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 150

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 150

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

LESTER ORVILLE WISLER .- The world in- stinctively pays deference to the man whose suc- cess has been worthily achieved and whose promi- nence is the result of natural talents and acquired- ability, and among Stockton's business men Lester Orville Wisler occupies a position of distinction as a representative certified public accountant.

Among the distinguished old families of Elkhart County, Ind., none are more worthy of mention than the Wislers. The founder of the family in this sec- tion was John Wisler, a native of Bucks County, Pa., where he first saw the light of day in 1800, his par- ents being Christian and Susan (Halderman) Wis- ler, the former of whom was born during the Revo- lutionary period in the State of Pennsylvania, of Holland parents. He made his home in the state of his nativity until he paid the last debt of nature, and there reared to honorable maturity a family of ten children, leaving them, upon his death, not only a good property to be divided among them, but what was rather to be desired than great riches, the heri- tage of an honorable name. The names of the mem- bers of this family were as follows: Jonas (who died when young), John, Elizabeth, Anthony, Hannah, Jacob (who settled in Harrison township at an early day and became the father of John W. Wisler, an ex- tensive importer of horses), Samuel, Mary, Sarah and Susan. The most of these children married and moved west, and a number settled in Elkhart, Ind. Their father died in 1830 and the mother in 1835, in Ohio, at which time both were quite aged. Of their children, John was the one to establish the family in Elkhart County, Ind., as above stated. When a young man of twenty summers he went to Columbiana County, Ohio, where he entered some government land, opened up a farm and made his home for a number of years. In 1824 he gave his heart and hand to Miss Sophia Stauffer, a daughter of Henry and Mary Stauffer, who were early pioneers of Ohio from Westmoreland County, Pa., the former's birth occurring February 8, 1776, and the latter's July 15, 1779, and their respec- tive deaths taking place February 20, 1854, and Au- gust 5, 1824. They reared eight children, as follows: Joseph, born December 6, 1796; Elizabeth, July 14, 1799; John, November 27, 1800; Jacob, May 18, 1804; Sophia, August 12, 1806; Mary, April 1, 1809: Hen- ry, Aug. 8, 1812; and Abraham, September 12, 1814. Most of these children reached mature years and sev- eral of them settled in Indiana. In the spring of 1849 John Wisler and his family emigrated to Elkhart County, Ind., and settled on the farm which was later owned by Jacob H. Wisler, on the line of the Union and Locke townships. His wife, Sophia, was born in 1806 and died in Elkhart County in 1876; she was a member of the Mennonite Church, and in every sense of the word a helpmate to her husband. She bore her husband the following children: Mary A., later the wife of Samuel Hoover, of Union Township; Henry; Isaac; Jacob; Jonas; Sarah, wife of Samuel Ruckman, of Nappanee; Anthony; John S .; Alpheus, and Cornelius. Two children died young. John Wisler tilled his large farm until 1870, when he sold it to his son Jacob; his grandson, Sam- uel, at present resides on it with his family. The life of John Wisler is a good illustration of the old say- ing that "there is no royal road to fortune," for throughout his long and well-spent life he found that in his case wealth could be accumulated only by the exercise of brain and muscle; and for this reason he labored early and late in order to acquire a com-

petence for his family, and in the confidence, respect and affection with which his wife and children re- garded him, he realized that the end justified the means.

