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 172

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 172

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Grimsley has always taken an active part in civic affairs. During the World War he was active in all Liberty Loan drives; at the present time he is a director in the Chamber of Commerce and has been a member of that body for many years. He is a member of the Stockton Parlor, N. S. G. W .; the Elks and the Yosemite Club. Mr. Grimsley has been very successful in his business ventures, and makes friends wherever he goes and is always ready to give of his time and energy to any good cause, and Stock- ton is proud to count him among her citizens.

-- -

L.F. Erineley

1195

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

FRANK HUTCHINSON .- A well known and worthy representative of farming interests in the Ripon district of San Joaquin County is found in Frank Hutchinson, now content to live a more quiet life, after many years of activity. He was born at Schenectady, N. Y., January 9, 1856, a son of Will- iam and Hester (Van Patten) Hutchinson, who were of Scotch and Holland Dutch parentage and parents of three children, all living. The mother died about 1861. When a lad of ten years he accompanied his father to California via Panama. His parent was a machinist by trade and upon arriving in San Fran- cisco, entered the shops of the Union Iron Works; some years later he went to Sacramento as a fore- man in the railroad shops. While on a visit to rel- atives and friends in the home town of Schenectady, in May, 1886, he passed away. Frank Hutchinson remained in California and at the age of fourteen went to work on the John Frederick ranch near Ripon, where he remained for eighteen months; then went to live with Warren Howell on the ranch northwest of Ripon, what is now known as the Nor- ton and Anger vineyard, and by the time he was sixteen years old, he had plowed and sowed a sec- tion of land, as well as setting out the locust trees seen in the front of the house. Forty-one years ago, Mr. Hutchinson began his farming pursuits near Ripon, where he has since resided.

On September 1, 1881, Mr. Hutchinson was mar- reid to Miss Mary Ellen Nutt, a daughter of Elias and Lucinda (Beatley) Frederick-Nutt, being the eldest of six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Nutt. Elias Nutt crossed the plains to California in 1861 and settled four miles southwest of Ripon one year later, where he farmed extensively to grain. He died at the age of seventy-four years, in 1884. He was a man of unquestioned honesty and uprightness of purpose and could always be depended upon to do his share in the development of the locality in which he lived.

Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson are the parents of three children; Clarence Ed. married Miss Alice Swag- gerty and is a rancher in the Calla district; Laura Inez is Mrs. Redwood W. Fisher; and William Arthur married Miss Lucinda May Nicewonger and they have four children and reside on the Nutt home- stead four miles west of Ripon. From 1887 to 1888, Mr. Hutchinson was in the general merchandise business at Ripon with E. C. Dickenson as a partner; then he returned to his farming pursuits, which have since engaged his attention, and has been identified with all movements for the benefit of his locality. From the very first he has been active in the or- ganization and development of the South San Joa- quin irrigation district. For twenty years he has served as trustee of the San Joaquin school district and in 1911 he was elected constable of Dent town- ship and served for ten consecutive years, resigning in 1921. As president of the board of trustees of the Union high school at Ripon he accomplished an outstanding work in handling the building affairs of the district and his foresight and judgment were, in no small measure, responsible for the fine, modern school building. For a number of years. Mr. Hutch- inson has been in the real estate and insurance busi- ness and in this connection has been instrumental in bringing new settlers to the Ripon district, thus becoming an important factor in the advancement of the community. Since the organization of the Farm-

ers' Mutual Protective Fire Insurance Company, Mr. Hutchinson has been the local agent. In politics Mr. Hutchinson is a Republican and fraternally is a member of Mt. Horeb Lodge No. 58, I. O. O. F. at Ripon, is a past district deputy and has served as a delegate to the grand lodge and he also be- longs to Modesto Encampment No. 48. Mr. Hutch- inson owns a fifty-acre dairy and orchard farm in which he takes especial pride, keeping it in fine condition. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson have during the long years of their residence here won the fa- vorable regard, good will and trust of all with whom they have come in contact, and in business circles Mr. Hutchinson sustains an unassailable reputation, because he has ever been straightforward, prompt and just in all his dealings. On October 3, 1922, Mr. Hutchinson received the appointment from the board of supervisors as a member of the board of directors of the South San Joaquin Irrigation Dis- trict, to succeed A. J. Nourse, who resigned. This is an added honor to this pioneer who has ever had the best interests of the community at heart.

