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 204

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 204

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In 1907 Mr. Murphy was appointed city electrician of Stockton under Mayor R. R. Reibenstein, the first man to hold this office, which he filled faithfully and efficiently for ten years. During this time many of Stockton's large, modern buildings were erected- Hotel Stockton, Hotel Clark, Hotel Lincoln, Farmers and Merchants Bank, Commercial Bank, City Bank, and he passed on the electrical installation in all of

them. Resigning from this post, he opened his busi- ness, the Bright Spot Electric Company, in 1918, and today he has one of the most representative estab- lishments in this line in the county, enjoying a pat- ronage extending into the rich Delta, as well as in the towns and communities around Stockton in other directions. Houses are wired, industrial and commer- cial lighting plants are installed complete, and motor and pumping plants are installed for irrigation and general ranch use, irrigation machinery being a spe- cialty of Mr. Murphy. He was the successful bidder for the installation work and lighting equipment for the Antioch $60,000 city hall, and this work was so satisfactory that it called forth much praise.

At Reno, Nev., in December, 1898, Mr. Murphy was married to Miss Ida B. Fischer, a native of Swit- zerland, and they make their home at 735 North Cali- fornia Street. One of Stockton's enterprising busi- ness men, Mr. Murphy is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, the Progressive Business Club, the Stockton Advertising Club, the California Electrical Contractors and Dealers Association, and the Jovians, a national order of the electrical industry, and fra- ternally he is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West, Woodmen of the World, Red Men, and a charter member of the local Eagles.

JOSEPH D. CROSE .- An influential and leading citizen of Lodi, for many years a successful merchant, who through his faithful public service has played an important part in the city's growth, is Joseph D. Crose, one of the city trustees of Lodi and an efficient and loyal public official, serving four years. For forty years a merchant, he began his mercantile career at Armstrong, Howard County, Mo., where he was born at Boonesborough, June 7, 1858. In 1886 he removed to Crawford, Nebr., where he homesteaded 160 acres and farmed for a time, and on deciding to take up his residence in Arizona, he drove across country in wagons with his family, reaching Mesa after a three months' trip that had many interesting experiences. Here he established himself as a merchant, taking a leading part in the town's enterprises and serving as justice of the peace.

Coming to Lodi, Cal., in the fall of 1905, Mr. Crose built two business blocks in the spring of 1906 and engaged in the grocery business, which he continued until that fall, when he sold out, and bought a one- half interest in a shoe store known as the Walk- Over Boot Shop. Meeting with splendid success, he remained actively in this business until January, 1920, when he disposed of his interest to his partner and is now living retired from active life in the business world, but finding his time well occupied with his valuable real estate interests.

In Missouri, on September 8, 1881, Mr. Crose was married to Miss Annie E. Patrick, who was a native of Missouri but was reared in Colorado. Twelve children were born to them, five of whom are now living, as follows: Ira N. is the manual training teacher in the Lodi high school; John D. was a mis- sionary in Tokio, Japan, working two years among the students of the Imperial University, and now has a congregation at Pomona, Cal .; Mrs. Laura Giles lives in Los Angeles; Joseph W. is a merchant at Orange, Cal .; Mrs. Annie E. Beckley is a resident of Lodi. Mr. Crose is a member of the Church of God and one of its generous contributors; this church was organized in Lodi a few years ago and now has a

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membership of fifty. For the past four years Mr. Crose has been a member of the board of city trustees of Lodi and chairman of the health and safety com- mittee. Having occupied this official position during the years of the city's greatest growth, he has con- tributed effectively to its orderly development, and with the city's interest at heart he has given gener- ously of his time and talents toward every movement for its betterment.

CHARLES W. RUFF .- An enterprising, success- ful man of varied affairs of real practical importance to this portion of California is Charles W. Ruff, formerly a stockholder in and manager of the mill of the Lodi Mill & Manufacturing Company, and now engaged in building operations in the Sturla Tract. He was born at Muscatine, Iowa, on December 12, 1864, and there he remained until he was fifteen years of age, when he removed to South Dakota, where he was for five years on a ranch, at the same time that he finished his schooling.

Returning to Iowa, he entered upon planing-mill work, at Sioux City, starting in at the bottom of the ladder, and thereby gradually gaining a thorough knowledge of mill-work in all branches. And from that time on, he followed mill-work until in the spring of 1921 he sold his interest in the Lodi Mill & Manu- facturing Company. In Sioux City he entered the employ of the Anderson & Floyd Manufacturing Company, and from there he went to Waterloo, Iowa, where he worked for nine years with Nauman & Company in their planing mill. He then went north to Seattle, and was with Messrs. Morgan Bros., ship- builders, for a year and a half; and coming to Lodi in 1906, he entered the employ of Cary Bros., in the Lodi Planing Mills. Later, a corporation was formed, called the Lodi Mill & Manufacturing Company, which bought out Cary Bros .; and Mr. Ruff was a partner in the concern, with E. C. Cary, J. M. Mc- Mahon, and E. F. Van Vlear. After all these years of changing application, Mr. Ruff became one of the best-posted and most-experienced planing-mill men in this part of the country, and it was easy for the Lodi Mill, under his management, to make a specialty of remodeling store-fronts. Although this seems an odd specialty, the company was kept busy, and many of the most ornate facades in Lodi are due to their taste and skill. They erected, for example, the fronts of the Friedburgh Kaiser store, and that of both M. Newfield and Messrs. Beckman, Welsh & Thompson.