Isaac Wisler (grandfather of Lester O. Wisler), one of the elder children of the worthy John Wisler, was born in Columbiana, now Mahoning County, Ohio, February 14, 1829. During his early boyhood he assisted his father on the farm, but later gave his at- tention to blacksmithing, which he followed for some years, and also became on intelligent machinist. He became a resident of Elkhart County, Ind., at the age of twenty years, and in the country in the vici- nity of his home, he worked at his trade, first opening a shop at Waterford in 1850, and afterward in Locke in 1853, at which time the place was known as Wis- ler Town. After some time he and his brother Jonas started a woodenware manufacturing establishment, making a specialty of wooden bowls, which business he successfully continued until 1864, when he sold his interest. He then followed his trade of machinist and blacksmithing, as well as farming. He was" al- ways quite active in the political matters of his county, and always supported the men and measures of the Republican party; and being also public-spirited, he supported schools, churches, and in fact all move- ments tending to benefit the section in which he lived. His own education was obtained in the public schools of Ohio, and that system of education found in him a substantial and earnest supporter. He was justice of the peace of Locke Township from 1854 to 1865, was township trustee for a number of years, and also held the position of assessor. He may be said to have been a self-made man, for he began the battle of life for himself on a heavily wooded tract of govern- ment land, but later became financially independent. In 1858 he was married to Miss Rebecca M. Winder, daughter of Caleb and Margaret (Bloomfield) .Win- der, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania, a son of Joseph Winder, a prominent farmer of that state. Caleb's early life was spent on his father's farm, but in early life he also learned the hatter's trade, which he followed for some time. After his removal to Stark County, Ohio, following his mar- riage, he taught school and there he improved a good farm and reared his family. He died in 1840, at the age of forty-four years, his wife's death occurring in 1842, at the age of thirty-six years. She was born in Crawford County, Pa., a daughter of Andrew Bloomfield, and she and her husband were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the latter being one of its class leaders, in politics a Whig, and a sol- dier in the war of 1812. To. Caleb and wife seven children were born: Louis, James, Warren (de- ceased), Samuel (deceased,) Eli, Susan (Mrs. Truex,) and Rebecca, the wife of Isaac Wisler. She was born in Ohio, October 30, 1837, and in 1858 her union with Isaac Wisler took place, which eventually re- sulted in the birth of seven children: Oliver P., born November 13, 1859 (married Elzina Bliley, and they had six children: Lester, Otis, Morris, Glenn, Thelma, and Greetice); James M., born July 24, 1861 (mar- ried Della Doromus, of Michigan, and they had three children); Albert, born on August 24, 1863; Mary, born on August 1, 1865 (married Jacob Defrees, and they have one child, Albert); Lizzie, born Jan- uary 16, 1867 (married M. D. Jacobs, by whom she has three children: Harry, Ralph and Roland); Edith, born September 23, 1871, and died at the age of three years; and Addie, born September 23, 1877 (married

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Lester Hisler

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Harry Irwin Pearce, and they have one child, Harry Jr.). Isaac Wisler died on September 14, 1900, and his wife, December 10, 1918.

Oliver P. Wisler (father of Lester O. Wisler) is the eldest child of Isaac Wisler. That he has in- herited many of the most worthy qualities of his peo- ple is acknowledged, and his numerous friends testify to his honesty, kindheartedness and energy. He was born on the farm owned by his father in Locke Town- ship, near the town of Locke, on the 13th of Novem- ber, 1859, and while growing up attended the schools of Locke, where he laid the foundation of a practical education, later finishing his scholastic training in the public schools of Syracuse, Ind. On his father's farm he learned lessons of industry and honesty, and while attending school acquired a decided taste for books, which qualities admirably fitted him for the calling of a school teacher, whose responsibilities he took upon his shoulders at the youthful age of seven- teen. During the two terms that he followed this calling he was quite successful, but gave it up to follow other pursuits. Many of his youthful days were spent in the woodenware factory belonging to his father; but in later life he became the owner and manager of a threshing machine, which he conducted for about seven seasons, and at the same time fol- lowed farming and bought and sold timber. In the management of these enterprises he showed that he possessed fine business qualifications, for his efforts met with abundant reward. Since he attained his twenty-second year he has farmed for himself, and at present he is on a ranch in Yuba County. On the 20th of September, 1884, he was united in marriage to Elzina Bliley, an adopted daughter of Louis and Sarah Bliley, born September 16, 1867. They have six children: Lester O., who was born August 13, 1885; Otis H., born December 6, 1886; Morris C., born June 7, 1888; Glenn M., born October 23, 1889; Thelma M. C., born July 15, 1897; and Greetice R., born August 13, 1900.

Lester O. Wisler was born on a farm in Elkhart County, Ind., on August 13, 1885, and received his early education in the schools of that county. Then he entered the Technical High School at Cleveland, Ohio, where he was graduated in 1903. On removing to Calgary, Canada, he was in the commercial busi- ness there for eight years. From there he went to Salt Lake City as advertising manager for the Wood- Clifton Mercantile Company, one of the leading firms of the city, and in 1915 came to Sacramento, Cal., and took charge of the advertising department of Weinstcok, Lubin & Company. In February of the following year he went to Manteca and became as- sociated with F. M. Cowell, vice-president and man- ager of the Manteca Canning Company. Later Mr. Cowell sold his interest in the cannery, and with Mr. Wisler organized and built the Manteca Packing Company, Mr. Wisler serving as secretary of the company. During the World War he established the cost price on canned goods in that zone and was secretary of the Manteca Council of Defense.

