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 155

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 155

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John P. Watkins reached Sacramento in 1878 and the following year he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine Boggess, daughter of Ahas Boggess, who, as secretary of the state of Georgia, signed the secession papers at the outbreak of the Civil War. Mrs. Watkins died in 1880, leaving a son, Arthur, who now makes his home with his father in San Joaquin County. In 1889 Mr. Watkins was again married, this time to Miss Catherine Grother, born in Pilot Hill, Cal. She passed away and left one son, Louis Edwin, now a resident of San Francisco. On September 21, 1898, the third marriage of Mr. Watkins united him with Mrs. Effie Henderson, who came with her parents from Mississippi in 1893. Of this union two children were born: Agnes B. and George Stanley. Agnes B. graduated from the State Normal School at Chico, class of 1920, and at once took up teaching in Glenn County where she is prin- cipal of the Cordora school. George Stanley enlisted for service in the World War as a mechanic in the aviation corps and trained in Texas. He now resides in Michigan.

When Mr. Watkins arrived in Sacramento in 1878 he soon found work on the 40,000-acre ranch owned by J. B. Hagin & Company, and in time was pro- moted to be an assistant foreman of the famed Rancho El Paso, known to all lovers of fine horses, for it was here that some of the world's record- breakers were raised and trained. After spending twelve years in the employ of this company, Mr. Watkins resigned to enter the employ of Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst, and in 1898 was sent to Mexico as her personal representative, with full power of attorney to look after the landed interests of the Hearst Estate. During the five years that Mr. Watkins

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spent in Mexico he became well acquainted and very friendly with President Diaz. In 1903 he resigned his position with the Hearst Estate, returned to California and located near Lodi, San Joaquin Co. He bought a ranch, improving it during the following five years, and sold to good advantage and then settled at Ripon and planted one of the first orchards in this vicinity. He is still a resident of this productive section of California.

Realizing his lack of educational opportunity in his younger days, Mr. Watkins has ever had the welfare of the rising generations at heart. It was through his untiring efforts that a union high school district was organized at Ripon, and as president of that body he was largely instrumental in planning and bringing to completion the handsome Union High School building at Ripon, of which mention is made on another page in this history. Mr. Watkins was a charter member of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau and served as a director and vice-president until in 1919. He has always been a stanch advocate and supporter of good roads and of all irrigation movements in the county, and has worked for every cause for elevating the social, moral, educational and financial standing in the county and locality where he has lived. During the World War he served as a member of the San Joaquin County exemption board under the appointment from President Wilson and for the duration of the war he made daily trips from his ranch to Stockton to attend to the duties of that position. Mr. Watkins is a self-made man in the truest sense of the word and by his upright and hon- orable methods he has won the esteem and good will of all who know him or have had dealings with him. Always active for every good movement he will long be remembered as one of the foremost citizens of San Joaquin County.

DAVID WILLIAMS .- A retired orchardist who was rated, in the days of his interesting, progressive activity, as. very successful, is David Williams, who now resides about one-half mile to the east of Acampo. He was born in Wales on January 7, 1846, and his father was William Williams, a farmer, whose wife, Sarah, lived to be sixty years old. They were the parents of eight sons and two daughters. David, the second in order of birth, partly because his help was needed at home, did not have the best chance to attend school in his native land, so that, when he left home and his native land, in his twentieth year, to cross the ocean for the New World, he ventured with a certain handicap. He reached New York in the spring of 1866, and without his knowledge was actu- ally in the metropolis when his oldest brother, Wil- liam, who was a sailor, was also there, en route to Australia from England; and without meeting him, David left for Wisconsin, where he arrived in April.

He had worked on farms in Wales, and when he reached the Badger State he found no difficulty in getting employment. He worked for the first summer near Oshkosh, and during the following winter en- joyed the only actual schooling which he ever had, working mornings and evenings for his board, while attending school. In the spring of 1867, he went to Cambrai, Wis., and remained there until October; and then he came out to the Coast, the first of his family to come to California. He settled in Calaveras County, and worked the following winter. In the summer of 1868 he went to Stanislaus County, and 66

worked near Modesto until 1872; and then he re- turned to Calaveras County.

