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 157

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 157

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During the recent war, Mr. Oullahan was one of the eighteen captains in the liberty bond campaign in San Joaquin County, and a member of the County Council of Defense. He is a member of the advisory board of the Stockton branch of the Bank of Italy, was one of the organizers of the Chamber of Com- merce and served on its first board of directors, and later served two more terms in the same capacity.

The marriage of Mr. Oullahan united him with Miss Albertena Parker, a native daughter of Stock- ton, Cal., whose father, J. B. Parker, was a Stockton pioneer. Fraternally, Mr. Oullahan has been a mem- ber of the Stockton Lodge, No. 218, Elks, for twenty-two years, and takes an active part in all the events of the order. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and Yosemite Club. He

is an active member of the Stockton Realty Board, being a member of the appraisement committee, and is also a member of the State Realty Board. While attending to his own business affairs, Mr. Oullahan always finds ample time to lend his influence to all movements that have for their aim the advancement of the city, county and state.

JOHN J. SCHMIEDT .- Among the additions to the substantial citizenship of California is John J. Schmiedt, a prosperous vineyardist of the Victor sec- tion, in San Joaquin County, residing on his 200- acre ranch and vineyard three-quarters of a mile north and one-quarter of a mile east of Victor. He is a progressive and enterprising man in all his un- dertakings; and he has been successful, gaining and retaining the respect and confidence of his fellow- men wherever his home has been. He was born in Hutchinson County, S. D., on July 14, 1879, a son of John and Dora (Foda) Schmiedt. His father was an early pioneer- of South Dakota, where he had settled upon arrival from his native country of Russia. There he homesteaded 160 acres and also a timber claim of like amount. In 1890 he re- moved to Eugene, Ore., where he farmed for five years. He then located near Biggs, Butte County, and later came on to Manteca, San Joaquin County, where he was among the first to engage in intensive farming and helped improve that section. He and his wife now live in Lodi, retired and in the en- joyment of a competency. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom John J. is the oldest

John J. Schmiedt received his education in the public schools of South Dakota and Oregon. When he was seventeen years of age his parents moved to Califor- nia, and he immediately started working on large farms, driving the big teams in the grain fields. He worked for George W. Pierce, west of Davis in Yolo County and soon became his foreman, a position he held for a period of four years. Resigning his posi- tion to begin farming on his own account, he came to Lodi in 1902 and bought twenty acres of unim- proved land, twelve acres of which he set to vine- yard and the balance to orchard of peaches, pears, plums and apricots. Later this property was sold and he purchased thirty acres north of Victor, stubble field which he improved to an orchard and vineyard. In partnership with Herman Vollbrecht he owns 105 acres due south of the Christian Church, of rich river- bottom land, where the partners have an eighty-acre vineyard, the balance being set to Bartlett pears. With Charles W. Hoag he owns two ranches, one of thirty and one of forty acres, in the Christian Col- ony section, all devoted to vineyard. Individually he owns a ranch of eighty-two acres three-fourths of a mile east of his home. Twenty acres of this is in vineyard and the balance he will set to orchard. Then he owns a seventeen-acre vineyard and a six- teen-acre cherry orchard and vineyard, both near Victor, and also twenty-three acres of plums and vineyard just south of Victor. He is progressive and constructive and has erected and owns business and residence property in Victor. He is a stockholder in the Woodbridge Vineyard Association and the Community Winery of Lodi. Mr. Schmiedt has also made a good success as a salesman from the auction block and is both a bonded and licensed auctioneer.

On December 27, 1902, at Lodi, occurred the mar- riage of Mr. Schmiedt, which united him with Miss Barbara Erfla, born in Russia in the vicinity of the

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

city of Odessa, a daughter of David and Barbara (Fink) Erfla. Her father is a farmer who on coming to America settled in North Dakota and homesteaded a tract of land. He now resides in Lodi. Mr. and Mrs. Schmiedt had eight children: Pauline, Freda, deceased; George, Gus, Henry, Clifford, Melvin and Virginia. Mrs. Schmiedt is a woman of much native ability and business acumen. Some years ago, re- ceiving a legacy of $300, she invested it in land, and by selling and buying land and crops she has been very successful. Her profits on the different deals have accumulated until she now owns a full-bearing sixteen-acre vineyard, a splendid source of income. Mr. Schmiedt has surrounded his family with com- forts and plenty. The fine modern home he has just completed is much enjoyed by the family, and his thrift is shown by the fine orchard and vineyard, and irrigation system, the results of his industry and good management. In politics he is a Republican, and fra- ternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Lodi. They are members of the Ger- man Baptist Church in Lodi, of which he is a trustee. He is also trustee in Victor school district.