Severing his connection with the company, in the spring of 1918 Mr. Wisler removed to Stockton and became the office and credit manager of the Stockton Dry Goods Company, and two years later he founded the Wisler Audit Bureau. He compiled the first financial report of the city of Stockton, a document of 250 pages; he is under contract for ten years to audit the books of the Oakdale Irrigation District,

and with Joe Cavis has audited the books of the South San Joaquin Irrigation District. Mr. Wisler is auditor of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce, and in 1920 made the first thorough report the organization ever had. He is also the deviser of the Masonic Mem- bership Ledger in use all over the United States and Canada. The Wisler Audit Bureau maintains offices in Stockton, Fresno and Sacramento, where specialized service is offered in public accounting and auditing in all commercial, industrial, and municipal branches.

In Stettler, Alberta, in 1906, Mr. Wisler was mar- ried to Miss Marguerite Jessie Lawrence, a native of Union, Iowa, and a daughter of William Horton Lawrence and Ida Mason Lawrence, who is a sister of the famous Al P. Mason of Union, Iowa, state auctioneer of thoroughbred livestock. Mr. and Mrs. Wisler have four children: Oliver P., Jr., born July 15, 1907; Margaret Helen, born December 17, 1908; Lester Orville, Jr., born April 22, 1913, and Velma Ione, born February 17, 1915.

In 1916 Mr. Wisler graduated from the Emerson Institute of Efficiency of New York. He is the presi- dent of the California Chapter of the National As- sociation of Certified Public Accountants, a charter member of the Stockton Accountants Society, and chairman of its publicity committee. He belongs to the Lions Club and the Stockton Golf & Country Club. In his fraternal affiliation he was made a Mason in Apollo Lodge No. 27, A. F. & A. M., in Stettler, Alberta, in 1906, holding the office of Senior Warden; demitting, he became a charter member of Stockton Lodge No. 498, F. & A. M., and was its first Worshipful Master. On becoming Past Master he was elected Secretary of the Lodge, which office he has since filled. He is a member of Stockton Chap- ter No. 28, R. A. M., Stockton Commandery No. 8, K. T., and Aahmes Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Oak- land; Charter Oak Lodge, K. P., of Stockton, and a Past Chancellor of that Order; Past Noble Grand of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Stettler, Alberta, as well as District Deputy Grand Master, and is a member of the Knights of Khorassan and Past Imperial Repre- sentative at their meeting at Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mrs. Wisler is a member of Stockton Chapter, O. E. S. and is Most Excellent Chief of Damon Temple, Pythian Sisters, and a past Noble Grand of the Re- bekah Lodge at Stettler, Alberta. Mr. Wisler has attained high rank in his profession, and has risen to a prominent place among the substantial citizens of the county.

ALLAN R. POWERS, M. D .- Recognized as one of the leading physicians of the state, Dr. Allan R. Powers occupies a merited position of prominence among his contemporaries. In Tracy, where he has made his home for the past six years, he has so thoroughly interested himself in questions concern- ing the physical welfare of the community that he has brought about results of incalculable benefit, and as director of the city health department has brought about many needed improvements for the sanitation of the city. He is unquestionably a man of much native ability and with this has brought to bear in the prosecution of his profession an application and car- nestness which have given to him a merited success.

Dr. Powers is a native California, having been born at San Rafael, Marin County on May 23, 1881. His father, Dr. George H. Powers, was a native of Massa- chusetts, who served through the Civil War and in

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1869 came to California, settling in San Francisco, where for twenty-five years he practiced his profes- sion and became a very prominent specialist in eye, ear, nose and throat diseases. He passed away in May, 1913, his wife, Mrs. Nellie (Chapman) Powers, a native of New Haven, Conn., surviving him until 1917. They were the parents of two sons and two daughters: Mrs. Katherine Powers Chapman resides in Detroit, Mich., and has two sons, Russell and George; George Herman, Jr., ear, nose and throat specialist of Boston, married Miss Madeline Davis of Boston, and has two daughters, Katherine and Doro -- thy; Allan Raymond, of this review, and Miss Ruth Powers, a talented musician widely known on the Pacific coast, who died in June, 1922.

Allan R. entered public school at the age of six years, and nine years later was graduated from the Hitchcock Military Academy at San Rafael, when he entered the University of California and in 1901 received his B. S. degree; then entered Cornell Uni- versity and spent a year in postgraduate work, and the following year he spent in Yale, receiving his M. F. degree in 1904 from that institution. Being a lover and student of the great outdoors, he had selected for his life's work that of Forestry, and upon becoming personally acquainted with Theodore Roose- velt his interest and determination to follow it in- creased. After completing his higher education he became a member of the U. S. Forestry service and was sent to the Pacific Northwest, where he spent three years of most varied and interesting experi- ences.