On December 14, 1872, at Sonora, Mr. Williams was married to Margaret Roberts, an accomplished and attractive lady, a daughter of John and Jane Rob- erts, and a native of the same home district in Wales in which Mr. Williams first saw the light. He had known her before he left Wales. Her father had three brothers who came to California about 1853, and John Roberts followed them a few years later. But his health failed him, and it was thought best for him to return to Wales, which he did; and there he died, shortly after. Her mother then came out to America with five young children, and joined her brothers in California, making her home at Douglas Flat, in Calaveras County. Mr. Williams farmed near Vallicita, in Calaveras County, for about seventeen years, and then sold out his holdings and moved to Tulare County; and there, near Pixley, he bought a small ranch. Later, he bought more land until he owned 1,500 acres. During the first part of the early land-boom he sold his ranch; but he soon bought another tract of 1,500 acres near by, on which he lived until 1912, when he sold out and retired, moving to Acampo, where he bought a small home place of four acres, with a fine orchard of apricot trees. Two chil- dren have added to the domestic happiness of Mr. and Mrs. Williams. Sadie married the well-known attor- ney Hugh McNoble, of Stockton; and they have one son, Herbert. John R. is teaching in the El Dorado School at Stockton; he is married, and has two chil- dren, Margaret R. and Ruth. Mr. Williams is a Re- publican. Fraternally, he is a member of Delano Lodge No. 356, I. O. O. F. The family attend the Episcopal Church at Lodi.

ANDREW A. FITZGERALD .- A native son and a successful rancher, living about three miles north- east of Clements, Andrew A. Fitzgerald has some 500 acres of the finest stock and grain land. He was born at Stockton, September 27, 1877, the son of Bernard and Emma Fitzgerald. His father was a native of St. Johnsbury, Vt., the son of Andrew and Mary (Burns) Fitzgerald; and his grandparents, on his father's side, were sturdy Green Mountain farmer folks. Five children made up their family: John, the eldest, is deceased; Bernard, retired, is still living in Stockton at the age of seventy-three; Peter is also deceased; Mary is with her brother, Andrew J., who resides on his farm on the Mokelumne River, north- east of Clements. Mrs. Andrew Fitzgerald, Sr., was born in Amador County, Cal.

Bernard Fitzgerald came to California about 1873 and settled at Stockton. Later he went to northern San Joaquin County, and purchased a ranch at Har- mony Grove. He then bought a second ranch, and had in all a quarter-section. He farmed to grain, and also did teaming between Stockton and Lockeford. He and his wife have four children: Andrew A., of this review; Nellie, now Mrs. Carter, of Long Beach; Marie, the wife of Mr. Scott, who has an auto-repair shop at Stockton; and John, of Stockton. Mrs. Fitz- gerald is also alive, aged sixty-two.

Andrew A. Fitzgerald attended the Harmony Grove and Lockeford schools, and when sixteen years of age started to work for his uncle, Peter Fitzgerald. After Peter died, another uncle, Andrew J., and his sister Mary, took over the place. Andrew A. Fitz-

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gerald had purchased eighty acres of the Peter Fitz- gerald ranch previously to his uncle Peter's death, and later he bought out his own father's share, making his holding 430 acres; and now he has about 510 acres. He is engaged in raising grain and stock, chiefly cat- tle and sheep, and also has a four-acre vineyard on the ranch.

At Stockton, on August 29, 1906, Mr. Fitzgerald was married to Miss Carrie Moore, who was born near Ione, in Amador County, the daughter of James Moore, a native of Ireland, one of the earliest settlers in that section. Her father died in 1919, at the age of ninety-three. His wife had passed away many years before. There were five children in their fam- ily. Besides Mrs. Fitzgerald, they are: John Moore, of Stockton; Annie, now Mrs. William Amick, of Ione; Susie, Mrs. Wesley Amick, of Ione; Marjorie, now Mrs. Mason, also of Ione. Mrs. Fitzgerald attended the Ione grammar school. Mr. Fitzgerald is a Republican. Fraternally, he is a member of the Ione Parlor, N. S. G. W., and also a member of the Woodmen of the World, at Clements.

WALTER A. FLOYD .- A successful vineyardist of the Lodi section is found in the person of Walter A. Floyd, the owner of a twenty-acre tract north- east of Lodi, which he has highly improved and cul- tivated and which is yielding most satisfactory re- turns for his labor. A native of Iowa, he was born near West Liberty, Muscatine County, on December 21, 1889, the second oldest in a family of seven children. The father, A. H. Floyd, is a native of Ohio, who married Miss Henrietta Walter and was engaged in the grocery business at West Liberty, Iowa. They were the parents of the following chil- dren: Louise, deceased; Walter A., of this review; and Aileen, Carl, Josephine, Carrol, and Morris. Later the parents removed to Rice County, Minn., and purchased a quarter-section of land near Fari- bault, where they engaged in farming until they removed to California. They are both living, and reside near Lodi.

