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 153

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 153

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Charles R. Rutledge received his education in the public schools of Woodbridge, and then spent three years on a ranch in Tulare County. Following this he spent eight years in the mines in Jerome and Bis- bee, Ariz. On his return to his native county he entered into a partnership with his cousin, George Rutledge, and for some years conducted a general store in Woodbridge, during which time he received his appointment as postmaster of Woodbridge. He resigned the postmastership when he sold his interest in the store in 1914, having served for twelve years. For the past sixteen years he has been the represent- ative of Guggenhime & Company of San Francisco, in this district, buying dried fruits from the orchard- ists throughout the valley on a brokerage basis. As field representative of the Earl Fruit Company he 'goes from orchard to orchard supervising the farm work necessary for the production of the crops of fruit, etc. His duties give him ample opportunity to keep well posted on the fruit industry of the county.

The marriage of Mr. Rutledge occurred on July 8, 1894, and united him with Miss Bertha Lee Sar- gent, a native of Plymouth, Cal. Mr. Rutledge re-

lates an interesting event that occurred on the day of his marriage. The big railroad strike was then on and the San Francisco "Examiner" sent a bundle of papers by boat to Stockton; from Stockton they were carried to Sacramento on a bicycle, and he purchased a paper for twenty-five cents as the paper man passed through Woodbridge. Mrs. Rutledge's stepfather, the late Mr. Amos McClelland, was a well-known character in California in the early days; he was a pioneer railroad man and helped to build the railroad to Valley Springs, and was conductor on the line for 65

many years. Fraternally, Mr. Rutledge is a member of the Woodbridge Lodge of Masons, No. 131, and also of the Woodbridge Eastern Star, and of the Stockton Elks, No. 218.

JOHN W. SHATTUCK .- A leader in the com- mercial circles of Lodi, and a prominent lumberman of the San Joaquin Valley, is John W. Shattuck, the enterprising president of the Business Men's Associa- tion of Lodi. He was born in Lawrence, Mass .; and when he was but a small lad, his parents removed to Pittsburgh, Pa., where he was reared and educated. He came to California in 1886, took up architectural drawing, and found employment with the Valley Lumber Company, of Fresno, Cal. Later he was with the Kings River Lumber Company, of Sanger; the L. W. Blinn Lumber Company, of Los Angeles; and the Wending Lumber Company, of Hanford. His years of experience in the lumber business gave him a thorough knowledge of all branches of the indus- try. Removing to Washington, he went into business for himself at Arlington, manufacturing shingles and doing a general lumber business. He then returned to California, stopping at Vallejo Junction, and was employed by the Port Costa Lumber Company; after- wards, for a time, he was employed by the Hidecker Company, of Oakland. During the year of 1910 he settled in Lodi and entered the employ of the More- head Lumber Company, the pioneer lumber company of the city, established in 1884 by A. W. Simpson of San Francisco; and later he was taken into partner- ship. This company changed hands a number of times, and on January 1, 1921, the name was changed to the Reliance Lumber Company and Mr. Shattuck became manager and president of the company, with a controlling interest in the business, The company also operated a planing mill in connection with their lumber business, and were thus able to turn out fin- ished products of their own manufacture. A disas- trous fire on July 2, 1921, destroyed the Reliance Lumber Company's property at Lodi, and Mr. Shat- tuck's savings of a lifetime were utterly wiped out.

Mr. Shattuck has been connected with the lumber industry in California and Washington for thirty- three years, and built up an institution that was one of the largest in the county. He is active as a mem- ber of the Western Retail Lumbermen's Association of the Pacific Coast, of the San Joaquin County Lum- ber Association, and the Sacramento Lumber Asso- ciation. At present he is the manager for the Valley Lumber Company at Lodi. The business men of Lodi, recognizing his unusual capabilities, elected him president of the Business Men's Association for the year of 1921; this association was organized in 1914 and considers all matters connected with the growth and improvement of their city and county. At the April election in 1922, Mr. Shattuck was elected as a member of the board of trustees of the city of Lodi for a four-year term. Upon the organization of the board, he was selected chairman; and he is now func- tioning as "Mayor of Lodi," in a most creditable manner.

