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 188

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 188

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WILLIAM R. DUFF .- Associated with the street car service of Stockton for more than thirty years, William R. Duff, now superintendent of the car barns of the Stockton Electric Railway, has aided material- ly in the expansion and growth of this vital factor of transportation. A native of Illinois, he was. born in Henry County, July 4, 1865, a son of James and Elizabeth (Leggett) Duff. The latter passed away when he was a small child and at the age of fourteen he started out for himself, working on farms, and this he continued until 1891, when he was twenty- five years old. On coming to California he set- tled at Stockton and entered the employ of the Stockton Street Railway Company, later the Stock- ton Electric Railway, as track section man, and then for four months drove a mule car. At that time there were but two lines in the city-the San Joaquin and the Main and El Dorado. After spending some time in the car shops as a repair man, Mr. Duff then took up his duties at the horse car stables, and when electrification was accomplished he was one of the first to operate the new cars, both as motorman and conductor. Again taking up repair work in the shops, he became night foreman, and his competent service gained him the promotion to the position he now occupies, that of superintendent of the car barns. When Mr. Duff started with the company there were seven mule cars, and now there are twenty-five large electric cars in operation daily, so that he has had a large part in helping modernize Stockton's transpor- tation facilities during his long years of faithful serv- ice, and is now the company's oldest employee.

Mr. Duff's marriage which occurred in Illinois on November 12, 1890, united him with Miss Rebecca Tuttle, also a native of Illinois, whose father, John Tuttle, was a '49er, crossing the plains in' an ox- team train. He later returned to his Illinois home but made three subsequent trips to visit his daughter in California. Mr. and Mrs. Duff have two sons,

both of whom served their country during the World War. William James was at the Goat Island Naval Training Station and is now a pattern maker; he married Hazel Coffelt and they have a daughter, Lois Vivian. Walter Vernon is a fireman with the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was also in the U. S. Navy, first on the Independence and later on the Louisville, making a number of trips to France dur- ing the war. Mr. Duff is prominent in the ranks of the Odd Fellows, having joined Truth Lodge, No. 55, over twenty-nine years ago.

LOUIS ANDREW FREGGIARO .- A native of sunny Italy who has made good in the Golden State is Louis Andrew Freggiaro, who owns twenty acres of fine land for orchard and vineyard purposes, situ- ated nine miles northeast of Stockton, on the Water- loo Road along the Calaveras River. He was born at Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy, on October 15, 1880, and his parents were Augusto and Juditha (Big- lieri) Freggiaro. His father, a grocer in that coun- try, lived to be sixty-four years of age, and his mother is still alive there, at the age of seventy. Ten children were born to this worthy couple, six sons and four daughters: Giacomo; Virginia; Guiseppe; Clemento; Louis A., our subject; Guiseppina; Valen- tino; Louisa; Ernesta; and Amadeo.

Louis Andrew attended the excellent grammar school of his home locality, and there received a good training so that when he was seventeen years of age and ambitious to push out into the world, he was ready to do so. As fond as he was of his native country, he saw in distant California another sunny realm, and bidding goodbye to Italy, he sailed for the United States. He was not long in reaching the Pacific Coast, and he had the good fortune imme- diately to settle in Stockton where, for four years, he worked in gardens. He then went to San Fran- cisco and worked for the Standard Oil Company for nine months, when he engaged in the sale of fruit and vegetables at San Mateo for two years, after which he was a chauffeur there for another two years. Returning to Italy, he married, on September 1, 1906, Miss Katherina Ottone, a native of Italy, and the daughter of Giovanni and Bianca Ottone. Her father was a farmer, and he had one other child besides her, a son Armando. Mrs. Freggiaro was also fortunate in enjoying an excellent grammar school training, and when the happy couple came back to California, she was able to be of much service to her husband.

Mr. Freggiaro worked for six years for the Holden Drug Company on their farm ten miles from Stock- ton, on the Jack Tone Road; and when he had rounded out that service to the entire satisfaction of his employers, and had established a reputation such as anyone might envy for both executive ability and fidelity, he rented forty acres of the Dodge Ranch, taking a four year lease on it, which he devoted to the culture of cherries, peaches and grapes. He also bought twenty acres in the same vicinity for the growing of alfalfa, and he now has six acres given to cherries, four acres to peaches, two acres where he grows only pears, and six acres mostly of grapes, with a few plum trees.

