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 185

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 185

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On March 7, 1915, at Stockton, Mr. Dietz was married to Miss Lillian A. Blanchard, a native of Stockton, and their union has been blessed with the

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birth of three children. George Robert is the eldest, and then there are twin sisters, Janis Lillian and June Edith. Mr. Dietz has been a member of Stock- ton Lodge No. 11, I. O. O. F., since 1904.

EUGENE N. FESSIER .- A prominent and influ- ential citizen of Stockton is Eugene N. Fessier, who was born at Wallace in Calaveras County, California, on January 22, 1880, the son of Nicholas Fessier, a native of Alsace, and an extensive, successful farmer. He had married Virginia Dennis, of Paris, and had himself come to be a basketmaker in the French capital. In 1875 he migrated to the United States, and having reached California, he took up land in Calaveras County. It thus happened that Eugene Fessier attended the schools of both Comanche and Wallace; and growing up, at the age of eighteen fol- lowed mining in the Utica mine at Angels Camp, where he worked under W. J. Loring. In 1901, how- ever, he located at Stockton, and there worked for the contractors, Messrs. Lewis & Barling, having already learned his trade as a contractor and car- penter under his father. Later he struck out for himself and for twelve years followed building on a large scale in Stockton. He erected over 300 cot- tages and some fourteen business blocks, and he also did a lot of building in Chinatown, at that time con- spicuous for its many small shacks. He erected many modern brick blocks and hotels, and thus added greatly to the appearance of the city, and among them were the College Inn and the Astor Hotel. He built, besides, about fifty residences for Messrs. Dietrich & Leistner in their new subdivision; and during the war he went to El Dorado County and mined materials needed for war munitions by the Government. While there, as an accidental reward for his patriotic endeavor, he became interested in two gold mines, in company with C. M. Jackson, and the partners still have the mining property.

In 1919, Mr. Fessier returned to Stockton and took up the handling of real estate, also operating as a mining broker, opening offices at 43 South San Joa- quin Street. For two years he was with the Holt Manufacturing Company and for some time he re- sided on West Street and helped to open up that tract of land, and he was instrumental in having the bridge erected across the canal on Stanislaus Street. He now makes his home at 1531 South California Street. About eight years ago Mr. Fessier revived the South Stockton Improvement Club and he has been president of the same ever since; and it was through the efforts of this excellent organization that the district was annexed to the city. Great improve- ments have been made in that district through the club: paving, for example, costing $650,000, has been put in. The club was organized in 1920 with 360 members, and in 1921 it had 1,385 members, and this number will soon be increased to 2,000. The club led the fight for a city park and children's playground to be laid out at the Stockton Mineral Baths. Mr. Fessier is also a member of the Water Consumers' League, which is trying to get the city to buy the water system from the Pacific Gas & Electric Com- pany and then build a new municipal system. The South Stockton Improvement Club was instrumental in having a concrete bridge built across the canal on Center Street. The club is affiliated with the Fair Oaks and East End Improvement clubs. Mr. Fessier's standing in the community may be judged

by the fact that he is one of thirty men appointed by the City Commission to frame a new building ordinance for Stockton; and he is chairman of the fire protection committee of that commission. It was through the efforts of the South Stockton Im- provement Club that the successful Fourth of July celebration was held in Stockton in 1921, when the club had the assistance of the Knights of Pythias, the Progressive Business Men's Club and the Moose, Mr. Fessier being chairman of the finance committee.

In Calaveras County, on September 3, 1901, Mr. Fessier was married to Miss Edna A. Matatall, the daughter of J. C. Matatall, a native of Nova Scotia. Mr. Fessier belongs to Stockton Lodge No. 11, I. O. O. F., to the Eagles, to the Charter Oak lodge, Knights of Pythias, and to the Loyal Order of Moose, as well as to the Rebekahs and to the Pythian Sister- hood, and in addition he is a member of Lodge No. 106, Woodmen of the World.

