraternally, Mr. Von Sosten is an active mem- ber of the Knights of Pythias, having served as secre- tary of that organization for eight consecutive years. He has been an active advocate of irrigation and was the first secretary of the West Side Irrigation District, serving until 1917; from 1914 to 1916 he served as city trustee of Tracy; and he also served as school

director while residing in Bethany and in Tracy as well. He is a member of the West Side Pioneers Society and politically he is a Republican. Mrs. Von Sosten is a charter member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, of Tracy Parlor, and is past chief of the Pythian Sisters of Tracy. Both Mr. and Mrs. Von Sosten have contributed generously to churches and benevolences and are members of the Red Cross. The family stand high in the whole community, a tri- bute to their useful citizenship.

CAPTAIN JOHN T. CURREY .- A pioneer mas- ter mariner, who has seen many years of service on San Francisco Bay and its tributaries, Capt. John T. Currey is widely known in the Delta district and a familiar figure in shipping circles. Jack Currey, as he is familiarly known by his friends, was born in Lebanon, Ky., February 5, 1868, a son of James Edward and Mary Ellen (Hayes) Currey, na- tives of Ontario, Canada, of Scotch and Irish descent. James E. Currey was the superintendent of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and made his home meanwhile in Kentucky. During the Civil War he served as a non-commissioned officer in the engineering department. Contracting a disease dur- ing the service he passed away soon after the war. His widow afterwards moved to Minnesota, where she passed away. Jack Currey received his educa- tion in the public schools and St. John's Academy in Louisville, Ky. In 1882 he went to St. Paul, Minn., and entered the railroad business with the Northern Pacific Railroad, working in the various departments and gaining an extensive knowledge of the trans- portation business. For some time he was traveling auditor for the company, but resigned in 1892 to come to California.

Locating in San Francisco, Captain Currey was for five years engaged in the coal and grain brokerage business. In 1897 he entered the employ of the Cali- fornia Navigation & Improvement Company, and since that time he has been prominent in transporta- tion circles of the Bay. He ran on the steamboats from San Francisco to Stockton for about ten years, occupying various posts, as mate, purser, pilot and captain, and so became familiar with every develop- ment of this part of the Bay. The last boat of which he was captain was the Leader. In 1907 he became associated with Capt. Ben Walters in the organization of the Island Transportation Company with head- quarters at Stockton. The officers are among the best- known men in shipping circles on the Bay and Captain Currey is the efficient traffic manager. The splendid service rendered by this well-organized com- pany has been a great aid to the steadily expanding Delta country.

The plans for the development of Stockton harbor, giving it advantages comparable in many ways with that of San Francisco, will add millions of dollars' worth to the freight and passenger traffic of Stock- ton, and the Island Transportation Company will keep pace with this development by increasing the equipment and efficiency of their passenger, express and freight service, constructing larger terminal fa- cilities and expanding their service into new terri- tory. Operating throughout the Delta and surround- ing sections of Stockton and other points, this com- pany has provided a rapid and regular service, which is giving general satisfaction. The Stephens Broth- ers' Shipyards of Stockton have built for them a number of new boats, among them being Delta,

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, elegant and comfortable boats constructed for passenger service. They are twin screw motor vessels, costing about $15,000 each, with a. speed of 22 miles an hour and having a passenger capacity of 125 each. Six powerful tug boats, the Island Emperor, Island Empress, Island Count, Island Countess, Island Duke and Island Duchess, each of 100 horsepower, enable the company to handle any contract in this line with efficiency and expedition. The fleet is headed by the well- known steamer, H. E. Wright, and commodious of- fices are maintained by the company on Stockton Channel. No small degree of the success this com- pany has made is due to the popularity of Captain Currey, whose years of thorough experience in the field of transportation and his special knowledge of the demands of this section have made him an in- valuable asset. Popular in fraternal circles, he is a member of Stockton Lodge No. 218, B. P. O. Elks, and of the Yosemite Club, Country Club, and Kiwanis Club of Stockton, and the Merchants Exchange Club of San Francisco.