Three children gladden the home life of Mr. and Mrs. Freggiaro. Aldo is the eldest, Armenia the second, and Lena the youngest of the interesting group. The family attend the Roman Catholic Church, and Mr. Freggiaro is a member of the Giar-

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denieri Lodge of Stockton. He has recently finished a fine new home on his attractive ranch, and there he and his family reside, about one and one-half miles to the northwest of Waterloo.

GEORGE E. ELLIS .- The story of the progress and success of George E. Ellis as a worthy citizen of Stockton, covers a period of nearly half a century, thirty-seven years of which has been spent with the Western States Gas & Electric Company and its predecessors. He was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, on December 25, 1867, a son of John and Annie (Thompson) Ellis, both natives of Ireland, of English and Welsh parentage. His father immi- grated to America and continued his journey via the Isthmus of Panama to California and arrived in Stockton during the year of 1869, expecting to work at his trade of plumber and brass finisher; however, he could not find employment, so entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company for a time: later he removed to Merced and became road foreman for the same company; returning to Stock- ton he entered the employ of the Stockton Gas & Electric Company, and continued in their service for forty-six years, the latter years of his life being fore- man of construction. He died in July, 1906, his widow surviving him.

There are nine children in the Ellis family, seven of whom are now living, of whom George E. is the eldest. He came to America with his mother and two sisters to join his father in the fall of 1875, via the Isthmus of Panama, and entering the Stockton schools, remained there until he was seventeen years of age, when he began to work for the old Stockton Gas & Electric Company, his first work being to look after the gas street lights and later the electric lights which replaced them. He gained a thorough knowledge of the business and worked up through the different departments until he is now service foreman for the company, his years of experience and intelligent application to business having made him a valuable employee in his line of work.

Mr. Ellis has been twice married and of the first union there are two children, Leora and Leonora; his second marriage united him with Miss Leora Swenson, a native of Dutch Flat, Cal., a daughter of Samuel Swenson, a pioneer merchant of that town, who also ran a pack train to the mines, later remov- ing to San Francisco, where he was engaged in busi- ness, and later still he moved to Auburn; his wife was Priscilla Fulton, a native of New York; both have now passed away. Mrs. Ellis was educated in the schools of San Francisco and Auburn, Cal. They have two children: George E., Jr., is a graduate of Stockton high school and now manager of the John- son Sporting Goods store, and Lucille L. attending Stockton high school. Fraternally Mr. Ellis is a member of Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., Stock- ton, and Pohono Tribe of Redmen, while Mrs. Ellis is a member of the Eastern Star and the Order of Pocahontas, in which she is a past officer. Mr. Ellis is an enthusiastic member of the Stockton Gun Club, in which he has won several medals; in 1913 he won the Pacific Coast Handicap, receiving a gold medal set with a diamond valued at $250, besides $200; he also won numerous other medals as prizes. His son is also a member of the Gun Club and has won many medals.

FRED B. SIMMS .- A busy man of affairs, whose popularity has been founded in part on his expertness in the field in which he is.a leader, and partly on his genial and sympathetic temperament, is Fred B. Simms, the general superintendent of the pump and pipe line system of the Shell Oil Company of Cali- fornia completed in 1915, consisting of eleven plants situated about fifteen miles apart and operated as a means to deliver crude oil from the Coalinga fields of Fresno County to tidewater at Martinez, Cal., a distance of nearly 168 miles, with headquarters at the plant near Tracy. He was born in the city of Riverside, Cal., on September 20, 1885, the son of Albert G. Simms, a native of northern Kentucky, who had emigrated to southern California in 1870, where he married Miss Jennie La Rue, a native of Indiana, who had come West with her parents in the early '70s. Her father had been a pioneer of Cali- fornia in the early '50s, but had returned to Indiana in the '60s. During 1890 his mother, Mrs. Jennie (La Rue) Simms, passed away, and when his father left California in 1901 for New Zealand, Fred. B. Simms was left to make his own way.