JOHN KIRK BALDWIN .- A native son of Cali- fornia, whose father and mother were '49ers, is John Kirk Baldwin, a retired stockman and grain farmer residing on his fine ranch located on Baldwin's Lane four and half miles east of Stockton, where he has lived and labored for a quarter of a century. He was born at Knights Landing on the Sacramento River, July 3, 1859, his parents being John and Louisa (Kirk) Baldwin, both natives of Missouri, and pion- eers of '49, represented on another page in this work. John Kirk was the second eldest of their eight chil- dren, five of whom grew to maturity. He was about one year old when his parents located in San Joa- quin County. He received a good education in the Douglas district school of the county and as soon as his school days were over, he assumed his share of the ranch work, and the practical experience of those first years of training has since been invalu- able to him. Besides assisting his parents, when he was sixteen years old, Mr. Baldwin started out and farmed for himself. He rented a section of railroad land near Bellota, in 1875, where he raised grain and later also engaged in stockraising. Meeting with success he leased 160 acres of land adjoining so he operated .800 acres, continuing here from 1875 until 1905, when he gave up his lease, though the railroad company begged him to remain. Meanwhile he had purchased 160 acres in Calaveras County, which he kept for twenty years and then sold it at a profit. He had also purchased ten acres of the old Cochrane place seven miles west of Stockton, which he owned for fourteen years and sold at a profit. In 1903 he had purchased twenty acres of raw land and in 1905 he quit grain raising on a large scale to locate on this ranch in order to improve it to alfalfa and en- gage in dairying. In 1922 Mr. Baldwin sold the stock to give all of his time to raising hay and poul- try.

In San Jose on November 28, 1911, Mr. Baldwin was married to Miss Myrtie L. Berry, a native of Strafford, N. H., of English descent, a daughter of Hiram D. and Letitia (Smith) Berry, born in New Hampshire. Her father was an operator in a shoe manufacturing establishment. Mrs. Baldwin before her marriage was a school teacher and Grandfather Jacob Smith was an old time school master and teacher of penmanship. Mrs. Baldwin's mother passed on when she was but eleven months old. Her brother, Adelbert C. Berry, who lives on a ranch

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John R. Baldwin Mystic 2. Baldwin

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

on the Durham Ferry Road near Lathrop, came to California, on his way to the Klondike, in 1898. His sister Myrtie joined him in Stockton on May 13, 1906, where she met Mr. Baldwin. She has been a member of the Concord, N. H., Lodge of Rebekahs since 1897. Mr. Baldwin's business career has been marked with sterling success and in a county where he has so long made his home he has gained for himself an honorable name.

JOHN H. FAGG .- A man who has demonstrated his executive ability in many positions is John H. Fagg, the district manager of the Pacific Cas and Electric Company of Stockton, whose jurisdiction includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of adjoining counties, extending from Jackson to Tracy, Byron, Brentwood and the Delta section and as far north as Galt. He was born in St. Paul, Minn., December 31, 1883, and he was three years old when his parents arrived in California. He was educated in the public schools of Sacramento and Placer coun- ties; later he took an engineering course in the Poly- technic school of San Francisco. His electrical career started in 1905 when he began working for the Cen- tral California Electric Company at Auburn, Cal. Starting at the bottom he worked his way up step by step to his present important position. After a short time he was transferred to Alta, Placer County, and became foreman; later was sent to Sacramento as division foreman and later construction foreman at Sacramento. In 1906 the company's name was changed to the California Gas & Electric Company; then in 1909 it was merged with the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. In 1914 he came to Stockton and was put in charge of the operation and main- tenance department; later he became assistant man- ager of the San Joaquin district, in charge of the electrical department. On December 1, 1920, upon the resignation of J. W. Hall, Mr. Fagg assumed charge of all the activities of the big corporation in the San Joaquin district. Always courteous and affable, Mr. Fagg makes friends wherever he is.

Mr. Fagg's marriage occurred in 1914 and united him with Miss Marie C. Harney, a native of Lodi, Cal., her parents being pioneers of the Golden State. They are the parents of two sons, James B. and John H. He is a charter member of the Lions Club of Stockton and of Morning Star Lodge No. 68, F. and A. M.

JOHN FERGUSON .- A very interesting pioneer of San Joaquin County who was highly esteemed by his generation and whose memory will always be honored by all who know of his good works, is the late John Ferguson, who was a native of Belfast, Ireland, and came out to America in 1833 as a young man, settling in Pennsylvania. He was a tailor by trade and established a tailoring business at Mauch Chunk, Pa., from which place he set out in 1851 for California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, leaving his family back in Pennsylvania. He proceeded to the Southern mines and mined on Woods Creek, and became interested in placer mining at Chinese Camp and Jimtown for three years. Returning East to his family, he came back to Stockton in 1865 and then established a tailoring business, which he conducted until the time of his death in 1896, at eighty-two years of age, well known among the pioneers and

gold miners of the early days of California. He had numerous friends and was highly respected.