Walter A. Floyd received his education in the West Liberty grammar and high schools, and after finishing his education helped his father on the farm and became conversant with Minnesota agricul- ture. On January 14, 1915, at Faribault, Minn., he was united in marriage with Miss Emily Durland, a native of Minnesota, and a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Miller) Durland. Mrs. Floyd was educated in the schools of Faribault. The young people, soon after marriage, rented a one-hundred- sixty-acre grain farm, and later a one-hundred- twenty-acre farm, which they successfully farmed for three years. They then removed to California and purchased a twenty-acre vineyard about two and a quarter miles northeast of Lodi. The ranch is irrigated by a four-inch pump equipped with a ten- horsepower motor, and Mr. Floyd has just com- pleted a splendid modern bungalow, thus making it a comfortable and attractive home place. Mr. and Mrs. Floyd are the parents of one son, George Allen. The family are active members of the Methodist Church of Lodi. Politically, Mr. Floyd adheres to the principles of the Republican party. Both Mr. and Mrs. Floyd are deeply interested in the welfare and upbuilding of the community in which they make their home, and both are esteemed for their genuine worth.

STOCKTON PLUMBING SUPPLY COM-

PANY .- One of the leading and enterprising estab- lishments that is helping to make industrial, building and development history for Central California, is the Stockton Plumbing Supply Company, 327 East Miner Avenue, operated by men thoroughly familiar with the territory in which they do business. This company does general contracting in plumbing, heat- ing and sheet metal lines, and installs plumbing and heating equipment in business houses, office build- ings, schools and educational institutions, homes, etc., anywhere in Central California. Many well known buildings in Stockton and vicinity are evidence of the splendid work of this company, who give careful attention to all specifications and details. Among some of the most important contracts completed by the company are the following: Lodi Union high school, Pacific Telephone Company Building, Tracy grammar school, Escalon grammar school, Roosevelt grammar school, Grant school, El Dorado school, High School auditorium, the last four being in Stock- ton. The apartment house on California and Lafay- ette streets, Gordella Building, the White Hotel, and many other buildings, were contracted by them.

The senior partner of the Stockton Plumbing Supply Company, Edwin H. Grogan, was born in Trinidad, Colo., February 29, 1888, and received his preliminary education in his native city. In 1904, at the age of sixteen, he came to California and located in Stockton and finished his education at the Stock- ton Business College; then learned the plumber's and sheet metal worker's trade with E. A. Whale, who had established his business thirty years ago. Mr. Grogan worked at his trade in the plumbing shops of Stockton until 1915, when he took over the mechanical department of E. A. Whale and worked in this capacity until January 1, 1919, when in part- nership with Lester A. Alling, another employee of the same company, he purchased the above-named business and established the Stockton Plumbing Supply Company.

The marriage of Mr. Grogan united him with Miss Emma Hansen, a native daughter of California, born in Stockton, a daughter of a pioneer family. They are the parents of two children, Edwin H., Jr., and Virginia. Fraternally Mr. Grogan is a member of the Red Men.

Lester A. Alling, the junior member of the firm, is descended from an old pioneer family of Califor- nia, and was born on his father's ranch eight miles east of Stockton, June 23, 1896, a son of Lucius E. and Kate (Utt) Alling, both natives of California and both living. He was educated in the public schools of the country district and later took a busi- ness course at Heald's Business College in Stockton. In 1914 he entered the employ of E. A. Whale and became manager of the company and was so em- ployed for three years. When the recent war broke out he enlisted in the navy as a seaman in the naval reserve and trained at San Pedro, Pelham Bay Park, N. Y., and at the rifle range in the Catskill Moun- tains, N. Y. He became attached to the mine sweep- ing division, Tompkinsville, N. Y., on board the U. S. S. Ripple, and saw service in eastern waters; these mine sweepers sailed ahead of the transports keeping the sea clear of mines and other disturbing elements. The marriage of Mr. Alling occurred in Stockton April 7, 1921, uniting him with Miss Maude Hoffman, who was born at Linden, this county. Mr.

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S. a. alling

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Alling is a member of Karl Ross Post, American Legion.

