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 158

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 158

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GEORGE TEAGARD HUGHES .- Among the pioneer residents of San Joaquin County, nearing four score years, is George Teagard Hughes, who came to this state in boyhood and has always been an active participant in the industrial activity which has marked his career. For fifty years he followed farming pursuits on a farm east of Modesto, Cal., his interests centering in stockraising and dairying. He was born in Greene County, near Jefferson, Pa., October 20, 1845, a son of William Hiller, born June 6, 1821, at Jefferson, Pa., and Margaret Loyd (Hill) Hughes, also a native of Pennsylvania, born at Uniontown. The Hughes family are of Welsh origin. When Hugh Hughes, an early ancestor of our subject, was driven out of Wales for rebellion, his descendants scattered over England, Scotland and Ireland, this branch coming from Scotland and settling near Reading, Pa. Great-grandfather Hughes was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. After the war was over he was sent with a small army west of the Alleghany Mountains to quell what was known as Shay's Rebellion, caused by men refusing to pay the Government tax on whiskey manufactured there. When this was accomplished he left the army and moved west, settling in what is now Greene County, Pa., and was the founder of the town of Jefferson, where he lived and died, being buried in the Cumberland Presbyterian burying ground there. He was a life-long member of the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church as was also the grandfather and father of our subject. In 1853 the father, William Hiller Hughes, moved from Missouri to California and settled in Tuolumne County at Sonora, where he engaged in mining. From there he moved to San Joaquin County in 1857 and settled near where Ripon now stands and there reared a family of seven boys and five girls.

George Teagard Hughes received only a limited education in the schools of Tuolumne and Stanis- laus counties, but the practical knowledge and ex- perience gained on his father's ranch were of ines- timable value in later years. The first piece of pro- perty owned and on which he began his farming pur- suits is the land where now stands . the town of Ripon, and from the beginning of his agricultural activities he was successful, continuing from 1865 to 1912. In 1912, Mr. Hughes sold all of his farming interests and went to Medford, Ore., where he pur- chased a pear orchard; this engaged his attention

for four years when he returned to California, set- tling at San Leandro, where he has since resided.

The marriage of Mr. Hughes occurred April 28. 1875, and united him with Miss Elizabeth A. Davi-

son, a daughter of James and Elizabeth Davison, born near Benton, Mo., on July 24, 1856. Her par- ents came to California when she was two years old and settled on the Tuolumne River eight miles east of Modesto, and the young people were married in the same house the parents had moved into in 1858. They were the parents of nine children: William Le- land; Valora U .; Ruth L., Mrs. Roy S. Cameron; Myrtle M. married Martin C. Wolfe, deceased sev- eral years ago; Estella J., Mrs. Henry A. Schadlich residing at Oakdale; Clarence L. is married and lives at Manteca and is a farmer; Ethel F., Mrs. L. T. Young; George R., is married and lives in Eureka; and Mabel B., is the wife of W. H. Cavill. Mrs. Hughes passed away May 9, 1918, at Madera. For ten years Mr. Hughes was secretary of the Grange at Modesto and as a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party, he has taken an active part in the political affairs of county, state and nation. For a great many years he was a member of the Wildey Lodge, No. 149, I. O. O. F., of Modesto. For the past thirty-five years he has been an active and substantial member of the Baptist Church, hold- ing the office of deacon, trustee, financial secretary and other positions of trust and responsibility. He enjoys the regard of his fellow men, and is widely known and esteemed in Central California.

JAMES M. PRENTICE .- The youngest packing house manager in San Joaquin County at the time of his appointment, when but twenty-seven years old, James M. Prentice, nevertheless made a splendid suc- cess from the start and is now a leader in the fruit packing and shipping business of the county. Stock- ton was Mr. Prentice's birthplace, the date of his birth being June 4, 1890; and his boyhood days were spent in the Weber, Jackson, Fair Oaks and Lafay- ette schools. He continued his education at the Lodi union high school, graduating from that institution. He then entered the employ of the Wells Fargo Ex- press Company, and later of the Biggs Fruit Com- pany, in Lodi. After two years with them, he entered St. Mary's College at Oakland for a three-years' com- mercial course, being graduated in 1916. While there he was very prominent in athletics, making the base- ball, basketball and football teams the first year.