At the request of his father, he left the forestry service and entered the University of California Med- ical School in 1907 and in 1912 received his M. D. degree from Cooper Medical College. His gradua- tion was followed by a term as intern at the Southern Pacific hospital in San Francisco; the same year, 1913, he opened his own office at Rio Vista, Solano County, and practiced there for two years. He was then ap- pointed district surgeon of the Sacramento Electrical Railroad. He then removed to South San Francisco, San Mateo County, and entered the employ of the Pacific Coast Steel Corporation as surgeon, where he remained for one year. During the following six months spent at Lake Tahoe as surgeon for the Tahoe Tavern and railroad, his experience proved both prof- itable and pleasant. In November, 1916, he removed to Tracy, where he purchased the practice of Dr. S. E. D. Pinniger; he also received appointment as district surgeon of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This being a large railroad junction and terminal, many were his responsibilities. He still retains this posi- tion. In 1919 he established his offices on the second floor of the Bank of Tracy building and assumed his duties as director of the city health department.

The marriage of Dr. Powers in Sacramento in 1913, united him with Miss Edith Marie Eaton of Los An- geles, a cultured and gifted young woman, a leader in social, lodge and civic affairs of Tracy. They are the parents of one son, A. Raymond, Jr. During his college days, Dr. Powers was identified with the S. A. E., the T. N. E. and Skull & Keyes. He is mas- ter of Mt. Osso Lodge No. 460, F. & A. M., of Tracy; patron of the Eastern Star; and member of the Knights of Pythias and the Natives Sons of the Golden West of Tracy. In politics Dr. Powers is a Republican of the Theodore Roosevelt type. From 1917 to the present time he has served as chairman

of the Red Cross of Tracy and the West Side section and his splendid service is highly appreciated by the residents of the county. For the past three years he has been a director in the Chamber of Commerce. He is a valued member of the State Medical Association, and of the San Joaquin County Medical Association.

ARTHUR W. HEWITT .- The farming interests of San Joaquin County find a worthy representative in Arthur W. Hewitt, who makes his home on the ranch where he was born, two miles west of Farm- ington. Hay and grain are his principal crops, which he raises in abundance. His entire life has been spent here; and he has been so thoroughly identified with the life and progress of the community that few men are held in greater esteem, and he has made a reputation as a man of integrity and utmost reliabil- ity in all business and personal transactions. He was born October 23, 1877, on the Hewitt home place, two miles west of Farmington, the eldest son of Martin L. and Florence N. (Harrold) Hewitt, pio- neers of this county. Martin L. Hewitt was born in Ohio in 1844, and at the age of nine years crossed the plains, in 1853, with his parents, being the second eldest in a family of six children. The mother was born in Missouri and crossed the plains to California in 1851, and the family settled near Oakdale. Her parents, Jacob and Martha Harrold, were well-known pioneers of California.

Arthur W. Hewitt spent his boyhood days on the Hewitt ranch and attended the Shady Grove school. He then entered the Stockton high school, and later took a business course at Heald's Business College in Stockton. From 1895 to 1897 he attended the University of California, taking a course in mining engineering, and on August 4, 1897, he took passage on the steamship Noyo for Dyea, Alaska, then packed over Chilcoot Pass to Lake Linderman, built a boat and came down the Yukon to Dawson. He spent two and a half years in the Yukon country, mining, storekeeping and trapping. He was at Dawson and Indian River, and afterwards at Nome. After spend- ing two and a half years in the Northland, he re- turned to California via St. Michaels, arriving again in Farmington November 3, 1899.

The marriage of Mr. Hewitt occurred at Stockton, June 27, 1900, and united him with Miss Ida L. Church, a daughter of M. M. Church, a pioneer of San Joaquin County, who is now a resident of Stock- ton. She was born at Farmington and they were schoolmates in district school and at Heald's Business College. Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt became the parents of one son, Milo Lester, a student in the Stockton high school, class of 1924. Mrs. Hewitt was a leader in civic and social affairs in the community. A woman of pleasing personality, much loved and esteemed, she passed away on March 31, 1923.

In 1902 Mr. Hewitt purchased- 400 acres of Lafay- ette Funck, fourteen miles southeast of Stockton, where he raised great quantities of grain. He oper- ated this ranch until 1904, when he sold it and im- mediately bought 857 acres of the old Hewitt home- stead on Littlejohn Creek, where he had been born and reared. Mr. Hewitt entered enthusiastically into grain raising and has operated five different grain ranches, aggregating 5,000 acres. For many years he carried on his farming with teams of horses and mules, but now his harvesting is done by the most improved power machinery to be had. In 1911 Mr.