Barely sixteen years old, he came to San Francisco, and although a stranger he found employment in the Risdon Iron Works as an apprentice machinist, where he labored diligently, and at night attended school in order to better fit himself in his elementary education. Mr. Simms owes much of his success to the splendid opportunity for training afforded him, when in 1902 he entered the U. S. Naval Reserve as apprentice; this position added greatly to his effi- ciency and awakened his initiative, so that he was able, at the end of his four years' service, to take his place in the mechanical world as a trained worker. As special machinist, he went into the employ of the Southern California Edison Company in the Kern River district and was thus occupied in hydro-electric work until 1907; on the completion of this work he was next employed with the Sierra-San Francisco Power Company, on the Stanislaus River, this period covering one year. With the exception of a short period of a few months spent in Oregon, Washing- ton and British Columbia, Mr. Simms has from 1909 to the present writing been identified with the oil industry of California, filling each position with credit both to the company and to himself. In 1912 Mr. Simms entered the employ of the General Petroleum Company as superintendent in charge of construc- tion of pipe lines and plants, as a means of delivering crude oil from their fields of production at Midway, Kern County, to San Pedro, the refining base, an engineering feat of some moment when one takes into consideration that prior to this time there ex- isted nothing but a trail across the ridge or route where the pipe line was built; this necessitated the survey and construction of a wagon road, for the transporting of supplies, through Bailey's ranch, a right-of-way which a few years later was taken over by the California state highway commission and used in the construction, as a part of the Ridge Route through the mountains to Los Angeles.

In 1914 the construction of the valley pipe lines by Sanderson & Porter, engineers, New York and San Francisco, was started and Mr. Simms was made superintendent of construction in the field. Without doubt this piece of engineering work eclipses all other projects which Mr. Simms had heretofore been allied with in the oil business; on completion

Fred Blimm.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

this line with installations was acquired by the Shell Oil Company of California, who retained Mr. Simms as its general superintendent. Mr. Simms is to be commended for his undaunted spirit and diligence, for on assuming a new position, he felt that it took a bigger and better man to fill the place and conse- quently had prepared himself along those lines, studying advanced works in engineering and never feeling entirely satisfied with himself. In September, 1920, Mr. Simms was the recipient of a certificate of membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, representing ten years of actual work in charge of construction along mechanical lines. The opportunities for the study of human nature during the years of association with the oil industry has not been neglected by Mr. Simms, as will be attested to by his popularity among the many employees at the various plants along the line; thus every position he has ever held has been made a stepping-stone toward advancement in his chosen line.

Mr. Simms' marriage united him with Miss Mar- garet Petersen, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Petersen of Los Angeles, Cal., and they are the par- ents of three children: Geraldine, Marjorie M., and Shirley Marie. Mrs. Simms has been an active par- ticipant in the affairs of the West Side Woman's Im- provement Club of Tracy. In civic affairs, Mr. Simms has been a prominent figure, being elected president of the Chamber of Commerce of Tracy in 1920, during which time the membership was dou- bled. During the war he was at the head of the war work and attending to details in the subscription to Liberty Loans along the pipe line and at the eleven plants, going "over the top" in each case. At the present time, he is senior warden of the Masonic Lodge of Tracy. Mr. Simms holds with just regard and reverence the name of Dorward; in engineering circles this word stands for the name of David Dor- ward, Sr., for many years the general manager of the Risdon Iron Works, and a friend and adviser of Mr. Simms from the day he entered that plant as a young and inexperienced schoolboy; also David Dor- ward, Jr., has been, to a decided degree, of much help to Mr. Simms throughout his business career. During the years of 1914-1915 David Dorward, Jr., was chief engineer of construction, under whom Mr. Simms received most excellent training, and whose voice over long distance telephone was usually heard to say at the end of every conversation with Mr. Simms, "Now, Simms, don't let that job touch the ground," meaning of course to keep all things per- taining to the construction and installation moving along; and Simms never let it touch the ground.

EDWARD FRANKLIN BAILEY .- Agriculture and stock raising form the principal occupation of Edward Franklin Bailey, and the wide-awake man- ner in which he takes advantage of all methods and ideas tending to enhance the value of his property has had much to do with his obtaining the competence which he now enjoys. He was born on the Bailey ranch October 18, 1873, the only son of Charles Kim- ball and Mary E. (Belknap) Bailey, natives of Mas- sachusetts and Missouri, respectively. Charles Kim- ball Bailey became prosperous and influential in his locality and his death in 1905 was a real loss to the community. Mrs. Bailey resides on the home place, having the esteem of all who know her.