Wholesale and retail dealers in plumbing merchan- dise, the company carries on display in the tastefully arranged show rooms a large and modern line of accessories and employs only the most capable and experienced men to take charge of the installation work. No order is too large for them to handle, and the same careful attention is given large and small contracts, and they have one of the most complete establishments of the kind in the San Joaquin Valley. As a company they are members of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce, the Builders' Exchange and the Master Plumbers' Association, E. H. Grogan being president of the latter.

THOMAS EVANS .- A most interesting veteran of the Civil War, and among the most highly es- teemed members of the Grand Army of the Republic, is Thomas Evans, a native of Niles, in Trumbull County, Ohio, where he was born on March 19, 1837, the son of Thomas Evans, a member of a well-known Pennsylvania family who had migrated to Ohio. He was of Welsh descent, and he married Miss Nancy McCallister, of Scotch-Irish lineage, both families long resident in the United States, the great- grandfathers having crossed to the New World. There were nine children in the family, among whom he was fifth in the order of birth; and of all these only one brother, now in Missouri, has survived.

Thomas Evans commenced his education in a district school in Ohio; and since his father was both a blacksmith and a farmer, he worked with him in the shop and learned the blacksmith's trade. In the fall of 1860, he went to Laporte, Ind., leaving his par- ents, who lived to be each fifty-six years of age, and thereafter he soon enlisted in the 5th Volunteer Ind- iana Regiment, Battery of Light Artillery, com- manded by Captain Simondson. He trained for about two months in Indianapolis, and then went to Louisville, with the Army of the Cumberland; and he was in the battles of Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and Chattanooga, or until the Fall of Atlanta, in the autumn of 1864. He served as pri- vate, and was No. 1 on the gun crew. He handled the loading of the cannon, and was twice severely injured-once by the kick of the cannon, due to the premature explosion of the powder, and the other time by the kick of a mule! At the end of a loyal service of three years and two months, he was honor- ably discharged on November 23, 1864, when he came back to Indiana.

He took up again the trade of the blacksmith; but soon turned aside to farming, and for many years followed agriculture in Indiana, cultivating at times from 40 to 160 acres. From Laporte he removed to Michigan and farmed in that state for six years; and then he went to Kansas, and again on to Mis- souri, and in 1883 he came to California and settled at Visalia. He farmed for four years, when he again moved on to Stockton, and in 1887 lived here for one summer. He then moved onto the Barnhart ranch at Woodbridge, and for four years conducted their farm of 300 acres. After this, he moved onto the Sharp orchard of twenty acres east of Lodi, and took care of this for one year; when he again moved, to the Drury orchard below Woodbridge, which he ran for about one year. He next came to Acampo, where he bought a home place of one acre; and there he lives today.

Mr. Evans has been twice married. Near Laporte, Ind., in 1858, he was united with Miss Rosana Wil- liams, who was born in Indiana, near Laporte, the daughter of Joseph Williams; and nine years later she closed her beautiful, useful life. In the same vicinity, near Laporte, on June 15, 1872, Mr. Evans married Miss Sarah E. Davis, who was born at La- porte, the daughter of Caleb and Sarah (Wagner) Davis. Her father came from a family of Indiana frontiersmen, and was of Welsh descent, and far back in 1832 he went from Wheeling, Va., to Laporte. Miss Davis was one of ten children, four of whom are living today; she was the ninth child of the family. One of her brothers is Eugene Davis, who is hale and hearty at the age of 91. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have four children. Franklin is at Minneapolis; Hattie is Mrs. Winifred Sims, of Merced; Mamie is Mrs. Atchinson, of Acampo; and Luther is in Trin- ity County. Mr. Evans is a Republican, and a mem- ber of the G. A. R. at Lodi.

ARTHUR W. COWELL .- The advancement of San Joaquin County and the upbuilding of the city of Stockton have a progressive promoter in the per- son of Arthur W. Cowell, the energetic brick and concrete contractor, who has a record of erecting one business block each month for a year. He was born near Richmond, Va., on August 16, 1870. His father, Adelbert M. Cowell, was born in Auburn, N. Y., in 1834, and learned the stone and brick mason's trade; and upon his removal to Washington, D. C., he engaged in the contracting business. Later he did construction work for several railroads in the East. In 1886 he arrived in California and located at San Diego, where he worked for the San Diego Flume Company. The following year he located in Stockton, and here he has been actively engaged in construction work of various kinds. He married Miss Sarah Hollingsworth, and they are the parents of ten children, nine of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Cowell reside in one of the residences he erected on North Stanislaus street.