The marriage of Mr. Shattuck united him with Miss Meta E. Hovey, a native of Arkansas; and they are the parents of one son, Lyle, a lad of seven years. Fraternally, he is connected with the Masonic Blue Lodge, No. 256, of Lodi.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

EMERY A. THOMPSON .- A representative of a family who were early settlers of the San Joaquin Valley may be found in Emery A. Thompson, field man for the Earl C. Anthony Company in the Lodi district. He was born in Douglas County, Kan., on October 5, 1866, a son of John and Catherine (Shank) Thompson, the former a native of the state of Penn- sylvania. His father worked as a tow-boy on the Erie Canal, and in his young manhood removed to Illinois and was occupied with farming pursuits; and while residing there he met and married his wife. During the year 1864 he drove across the country from Illinois to Kansas with an ox team, and during the Civil War did teaming from Kansas to Missouri. He remained in Kansas for ten years, during which time he engaged in farming, and in the fall of 1874, with his wife and five children, started for California on an immigrant train. The first stopping-place was at Lathrop, where their stay was short, and thence they went to San Jose. He then bought a place near Linden, which he sold within one year and with his family started north to Woodland in a two-horse wagon; but being undecided, they turned back and located at Tyson on the Rees Thompson ranch. Later he rented the John Bennett ranch and farmed there for three years. In the year of 1877 he bought 160 acres situated four miles northwest of Wood- bridge. This became the home place, and he farmed it successfully for many years, planting it to grapes. It is now one of the oldest vineyards in the county. He was a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Woodbridge. There were .seven children in the family, and the following are living. Elmer E., living in Stockton; Emery A, of this review; Wilson H., resid- ing in Lodi; Ana Isabel; and Letty.

Emery A. Thompson attended the Linden, Bellota and Ray schools, and later was a student in the old Woodbridge College. At the age of twelve he began work on a header, and by the time he was fourteen could do a man's work in the harvest field. He also hauled grapes to the West winery, a distance of sev- enteen miles; it was an all-day trip, for when he reached the winery there were from fifty to seventy- five wagons ahead of him waiting to be unloaded. Grapes were selling at that time for $6 per ton and in Stockton at $10 per ton. Since he left the home place, at the age of seventeen, he has followed various lines of work. At one time he was a photographer in Stockton; afterwards he was with the River Ex- press Company of that city; then he went to Tulare County and worked on a farm; and later he worked as a salesman for the Sampson Iron Works of Stock- ton, selling gas engines. He then became connected with the first fruit-packing establishment in Lodi; and he has also been in the employ of the Frank H. Buck Company and the Pacific Fruit Exchange, as field man, and at the present time serves in that capacity for the Earl C. Anthony Company, for the Lodi section. In various real estate transactions, also, he has bought, developed and sold a number of vineyards throughout the county.

Mr. Thompson's marriage united him with Miss Mattie Christie, a native of Ohio. Fraternally, he is a charter member of the Lodi Lodge, No. 848, Fra- ternal Order of Eagles, and has passed through all the chairs; and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias.

JOHN CHARLESWORTH. - A representative business man of Stockton, John Charlesworth is a man who not only has achieved individual success but has also public-spiritedly devoted himself to the general welfare of his fellow-citizens, and has been foremost in advancing enterprises and improvements which will prove of lasting benefit to the city, county and state. . He was born near Homedale, Wayne County, Pa., on January 28, 1869, but was reared and educated in the state of Kansas. His father, Firth Charlesworth, was born in England and came to the United States when he was twenty-two years of age. He located in Southern Illinois where he was married in 1858 to Amanda Breakbill, who was born in Kentucky and comes of an old Virginia family, her ancestors being among the earliest settlers of Jamestown and some of them served in the Revolu- tion and the war of 1812. Firth Charlesworth served as a captain of Company L 6th Illinois Cavalry, in the Civil War. In 1871 he brought his family to Mitchell County, Kans., and became a pioneer home- steader on Salt Creek near Beloit; later he disposed of his farm and engaged in mercantile business in Beloit. Although sixty-two years of age at the time of the breaking out of the Spanish-American War he raised a company and was commissioned captain of Company C, 22nd Kansas Volunteer Infantry, serv- ing until the regiment was mustered out. He was prominent in G. A. R. and Spanish-American War Veterans' circles. He was a very prominent man in Kansas politics, serving as assemblyman in the legislature, and he was quartermaster-general of Kansas with the rank of colonel at the time of his death twenty-two years ago. His widow makes her home in Topeka; she was the mother of six children, five of whom are living, John being the fourth.