Coming to Lodi immediately after his graduation, Mr. Prentice entered the employ of the Biggs Fruit Company as office manager. In 1918, when the T. H. Peppers Company entered the packing field in San Joaquin County, Mr. Prentice, although young in years, was selected for the position of district agent, covering all of San Joaquin County. Ambitious and energetic, he was successful from the beginning, ship- ping 160 cars the first year, 660 cars the second year, and 1230 cars in 1920, leading all the packers in the county; and unstinted credit is due Mr. Prentice for this output. This company owned 360 acres of vine- yards in San Joaquin County, and operated 900 acres on lease, having ten packing houses in the county. In 1920 they shipped 25,000 tons of Tokay and wine grapes, their business extending all over California. In 1921 the T. H. Peppers Company was absorbed by the American Fruit Growers Inc., and Mr. Pren- tice was continued in charge. In 1916 Mr. Prentice was married to Miss Delma Wakefield, a native daughter of San Joaquin County, whose father, J. W. Wakefield, was a pioneer farmer at Youngstown, in this county. Besides his responsible managerial position, Mr. Prentice is extensively interested in viti-

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James M. Prentice

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culture, having some very valuable properties. He is the owner of a sixty-acre vineyard at Youngstown, known as the Titus ranch, and a twenty-acre vineyard at Victor, a part of the Green ranch. Both are highly improved to Zinfandel and Tokay grapes, and are in full bearing, averaging six tons to the acre in 1920. Numbered among the most progressive young men in the district, Mr. Prentice is a member of the Eagles at Lodi and the Elks of Stockton, as well as the Lions Club at Lodi.

CHARLES DANIEL HOLBROOK .- A success- ful rancher, located three-quarters of a mile from Dougherty station and two and one-half miles from Lodi, is Charles Daniel Holbrook. He was born in Orleans County, Vt., on June 29, 1874, a son of Oscar J. and Ida (Collins) Holbrook, both parents being of Revolutionary stock. Oscar Holbrook was a farmer of Orleans County, and there Charles Daniel first attended school; later he attended the Bryant- Stratton Business College at Chicago. There were but two children in the family, Charles Daniel and Effie, who passed away in 1892. The father lived to be seventy-four years old, but the mother passed away when only thirty-seven years old.

Leaving home when he was ninteen years of age, Charles Daniel Holbrook took up newspaper work, working first on Chicago papers, and then going into business for himself. For twelve years he edited "The Sheep Breeder's Criterion," a publication de- voted almost entirely to live stock and wool; after- wards this publication was absorbed by "The Ameri- can Sheep Breeder and Wool Grower."

In 1896, Mr. Holbrook's father came to California and bought a twenty-acre ranch, which he has since set to vineyard and orchard, ten acres in vineyard, five acres in cherries, four acres in peaches, and one acre in almonds. On this place Charles Daniel Hol- brook now resides. About 1912 Mr. Holbrook in- stalled a pumping plant on his ranch, consisting of a four-inch pump with a ten-horse-power motor. In 1911 he removed to Los Angeles and engaged in an office-equipping business, in connection with the Barker Brothers Furniture Company. For ten years he was engaged in this line of work, returning to his ranch near Lodi on January 1, 1922. He also owns a two-and-a-half-acre place at Gardena, Cal.

On October 25, 1902, at Chicago, occurred the hrst marriage of Mr. Holbrook, which united him with Miss Mary Stanley, a native of Iowa and a daughter of Willard N. and Cornelia (Tompkins) Stanley. She was a graduate of Simpson College at Indianola, Iowa, whither her parents had removed from near Tonawanda, Niagara County, in northern New York. Of this union there are two children, Cornelia and Marcia. Mr. Holbrook's second mar- riage occurred at Long Beach, Cal., and united him with Miss Nora McGahen, formerly a grand opera star, who for seven years was with the Henry W. Savage Grand Opera Company, traveling all over the United States. Mr. Alfred Bennett McGahen, who grew up at the family home at Lansing, Mich., and formerly was also a member of the Henry W. Savage English Grand Opera Company, is Mrs. Holbrook's only surviving brother. He is for the present mak- ing his home with Mr. and Mrs. Holbrook, and has charge of the church choir in the M. E. Church at Lodi. He has an exceptional voice, and is noted as one of America's foremost tenors, having toured in Grand Opera all over the North American Continent

and received flattering press notices in all the lead- ing cities. Mrs. Holbrook is affiliated with the East- ern Star Lodge of Gardena, while Mr. Holbrook is a member of the Masonic Lodge at Gardena. Politi- cally, Mr. Holbrook is a Republican.