G. E. LAWRENCE .- Near the present site of Lodi, on April 14, 1861, occurred the birth of G. E. Lawrence. His parents were Ezekiel and Mary (Hutchins) Lawrence, both natives of Ontario, Can- ada. His father crossed the plains, arriving in Sac- ramento in the spring of 1850. He went immediately to the mines, where he spent a number of years en- gaged in mining, in the merchandise business, and in working at his trade as a carpenter. He came to the Lodi district in the year 1857 and settled on government land, perfecting his title to a homestead and a pre-emption right. He began immediately to clear and improve the land, and engaged in grain farming. He also planted one of the first orchards and vineyards in this vicinity. In 1869, in conjunc- tion with two adjacent landholders he petitioned the Central Pacific Railroad Company to establish the station which afterwards became the site of the city of Lodi. The first schoolhouse in Salem school district was erected on his land in the year 1859, he donating the carpenter work. He and an- other pioneer, John Hutchins, established the first irrigating plant in this vicinity, diverting the water from the Mokelumne River by means of a fifteen inch centrifugal pump driven by steam power. There were three children in his family: William H., de- ceased; George E., and Nettie M. Lawrence.

George E. Lawrence, after finishing the district schools, entered St. Mary's College, from which in- stitution he graduated in 1882 with the degree of B. S. He then took up the study of the law, and was elected justice of the peace of Elkhorn Town- ship, in which office he served one term. He then entered the law offices of David S. Tiry and J. C. Campbell, in the city of Stockton, and was admitted to practice in 1887. He followed the practice of his profession for a number of years, up to the death of his brother, after which he returned to Lodi and took charge of his family's interests. He planted the first almond orchard of commercial size in the coun- ty, and was a pioneer in the Tokay grape industry, which has added so much to the wealth and pros- perity of the county.

When Lodi was incorporated, in 1906, Mr. Law- rence was elected a member of the board of trustees and became the first mayor of the city, which posi- tion he held for two terms. During his tenure of

1196

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

office many matters of great importance to the fu- ture development of Lodi were undertaken and brought to a successful termination. All privately owned public utilities were purchased and the pres- ent municipal water and light plants were installed. During his administration, also, the present sewage system was completed.

Fraternally, Mr. Lawrence holds membership in the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Stockton Lodge of Elks, and is a charter member of San Joaquin Parlor No. 18, Native Sons of the Gold- en West. Mr. Lawrence was married in 1900 to Miss Emelia Jones, daughter of Dr. William Jones, one of the pioneer physicians of San Francisco.

ROBERT H. ALLEN .- A representative of the best along educational lines is the principal of the Jefferson school in Stockton, Robert H. Allen, who has served in this capacity for the past five years in a most capable manner. He was born in MePherson County, Kansas, August 8, 1884, a son of Dolphus William and Evelyn (Davis) Allen, natives of North Carolina and New York, respectively. Dolphus Wil- liam Allen is a son of Joseph H. and Eliza (Apple) Allen, who moved from Litchfield, Il1., to Missouri and then to Kansas. On January 3, 1883, Dolphus William Allen was married to Evelyn Davis a daugh- ter of Orson Davis, who settled in Case County, Kansas, in 1877, where he remained for four years, then removed to McPherson County, that state. In 1887 Dolphus William Allen left Kansas and settled in Lamar, Colo., where he carried the mail from La- mar, forty miles west across the plains to connect with western mail, and he also engaged in farming until the fall of 1888, when he removed to Stockton, Cal., where he drove one of the first mule cars and later followed the painting and decorating trade until 1916. He then leased a ranch fourteen miles from Stockton; later he moved to a ranch twenty-three miles from Stockton, where he farmed. He now owns a ranch on the Lower Sacramento Road, about seven miles from Stockton. Three children were born to this couple: Robert H., our subject; Dora, Mrs. Herbert Cash, of Stockton, who has two chil- dren, Dorence and Lyman; and Irene, now Mrs. Peterquin, of Stockton, who has two children, Lil- lian and Albert. Mrs. Allen is a member of the de- gree of Pocahontas of Stockton.

Robert H. Allen began his education in the Stock- ton grammar schools and finished with the normal course at the Western School of Commerce. At twelve years of age he learned the candymaker's trade, which he followed for two years, then as- sisted his father in interior decorating for some time; following this he engaged as a contract lather in Lodi until he was twenty-three years of age, when he took up educational work. His first position as school teacher was at Capay, Yolo County, sixteen miles from Woodland; then he taught three years at Georgetown, in El Dorado County, and the following year at Los Alamos, Santa Barbara County. Re- turning to Stockton he taught for eight years in the grade schools of the city and for six months was the vice-principal of the Jackson school and then prin- cipal of the Hazelton school for two years; since 1917 he has efficiently handled the principalship of the Jef- ferson school, the largest grade school in Stockton. While residing in Capay Mr. Allen conducted a grocery store; he now owns a grocery store at 1136 North East street, Stockton.