His education was obtained in the public school and he was graduated from Beloit High in 1887, after which he learned the trade of sheet metal worker in Beloit; later he established a hardware business in Scottsville, Kan., continuing about seven years. After he sold his business he became a grain buyer with headquarters in Quenemo, which occupied him for six years. In 1908 he decided to try his fortune in the West, where he worked at his trade in Utah, Idaho, Washington and Nevada, and in 1914 came to Stockton to manage the sheet metal department of the Stockton Plumbing Supply Company, which po- sition he has filled most capably to the entire satis- faction of his employers.

In January, 1921, Mr. Charlesworth was chosen by his fellow members of the San Joaquin County Build- ing Trades Council to fill the position of president, where his natural bent for organizing and his ability as a presiding officer have been satisfactorily demon- strated; he is also chairman of the Conference Com- mittee of the council. He keeps in direct touch with all matters of importance to the council and cooper- ates with every enterprise and measure for the wel- fare of the city.

Mr. Charlesworth was married in Beloit, Kan, to Miss Mary Hodler, a native of that city, a union that proved very happy until Mr. Charlesworth was be- reaved of his faithful wife in 1908. She left two sons: Firth, at the age of eighteen volunteered and served in the 35th Division in the World War, being sent overseas, and served for a year in the Argonne and other places on the French front. He is now engaged in business in Hesston, Kans. Elwin has just

Two Charlesworth.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

been discharged from three and one-half years' serv- ice in the U. S. Navy and also makes his home in Hesston, Kans.

During his residence in Quenemo, Kan., Mr. Charles- worth was a member of the city council and later was elected mayor of the city. At the city election in Stockton on May 2, 1922, he was one of the fif- teen freeholders selected to draft a new city charter for the city of Stockton. Having had considerable experience in city government he threw himself into the work and took an active part in originating the city charter now before the people particularly on the franchise committee, but he was also on the powers of the council, police, fire department, law, civil serv- ice and contracts committees. He is an active mem- ber of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce.

STEPHENS BROS .- The manufacturing industry carried on successfully by Stephens Bros., that of boat designing and building, is of great importance to the community of Stockton. Their business was started in a very small way in 1901 and has grown steadily to its present large dimensions. On the Stockton Channel, they now own a frontage of 380 feet, the greater portion of which is under roof; and their manufacturing plant is equipped with the most modern machinery, and is under the direct supervis- ion of the brothers composing the firm. Both broth- ers are native sons of California, born on the old Stephens homestead on the Calaveras River near Stockton; Theodore J. on March 30, 1882, and Roy R. on January 3, 1884. Their parents, Thomas J. and Jessie (Moreing) Stephens, are pioneer residents of Stockton and are also represented in this history. Both of the Stephens boys were reared in San Joa- quin County and received a good education. At an early age they became interested in river navigation, and built their first boat in their back yard, a yacht named "Dorothy," with four-passenger capacity, which they used for eight years on San Francisco Bay and for pleasure cruises. In 1901 both boys entered the employ of their uncle, C. Moreing, who owned a string of power-boats on the Stockton Chan- nel, and operated two tug barges, one of which, called the "Wildwood," was the first gasoline power-boat used for commercial purposes on the San Joaquin River. The following year, 1902, the boys bought equal shares in the business; and as the Delta farms developed, their business increased rapidly and their string of boats were known as the Mosquito Fleet, so well-known in the Delta on the San Joaquin and Sac- ramento rivers. The Stephens brothers hauled the first supply of oil for the dredger on Grand Island in 1901. In 1902, they began their boat-building busi- ness, selling their interests in the towing business and purchasing an old barge, which they floated near the present site of their plant on the Stockton Chan- nel. Their building operations were begun in a small way; and their first boat, named the "Queen," is still in operation on Tomales Bay, as a passenger boat from the railroad station at Point Reyes across the bay to Inverness. Following the completion of the "Queen," a number of boats were constructed and put in operation, many of which are still being used in the Delta district of the county. They also pur- chased property from time to time until their frontage is 380 feet, and their plant includes a large lumber

warehouse where material is seasoned for boat con- struction; the designing of their craft is done within their plant. Theodore J. Stephens oversees the oper- ation of the shops, while Roy R. Stephens has charge of the office. Recently this firm completed a con- signment of twelve boats for a commission house in San Francisco. During the World War forty-five men were steadily employed in the building of craft for the transportation of foodstuffs. The Stephens brothers' plant is complete in every detail, and the brothers devote their entire time to its supervision.