ROBERT C. TUBBS .- As an authority in horti- cultural matters, Robert C. Tubbs is well-known throughout San Joaquin County, having been con- nected with the County Horticultural Commission for eighteen years. He is now deputy horticultural inspector for the Lodi district, his territory includ- ing all the locality lying north of the Eight-Mile Road. He was born in Lee County, near Keokuk, Iowa, on July 20, 1855, his parents, both now de- ceased, being George L. and Nancy (Fitzsimmons) Tubbs, the former a native of Ohio, the latter of Pennsylvania. The family removed to California in 1860, settling on an eighty-acre claim near Tyson, in the Woodbridge district, which Mr. Tubbs bought from B. DeVries. Here he engaged in farming and breeding fine horses, becoming known all over this part of California for his love of blooded horses, and his pride in them. After seven years here he sold out and moved to Amador County, purchasing the Buena Vista Ranch in Jackson Valley, and here he continued to breed trotting, running and carriage horses. An expert judge of horse flesh, he had a string of blooded animals there, among them the Duke of Allexes, Winnie Winters, Jack Hawkins, and Jim Corbett, all famous in their day and well- remembered by the early settlers. He was a per- sonal friend of Ross Sargent, the famous horse king of San Joaquin County. Mr. Tubbs' ranch in Jack- son Valley was on rich bottom land, highly improved, and was one of the show places of the county. He later planted a deciduous fruit orchard of fifty acres being one of the first men to commercialize fruit growing in Amador County. After many years on this ranch he finally disposed of it and removed to Lodi, where he passed away in 1919 at the age of eighty-eight years. A fine type of the sturdy pion- eer settler, he was a familiar and well-known figure on the streets of Lodi, driving one of his fine horses, his love for them lasting to the last years of his life. Of the nine children of Mr. and Mrs. Tubbs, four are living: Robert C. of this sketch; Warren, who lives at Sonora; and Melissa and Edgar, of Lodi.

In the pursuit of his education, Robert C. Tubbs first attended the Ray school at Tyson and the Buena Vista school in Amador County, and then took a

course in the Stockton Business College. For a time he followed farming on his father's ranch in Amador County, and then, in partnership with C. H. Pease as Tubbs & Pease, bought the Sedgwick Express in Stockton, which they renamed the River Express, carrying on their business on the river boats between Stockton and San Francisco. Selling out later, Mr. Tubbs went back to the old home ranch in Amador County and took up horticultural work, planting a large orchard to peaches, prunes, and plums, and carrying on the business under the firm name of G. L. Tubbs & Son, the company being stockholders in the old California Fruit Union, one of the earliest fruit-marketing organizations in this part of California.

In 1899 Mr. Tubbs sold out his holdings and moved to Lodi, where he became foreman of the Satsuma Orchard owned by M. P. Stein & Company, of Stockton, consisting of eighty acres of deciduous fruits and grapes. He continued in this position until 1907, when he bought a small orchard near Lodi, which he developed into a fine property. He disposed of it in 1920. During all these years he continued to make a thorough study of horticulture and viticulture, particularly of the problems encoun- tered in this part of California, and his years of ex- perience have made him an authority. Since 1903 he has been connected with the San Joaquin County Horticultural Commission; and now, as deputy hor- ticultural inspector, he has charge of a large terri- tory, his duties including quarantine inspection of all new nursery stock brought into the district, stand- ardization and inspection of green fruit, and rodent control. His work has grown until he requires from three to seven deputies.

Mr. Tubbs was united in marriage in San Fran- cisco, Cal., to Miss Nellie H. Green, a native of Petaluma, Cal., and a daughter of Frank and Mary (Wharff) Green, who were born in Massachusetts, and were pioneers of California in 1849 and 1852, respectively. Mrs. Tubbs was reared in San Francisco. They are the parents of two children: George F. is a merchant at Livermore, Cal .; and Edna is the wife of J. D. Yates, of Turlock, and the mother of one daughter. Mr. Tubbs, who was a charter member of Truth Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Stockton, is now a member of Lodi Lodge, No. 267, I. O. O. F., and a Past Grand; and also a member of Harmony Encampment.