The marriage of Mr. Allen occurred in Sacramento County, June 10, 1909, which united him with Miss Erma Giovannetti, born at Tancred, Cal., a daugh- ter of Biaggo and Rose Giovannetti, natives of the province of Lucca, Italy, who came to California many years ago, where he farmed. These children were born to them: Joseph, Clora, Erma, Mrs. Allen, Amelio, Romeo, Julia, Rose; one child is deceased. Mr. Allen is a Republican in politics and fraternally is a member and at six different times has been noble grand of the I. O. O. F., and now belongs to Charity Lodge No. 6, and is a member also of the Encamp- ment of Stockton; he is a member of the Morning Star Lodge No. 68, of Masons in Stockton and of the Pyramid No. 5 Sciots. From 1901 to 1906 he was a member of and the last eighteen months served as first sergeant of Company A, 6th Infantry, N. G. C., and at the same time his father was a member of the same company.

THOMAS ROOKE STRIBLEY .- A well-known and popular business man who has made Stockton his home for the past thirty years is Mr. Thomas Rooke Stribley, whose business is the repairing of motor boats, his shop being located on Weber Point. He is a native of England and was born in New Quay, Cornwall, August 20, 1866. His advantages for an education were very meager and when only thirteen years of age he started to make his own way in the world and for four years he drove a baker's wagon. He then served an apprenticeship for four years in blacksmithing, and at the end of this period he was a competent workman. In order to gain practical experience in his line he worked in different blacksmith shops all over England and became pro- ficient as a shipsmith and was able to construct machinery of all kinds and specialized in wagon making. In 1892 he came from England to Stockton and from there to Georgetown, El Dorado County, working at his trade and in the mines for a year; returning to Stockton he was employed with differ- ent firms at his trade; then he went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, remaining with them for one year; twenty-six years ago he bought a shop at Center and Channel streets and has been in business for himself ever since. When he started in business there was only one gasoline motor boat on the river while now there are hundreds. He is the inventor of the Stribley hand truck used on the barges and in the warehouses for handling freight.

The marriage of Mr. Stribley united him with Miss Lucy Carpenter, a native daughter of California, born in Georgetown, and they are the parents of four children: Earl, Kenneth, Edna, and Charles, all natives of Stockton. Mr. Stribley built a home in the Fair Oaks district of Stockton and he now owns three houses in that section. Fraternally he is a member of Truth Lodge and Parker Encampment of Odd Fellows, being a past grand in the subordi- nate lodge, and treasurer of the Encampment for several years and has served ten years as clerk of the board of trustees of Fair Oaks school district. In his political views he is a Republican.

Mr. Stribley served as a member of the Board of Freeholders to draft the new city charter for Stock- ton, to which he gave much time and his best effort. He has assisted materially in the upbuilding of his locality and is a booster for all measures that are for the advancement of the community.

J. R. Stahlup

1199

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

LARRY P. MAPLE .- The name of Larry P. Ma- ple is inseparably interwoven with the history of frontier life and the suppression of the Indians, first in Arizona and later in Wyoming, where he earned an excellent record as a soldier and Indian fighter. He was considered the second-best rifle shot in his regiment. He was born at Irondale, in Jefferson County, Ohio, on February 3, 1853, a son of Ezekiel and Mary (Mapel) Maple, natives of Ohio and New Jersey respectively. Ezekiel Maple was a stockman and fariner, and engaged extensively in buying and selling stock, which he shipped East to the Pennsyl- vania mountains. They were the parents of nine children: Sarah, Benjamin, William and James are deceased; Kaziah resides in Iowa; George and Mary are deceased; Larry P. is the subject of this review; and Oscar resides in Washington. The father passed away at the age of eighty-nine, and the mother at eighty-five years of age.