The marriage of Theodore J. Stephens united him with Miss Evelyn Gershbacher, a daughter of Mrs. Joshua Gershbacher, a pioneer of Stockton; and they are the parents of three boys: Theodore J., Barry, and Richard. Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Stephens are members of the Stockton Country Club.

Roy R. Stephens was united in marriage with Miss Lucille Budd, daughter of the late J. H. Budd, a prominent attorney of Stockton; and they have one daughter, Sylvia Lucille. Mr. and Mrs. Roy Stephens are members of the Yosemite Club. Both brothers are members of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce.

JOHN THOMPSON .- Among the respected and successful agriculturists of San Joaquin County, the late John Thompson devoted his energies to farming for over thirty years. He was a man of great indi- vidual worth and excellence, who performed his tasks with credit, and who left behind him a family who, themselves an honor to his name, will cherish his memory and works. Since 1900 Mr. Thompson had resided at his pleasant home in Lodi, relaxing in a measure the strenuous activity which characterized and brought success to his younger years, although he continued to be an important factor in the agricul- tural life of the county up to the time of his demise. His beautiful ranch of 160 acres situated four miles northwest of Woodbridge bore visible evidence of his labors and sagacious management. He was born in Northampton County, Pa., September 22, 1838, a son of James and Elizabeth Thompson, natives of Ire- land, who emigrated to Canada in early life and set- tled near Montreal. Later they removed to North- ampton County, Pa., where the father died. The mother passed away in Philadelphia.

John Thompson was reared and educated in his native county, but the school advantages of that day were rather meager, and were limited in his case to attendance for about three months in each year until he was sixteen years old, when he went into the prac- tical school of experience and real life. In 1856 he left his native state and went to Carthage, Ill., where he followed farming for two or three years. About 1861 he removed to Douglas County, Kan., where he pioneered and at the time of the sacking of Lawrence by Quantrell, in 1863, he was one of the men who hurriedly rode to the next town appraising the citi- zens of Quantrell's approach and advising the men to hide in the woods till his bushwhackers got by. In 1874, he removed from Kansas to California. Be- fore settling on his 160-acre farm in the Woodbridge district, he farmed near Lathrop and Linden.

Mr. Thompson was married in Carthage, Ill., Feb- ruary 24, 1859, to Mrs. Catherine Shank, born on September 3, 1837, a daughter of Christian Shank. Both of her parents were natives of Germany. In

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

infancy she was taken to Lee County, Iowa, where her parents remained until she was eight years old, then removing to Illinois and locating near Carthage, where she grew to womanhood and was married. For a number of years Mr. Thompson served as a trustee of the Ray school district, San Joaquin Coun- ty, in which he was a former resident. In politics he was a Republican. He was a member of the Jef- ferson Lodge No. 98, I. O. O. F., at Woodbridge, and he and his wife were members of the Rebekahs at Lodi. Mrs. Thompson, also deceased, was a mem- ber of the Ladies' Aid Society of the Congregational Church at Lodi, and also of the Woman's Relief Corps of the same place. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were the parents of seven children, five of whom are still living: Elmer E., represented elsewhere in this work; Emery A., residing in Lodi; Wilson Henry, also residing in Lodi, and represented in this work; Anabel, Mrs. William Lossing; and Letty M., Mrs. William Franklin. Mary Thompson, the third child, is deceased; and the first child died in infancy.

WILLIAM H. WILSON .- A native son of Cali- fornia, who has made good along agricultural lines, is William H. Wilson, whose sixty-acre ranch with thirty acres in vineyard is located about five and one-half miles northeast of Lodi. He was born on his father's ranch near Farmington, San Joaquin County, on February 14, 1879, a son of James and Sarah M. (Jones) Wilson, both natives of Ohio. James Wilson came to Woodbridge, San Joaquin County, about 1875, bought 240 acres on the Acam- po-Lodi Highway, and engaged in grain farming; later he sold 160 acres of his ranch to P. B. Arm- strong. There were six children in the family: John Allen, residing at Cloverdale, Cal .; Sadie, now Mrs. Erickson; Mary, Mrs. Gillespie, of Centerville, Cal .; Elizabeth, Mrs. Keeling, of Acampo; B. M., deceased, and William H. The father lived to be seventy-five years old; the mother died in 1911.