CAPTAIN FRED SALBACH .- A popular and well known citizen of Stockton whose record of ser- vice with the fire department of that ctiy covers a period of twenty-five years, is Captain Fred Salbach, captain of Engine Company No. 2. He is a native son of San Joaquin County, born on his father's ranch on the Upper Sacramento Road six miles from Stockton, July 6, 1866, a son of Edward and Kather- ine (Wagner) Salbach, both natives of Germany. Edward Salbach came to California in 1849 and mined at Vallicito, where he met and married Miss Katherine Wagner, who was also a California pio- neer. Seven children were born to them: Leo re- sides in San Francisco; Fred is the subject of this sketch; Edward, deceased; Carl resides in Oakland, Cal .; Adolf, Otto and Bertha, Mrs. Charles Holman, all reside in Stockton.

Fred Salbach began his education in the Green- wood district school, then took a commercial course at the Stockton Business College. At eighteen years of age he went to Modoc County, where he rode the range for a few years, then returned to Stockton and engaged in farming in various parts of the county which occupied him for about five years. He then entered the employ of the Crown Mills in Stockton, and for five years worked under J. M. Welch, when he was appointed patrolman in the police department and served for three years. On June 6, 1898, he was transferred to the fire depart- ment as driver for Engine Company No. 2, where he has remained continuously and is now serving as captain of this company. During the, twenty-five years of his service with the fire department he was engaged in developing thirty acres of the old home place to a cherry orchard, which he later sold to good advantage.

The marriage of Mr. Salbach occurred in Stock- ton, May 11, 1894, which united him with Miss Cora Looper, a native of Albany, Ky., and a daughter of William and Mary (Kidd) Looper. Mrs. Salbach was a babe in arms when her parents removed to California where they developed a ten-acre vine- yard on West's Lane north of Stockton. There were eight children in the Looper family: Charlotte re- sides in Santa Cruz; Doshia is deceased; Mecia re- sides in New York; Cora is Mrs. Salbach; Nellie re- sides in Oakland; Myra resides in San Francisco; Hattie is also a resident of San Francisco, and Etta, Mrs. Hanford, resides in Stockton. Both parents are living in Stockton. Captain and Mrs. Salbach are the parents of one child, Audrey, who is the wife of Ray Esplin, of Stockton. Captain Salbach erected a modern flat building on Willow Street, Stockton, which was the first building in Stockton to be con- structed with radio poles as a built-in feature; this he sold in 1923. In politics he is a Republican and fraternally is a member of the Eagles; B. P. O. Elks, No. 218; Truth Lodge, No. 55, I. O. O. F .; is a Scot- tish Rite thirty-second degree Mason; belongs to Sciots and Stockton Parlor, No. 7, N. S. G. W. Dur- ing the World War, Captain Salbach took an active part in all Liberty Loan drives and was a liberal con- tributor to all calls.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

CHARLES HAAS .- One of Stockton's honored pioneers, the late Charles Haas was a leading mer- chant of this city. He died July 21, 1911, in his eighty-fourth year, having spent fifty-three years of his life in this city, with whose progress and develop- ment he was prominently identified. He was born in Germany on January 12, 1827, in the town of Wal- dürn, Baden, and was one of that group of high thinking and liberty loving men which came out of Germany by reason of the Revolution of 1848-that movement which Morse Stephens, the historian, often referred to as having brought to this country the very highest type of men. His early life was spent in his native town, where he had his early education, and at the age of fourteen he served for a time as copy clerk in the Probate Court.

In 1842, at the age of fifteen, he started out on foot to tour the country and learn his trade, as was the custom of the times. From 1842 to 1845 he lived in Vienna and served his apprenticeship as a watch- maker. The training was most exacting and accentu- ated in him that thoroughness and integrity which were characteristic of his whole life. The stories he used to tell of this period of his life were very inter- esting, such as earning his passage by helping to row a boat down the Danube to Vienna, evading the cus- toms officials that he might go to Trieste to look at the sea for the first time, carrying home offerings to be made at the Cathedral in his native town, where certain sacred relics were worshipped.