Larry P. Maple began his education in the gram- mar school of his native town and continued it at an academy near there. When he was fifteen years old, he learned the horse-shoeing trade, at which he worked for three years in Ohio and at Pughtown, Va. When he was still a mere youth he entered the 3rd United States Cavalry, the noted regiment founded by Ethan Allen in Revolutionary days. He trained at St. Louis and entered the company at Fort Yuma, Ariz., and was active in the suppression of the Apache Indians in 1869. In 1870 the 5th United States Cavalry relieved them and the 3rd United States Cavalry was transferred to Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming, to suppress the uprising of the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. Here Mr. Maple was in many encounters with the Indians. In one bush-whacking engagement he was wounded in one arm, but was not incapacitated for long. His service in Wyoming covered three years; then he was discharged. He helped to build Fort Robinson, ninety-eight miles northeast of Fort Laramie; and served for one sea- son with Major North (known as "White Beaver" by the Indians) in a company known as the Pawnee Scouts.

For a number of years Mr. Maple engaged in buf- falo hunting in the Northwest, selling the hides for from $1 to $5 apiece. He then returned to civiliza- tion, settling in Otoe County, Neb., where he bought a half-section of land and farmed for ten years. He then sold it and, removing to Nebraska City, be- came the exclusive agent for the Standard Oil Com- pany's retail trade there, remaining for seven years. Then he removed to Puget Sound, Wash., and en- tered the transportation department of the Puget Sound Interurban Electric Railroad, remaining in that capacity until 1913, when he removed to Lodi and purchased a ten-acre vineyard of eight-year-old vines about a mile and three-quarters east of Lodi. Here he built a house and has further developed the property with an irrigation system, consisting of a four-inch pump driven by a ten-horsepower motor.

The marriage of Mr. Maple occurred in Nebraska City on November 19, 1879, and united him with Miss Harriet Shuster, a native of Van Buren County, Iowa, a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Hayden) Shuster, natives of Ohio and Kentucky, respectively, who were the parents of seven children: Ella, Har- riet (Mrs. Maple), Louisa, Jacob, John, James and Myrtle, all residents of Nebraska City with the ex- ception of Mrs. Maple. Mrs. Maple was reared and

educated in Otoe County, Neb., for her parents had removed there when she was a small child. Her father lived to be eighty-three, and her mother is still living at the age of eighty-six. Grandfather Hayden lived to be 1011/2 years old. Mr. and Mrs. Maple have one daughter, Iva, now Mrs. Horace C. Mann, of Stockton, and the mother of one child, Lorraine. Mr. Maple is a Democrat in politics. He is a Mason and Knight of Pythias of Nebraska City, and both he and Mrs. Maple are members of the Eastern Star of Nebraska City. Mrs. Maple is a student of Christian Science.

Mr. Maple comes from a long line of fighters. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War; his grandfather Maple was a commander of a company in the War of 1812; he had four brothers in the Civil War, two of whom lost their lives in the terrible struggle; and he had three brothers-in- law in the Civil War. His interest in his city and county is that of a public-spirited citizen, and his co-operation can always be counted upon to further any movement for the general good.

EDWARD MELLMANN .- There are few men who can more justly claim the proud American title of self-made man than Edward Mellmann, who at the early age of fourteen years started out for himself in life, with no special advantages to fit him for its cares and responsibilities. He was industrious and resolute, however, and these qualities enabled him to overcome the difficulties and obstacles in his path and work his way steadily upward to affluence. He was born in Hamburg, Germany, on June 27, 1858, the only child of Edward and Lena (Aubert) Mell- mann. The father was an expert blacksmith and passed away when only thirty-seven years old, the mother preceding him by a few years; so that the son was early left an orphan.

Edward Mellmann attended public school in Ham- burg, and when only fourteen years old started out to make his own way. He was apprenticed to learn the blacksmith trade, which apprenticeship covered a period of five years; then he entered the Altinaw horseshoeing school, where he remained for six months. At the end of this time he enlisted in the German army, serving three years. Then he spent another six months in a horseshoeing school; and after finishing school he was employed by the Ger- man government, shoeing horses in the army, which he followed for two years. For the next five years he worked in various machine shops and on farms; and then went to Copenhagen, where he worked at his trade for two years. Returning to his native city of Hamburg, he was married in August, 1888, and remained there working at his trade until 1898, when he and his wife came to the United States, and directly to Lodi, Cal. Mr. Mellmann purchased a five-acre tract of land on South School Street and erected a blacksmith shop. There he followed his trade until 1920, when he tore down the shop and built his residence. He has set the place to vine- yard and installed two two-and-a-half-inch pumps with two motors, one of five horsepower and the other four horsepower. Mrs. Mellman is the owner of 133 acres on Prince Rupert Isle, Canada, which came to her from her brother's estate. Mr. and Mrs. Mellmann are the parents of six children. Ed- ward, Jr., was killed near his home by a Southern Pacific train when only sixteen years old. Caroline, now Mrs. Collins, has been married twice, and re-

1200

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

sides in Oakland; she has four children; one by her first husband, namely, Miss Bernice Aubert, now fourteen years of age, a pupil in the Lodi High School, who lives with her maternal grandparents at Lodi; and three by her second union, namely, Belle Collins, Philip Collins, and Rita Collins. Esther is Mrs. Judibaugh, of Ventura. Lena is Mrs. Schmidt, of Berkeley, and has one son, Edward. Dora is Mrs. Richmond, of Oakland. Fred Mellmann, the only living son, resides at home with his parents.