William H. Wilson, as a lad, had very little op- portunity for an education, his time being taken up with work on the ranch. After his father's demise, he purchased his brother's interest in the home place, and now has sixty acres, twenty-five of which is in Tokay grapes, five acres in Zinfandel and Mission grapes, and the balance of thirty acres in alfalfa, etc. He has two irrigating wells on his ranch, with a four-inch and a five-inch pump, driven by a gas engine and electric power. Mr. Wilson and his, father personally built all the farm build- ings, including the house, barn and smaller buildings.

The marriage of Mr. Wilson occurred in Stockton on December 10, 1911, and united him with Miss Glessie Martin, a daughter of J. and Anna (Ewell) Martin, her mother a direct descendant of General Ewell. Mrs. Wilson was born in Garfield, Wash., and is the eldest of a family of five children, as follows: Glessie, Myrtle, May, now Mrs. Waucope of Lodi; Ruby, wife of Ellis Frink, a mineralogist now engaged at Clarkdale, Arizona, and Herbert, of Sherwood, Ore. Mr. and Mrs. Martin removed to Idaho, and Mr. Martin there conducted a sawmill, and while residing there, Glessie attended school up to the seventh grade. When she was thirteen years old, her parents removed to the Live Oak district, in San Joaquin County, and there she finished the grammar school; then she entered the Lodi high

school, where she remained for two years. While residing in the Live Oak district, the family lived on the old Elliott place in the house built in 1850, which has just recently burned down. Mr. and Mrs. Martin are now living in Sherwood, Ore. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of three children, William Woodrow, James Martin, and Francis Marian, who died on February 11, 1923, at the hos- pital at Lodi, as the result of a surgical operation. Fraternally, Mr. Wilson belongs to the Ione Lodge of Odd Fellows, and politically he is a Democrat. Mr. Wilson takes pride in advancing the general interests of his town and county and is regarded as one of the progressive citizens of the community.

HENRY J. ARMBRUST .- A representative of an old pioneer family who is an enterprising and pro- gressive citizen of Stockton, Henry J. Armbrust was born near Stockton February 21, 1865, the eldest son of Henry and Mary Armbrust, natives of Germany and Switzerland respectively. Henry Armbrust, the father of our subject, left Germany for America in 1863 on a small sailing vessel, the journey taking sixty-five days to New York; from that port in com- pany with his brother Louis, he came via Panama to California, arriving in San Francisco late in 1863 and the same year settled in Stockton, where he found work on the Potter ranch on the French Camp Road. In 1864 he entered the employ of Jacob Wag- ner and for four years was foreman in the tannery. He was first married in 1854 and two children were born of the union, Henry J., our subject, and Emma, wife of Charles Fritsch, who now has four children and resides in Portland, Ore. In 1867, Mrs. Arm- brust passed away and the following year Mr. Arm- brust resigned from the tannery and bought ten acres near Stockton on West Lane, which he developed to a high state of cultivation. In 1869 he was married to Miss Christina Christenson, a native of Denmark, and to them there were born three sons and two daughters, all of whom reside in and near Stockton. Henry Armbrust was among the pioneer fruit men of California and a successful viticulturist. In 1914 he retired from ranch work and in 1920 he sold his property and settled in Stockton, where he passed away on October 25, 1921.

Henry J. Armbrust attended the Old North school and from an early age was associated with his father in the fruit business, having charge of the local mar- keting of the ranch products. His first marriage was blessed by two daughters, Lola, the wife of G. Cinato, residing in Oakland; and Mary, the wife of Percy Van Pelt, residing in San Francisco. Mr. Armbrust later married Miss Mary Steinbacher, born in Woodland, a daughter of John Steinbacher, pioneer merchant of that city. Six children have been born of this union: William, Carmelita, Elenor, Marguerite, Henry, Jr., and Francis. In 1924, retiring from ranch work, Mr. Armbrust entered the employ of the street department of the city of Stockton, where he has since been a trusted employee. In 1908, Mr. Arm- brust built his residence at 1345 East Park Street, where he has since resided. Politically he is a Demo- crat. Fraternally he is a member of Stockton Lodge 218, B. P. O. E., and for the past thirty-five years has been a member of the Knights of Pythias, of which he is a past chancellor.

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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 153

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