WILLIAM SCHLOSSMAN .- A deep student of political economy who has become a strong advo- cate of irrigation, and has thereby wielded an en- viable influence for the public good, is William Schlossman, president of the board of trustees of the West Side Union high school. He was born in North Riga, on the Baltic, on June 22, 1866, and owing in part to the foresight of his father and moth- er, received what was then called a good common schooling; and after graduating from the Gymnasium at Riga, he entered the College at Dorpat, in 1884, majoring in economics. Owing to family reverses, however, he was forced to abandon his college course; and when death took away his mother, early in 1887, he entered the employ of a large wholesale and im- porting house of raw-silk stock and other products of the East Indies, China and Japan, and for two years he was engaged in the purchasing agent's de- partment. He made two trips to the Far East, by way of the Suez Canal.

In February, 1889, Mr. Schlossman landed at San Francisco, after a boisterous trip around the Horn, intending at first only to make a short visit and then to return to his post as purchasing agent; but after a careful survey of conditions in San Francisco, he resolved to tarry indefinitely. In April of that year he pushed inland into the San Joaquin Valley, and with the exception of five years, from 1902 to 1907, when he was engaged in real estate in San Francis- co, he has made Tracy his headquarters and home. The fire, following the earthquake of April 16, 1906, swept away his fortune; and in 1907 he removed to San Joaquin County for good. He took up construc- tion work with the engineers' department of the West- ern Pacific, and was for five years in charge of the Stockton-Livermore division. In 1908 he acquired his ranch of 160 acres, and he has since devoted a part of his time and energy to agriculture.

Naturalized at Stockton by Judge J. H. Budd, in 1896, since which eventful moment he has worked for better citizenship under the banners of the Re- publican party, William Schlossman has made a worth-while contribution to the building up of the West Side. He has been particularly active in labor- ing for better schools, and were it not for such men as the late Dr. J. S. West, one of the broad-minded and progressive veterans who helped to lay the found-

ations of this region, George J. Luhrsen, and our subject, the movement in 1910 for a West Side Union high school might never have taken place. Now the section enjoys an institution said by many to be at least fifteen years ahead of the average high school to be found in other like localities in the state. Mr. Schlossman has served as president of the board of school trustees since 1917.

At San Francisco, on February 16, 1903, Mr. Schlossman was married to Mrs. Matilda Gerlach, who has resided in California since 1880, and one child was born to them, Elsie. She is the wife of Arthur F. Michel, and they have two children, Billy and Florence, and reside at Oakland. Mrs. Schloss- man's maiden name was Matilda Grell, and she was born in Saxe-Meiningen, being a daughter of Chris- tian and Katherine (Lammerhard) Grell, her father being a prominent mason and storekeeper at Salt- zungen. Her mother died when she was only thir- teen years of age. She was married to her first husband, William Gerlach, July 7, 1881, and became the mother of four children by her first marriage: George is a rancher residing in the West Side Irri- gation District; Ford is in Napa; Rudolph died when thirty years of age at Tracy; Frieda is the wife of Francis Jack Norman and resides in Oakland. Since 1904, Mr. Schlossman has been a member of the I. O. O. F., and is a past noble grand of the Sumner Lodge of Tracy, and only recently he resigned the office of secretary, after five years of continuous service, whereupon, on the evening of July 16, 1921, he was presented with a beautiful silver tea service as token of the high esteem in which he was held by his fellow Odd Fellows. He is also a member and a past officer of the Encampment. Mr. Schlossman was secretary of the Tracy Chamber of Commerce for ten years. He resigned that position in 1910, in order to take up the secretaryship of the Banta-Car- bona Irrigation District, which comprises 18,000 acres.

WARWICK W. WEST .- On Central Avenue, in the heart of the prosperous city of Tracy, is found Joseph S. West & Son's handsomely appointed con- fectionery and ice cream parlor, one of the most popu- lar places of the West Side country. The business is now owned and conducted by Warwick W. West, who was, for many years, associated with his father, the late Joseph S. West, a pioneer merchant, a man whose name is endeared to the people of the Tracy country because of his many charities, and kindly, noble acts.

