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 191

Author: Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1660

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located on his ranch near Waterloo in 1901.

Mr. Foote's first marriage united him with Miss Leila Woodworth, who was born in Nova Scotia, and who became the mother of five children, four of whom are living: Robert N., Myrtle, Ralph M. and Marie. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Foote subsequently was married to Mrs. Laura Coburn (nee Finn) of Plymouth, a daughter of Robert Finn, one of the pioneers of Amador County. Four chil- dren were born of this second marriage: Frank, For-

rest, Gertrude and Vivian. Mr. Foote is affiliated with Vesper Lodge No. 94, Knights of Pythias, and with Progressive Lodge No. 134, I. O. O. F., both at Lockeford.

MAX PAUL .- An experienced, enterprising busi- ness man is found in Max Paul, proprietor of the Valley Machine and Tool Works, located at 6 East Miner Avenue, Stockton. He is a native of Magde- burg, Saxony, Germany, and was born February 8, 1879. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed as a machinist with Schaefer-Budenberg Company, in his native city. The first year of his apprenticeship was spent as an errand boy, then he entered the tool department; he was then promoted to the mechanical drawing department, where he spent one year. He spent five years in night school learning the theoreti- cal part of the business. He then went to Manches- ter, England, and entered the employ of the same company, which had a branch business in Manches- ter; there he learned automobile mechanics, gas en- gine work, the making of instruments, and electrical work. While in Manchester he was also employed by the British Westinghouse Company. About this time he had determined to seek his fortune in Amer- ica. Landing in New York City in 1907, he pro- ceeded at once to Foxboro, Mass., and entered the branch factory of the company he first worked for in Manchester, England. This was an instrument factory, making steam gauges, whistles, fog horns, sounding machinery and engine and boiler acces- sories, and he was with them for two years; next he was in Brooklyn, N. Y., employed at his trade for the Mergenthaler Linotype Company; then he re- turned to Foxboro, Mass., and did experimental work on clocks, and other electrical works, and worked for two and a half years more; he then removed to Canton, Mass., and was employed by the Electric Goods Manufacturing Company as a designer of clocks. In 1913 he arrived in California and went to the Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, and was engaged for a year in building telescopes, cameras and spectographs. Removing to Stockton in 1914 he went to work for J. C. Skinner Automobile Com- pany and was later with the Holt Manufacturing Company and the Sampson Gas Engine Works, hav- ing charge of the tool room of the latter. He then opened his own business at 6 East Miner Avenue, doing expert work for automobiles and trucks and other machine work, besides expert tool work such as punches, dies, drill jigs, milling fixtures and mechanical and electrical instruments. His years of experience have enabled him to take his place among the best informed and most enterprising of mechan- ics in Stockton. A brother, Hugo A. Paul, had charge of the Hall Scott motor shop and helped de- sign and build the first eight-cylinder airship motor; he was a thorough mechanic and had an automobile repair shop; he died in March, 1920.

The marriage of Mr. Paul in Manchester, England, united him with Miss Mary Antony, a native of that place, and they are the parents of two children, Ar- nold Hugo and Mabel Melita. Mr. Paul has recently designed and built a ditching machine for irrigation work, on which he obtained a patent in February, 1922. He has also made several other useful ma- chines. Three years of his time in the East was spent in experimental work for the Industrial In- strument Company in Foxboro, designing and im- proving electrical and mechanical instruments. He

Moa Paul.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

is a member of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants' Protective Association, and is an unbiased supporter of all that is best for San Joaquin County.

AMOS JONES .- One of the most capable men in the realty field of Central California, Amos Jones was also fortunate in having a wide experience as a civil engineer before entering this progressive business in which he has made such an outstanding success. An Easterner by birth, he was born in Dover, N. J., December 27, 1876, and when a child his parents located in Canon City, Colo. Here he was reared, attending the public schools and graduating from the Canon City high school in 1895. Continuing his studies at the State Agricultural College, he was graduated from there in 1898 as an irrigation engineer, and then became associated with the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company. Later he returned to his alma mater as an instructor in civil engineering, and then entered the U. S. Reclamation Survey, spending a year on the Truckee-Carson project in Nevada. On his return to Colorado he became deputy engineer for the state of Colorado, holding this post for one year.