Edward F. Bailey was reared on his father's ranch and learned valuable lessons in agriculture by practi- 82

cal experience and was always associated with his father in ranching activities. His marriage united him with Miss Grace Cox, a daughter of William Harley and Mary O. (Buchanan) Cox, both natives of Smyth County, Va. William Harley Cox was born April 25, 1845, his parents being James and Louisa (Harley) Cox, natives of Virginia and Ar- kansas, respectively. After the Civil War, William H. Cox came West with his cousin, William M. Cox, arriving in Lodi, October 15, 1872. His parents came to California in 1882, but only remained seven years when they returned to their home in Virginia. In 1874 the Cox family settled at Linden. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cox, of whom Mrs. Bailey is the fourth. Mr. Cox was deputy county assessor from 1883 until 1888. He has always held a position of honor in local affairs and is prominent in lodge circles; he is now postmaster at Linden.

Mr. and Mrs. Bailey reside on a ranch near Linden, and they are the parents of three children, Raymond, Evelyn and Laura. The youngest sister of our sub- ject, Mamie Ethel Bailey, married Fred Cox, a brother of Mrs. Bailey, and they have a family of six chil- dren on a ranch near Linden. For the past fifteen years Mr. Bailey has conducted the old Bailey ranch and stock business and resides on a ranch adjoining, which was originally a portion of the home place. He conducts a contract harvesting business and he is kept busy with his own work and that of other farmers throughout the county.

JOHN GRANT MAINLAND .- A citizen well known as a grower of flowers is John Grant Main- land, who has his nursery and greenhouses on Sar- gent Road just west of the city limits of Lodi and his entire two acres are devoted to the growing and propagation of flowers, from which he supplies his florist business in Lodi and also supplies different florists in Stockton. His birth occurred in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland, on October 24, 1879, and he is a son of William and Isabelle (Grant) Main- land, and the second oldest of five children. The father, William Mainland, was in the dry goods busi- ness at Kirkwall until 1888, when he removed his family to Oakland, Cal., where he is a dry goods merchant; the mother passed away at the age of seventy years in Oakland.

Coming to California in 1888, John G. Mainland received his education in the Garfield school at Oak- land and at the age of sixteen took up jewelry orna- mentation work in San Francisco. He became a very efficient workman and followed his trade with various firms until he established himself in business on Geary Street, San Francisco, where he continued un- til 1919, when he located in Lodi. His marriage oc- curred in 1908 at Oakland and united him with Miss Rachel Esther Dunn, a native of Rich Hill, Mo., a daughter of George and Fannie (Willbert) Dunn. Mrs. Mainland comes of Revolutionary stock, her great-great-grandfather, Gen. John Matoon, taking part in that war. His portrait was painted at the same time that Generals Washington and LaFayette were painted by the noted artist Trumbull. George Dunn was a native of Illinois and a carpenter by trade, who moved to Missouri, and there the mother passed away. After the mother's death, the father moved to Lexington, Ky., and in that state. Mrs. Mainland received her education and in 1908 came to Oakland. C'al. When Mr Mainland removed to

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Lodi he purchased two acres of land on Sargent Road for nursery purposes and thereon built two greenhouses, and the entire acreage is devoted to nursery stock. Mr. and Mrs. Mainland are the par- ents of two children, John Grant, Jr., and Isabelle. Mr. Mainland believes in voting for the man best qualified for the duties of the office regardless of strict party lines, and is public spirited in all matters pertaining to community growth and progress.

CHARLES R. GUGGOLZ .- Prominent among the substantial business men of Lodi is undoubtedly Charles R. Guggolz, the proprietor of the New Wash- ington Market, a thoroughly modern headquarters located on South Sacramento Street, and enjoying en- viable popularity. A native Californian, proud of his association with the great Golden State, he was born in Madison, Yolo County, on December 15, 1886, a son of Charles G. and Pauline (Roos) Guggolz. The father, a pioneer of 1889, located in Lodi, and with a partner, a Mr. Clark, established the Washington Market for the sale of meat. Later on, he bought out the interest of his partner and continued the mar- ket alone. He was very successful, and became well- known in business circles. He was interested, too, in viticulture, with a partner named Bauer, and set out a vineyard of forty acres, which became a good producer. He was also popular in the civic and social circles of his day, being a member of the Odd Fellows, the Maccabees, the Sons of Herman, and the Foresters of America, in all of which he was a past officer. Both he and his good wife, now de- ceased, are accorded the esteem of posterity.