Warwick W. West was born in Colusa, Cal., on March 21, 1884, a son of Dr. Joseph S. and Anna Augusta (Hasker) West, both now deceased. War- wick was reared and schooled in his native city and was graduated from the Colusa high school in 1905, when he removed to Tracy, whither his parents had preceded him the year before. He obtained employ- ment with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company which occupied him for a short time; then entered the employ of the Mt. Diablo Light & Power Com- pany, and still later the Pacific Gas & Electric Com- pany at their power house at Colgate and De Sabla, these positions covering a period of six and a half years. He then returned to Tracy and became a part- ner in his father's business and has taken the active and sole management of same since 1914.

The marriage of Mr. West united him with Miss Ruth A. Moore, a daughter of Mrs. Virginia Moore of Tracy, who came to California in 1918 from Kan- sas City, Mo. They are the parents of one son,

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Walker W. Mr. West is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Tracy and was recently initiated into the Tracy Lodge of Odd Fellows. He is one of the most energetic young business men of Tracy and is a loyal worker for its steadily growing interests.

WEST SIDE UNION HIGH SCHOOL .- Few the destiny of the younger and fast growing commun- ities than has the West Side Union high school. The excellent standing of this institution as an accredited high school admitting students to colleges and uni- versities without further examinations meets the en- tire satisfaction of all concerned. The high standard of this school is partly due to the scholarly and untir- ing work of its former principal, George Wadsworth.

institutions of learning have done more to help shape . her present position among the municipalities of Cali-

The grounds include ten acres facing the recently completed Lincoln Highway. A group of fine con- crete buildings have been erected at a cost of $200,- 000 and are an excellent monument to the energetic citizens of Tracy and the West Side. There are ex- cellent facilities for athletics, including a new gym- nasium, concrete tennis courts together with football gridiron, baseball ground and field for track and all other events. The gymnasium that has just been com- pleted represents a financial outlay of $45,000, the equipment of this department being modern and com- plete in very sense.

The high school course includes four years' work,. beginning with the ninth and extending through the twelfth grade. There is also an opportunity for. a year's post-graduate work and it is, expected that this will be extended as the opportunity offers itself. As a modern high school the program includes in addition to the regular academic courses, a commercial depart- ment, a department of home economics, music depart- ment, manual arts, including machine shop, auto mechanics, woodwork and mechanical drawing. The physical education and athletics department is under the supervision of a man employed especially for that work.

All student affairs are in charge of a representative body known as the executive committee; with the approval of the administration their decision is final. The high school at present is under the administration of H. O. Williams as principal and the remainder of the faculty is as follows: vice-principal, L. E. Rich- ards; Mr. Richards has charge of the science depart- ment; Miss Leila Sloan, History; Miss Ruth Temple- ton, home economics; Miss Elizabeth Wetmore, com- mercial department; Miss Minerva Turner, English; Miss Alice Sharp, Spanish; Mr. W. F: Drew, manual arts; Mr. A. J. Fagin, physical education department; and Mr. A. A. Graham has charge of the instrumental music and is the conductor of an orchestra of twenty- five pieces. Each one in the faculty is a specialist in his department and the citizens of the West Side have every reason to feel proud of the continued advance- ment that has been and is being made by the school.

Vocationalized ideas of education are growing in high schools through the country and the West Side Union School is not lacking along this line in the op- portunities it has to offer students. The most excel- lent opportunities in all departments are being offered not only in the day school but in the evening classes as well. In addition to the regular day school courses that are offered, courses in Americanization are taught in the evening school. Gymnasium classes for the business men and women are proving very attrac-

tive. From the present indications the West Side Union high school promises to keep abreast with the modern ideas of education.