Coming to Stockton in 1904, Mr. Jones embarked in the real estate business under the firm name of Jones & McElwee. Later he entered into partnership with Howard Hammond and F. L. Williams, as Ham- mond, Jones & Williams, and this firm handled many large land development projects. In 1909 they sold the Weber Tule Ranch to Baldwin & Howell of San Fran- cisco, and in 1912 they formed a corporation and planted a thousand acres of land near Ripon to peaches and almonds, an ambitious undertaking which proved very successful. They put Yosemite Terrace on the market, a tract of 175 acres and one of Stock- ton's finest residence districts, and they also devel- oped Stockton Acres, and thus were the means of attracting many new settlers to this locality. Their work was always on a large scale and they disposed of more than a million dollars' worth of property in the San Joaquin Valley to new residents, and thus had an important part in building up the county in a conservative, lasting way.

In 1917 Mr. Jones formed a partnership with James Y. Coates and they engaged in a general real estate business, specializing in the handling of large tracts and subdivisions. They have operated in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties and have already success- fully subdivided and disposed of the Elliott ranch of 5,030 acres, and several others. In December, 1920, T. H. Carpenter bought into the company. Since then the firm name has been the Jones-Coates Com- pany, with offices at 507 Yosemite Building. Acting in conjunction with J. Henry Smith of Tracy, this company acquired the Pescadero Colony, formerly known as the Mclaughlin Tract of 14,000 acres near Tracy, lying between Tracy and the San Joaquin River. This company has already made provisions for irrigation and good roads for the entire tract, and has subdivided it into twenty-acre farms which it is selling without any cash down payments; interest at six per cent is payable semi-annually in advance and no payment of principal is required for five years, therefore principal payments may extend over a period of ten years in equal annual installments, if desired, making a total of fifteen years' time in which to pay off the purchase price. It is the cream of the state, both in fertility and location.

Mr. Jones' marriage, which occurred at Safford, Ariz., in 1902, united him with Miss Della Gaume, a native of Ohio. Mr. Jones is a member of Stockton Lodge No. 218, B. P. O. E., and of Charter Oak Lodge No. 20, K. P., having passed through all chairs of the latter and attended the Grand Lodge. While California owes a never-ending debt of grati- tude to the early settlers who braved the perils and hardships of its pioneer days, the same meed of credit is due to men who, like Amos Jones, have given years of training and study to these great problems of de- velopment and reclamation, and whose initiative and capability have made it possible for hundreds of homes to be carved out of uncultivated tracts, thus adding millions to the wealth of this district, and help- ing to make California the garden of the world.

HOMER LOUIS GRAY .- For the past twenty years Homer Louis Gray has continuously resided in San Joaquin County, with the exception of a year and a half spent in San Francisco in the manufacture of circular mailing tubes, of which he was the patentee. He was born in South Bend, Ind., March 6, 1869, a son of William A. and Mary (Keasey) Gray, both natives of Indiana. His fa- ther was a harness-maker and leather-worker in Indiana, and reared a family of five children: Joseph C., a rancher near Woodbridge; William Ned, in Colorado; Elizabeth, in San Joaquin County; Homer Louis, of this sketch; and Porter S., also a rancher here. The parents died in California in 1922, only two days apart.

On October 22, 1892, at Del Norte, Colo., Homer L. Gray was married to Miss Gertrude A. Verback, a native of Janesville, Wis., a daughter of George A. and Sarah V. (Stafford) Verback, the former also a native of Janesville, while the latter was of Eng- lish birth. Her father owned a farm of a quarter- section of land at Janesville, where he and his wife reared a family of six children: John A., of Denver, Colo .; Ernest, deceased at the age of seventeen; Martha, Mrs. Mercer, residing at Stockton; Ger- trude, Mrs. Gray; George, of Lodi; and Harry, ac- cidentally drowned at the age of twenty-one. When Mrs. Gray was six years old, her parents removed to Nebraska and settled in Seward County, where they lived for four years. Then they removed to Goodland, Kans. The father farmed and conducted a blacksmith shop here for five years, and then the family removed to Mosca, Colo. Since 1903 the family has resided in Stockton. The father passed away at Stockton in 1912, aged sixty-nine; the mother survived until 1917, dying at seventy-five years of age.