HENRY C. KINNEY .- When Henry C. Kinney arrived in California, in 1876, the San Joaquin Valley was one vast plain covered with native grass, where thousands of head of fat cattle ranged with no fences to detain them, herded and guarded by the cowboy of frontier days. Soon afterward the railroad was built through the valley and changes from frontier conditions to the present high state of cultivation began, in which Mr. Kinney took an active part. He was born in Joliet, Ill., February 13, 1853, a son of George H. and Caroline Elizabeth (Burnham) Kin- ney, and early in life was taken to Madison County, N. Y., where he was reared and educated. In the fall of 1876 he came West and located at San Jose, where he remained for two years. He then removed to Placer County and there entered the employ of Towle Brothers, prominent lumbermen of that county, who ran large lumber mills, and with whom he remained for seventeen years. Twenty-six years

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

ago he came to Stockton, where he purchased land south of the city and set out an orchard of walnuts, cherries, figs, etc. Later he sold his ranch and de- voted his time to walnut-growing in the San Joaquin Valley. His years of study and experience along this line have made him one of the best-informed men in California on soil and climatic conditions best suited for the successful growth of walnut trees. His suc- cess in grafting and budding of fruit and walnut trees has been attained by his characteristic thorough- ness and industry. At one time he grafted 250 wal- nut trees in the city of Stockton without the loss of one. He has top-grafted trees throughout the county, and is an authority along this line of horticulture. His work has been productive of better orchards, more abundant crops, and finer quality of fruit, a most substantial contribution to the development to his community.

The marriage of Mr. Kinney united him with Miss Adelaide L. Willard, a native of New York; and two children have blessed their union, Clinton P. and Mary Grace. While residing in Placer County, Mr. Kinney was a member of the county board of edu- cation for ten years. Fraternally, he is a member of the Woodmen of the World. He and his esti- mable wife are among the well-known and represent- ative pioneer people of this section of California, and enjoy the warm regard of a large circle of friends.

THOMAS S. LOUTTIT .- Typical of the oppor- tunities which the city of Stockton offers to its native-born sons is the life of Thomas S. Louttit, who has risen,to a foremost position at the bar of his home town. Here he was born on July 11, 1876; here the foundation of his education was laid in the public and high schools; and here, too, he began the study of the law under the talented preceptorship of his father, the late James Alexander Louttit. Upon the completion of his studies he was admitted to the bar, in 1903, before the supreme court of California in San Francisco, and at once commenced professional work in partnership with his father under the firm title of Louttit & Louttit, which connection con- tinued until the death of the senior partner three years later. A sketch of the life of Jas. A. Louttit will be found on another page in this history. After his father's death in 1906, Thomas S. Louttit formed a partnership with De Witt Clary under the name of Clary & Louttit, in which he continued until the death of Mr. Clary; then, in 1919, he formed a part- nership with Gordon A. Stewart, the firm name be- ing Louttit & Stewart.

Mr. Louttit was married in 1898 to Miss Anna Jane Hunter, a native of San Joaquin County, and a daughter of H. M. & Anna J. (Ortman) Hunter. Her mother came of one of the pioneer families of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Louttit are the parents of one son, Thomas Hunter. Fraternally, Mr. Louttit is a member of Stockton Parlor, No. 7, N. S. G. W., and San Joaquin Blue Lodge, No. 19, of the Masons. He is also a member of the Stockton Elks, No. 218. He was a charter member and the first president of the Kiwanis Club of Stockton, and is a member of the Stockton Golf and Country Club and the Yosemite Club. He is a director in the Morris Plan Bank of Stockton, and a director in the Bank of Manteca. At the city election on May 2, 1922, he was elected secretary of the Board of Freeholders to frame a new charter for the city of Stockton.

WILLIAM PRESZLER .- Among the successful vineyardists of San Joaquin County, one who has spent the greater part of his life in the county is William Preszler, the owner of a fine thirty-seven acre vineyard near Victor. He was born in Hutch- inson County, S. D., on December 25, 1896, a son of George and Margareta (Schnaidt) Preszler, both parents natives of South Russia who were born near Odessa, and came from their native country and set- tled in Hutchinson County, S. D., when very young. His father, George Preszler, farmed a half-section of land in Hutchinson County' until 1901, when he came to San Joaquin County and purchased his home place, which he improved to vineyard, and has purchased other ranches in the vicinity of Victor. The par- ents of his mother were farmers in Russia who also settled in Hutchinson County, S. D. William Preszler is the third oldest in a family of eight chil- dren, as follows: Edward; Emma, Mrs. Kirschen- mann; William, our subjetc; Henry, Allina, Ida, Martha and Lenhardt.