Charles R. Guggolz, the elder of their two chldren, was reared in Lodi, where he attended the excellent public schools and received a thorough training. From a lad he assisted his folks, learning the butcher- business, and when he was only sixteen years of age he began putting in all of his time in the Market. In 1914, he purchased the establishment and business of his father, at the same time taking in J. C. Keller, as a partner; and they continued to operate the mar- ket together until 1919, when Mr. Guggolz purchased Mr. Keller's interest. Now Mr. Guggolz gives all of his time to the supervision of his business, in every way possible steadily building it up; and owing to re- cent extensive improvements made by him, he re- named it the New Washington Market. Among other changes for the better, he has recently built an addition to his store, with new fixtures, remodeling, etc., at a cost of over $3,500, and the effect on in- creased trade is gratifying in the extreme. He carries only the choicest meats, poultry and fish, and his es- tablishment enjoys the largest patronage of any mar- ket in the city. He has built a modern, thoroughly sanitary abattoir on his small ranch on the Mokelumne River; while his city plant is equipped with a five- ton ice machine, having various cold-storage rooms affording a capacity of over twenty-five beeves and equipped with modern trackage. The city plant also includes a factory with electric power where he manu- factures all kinds of sausage, and cures bacon, hams, and other meat. The public market itself is well- arranged, being furnished with the latest and most modern fixtures; and as it is finished in white enamel, it presents a very sanitary and pleasing appearance. Aside from his retailing, he is also a wholesaler, and supplies other markets in Lodi and in neighboring towns in northern San Joaquin County. The demands of his delivery department keep three autos busy, one

of his vehicles being a large truck used to transport the beeves from the abattoir to the retail store.

By his marriage, on April 10, 1912, at Stockton, Mr. Guggolz was united with Miss Mary Anderson, a native of Tyson, in San Joaquin County, and a de- scendant of a pioneer California family well-known as among those who helped to open the pathways of civilization, and to make it a good deal easier for the Californian of today. Fraternally, Mr. Guggolz is a member of Lodi Parlor, No. 18, Native Sons of the Golden West; the Fraternal Order of Eagles, No. 848; and Stockton Lodge, No. 218, B. P. O. E. His interest in local affairs is reflected in his activity as a member in the Lodi Business Men's Association and the Mokelumne Club. Mr. Guggolz is a man of progressive ideas, and never neglects an opportunity to advance along broad and enduring lines the best interests of the locality, which he selected as his per- manent home.

FREDERICK C. GARLICK .- Prominent among the most successful building contractors of San Joa- quin County, Frederick C. Garlick, a pioneer of the Fair Oaks section, was born at Kemptville, Ontario, Canada, and when he was a year and a half old, his family removed to "the States," and settled, first at Ogdensburg, N. Y., and later at Springfield, Il1. There he was reared and educated; and there he learned the trade of a carpenter; and in 1879, when a youth of seventeen, he left home and for a short time worked in the mines at Leadville, Colo.

On August 6, 1880, he arrived at Sacramento with just five cents in his pocket; and he secured work at once on the ranch of Frank Slack. Later, he worked at Gardner's woodyard at Sacramento, and then he journeyed south to: Los Angeles, reach- ing there at the time of the great flood. This led to his returning north to San Francisco, from which port he shipped on the whaling ship, Dawn, for a cruise of eight months in the Arctic. On his return to California, he worked for the Continental Oil Company in Sacramento, and coming to Stockton, he worked for a building firm and helped to erect both a building at the State Asylum and the Ma- sonic Temple in Stockton. For three years he was in San Francisco as foreman on the Wharf Building on the Bay front; and then he returned to Stockton and joined the police force as bailiff in the police court; two years later he became a patrolman. Later still, he engaged in house-moving in Stockton for sixteen years, but more recently he has followed building as a contractor, operating particularly in the Fair Oaks district. There he has built over thirty cottages, and he has proven an important factor in the building up of the district. Over thirty years ago, he bought six lots at Ash and Sonora streets, and erected his home; lots 25x115 feet on Sonora Avenue sold for $125 at that time, and they are now valued at $500 per lot. Corner lots, 50x115 feet, are now valued at more than $1750, while lots on Fair Oaks Avenue have trebled in value. Villa Park Addition, Gambeth's Addition, and supplements to these two additions, and Burkett's Acres are included in the Fair Oaks section. This land was a mere grain field when our subject first located there, and the paving he put in on his block was the first in the district. He was also the first to build. a. concrete sidewalk in Fair Oaks. Now he owns val- uable real estate, and has more calls for his houses than he can meet. The Fair Oaks district is growing

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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 188

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