CHARLES A. BLACK .- One of the most saga- cious, versatile and public-spirited men who have as- sisted materially in bringing the city of Lodi up to fornia, is Charles A. Black, conspicuous for his worth and ability. He was born in Alleghany Coun- ty, Va., in 1851, and when three years of age, his parents removed to Monroe County, where he was reared and educated, remaining there until 1881, when he removed to Tazewell County, Va., and en- gaged in farming in the Abbs Valley. He started a dairy with five cows and when he sold out in 1904 he had 323 acres of fine land in native grass, well stocked with cattle, sheep, hogs and dairy cows, and was one of the most prominent and influential men in the county. He was a member of the road fund committee and served for two years, using his ef- forts and influence for a bond issue of $100,000 for road improvements; he also served for nine years as a member of the school board and through his ef- forts the school district became solvent. Mr. Black, from early boyhood, was obliged to depend on his own resources and by thrift and industry won an en- viable position in the community. When he arrived in Tazewell County, he was in debt, but honest toil and close application to business brought him the reward he so richly deserved. When he purchased his farm, an old colonial house was on the place; this he improved with additions and made it one of the finest residences in the county. In 1881 he drove the first stake for the survey of the Pocahontas coal district which has become the famous steam coal district of Virginia. The first vein opened was twelve feet thick and produces the best steam coal in the world.

Mr. Black first visited California in 1901; and in looking for a location in which to make his perma- nent home, he selected Lodi as being best fitted for his needs. Returning to Virginia, he disposed of his holdings for a handsome sum and in 1904 he per- manently settled in Lodi, purchasing the Steven Wil- liams place east of the city, consisting of ten acres in Tokay grapes, with a new house on the property. At the time of purchase he paid $750 per acre, the highest price paid for a vineyard at that time. Two years later he sold his farm at a good profit and purchased a block in the city on South School Street, consisting of two and one-half acres. He has since disposed of all of his real estate with the exception of his home place. Mr. Black then became actively associated with the fruit and grape packing industry, his first active work being with Wilson H. Thomp- son in the Pacific Fruit Exchange; later he was with the Acampo Packing Association and also with the San Joaquin County Table Grape Growers Associa- tion of Lodi. He was made chairman of the stand- ardization committee of Lodi, whose duties were to pass on the fruit and grape packs. He was elected chairman of the board, thus becoming mayor of the thriving and prosperous city of Lodi. During his last term of office, many substantial and permanent improvements were made, among them being the municipal bath house, and the land for the city park was purchased and improved, adding greatly to the attractiveness of the city and comfort of the citizens.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Much-needed improvements were made on the streets during his tenure of office that are of lasting value to the city.

Mr. Black's marriage on November 17, 1880 united him with Miss Princess Palmyra Moore, a native of Virginia, a descendant of the historic Moore fam- ily of Tazewell County, who settled there in early days, suffering the privations and discouragements of pioneer life. Mrs. Black is a daughter of Andrew P. and Nancy Cummings Moore, farmers in Tazewell County, Va. Her grandfather, James Moore, was captured by the Indians when a lad of fourteen years and taken to Ohio. At Chillicothe the Indians traded him to a French Canadian for an old gray horse and he was taken to Canada. In due time his relatives discovered him and he was returned to his old home. Meanwhile, two years after his cap- ture, the Indians made a raid into the settlement. Great-grandfather James Moore was shot and killed and the great-grandmother of the subject was burned at the stake and several of the children were killed. Mr. and Mrs. Black are the parents of three chil- dren: Mrs. Ora L. Stille; Glen A., a graduate of Heald's Business College and an all-round mechanic, who during the war was for four years in the employ of the Holt Manufacturing Company as a mechanic; now he is field superintendent for the Pacific Fruit Exchange; Charles C. completed his education at Heald's Business College and when eighteen years of age entered the First National Bank of Lodi as bookkeeper, being later promoted to assistant cash- ier of the Central Savings Bank. When the Citizens Savings Bank was established he accepted the post of assistant cashier, a place he has since filled. The three children are all residents of Stockton. Frater- nally Mr. Black is a member of Lodi Lodge No. 256 F. & A. M., while Mrs. Black is a member of the W. R. C .; both are members of the Methodist Church.