Mr. Ferguson's first marriage occurred in Belfast, Ireland, and he and his wife came to Pennsylvania with their children in 1833. He had learned his trade. that of a tailor, in Belfast, and was a very thorough workman. He was a leading tailor in Stockton, and many of the leading business and professional men were his customers. Mrs. Eliza Ferguson died in Pennsylvania and left three children: William Fer- guson was born in Belfast, Ireland, and was mar- ried in Canada to Mary Martha Wainwright, born in England. He came to California in 1878. later removing to the state of Washington, where he died in 1918. Six of his children are still surviving. John died at Orangeville, Canada, where for many years he was engaged in the tailoring business. He also left a large family. Elizabeth became Mrs. William Carson of Buffalo, N. Y., and she is still living. She had three children. John Ferguson married his sec- ond wife in Stockton, but no children were born to their union.

JAMES J. HOOPER .- For nearly thirty years connected with the transportation field of Stockton. James J. Hooper has seen this thriving city grow from a population of 14,000 to its present size, con- tributing his full share to the activity that has made this progress possible. Mr. Hooper is a native son of California, born at Sierra City, Sierra County, March 9, 1870, the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Jenkins) Hooper, natives of England and both now deceased. Edward Hooper came from his native land to California via the Isthmus of Panama in the early '60s, and for a number of years mined in Sierra County.

In 1875, when James J. was five years old, the family returned to England, settling at St. Austell, Cornwall, and here he was reared and educated, in that beautiful corner of Old England. At the age of sixteen he started to work in the electric light plant at St. Austell, serving four years as an appren- tice and thoroughly learning the business. In the fall of 1890 he returned to the United States and for a time worked in the mines of Amador County. Coming to San Joaquin he secured employment on a fruit ranch on Rough and Ready Island, owned by Matteson and Williamson, and in July, 1892, he en- tered the employ of the Stockton Electric Company. the transportation system just then being changed from horse-drawn cars to electricity. He has been with the company ever since, and has seen the evo- lution from a few small horse cars to a modern trans- portation system that has had a great part in the development of Stockton and the outlying suburban district. Mr. Hooper started in as a helper in the electrical shop, later becoming its superintendent, and in 1904 he became the superintendent of the trans- portation department. In 1915, when the Central California Traction Line and the Stockton Electric Railroad were consolidated he became superintendent of the new concern, a position he is especially well qualified, both by training and experience, to fill.

In 1890, Mr. Hooper was married to Miss Mary G. Perry, a native of England, and they have three children: Edna H .; Edward J. married Lorina Tucker and they have a son, Vernon; Winifred is the wife of Joseph Clark and they have two danh ters, Elizabeth and Virginia. The family are Pres-

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byterians in their religious faith. In fraternal circles Mr. Hooper is a member of the Odd Fellows, having joined Truth Lodge in 1893. He has been a mem- ber of the Rotary Club since 1915.

HUMPHREYS & MATTHEWS .- What remark- able advancements have been made in the art of ad- vertising in America is well illustrated in the accom- plishments of Messrs. Humphreys & Matthews, whose headquarters are in the Mail Building on South Sut- ter Street, Stockton. The firm consists of Charles W. Humphreys and David S. Matthews, and together they do a general' advertising business, preparing copy for local advertisements in booklets, circulars, etc., and placing advertising in Eastern publications and in papers in the Hawaiian Islands. They also do a general fire insurance business.

David S. Matthews, the junior member of this thoroughly wide-awake firm, was born at Stockton on July 13, 1883, and in that city attended the public schools, graduating from the high school in 1903. In that same year, he entered the newspaper field, starting with the Stockton Mail; and for several years he was with the Stockton Record, first in the news room, and later as advertising manager. He also spent one year in Nevada in newspaper work. Then he was advertising manager of the Sacramento- San Joaquin Bank at Stockton, and in each of these positions he made his mark as a man thoroughly understanding the field of advertising.