Upon arriving in California, in November, 1903, Mr. Gray engaged in ranching near Stockton for three years. He then moved to San Francisco. where he began the manufacture of his patented mailing tube. He continued .its manufacture for a year and a half and then sold the Coast right. During this time the family resided in Alameda, but Mr. Gray's factory was in San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Gray are the parents of three children: Phyllis, deceased in 1910; Marion, now Mrs. M. T. Williams, who has one daughter, Helen Lois Ger- trude; and Helen Viola, Mrs. N. M. Bush. When Mr. Gray sold his business in San Francisco, he settled in North San Joaquin County, where he bought forty-three acres, a part of the old John

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Thompson ranch, located on the Woodbridge-Thorn- ton road, five miles northwest of Woodbridge. At the time of purchase, twenty-five acres of the ranch was in vineyard. Since then he has planted the balance to vines, and the whole acreage is now set to a vineyard of Mission, Tokay and Zinfandel grapes. Thirty acres of his vineyard is interset with walnut trees. Fraternally, Mr. Gray is a member of the Woodmen of the World. He and his family are members of the Congregational Church.

JOSEPH TEIXEIRA .- Well known among the popular public officials of San Joaquin County is Joseph Teixeira, the efficient acting city marshal of Tracy. He was born at St. George, in the Azores Islands, April 10, 1886, the son of John and Mary (Machado) Teixeira, pioneer settlers of Santa Clara County. John Teixeira was a tradesman in the em- ploy of the Brick Manufactory at San Jose and Pleasanton; he passed away at San Jose in 1919, and his widow resides with her son near Tracy.

Joseph Teixeira received a good elementary edu- cation, first at the district school in Mountain View, and then at the Hamilton school in San Jose; and after that he entered the employ of John Stocks Sons in San Jose, where he learned the plumbing and sheet-metal working trade, remaining in that shop for seven years. For the next five years he was in charge of the installing of Byron Jackson deep-well pumps, representing C. L. Meisterheim, at San Jose, in their work throughout Central Cali- fornia. In 1902 he went to Cherokee, in Butte County, and engaged in hydraulic mining for a large improvement corporation, and was occupied in this venture until 1904.

Six years ago Mr. Teixeira came to Tracy and acquired forty acres of choice land in the Naglee- Burke district, which he developed into a successful dairy and alfalfa ranch, at the same time that he took full charge of the Naglee-Burke Irrigation district pumping plant, which he continued to man- age until three years ago; but he sold out his in- terests, on removing to the ranch south of Tracy, where he formed a partnership with Mr. White, his father-in-law, in buying 160 acres, he keeping 60 acres and Mr. White 100 acres.

In 1919 Mr. Teixeira was appointed deputy city marshal of Tracy, an office he filled to everybody's satisfaction until ten months ago, when he became acting city marshal, and authorized to take entire charge of the peace officer's work. Since then, he has carried out a series of raids on illicit liquor and drug sellers in the environs of the city, and has the hearty support of the county. officials for his fear- less attacks on any lawbreakers, irrespective of their position and influence. He is also a deputy sheriff of the county.

At Cupertino, in 1909, Mr. Teixeira was married to Miss Mary White, the eldest child of Mr. and Mrs. J. G. White, whose life-story is given else- where in this volume, and their fortunate union has been blessed with the birth of four children: Mabel, Edwin, Lucile and Marie. Mr. Teixeira is a Cath- olic, and a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Druids of San Jose, and also of the S. E. S. of Tracy. He owns considerable real estate and residential property in Tracy, and is a strong advo- cate of irrigation, serving as a director for the Banta-Carbona district.

WALTER R. WOOCK .- Gifted with mechanical and inventive ability of a high order, Walter R. Woock, president of the Superior Manufacturing Company of Lodi, is one of the youngest executives in the state of California heading' a manufacturing enterprise of the scope of this company. Already having accomplished much, he has a still more bril- liant future before him. Mr. Woock was born at Los Angeles, January 31, 1892, the eldest son of Julius and Eliza (Nickel) Woock, both natives of Germany. The father has been a resident of the United States for thirty-six years, and in 1904 removed with his family to Lodi, where he purchased ån eighty-acre ranch, improved it, adding much to its value, and later sold it for $65,000. The family now reside on a ranch one and a half miles east of Lodi, forty-two acres of which is devoted to Tokay grapes, making a very valuable property. Mr. and Mrs. Julius Woock are the parents of four children: Walter R., of this sketch; and Herbert J., Eric M., and Hattie.