Arthur W. Cowell, the oldest of his parents' living children, came to California with the family when sixteen years of age and took up the trade of brick mason with his father; and within four years he was able to start in business for himself. Following is a partial list of the buildings he has erected since 1900: the main high school building, the San Joa- quin Valley Bank (now the Bank of Italy) on Hunter Street, the Elks building, the Y. M. C. A. building, the Stockton Savings & Loan Bank, the Wilhoit building, the Lincoln Hotel, the Clark Hotel, the Henry Apartments, the Home Apartments, and Hotel Philson. He also remodeled the Commercial Hotel and built the Smith & Lang building on South San Joaquin Street, the Salvation Army Hotel, and the Oullahan & Littlehale block on Weber Avenue. Then there are the Belding block, Hotel Marion, the Sanguinetti block on Market Street, the Solari block, Steed Brothers' garage, the Flannigan block, the Turner block, the Russell block on California Street, the Stockton Ice & Fuel building, the Ruhl building, and the Gnekow block. He erected the entire block of brick buildings on the south side of Main Street be- tween Stanislaus and American Avenue, which in- cludes the five-story Bronx Hotel, and also the Crane block of buildings on south San Joaquin Street, which includes the Hotel Dale; as well as the Presbyterian Church at the corner of El Dorado & Vine, and the

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new five-story Levy Building at the corner of Main and Hunter. His building operations extend through- out the entire county, and he has erected many sub- stantial and imposing buildings outside of his home city, among them being the Lodi National Bank and the Farmers & Merchants Bank building at Lodi.

The marriage of Mr. Cowell united him with Miss Margaret Willis, a native of England, and they are the parents of three children: Margaret, William A., and Arthur W., Jr. During the late war, William A. Cowell served as sergeant of Company L, 363rd In- fantry, at Camp Lewis, and later was commissioned lieutenant; however, he was not sent overseas. Fra- ternally, Mr. Cowell is a member of Lodge No. 218 B. P. O. E., and Charity Lodge No. 6, I. O. O. F.

FRED L. CONKLIN .- Among the pioneer fam- ilies of 1852 in the Golden State is that which finds worthy representatives in San Joaquin County in Fred L., James E. and Chester W. Conklin. Fred L. Conklin was born at Battle Creek, Mich., a son of James E. and Rhoda (Loder) Conklin. Grandfather James E. Conklin came across the plains to Califor- nia in 1852 and engaged in mining until 1855, when he returned to Michigan and spent the remainder of his days. Fred L. Conklin was the eldest of seven children, the others being Loder, Tilly, Clara, George, Eunice, and Arthur. James E. Conklin lived to be sixty-seven years old, and Rhoda Conklin died at the age of seventy-seven. In 1876, Fred L. Conklin came to California, stopping at Stockton to visit an uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. T. K. Hook, and set- tled first at Santa Barbara, where he spent one win- ter; next he went to Sacramento and for six subse- quent years worked at various kinds of jobs. In 1882 he moved to Stockton, where, one year later, he became an employee of the Sperry Milling Com- pany, first as a laborer; later he became one of the millers, and in 1912 was advanced to head miller, re- maining in that position until 1921, when he retired. In 1883 he married Miss Nettie Eldred, a native of Michigan, a daughter of Chester W. and Evelyn (Dean) Eldred. Her father was a Michigan farmer and the father of a large family. Mr. and Mrs. Conklin are the parents of two sons, James E. and Chester W. In 1905, the father purchased a ten- acre Tokay vineyard west of Acampo, and some time afterwards purchased twenty acres two and a half miles west of Acampo, on the Mokelumne River, which is devoted to an orchard of prunes and peaches. The father is a member of Truth Lodge, No. 55, I. O. O. F., and of Parker Encampment, also a member of the Rainbow Rebekahs, while Mrs. Conk- lin is past noble grand and past district deputy of the Rainbow Rebekahs of Stockton. She died in 1917.

James E. Conklin received his education in the grammar and high schools of Stockton and attended the summer school session at the University of Cali- fornia for several years. For the past seven years he has been the physical director in the Lodi high school, a position he is most capably filling to the entire satisfaction of everyone. Whatever has tended to benefit his community has also received his en- dorsement and co-operation, and he has been a wit- ness of much of the growth and development of his native county. His marriage united him with Miss Hattie Coburn, also a native of Stockton, a daughter of Frank and Jessie (Button) Coburn. Mrs. Conklin was educated in the Stockton schools and they are the parents of one son, James E., Jr.

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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 155

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