On his return to Waldürn, at the age of eighteen, he remained for about a year, but the wanderlust caused him to make a second trip lasting about two years, this time across the Alps by way of the Sim- plon Pass into Italy, with stops in Switzerland. Re- turning home at the age of twenty-one he was drafted into the army, according to the custom of all conti- nental countries. During this time the revolutionary movement for greater freedom and against militarism and Prussian aggressiveness was permeating Ger- many, as were similar movements in France and Italy against their over-lords. Mr. Haas joined in this movement for greater liberty, and when the revolt came and was crushed, he fled to Switzerland, and from there, by means of funds sent to him by his family, he came to New York, arriving in 1849 to start in the new world. Later on his parents, broth- ers and sisters all came to America and lived to ripe old ages. One brother died recently in Portland, Ore., at the age of ninety-six, while one sister is liv- ing and active at the age of ninety-three.

From New York Charles Haas went to Pough- keepsie on the Hudson, where he was employed and for a time managed the business of John Morgan of that city. In 1852 the desire to move on with the new country led him to set sail for California. Trav- eling by way of Panama he walked across the Isth- mus and embarked for San Francisco. He often joked about his first experience in California. When he came ashore he had just twenty-five cents left. He went to the address of a friend, who had preceded him to San Francisco, only to find him moved. Walk- ing into a nearby store he asked for a cigar, for which the clerk accepted his twenty-five cents in a conde- scending manner, the price being "two bits," of which he had never heard. On inquiring about his friend, the clerk said he had never heard of him. He was therefore without friends or money, but he had a smoke and, incidentally, it may be said that this was

characteristic, because he loved his cigar and always had one close at hand. The day of his arrival was not over before he had employment and inside of a month he had established his own business on Com- mercial Street, which was then built out over the water and known as Long Wharf.

In 1853 Mr. Haas bought an interest in the firm of Lortzendorf & Company, wholesale jewelry manufac- turers, whose place of business was on Jackson Street near Montgomery. His association in the wholesale business caused him to travel through the interior and he made regular trips through the northern and south- ern mines along the mother lode. These trips took him by steamer to Sacramento and Stockton. Real- izing the possibilities of a location in Stockton, Mr. Haas arranged in June, 1858, for the purchase by his firm of the jewelry business of J. & C. Ling, which was established in 1850. Old newspaper clippings of these times speak of the first location of this store as being on "Levee Street, opposite the Bridge," which is today Weber Avenue between Main and El Dorado Streets. In September, 1853, the store was moved to a one-story wooden building on El Dorado Street. The fire of February 21, 1855, swept out this store, and the rest of the block, but the business was re- established in the same location.

The business district of Stockton began to shift from El Dorado Street, and in November, 1875, Charles Haas established a second store on Main Street, with his son, Charles J., in charge, under the firm name of Charles Haas & Son. Three years later the El Dorado Street business was given up and the two stores combined at 204 Main Street, one door west of their present location. This firm name held for twenty-five years, or until the business was incor- porated in 1902, with Charles Haas and his four sons as partners, and the firm became Charles Haas & Sons, as it is today. On May 3, 1903, a second fire occurred and the entire building was demolished. Though suffering a considerable loss, the firm saved the contents of the vaults, among them the many watches left for repair. Since 1850 over 100,000 chro- nometers had passed through the repair department and a systematic record had been kept of them.

Charles Haas was active in the management of the business until his demise, being widely recognized as an expert in his field, a genuine artist as well as an able business man. In 1868, while on a trip to the East, he selected the town clock which was formerly on the old courthouse and is now on the Eureka Engine House. This clock was paid for by popular subscription and the original list of subscribers, now in possession of Robert M. Haas, is an interesting one, and may be considered as the "Blue Book" of its day.

Throughout the long period of his residence in Stockton Mr. Haas never failed to take an active and helpful part in the work of public progress. He was one of the founders and charter members of the Stock- ton Savings and Loan Society, and served continuous- ly as a director of that institution until his death. In 1872 he was chosen City Treasurer of Stockton, in which capacity he served one term. He was a charter member of the Turnverein Societies in both Pough- keepsie and San Francisco, and was one of the found- ers of the local society. In 1876 he was instrumental in the building of the society hall, and as one of the oldest members of this society it was his custom to lead the celebration on each New Year's Eve. For

Chat Haas

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

more than half a century, with but one exception, he brought in the punch bowl at the stroke of twelve.