Twelve years of age when his parents took up their residence at Lodi, Walter R. Woock finished his education in the public schools of Lodi and at Heald's Business College at Stockton. He also took a correspondence course in mechanical engineering, supplementing this with much home study along this line, and has a valuable practical experience in the machinery and engineering fields. He was with the Monarch Foundry of Stockton, in the selling and installing departments, and later with the Marine Iron Works of Stockton, where he was engaged in pump building and installing. He afterwards became a part-owner of the latter company, and was identi- fied with the pump department.

In 1914, with his brothers Herbert J. and Eric M. Woock, Mr. Woock established the Superior Manu- facturing Company at Lodi. A sketch of the com- pany's organization and development is given below. The company was incorporated August 1, 1919. He is the president of the company, Herbert J. Woock is vice-president, and Eric M. Woock is treasurer. The Superior pumps, manufactured by this company, represent the inventive genius of the three brothers, who hold patents on the following types: twin pump, packless pump, shaftless deep-well pump, and elbow check pump. They have built up one of the most modern pump manufactories in the state, and their enterprise would do credit to men much their seniors. The Superior Manufacturing Company is a member of the Lodi Business Men's Association, the Manu- facturers' Association of San Francisco, and the 100 Per Cent Club of San Francisco. Occupying a lead- ing place among the business men of Lodi, Mr. Woock has already contributed much to its commer- cial growth through the establishment of his thriving plant and the genuine interest he takes in all that adds to the development of the locality.

SUPERIOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY.

-A thriving concern with one of the most up-to-date plants in the state, the Superior Manufacturing Company of Lodi has built up a reputation for its pumps and pumping machinery that has gone far and wide. The plant was first established in 1914 by the three Woock brothers, Walter R., Herbert J. and Eric M., and was incorporated on August 1, 1919. The new, modern factory was completed May 1, 1920, at a cost of $150,000. It is finely ap- pointed, equipped with special machinery to facilitate

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Walter Kluboet

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

its economic operation. It comprises the following departments: Pattern department, drafting room, manufacturing department, machine shop, testing de- partment, and show room.

The brothers are endowed with unusual mechan- ical ability and inventive genius, and the Superior pumps are the result of the new ideas in construction which they have developed, the design having been worked out by constant study and experimentation on their part. Applying the knowledge gained by their years of experience in the design and manufac- ture of high-grade pumps, they can assure their cus- tomers of a superior article, made of the best of ma- terials and correctly finished. The great demand for their products from every locality where they have once been used, and the long list of repeated orders from satisfied customers, are the best references as to their quality and efficiency. One of their leaders is the shaftless deep-well pump, patented by them. Among its marked advantages are the following: No overhead power; no shafting; no pump packing; no priming; no end thrust; no pump bearings; less horse power than any other deep-well pump; can be installed at any angle; impervious to sand and grit, which put many pumps out of commission. They have also patented their twin pump, packless pump, and elbow check pump, all of which have special features; and among other articles manufactured are single centrifugal pumps, combined elbow check valves, flap valves, and large pipe fittings. The sizes of their pumps run from one and a half to twelve inches, designed to discharge from sixty to 4,500 gallons per minute. They also make special pumps to order, and have installed plants on many of the large ranches of San Joaquin County, where they are giving complete satisfaction.

The Superior Manufacturing Company has agen- cies in Kern, Kings, San Joaquin, Tulare, Madera, Sacramento and Placer counties; and with the growth of their business, they will doubtless main- tain branches all over the state and in the adjoining territory. With the reclamation of waste lands through irrigation, these deep-well pumps will play no small part, thus adding to the natural wealth and productivity of every locality in which they are in- stalled. The business of the company is in the hands of the following efficient personnel: Walter R. Woock, president; Herbert J. Woock, vice-presi- dent; Eric M. Woock, treasurer; H. T. Bailey, sec- retary; while the other members of the board of di- rectors are H. C. Beckman, Otto Spenker and Percy S. Webster. The company has just been reincor- porated as The Superior Iron Works, and the manu- facturing will be continued and gradually increased.