JOHN F. LAYMAN .- Of the hardy pioneers who settled in the wilds of the Golden State in the early days none were more worthy than the late John F. Layman, who passed away February 25, 1922, at the age of eighty-eight years. He was born in Ohio, January 7, 1834, a son of John and Francis (Fry) Layman, who were farmer folk there. At Bloomfield, Iowa, March 19, 1861, Mr. Layman was married to Miss Phoebe Dieffenbach, a native of Bavaria, Germany, and a daughter of Jacob and Katherine (Nauert) Dieffenbach, both born in Ger- many, and farmers there. When Phoebe was eight years old, her parents left Germany for America. They first settled in St. Louis, Mo., where they re- mained only three months, and then moved to Lee County, Iowa, and later to Davis County, where Phoebe met and married John F. Layman. Mr. and Mrs. Layman's eldest son, Joseph, was born in Iowa, and when he was six months old Mr. and Mrs. Layman started across the plains intending to go to the state of Washington but en route they changed their minds and came to California, arriv- ing here in the spring of 1863 bringing with them two spans of horses. The family traveled over the central route through Utah and Nevada where the Union Pacific Railroad now runs. By chance they stopped at what is known as the Fowler Ranch, southwest of Lodi, where Mr. Layman was asked,

in keeping with the early California hospitality, to remain a few days until his teams were rested. It was during this period that he made a trade with a man named William Spencer for 160 acres of land for a span of his horses. The land was then all covered with brush, so thick in places that a passage could hardly be forced through it. West of his land, however, there were more open places sprinkled with magnificent oak trees. As Mr. Layman's ranch was covered with brush, he leased several acres from a man named Wardrobe, who owned the land east of his, and went into debt for seed barley at one dollar a bushel, purchased from John Levinsky at the store in Woodbridge. His bill at the store this year was $700, including seed and groceries, which at the end of the season he paid for in full. He then purchased eighty acres more of land at two dollars and fifty cents an acre. During this first year Mr. and Mrs. Layman lived in a little rude cabin without a floor, and with the crude furniture of the time. It was located near what is now known as Sacramento Street on West Walnut Street. Mr. Layman in time came to own what is now most of the western part of the city of Lodi, including 240 acres lying west of what is now the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks and north of Lodi Avenue and the Sargent road. However, in 1867, he sold his entire holdings to Allen Ayers for $6.50 an acre. He then removed to Merced County, and later to Lake County, but finally came back to Lodi, where he leased 160 acres from John Pope and raised a crop of barley. Then he returned to Merced County and bought 500 acres of wheat land. Mr. Layman crossed the plains, or a good part of them, several times. He was in the mining business in Colorado in 1859, and returned from there to Iowa and was married. He passed away at his home at 333 East Walnut Street, Lodi, on February 25, 1922, leaving his widow, Mrs. Phoebe Layman, and six children. Joseph D. Layman, librarian in the University of Nevada at Reno, is married and has five boys: Randall, a civil engineer, of Los Angeles; Harold, a professor in the schools of Kansas; Oliver, a C. E, residing in Los Angeles; Everett, an attorney in San Francisco, and Theo., at school; Harold, Oliver, and Everett were all in the World War. Mary F. Layman, born in Lodi, married Nathan Bartlett, who was a farmer near Ukiah. There Mr. Bartlett died, leaving a son, William L. Bartlett, who served in the World War and is now in San Francisco. Mrs. Bartlett resides on her ranch in Ukiah. Edward Layman resides in Ukiah. He is married and has two children: Lawrence, also in the World War; and Leona. Daniel Layman also lives in Ukiah. Anna Elizabeth Layman became the wife of J. M. McKisson, of Ukiah, and has a child, Phoebe. Lulu N. Layman, the youngest daughter, was born in Lakeport, Cal., and re- ceived her education in the Ukiah and Merced gram- mar schools. On August 9, 1904, she was married to James W. Hake, a native of Wisconsin, who came to California in 1900. They became the pa- rents of four children: Mary Phoebe, now Mrs. Doster; Lilly Elizabeth; and Ruby and Jewel, twins, deceased at the age of three months. Mr. Hake is a carpenter by trade, and the family reside at 333 East Walnut Street, Lodi.

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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 149

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