On June 20, 1854, Mr. Haas was married in San Francisco to Miss Elizabeth Kuhn, a native of Ger- many. They became the parents of three sons, Charles J., Herman O., and Robert M. Charles J. Haas was married in Stockton in 1875 to Miss Hattie M. Baldwin, of that city. Herman O. Haas is a resi- dent of San Francisco. Robert M. Haas was married in 1887 to Miss Mary Fann, a native of Missouri, and they have a son, R. Raymond Haas, who is now treasurer of Charles Haas & Sons. Robert M. Haas is now president and manager of the firm of Charles Haas & Sons. In 1874 he became his father's busi- ness associate,, and he has since been actively identi- fied with the establishment and its various enterprises.

In 1866 Charles Haas suffered the loss of his wife, who died in Stockton on May 30, of that year. On June 15, 1869, he was again married, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., to Miss Charlotte Merk, a native of that state. One son was born to them, Edward F. Haas, a civil engineer, residing in San Francisco; he was married in Stockton, on October 18, 1906, to Miss Mabel Thompson, of that city, and they have two chil- dren-Edward Thompson and Alice Charlotte. .

In every relation of life Charles Haas was true to high and honorable principles. His integrity in busi- ness affairs, his loyalty in matters of citizenship, his fidelity to the ties of friendship, and his devotion to home and family, were characteristics which won for him the high and enduring regard of all with whom he was associated.

JOSEPH HARTMAN .- Prominent among the most enterprising, experienced, progressive and suc- cessful vineyardists of San Joaquin County may well be numbered Joseph Hartman, whose fine "show place" is situated one and one-half miles west of Acampo. He was born in Württemberg, Germany, on November 25, 1864, the son of William Hartman, a stonemason by trade, who had married Miss Caro- line Haug. They were intelligent, progressive folks, who encouraged the lad to study and permitted him to go to school until he was seventeen years old. The oldest of a family of six children, he was the first to take up a trade; and he learned the art of the old-time blacksmith. His father lost his life when he was forty years of age, while his mother has lived to be eighty-two.

At the end of his three years of thorough appren- ticeship, Joseph Hartman came out to America, with his mother and his brothers and sisters, and settled in Nemaha County, Kans .; and there he bought eighty acres of land, which he farmed for three years. His mother and the rest of the family re- mained there for another three years, and Joseph went on to North Dakota, whither he was later fol- lowed by the other members of the family, four of whom took up grain land homesteads in Dickey County, N. D. The nearest town was a distance of five miles. They pluckily persevered and im- proved these ranches, and, having sold out in the fall of 1905, they came out to California and settled near Acampo, and there his mother is living with him today, hale and hearty.

Mr. Hartman purchased forty acres of young vineyard and planted the same to Mission, Tokay and Zinfandel grapes; and since the ranch already had a good dwelling-house upon it, he was able the 68

easier to make a good start. He has developed water from a ten-inch well, has a good pump, driven by an electric motor, and gets an abundant stream for irrigation. Mr. Hartman has made his vine- yard one of the most desirable hereabouts; and while attending to business, he has also taken a live and patriotic interest in the political issues of the day.

In Nemaha County, Kans., on April 3, 1888, Mr. Hartman was married to Miss Caroline Relinger, a native of that county, and the daughter of Martin Relinger. Mrs. Hartman is a gifted woman, and an ideal mother to her six children. The oldest child, John, died at the age of eighteen; Gertrude has be- come Mrs. Strother, of Acampo; William is with his father; Pauline is now Mrs. Ed. McComb, of Lodi, and Theodore and August still reside at home.

EDWARD L. GNEKOW .- A naturally capable plumber whose years of practical, invaluable exper- ience now placed at the service of all of his patrons, have given him a leading position in Stockton among the best craftsmen in his line anywhere in Califor- nia, is Edward L. Gnekow, whose fine plumbing and electrical outfitting establishment at 647 East Main Street, is widely and well known to the citizens of San Joaquin County. He was born at Stockton, on September 15, 1862, the son of Rudolph and Chris- tiana (Bollinger) Gnekow.

He attended the local schools, after which he was apprenticed to learn the baker's trade. He did not like his first choice, so he took up the plumbing trade instead. He entered the service of Robert Rowe in 1880, remaining until 1883; and then for the next two years he was with Fred Ruhl, and after that, for a couple of years, with the Stockton City Laundry. On September 1, 1886, he formed a part- nership in plumbing with George F. Schuler, the firm becoming known as Gnekow & Schuler; and this partnership was continued during three years until May, 1889.

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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 158

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