MARCO GIOVANETTI .- An esteemed resident of the Wildwood district of San Joaquin County, Marco Giovanetti has resided in this district for the past eighteen years, making his home on his choice estate thirteen miles southeast of Stockton. Like most successful men he began with small capital, and his. own industry and ability are the sources of what he has gained. He was born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, November 4, 1863, a son of Joseph and Louisa Giovanetti. Joseph Giovanetti, a native of Switzerland, came to California and settled near Stockton in 1870. At thirteen years of age, in 1877, Marco Giovanetti accompanied his mother and brother, Sylvan, to Stockton and the family home was established on the Linden Road where the father had

purchased nine acres. The father was a gardener and for seven years raised vegetables for the Stockton markets and during this time Marco, our subject, helped and learned thoroughly the gardening and marketing business. In 1884 the mother passed away survived by her husband and three sons and the veg- etable business was carried on until 1887, when the father and his youngest son, Joseph, returned to Switzerland, where the father died in June, 1919. Joseph Giovanetti still resides in Switzerland.

Marco Giovanetti received a good education in the public schools of his native land and after coming to California attended school but three months; how- ever, he has improved his leisure hours by reading and has also been a keen observer, so that he has acquired a good practical education. After his father's return to Switzerland, he continued the market gar- den business for twenty-two years, making a great success of it. His fruit and vegetable wagons covered the entire city of Stockton and out on the French Camp Road for a distance of twenty-eight miles.

The marriage of Mr. Giovanetti occurred at Stock- ton June 9, 1886 and united him with Miss Josephine Leoni, a native of Stockton, born October 4, 1867, a daughter of Antone and Pauline (Peri) Leoni, both natives of Canton Ticino, Switzerland. Antone Leoni came to California via Cape Horn in a small sailing vessel in 1850 and after a short time settled at Stock- ton, where he engaged in the market garden business for twenty-eight years. Of their eight children Mrs. Giovanetti is the second eldest. The mother passed away on January 25, 1895, and the father on January 2. 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Giovanetti are the parents of five children: Louise, Mrs. F. A. Balatti, has three children, Alvin, Leland and Bernice; Marco, Jr., served in the U. S. Navy as second engineer for seven years and during the World War he served on a de- stroyer in Atlantic waters, and at present he is in the employ of the Western Electric Company in develop- ment work in Nevada; Amelia is a registered nurse in the Stockton Hospital; Julia and Alfred are at home. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Giovanetti bought the Ward ranch thirteen miles southeast of Stockton in the Wildwood school district, consisting of 195 acres of choice wheat land and twenty-five acres of sixteen-year-old vineyard, and it is now a very valu- able property; he also still retains the nine acres pur- chased by his father in 1870 on which the first Cali- fornia home was established. Mr. Giovanetti received his U. S. citizenship papers in Stockton in 1890 and since that time has voted the Republican ticket. For the past sixteen years he has served as trustee of the Wildwood school district and for eight years was road superintendent of the district; he is also a member of the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau, and fraternally. a member of the Red Men, of Stockton, of which he was a charter member.

JOSEPH N. ADAMS .- Joseph N. Adams was born at Pattonsville, Scott County, Va., on June 2, 1877, but was reared near Gate City, Va. His fa- ther, the Rev. James M. Adams, was not only a Methodist divine in that state, but was presiding elder of Abbington district, and became one of the locally famous men of the South. He was a noted debater, and was called before President U. S. Grant and his cabinet to preach a sermon. James M. Adams was born near Pattonsville, Scott County, Virginia, July 22. 1840 Although a Soutien: man.

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

he was for the freedom of slaves and he espoused the cause of the Union. He was forced into the Southern Army, but left it and made his way to Ken- tucky and enlisted in the Union Army, in which he served until the close of the war. After the war he returned to the South, and feeling the call to preach, became a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a member of the Masonic Order. He died on July 9, 1878. A monument was erected in his honor, and now stands in the beautiful public square at Pattonsville, an imposing and lasting memorial to one of the noblest Americans who contributed, by his industrious life and unselfish efforts, to make that portion of the United States a place worth living in. He was the father of nine children, of whom Joseph N. Adams is next to the youngest.

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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 191

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