William Preszler obtained his education in the Lockeford and Victor district schools, but reading and observation supplemented his schooling. He assisted his father on the home ranch until he started out for himself, and it has been due to his own in- herent qualities of manhood and character that he has won a successful career.

The marriage of Mr. Preszler occurred on April 2, 1920, and united him with Miss Leontina Heil, a daughter of Peter and Caroline (Neuhardt) Heil, both natives of Russia. In 1887 Peter Heil came to Amer- ica and settled in South Dakota, where he obtained work on the great Dakota farms. In December of 1906 the family came to California and located on land near Victor, and at once planted it to vine- yard. Since that time, Mr. Heil has bought, im- proved and sold a number of ranches throughout San Joaquin County, which have netted him a good profit. Besides his farming interests, Mr. Heil is an inde- pendent packer, shipping through the Peppers Fruit Company, and his investments and activities have made him independent financially. There were ele- ven children in the family, only seven of whom are now living: Emanuel, Ella, now Mrs. Edward Presz- ler, Leontina, now Mrs. William Preszler, Freda, aud Theodore were all born in the Dakotas; Eugene and Regina are natives of California. Mrs. Preszler received her education in the Alpine and Victor schools. She also studied piano and organ, being talented in music. Mr. and Mrs. Preszler are the parents of one son, Neil William.

Mr. Preszler served seven months in the United States Army. Enlisting on August 1, 1918, he was sent to Camp Lewis in Company E of the First Cali- fornia Infantry, and after seven months service was discharged at the Presidio, San Francisco, and im- mediately returned to his home in San Joaquin Coun- ty. He has recently completed a fine modern bung- alow on his ranch property and his vineyard is irri- gated from the irrigation plant owned by his father, his brothers, and himself-a large twelve-inch pump- ing plant, thirty-horsepower motor, pumping water from the Mokelumne River and giving them a flow of water sufficient to irrigate 170 acres. This system is a very valuable asset to his vineyard. He is a stockholder in the Northern California Fruit Com- pany, Inc., that handles the fruit grown by ten members, who are independent packers and shippers. He is a member of Lodi Post No. 2, American Le-

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gm Pressler Leontina Preszler

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

gion. He and his wife are members of Salem Re- formed Church in Lodi, and take an active interest in its benevolences. The neat and thrifty appear- ance of his ranch, coupled with the handsome com- petence which he receives each year from his har- vets, plainly indicates that his vocation was wisely chosen and that success has rewarded him for his labor. In 1923 Mr. Preszler purchased two vineyards comprising 151/2 acres, both highly improved and lo- cated near his home ranch.

ALDEN HAMMOND .- A California pioneer of 1849, Alden Hammond was born in Newport, R. I., August 5, 1834, a son of Moses and Abigail (Marble) Hammond, who were merchants in Newport. Moses Hammond came to California and located in Stock- ton, engaging in the lumber business here.

Alden Hammond was a lad of fifteen when he came to California. He was employed in the lum- ber yard, and later became a farmer. He was mar- ried in Stockton to Miss Elizabeth B. W. Gorham, born in Nantucket, N. Y., who came with her pioneer father to California when young. The mother was a woman of very loving and affable disposition, and was endeared to everyone. She passed away in August, 1910. Five children were born in the fam- ily: Mary Elizabeth (Mrs. Southrey), Martha Gor- ham (Mrs. Wheeler), Cynthia G. (Mrs. Adams), and George G., all of Stockton, and Mrs. Emma Nason, deceased. The father resided on the old home place till the time of his death, January 4, 1923.

JAMES A. PIERCE .- Among the excellent ranch properties four and a half miles northeast of Acampo, San Joaquin County, is one that is owned and culti- vated by James A. Pierce, who has made his home in this section for the past thirty-seven years. A native Californian, he was born at Pleasanton, Alameda County, on September 17, 1871, a son of David and Rose (Monahan) Pierce, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ireland. During the year of 1853, David Pierce came to California and went into the mines at Hangtown, remaining there until he removed to Modesto, where he engaged in the hotel business for a few years. He later re- moved to Alameda County and there remained until his death at the age of sixty-seven. Mrs. Pierce passed away at the age of sixty-four.

James A. Pierce obtained his education in the dis- trict schools of Alameda and Sacramento counties and when seventeen years of age began working as a farm hand in the orchards of San Joaquin County and by his hard work and economical habits saved enough money to purchase a fifteen-acre orchard and vineyard, which he has operated ever since.