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Hewitt started with twenty Blackhead sheep, and now he owns about 3,000 head, most of which are of the Merino breed. Eleven years ago he leased gov- ernment land in the Kennedy Lake region in Tuo- lumne County. This is used for summer pasturage for his sheep, and the winter quarters are at Cop- peropolis. Mr. Hewitt is known, and rightfully so, as the father of the horticultural industry at Farm- ington. For many years he had been experiencing heavy losses in grain along the edges of the slough of Littlejohn Creek on account of the high water. In 1912 he experimented with the planting of cherry and plum trees, and the soil was found to be adapted to these fruits; then he put on the mar- ket 260 acres, known as Hewitt Tract No. 1, a sub- division of slough land on Littlejohn Creek, and has experienced no difficulty in disposing of these lands, which have been planted to orchards of cherries. prunes, plums, peaches, apricots and pears. After- wards he put on the market Hewitt Tract No. 2, consisting of 60 acres of choice land near the Sonora Highway, three miles west of Farmington, and is selling it in small tracts to new settlers, and their products find a ready market. In his subdivisions he planted and took care of the orchards for the purchaser until they were brought into bearing. Mr. Hewitt realized when he began subdividing for orcharding that he would have to sell the land at a price so low that prospective purchasers could be induced to make the necessary improvements; there- fore he placed the tract on the market at $75 an acre. Now the orchards are valued at from $400 to $1,000 an acre. He is planning in the near future to set out forty acres on his ranch to prunes, apri- cots and peaches. Mr. Hewitt has stood for the best interests of the community at all times, and for two terms has served as trustee of the Shady Grove school district. In political life he is a Republi- can, and fraternally he is a member of Farmington Lodge No. 296, in which he is a past grand. He is a member of the Rebekahs, and Mrs. Hewitt was also a member and a past noble grand. Mr. Hewitt is a very successful man, and the results of his past energy and diligence have placed him among the leading men of affairs in this part of the state. He heartily favors and is willing to aid any enterprise which promotes the general welfare, and he has cooperated and led in the work of obtaining better roads for his locality. He donated the Hewitt Road from the highway to the Littlejohn Creek, a distance of three-fourths of a mile.

GEN. WILLIAM THOMAS LITTEBRANT. -Among the native sons of Stockton who rose to prominence and influence in the United States Army was the late Gen. William Thomas Littebrant, who was born in Stockton, March 27, 1865, the only son of Hartman and Catherine (Cunningham) Litte- brant who are represented on another page in this work. He had two sisters, Mrs. Katherine McCoy, deceased, and Miss Christene Littebrant, of Stock- ton. After completing the grammar school, he at- tended the Boys' High School in San Francisco until he was appointed a cadet to West Point, at the age of nineteen. He was graduated from the U. S Military Academy in 1888. He was at first assigned to the infantry, but a few months later was trans- ferred to the 10th Cavalry, where he served with . General Pershing, with whom he had been a school- 64

mate at the military academy. He was promoted to the 7th Cavalry in 1896, and afterwards served in other cavalry regiments, among them the 1st, 9th, 11th, 12th, 15th, and 23rd. His earlier service was on the frontier, and his training there fitted him phys- ically for the strenuous army life which he had selected as his calling. Before he had been two years in the service he had won the first Gold Medal on a tri-departmental revolver team; and from that time on he excelled in both rifle and pistol shooting, and his name appeared frequently in departmental teams.

As regimental quartermaster he equipped his regi- ment for the strenuous Cuban campaign of 1898. On account of the difficulty of getting supplies, this proved a hard task; but his regimental commander testified that the regiment left for foreign service per- fectly equipped in every detail. After service in Cuba, General Littebrant accompanied his regiment to the Philippines, and on returning therefrom again went to Cuba with the Army of Pacification for another tour of two years, in 1908 and 1909. He was a mem- ber of the Cavalry Equipment Board in 1910. In 1911 he became a student of the Army School of the Line, from which he graduated in 1912. He was assigned to duty in the Yosemite National Park, where as superintendent he displayed those same able qualities which had previously served the govern- ment so well. On July 10, 1914, the Secretary of the Interior, the Honorable Franklin K. Lane, stated in his report: "In this connection I desire to express my sincere appreciation of the very satisfactory suc- cess rendered by Major Littebrant in the administra- tion of the affairs of the Yosemite National Park during the time that he has been assigned to that duty."

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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 150

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