In March, 1919, with Charles W. Humphreys as a partner, Mr. Matthews started the advertising firm of Humphreys & Matthews, with offices in the Yosemite Building. In 1920 these offices were trans- ferred to the Mail Building. Mr. Matthews . was president of the Pacific Coast Advertising Clubs As- sociation in 1919, and it is not surprising to find that "the firm he so ably represents is looked to by many of the leading houses of San Joaquin County and even other parts of California needing advertising for the most helpful advice and the most effective service generally.

Mr. Matthews is a member of the Anteros Club, the Stockton Golf and Country Club, the Stockton Rotary Club, and the Stockton Advertising Club; he is a Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner, and an Elk.

At Modesto, in 1920, Mr. Matthews married Mrs. Lila Mae Ford, and they are the proud parents of two children: Verna Mae Ford Matthews and Ellen Adele Matthews.

Charles W. Humphreys was born in Russell County, Va., on May 17, 1883, and came to California when he was seventeen years of age. He settled at Stockton, and there finished his education at the Stockton Business College. Then he became book- keeper for M. P. Henderson & Son, and he was with the California Moline Plow Company, with the Ruhl- Goodell Company, and then with Messrs. Hansel & Ortman. Later, he was fortunate in adding to his experience that of a public accountant. As has al- ready been stated, he finally formed the partnership with David S. Matthews which has proven not only such a success for themselves, but so advantageous to the public at large, to whom they give the most approved service. His practical experience as an accountant made his connection as a member of the firm of inestimable value. Mr. Humphreys has com- plete charge of the financial end of the business. In March, 1919, Mr. Humphreys contributed his own

extensive experience and knowledge of advertising to the new business venture; he also is a member of the Stockton Advertising Club.

At Stockton, in 1904, occurred the marriage of Mr. Humphreys to May A. Woodbridge, a native of Cali- fornia, and they have two children, Ward Cook Humphreys and Miss Katherine Humphreys. Mr. Humphreys belongs to Lodge No. 218 of the Elks, and is a Scottish Rite Mason; belongs to the Sciots, and Charity Lodge No. 6 of Odd Fellows, in which he is a past noble grand.

MRS. SOPHIA BOLLIGER .- An esteemed resi- dent of San Joaquin County since 1861, Mrs. Sophia Bolliger, widow of the late Samuel Bolliger, has borne her full share of the duties and responsibilities that were the lot of successful Californians from the early days to the present. Her home is on an excellent farm in the vicinity to which she came as a bride in 1861, located eight miles east of Stockton on the Copperopolis Road. Its present fine appearance, however, is in marked contrast to the appearance which it presented when it came into her possession. Great changes, too, have occurred throughout the county during her residence here, and she has seen its wild lands reclaimed for farming purposes, while towns and villages have sprung up and all the com- forts of an advanced civilization have been intro- duced. With the onward march of progress she has kept apace, as is evidenced by her fine ranch. She was born in Lichtenberg, Bavaria, Germany, in 1839 and in that country she was reared and edu- cated. In young womanhood she came to America and while residing in New York City in 1859 she met her future husband, Samuel Bolliger, and in 1861 the young people were married, following the return of Mr. Bolliger from a visit to his home in Switzerland.

Samuel Bolliger was born in Kettinger, Canton Aargau, in 1820, and was reared to manhood years in his birthplace. In 1837, at the age of seventeen years, he first set foot on American soil, visiting the larger places of interest. The breaking out of the Mexican war was followed by his enlistment in the U. S. Army, and at the close of hostilities he came with the troops overland to California and received his honorable discharge. He arrived in Stockton in 1848, early in the mining history of the state, and he may be classed among the first who mined for the yellow metal in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. He also followed teaming and freighting and in the early fifties purchased a ranch on the Copperopolis Road, ten miles from Stockton, which he improved and cultivated for twenty years. In the meantime, in 1861, he had made a visit to his old home in Switzerland, and upon his return to the United States he was married in New York City to Miss Sophia Huebsch, whence he returned with his bride via the Isthmus of Panama to this ranch. When he disposed of this property in 1874 it was his intention to make another visit to his boyhood home, but instead, after remaining in Stockton for a short time, he purchased a ranch eight miles from this city, also on the Cop- peropolis Road, upon which he spent the remainder of his life.

Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bolliger: John M. married Cora Winters and they reside in Stockton and have two children-Leland W. and Mrs. Francis Dees; Sophia M. is the wife of Albert

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Samuel Boligen

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E. Mapes, a successful rancher near the old home, and they have three sons-Clarence Wells, Carol Bolliger and Albert Eugene; Nanette is a registered trained nurse and resides in Sacramento; Elizabeth M. married David Young, a prominent stock and grain farmer of Bellota and Farmington; Rudolph A. passed away at the age of twenty-three years; Lydia B. is the wife of J. Malcolm Young, a prominent farmer operating the Bolliger farm as well as his own ranch at Farmington, and their three sons are named Malcolm S., Francis B. and Lester E .; Esther A. married Charles Osborn, à successful rancher re- siding near Waterloo and they have two children- La Verne and Charles; Wilhelmina, the youngest born, passed away at the age of four years.

Mr. Bolliger was not permitted to enjoy the fruits of his labors, for his life was cut short by his demise March 6, 1883. One of the early frontiers- men, a Mexican war veteran, and an Argonaut and pioneer of 1848, had given his best years and efforts to develop the great com- monwealth in which he had such great faith and pride. Since the death of this estimable pioneer his widow continues to reside on the homestead, sur- rounded by her children who shower on her their 'love and devotion. She is still active in the manage- ment of her business, is well read and keeps abreast of the times and, takes a keen interest in civic and social affairs. She is an active member of the Wom- an's Auxiliary of the California Pioneer Society, of which she is now a senior member.

RONALD B. HALEY .- For the past thirty-five years Ronald B. Haley has been identified with industrial interests of Stockton, and as president of the Peerless Milling Company he is controlling one of the largest productive industries of the city. A native of Canada, he was born on Prince Edward Island, March 7, 1867, and in December, 1886, when nineteen years of age, he arrived in Stockton. Enter- ing the employ of the Crown Flouring Mill Company, he continued with that firm for twenty-four years, gaining a comprehensive knowledge of the business, and during the last year of that period was connected with the feed department. In May, 1911, he became a partner of Frank A. Guernsey, who was then oper- ating the Peerless Milling Company's plant, which had been built originally for a blending mill in which the farmers could blend their grain. The venture did not prove a success and Mr. Guernsey converted it into a feed mill, later withdrawing from the firm, and subsequently Mr. Haley had several business asso- ciates, his present partner being Ralph C. Jeanelle, who acts as secretary of the company, while he is filling the office of president. Under his capable man- agement the business has enjoyed an extremely rapid growth, the present output being 700 tons of feed monthly, while it originally amounted to but one ton per day. They cater to both the wholesale and retail trades, the former being taken care of by traveling salesmen, whose territory extends within a radius of 250 miles from Stockton. In their retail opera- tions they deal direct with the farmers and owing to the superior quality of their output and their reli- ability in all commercial transactions the business has grown to one of large proportions. They manu- facture the Laymore, Growmore and Raisemore brands of poultry feed, the last named being pre- pared especially for baby chicks, while their stock

foods are known as the Morepork and Moremilk, the former being for hogs and the latter for cows.

Mr. Haley was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Sutter, a native of Wisconsin, and a distant relative of General Sutter. Mr. Haley has never been un- mindful of the duties of citizenship and has served as a member of the police and fire commission under Mayor George Hudson, rendering valuable service to his city in that connection. He is a member of the Young Men's Institute and is also identified with the Stockton Golf and Country Club, the Elks, and the Foresters of America. His business career has been marked by continuous advancement and a large indus- trial enterprise stands as a monument to his progres- sive spirit and administrative powers.

LAWRENCE F. JENSEN .- A popular merchant who has been unusually successful and has thereby evidenced the possession of exceptional talent for the conducting of one of the most important lines of commercial endeavor, is Lawrence F. Jensen, the experienced and wide-awake grocer of 16-18 West Elm Street, Lodi. He was born in Schleswig-Hol- stein on October 12, 1877, and when fifteen years of age came to America. He reached Stockton a poor boy, but he obtained work in the grocery store of Thomas F. Kuntzen on East Weber Avenue, where he was offered at first four dollars per month and his board. By strict economy, he saved $150, and then he entered business for himself, taking in C. A. Zie- mer as a partner. Later, this partnership was dis- solved, and Mr. Jensen went to Oakland, where he remained for two years.

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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 185

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