Mr. Pierce's marriage occurred on June 7, 1905, and united him with Miss Mary McTucker, also a native Californian, born in the Elliott district of San Joaquin County, a daughter of Nathaniel and Ione (Watson) McTucker. Her father, Nathaniel Mc- Tucker, made his first trip across the plains in 1848, bringing with him cattle and horses, and he was the first importer of fine horses to the Pacific Coast. On his last trip to Illinois he was married to Miss Ione Watson, at Berry, Pike County, and came back to California via Panama, settling in the Elliott dis- trict of San Joaquin County. Her father passed away at the age of sixty-seven; her mother still lives at the age of eighty-seven and is one of the few pion- eers of that locality. They were the parents of six

children, Mrs. Pierce being the youngest child. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce are the parents of two children: James Francis and Mary Alberta. Politically, Mr. Pierce gives his support to progressive, construct- ive legislation, regardless of party lines, supporting the best man for public office. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights of Pythias of Lodi.

EMERSON B. HERRICK .- One of the best- known and most popular citizens of the Lodi section of San Joaquin County is Emerson B. Herrick, who on May 16, 1922, was appointed postmaster of this thriving city. He is endowed with the talents which make for leadership among men, and his executive ability and clear-headedness make him a valuable in- cumbent of the office of postmaster, in which he gives universal satisfaction. He was born in Jackson, Ama- dor County, Cal., June 30, 1894, a son of Dr. Charles A. and Lilly Virginia (Robertson) Herrick. Charles A. Herrick was born in Arcola, Humboldt County, Cal. Grandfather Isaiah Herrick left his native state of Maine in 1855 and crossed the plains by ox-team train to California. Arriving in California, he went to ranching and in time became an extensive land owner in Humboldt County. The mother of Emer- son Herrick was born in San Andreas, Calaveras County, California. Her father, Elisha Bryant Rob- ertson, was a planter in Tennessee, and in 1852 came around the Horn to California and settled at Copper- opolis, where he mined for gold and was fairly suc- cessful in placer mining. He married Miss Lucy Sherman, who came via Panama to California. Elisha Robertson was one of the first graduates of the To- land Hall, a college of medicine in San Francisco. He spent many years practicing medicine among the Indians of Amador and Calaveras Counties, and learned their language and customs. No call for a physician ever went unheeded by him. Dr. Charles A. Herrick and his good wife reside in San Francisco, where he has a lucrative dental practice. He has been secretary of the state board of dental examiners since 1901.

Emerson B. Herrick was reared and received his early education in Jackson, after which he moved with his parents to San Francisco. He then entered the Lowell high school, and after his graduation entered the agricultural department of the University of Cal- ifornia, graduating in 1917 with the B. S. degree. During the late war, Mr. Herrick was placed in the United States Geological Survey, Western Depart- ment, including the territory west from Colorado and New Mexico to the Pacific Coast. The work of this survey was to reclassify lands in the public domain according to soil and vegetation. Complet- ing this work, he removed to Lodi in November, 1918, where he took charge, as field manager for the Ala- meda Sugar Company, of their entire acreage of 1,600 acres in the Lodi section, devoted to raising beets, etc. Mr. Herrick remained in charge for one year, and then leased a vineyard of fifty acres seven miles northwest of Lodi, and also 150 acres of grain land, which he farmed for a year. In 1921 he was with the Tracy-Waldron Fruit Company, and one season was spent with the Pacific Fruit Exchange at Lodi. He then purchased an eighteen-acre vineyard on the Terminus road, where he has installed a five- inch pump with a ten-horse-power motor which affords ample irrigation for the entire acreage.

On May 1, 1918, at Santa Rosa, Cal., Mr. Herrick was married to Miss Adah Smith, a native of that

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city, and a daughter of J. C. and Mae (Gibson) Smith, natives of Sonoma County and Calaveras County, respectively. Mr. Smith is serving his third term as county assessor of Sonoma County, and for four- teen years preceding he was deputy assessor of the same county. Mr. and Mrs. Herrick have two chil- dren, Adah Virginia and Robert Emerson, Mr. Her- rick is a Republican in politics; and fraternally, he was made a Mason in Lodi Lodge, No. 256, F. & A. M., and is also a member of the Eastern Star of Lodi. He is the president of the Lodi Lions Club and a director of the San Joaquin County branch of the Federation of American Farmers. Mrs. Her- rick is a member of the Eastern Star. Both she and her husband are members of the Episcopal Church in 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 157

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