In national politics, Mr. Mellmann is a Republi- can. Fraternally, he is a member and Past Presi- dent of the Herman Sons Lodge, and has been a delegate to the state convention; and is also a mem- ber of the Foresters of America.

GEORGE L. MEISSNER .- One of the leading and influential citizens of Lodi, who has demonstrat- ed his ability and resourcefulness in other cities, is George L. Meissner, president of the Valley Lumber . Co., rated among the leading lumber companies of the San Joaquin Valley. A native of Wisconsin, he was born at Madison on July 15, 1867, and re- mained there until he was four years of age, when his parents removed to Iowa, where he was reared. His education began in the public schools of Iowa and was supplemented with a course at the Iowa State College at Ames; he then went to Lincoln, Nebr., and for the following twenty years was iden- tified with the banking interests of that state; he owned the controlling interest in a bank at Liberty, Neb., for six years; then removed to Crete, Neb. and purchased the First National Bank and became its president, and was closely identified with the social, educational and commercial affairs of the state during his residence there. Under the strain of his varied interests his health was impaired and in the fall of 1910 he came to California to recuper- ate and finally settled in Lodi. He purchased the Smith & Bryant Lumber Company, one of the pio- neer lumber companies of this district, incorporated it under the name of the "Valley Lumber Company of Lodi" and became the president. The business of the company has steadily grown and is in a very prosperous condition, owing to the efficient man- agement of its president. Mr. Meissner is president of the City Improvement Company; is a charter member of the Rotary Club; is past president of the Lodi Business Men's Association, similar in organi- zation and purpose to the Chamber of Commerce; and for six years he was a member of the gram- mar school board of Lodi and is still actively inter- ested in educational matters.

Mr. Meissner's marriage united him with Miss Minerva De Pue, a native of Ohio, and they are the parents of two daughters, Ruth, a graduate of Stan- ford University; and Alice. Mrs. Meissner passed away in March of 1921. She was president of the Woman's Club of Lodi and an active member of the Congregational Church and of the Eastern Star. Mr. Meissner is affiliated fraternally with the Lodi Odd Fellows No. 259; the Blue Lodge of Masons in Lodi; the Royal Arch and Knights. Templar of Stockton, and Ben Ali Temple of Sacramento. He is a member of the Congregational Church of Lodi. Mr. Meissner is a natural leader and his influence and support count in all affairs that have for their ultimate goal the upbuilding of the community with which he is vitally and honorably associated.

JESSE F. SHEPHERD .- An energetic, progres- sive contractor of exceptionally wide experience and enjoying an enviable reputation for dependability is Jesse F. Shepherd, of the well-known firm of Shep- herd & Riley, of 303 Yosemite Building, Stockton. He was born in Mexico, Mo., the day after Christ- mas, in 1878, and there reared and educated until he was eighteen years of age. Then he went to Kansas City, learned the carpenter trade, and became superintendent of construction for Messrs. Hollinger & Mitchell, one of the largest contracting firms in Kansas City; and while there, he profited by the experience obtained in assisting to erect a number of notable buildings. The great fire following the earthquake that overwhelmed San Francisco drew Mr. Shepherd, as the necessity for help drew so many thousands of other skilled artisans, westward to the Pacific Coast, and at San Francisco he became superintendent of construction for one of the large contracting firms, and erected a number of structures requiring experience and natural ability to progress successfully to the end. Among these difficult or extensive enterprises was the construction of Recrea- tion Base Ball Park, for the San Francisco team of the Pacific Coast League; and on that job Mr. Shepherd made a record which will probably never again be equaled. He laid out one and one-half million feet of lumber in six weeks' time; the work was carried along daily during all the twenty-four hours, and Mr. Shepherd had all his meals brought to him, and slept only a few hours each night until the contract was finished. Later he became the superintendent for Grant Phee, the contractor in San Francisco, and erected a number of buildings.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 172

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