Since entering upon his new field, Mr. Ruff has been equally successful. He built the first residence in the Sturla Tract, and he seems destined to build many more. He buys well-located lots, erects houses of the most desirable character, and puts them on the market at prices reasonable and within the reach of many; and in this important work of helping to build up the community, he has accomplished much good. It is no wonder that his fellow-citizens look upon him as an exemplary citizen, and speak of him as good timber, before long, for public office. An active Dem- ocrat for years, he has long served prominently as a member of the Democratic County Central Com- mittee.

The marriage of Mr. Ruff united him with Miss Mabel Paul, a native of Iowa, and their union has been blessed with the birth of three children-Cecil, Paul and Juanita. Mr. Ruff is a Mason, being a

member of Lodi Lodge No. 256, F. & A. M., and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Mod- ern Woodmen.

ALEXANDER BROTHERS .- Among the pros- perous and enterprising representatives of the agri- cultural interests of San Joaquin County, the three Alexander brothers, John, Thomas, and Christ, have given ample evidence of the progressive spirit and up-to-date methods which make for success along every line of worthy endeavor. John and Thomas, twins, were born June 10, 1884, and Christ was born April 16, 1890, at Cephalonia, Greece. They are sons of Zesus and Diamond (Vandoros) Alexander. The parents were farmer folk in their native land, and their nine children were reared on the farm, where they all received practical experience in agriculture. The nine children are: Angelus, Stephen, Thomas and John (twins), Andrew, Christ, Anna, Angelina, and Alexandria-all residing in Greece with the excep- tion of the three brothers referred to in this sketch. All three brothers received a good education in the grammar and high schools of their native country. When John Alexander was about sixteen years old he left home and went to Palestine, where he attended school for a year; then he went to Port Said, Egypt, and for seven months worked in a clothing store. Giving up his position, he traveled throughout Egypt for a short while, and then returned to his home in Greece for a visit, after which he went to Athens and worked for two years. He then went to the English colony of the Sudan, Africa, where he worked in a grocery store for a year and a half. Returning to Athens, he met his brother Christ and together they came via Marseilles and La Havre, France, to New York City, where they were met by their brother Thomas. Thomas Alexander left home when he was nineteen years old and went to Constantinople, where he worked in his uncle's large dry-goods store for about six months, then removed to Cardiff, Wales, where he worked for a few months. He then made his way to Rio de Janeiro and from there to Buenos Aires, where he served in the Argentine navy for two years. Leaving here, he came to New York City, and joined his brothers there. The three brothers worked in New York City for about a year, and then removed to Denver, Colo., where they found employ- ment in various hotels for two years. Thereafter the three of them went to Chicago and there learned the barber trade, which they followed for two years; they then returned to Denver and followed their trade for a year and a half, and in 1910 came to San Francisco and established their own shop, which they conducted for one year. Then they moved to Redwood City and opened a shop, which they ran for five years. In 1916 the three brothers came to San Joaquin County and leased the A. W. Franklin ranch, seven miles west of Lodi, and engaged in farming for a year.

On September 19, 1917, Christ Alexander entered the United States Army and was sent to Camp Lewis and placed in Company L, 363rd Infantry, training for six months; and then was sent to Camp Green, N. C., where he received two months intensive train- ing. From Camp Green he went to Camp Mills, N. Y., and was here transferred to Company C, 59th Infantry of the 4th Division. From Camp Mills, N. Y., his company sailed for France via Liverpool, England, and upon their arrival were immediately

John J . alexander

Christ 3. alexander

Thomas J. alexander

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sent to the front and were in the Chateau-Thierry and Aisne-Marne offensives. In the Vesle offensive he received a severe shrapnel wound in one of his legs. He was sent to a hospital, where he remained for eleven months, and then was returned to the United States and, on July 8, 1919, was discharged from the Letterman Hospital, San Francisco, and then returned to his home in San Joaquin County. He then entered a vocational training school, where he studied dentistry, but at the end of six months was obliged to give it up on account of the strain on his wounded leg; he then tried to work at his trade in Lodi, but was obliged to give that up also. In 1919 his brothers, John and Thomas, had bought a twenty-acre vineyard one-half mile north of Victor, and in 1921 they purchased a forty-acre vineyard five miles northwest of Woodbridge; here Christ Alex- ander went to work, and has partially recovered the use of his wounded leg. The Alexander brothers have set twenty acres of the forty-acre ranch to young vineyard, and have further improved it with a six- inch pump and a fifteen-horsepower motor for irriga- tion purposes. They came to America empty-handed; but taking advantage of the splendid opportunities offered in the New World for advancement, they · have worked their way steadily upward to prosperity.

RALPH P. MORRELL .- Many of Stockton's finest and most substantial structures are the handi- work of Ralph P. Morrell, the pioneer architect of the city, which he has seen develop from a town of 12,000 inhabitants until its population now exceeds 50,000. He is a native son of California, his birth having occurred at San Francisco, February 5, 1867, and his parents were Oliver L. and Margaret (Holmes) Morrell, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New Bedford, Mass. In 1850 the father came to California via the Isthmus of Panama, locating in San Francisco, where he built and oper- ated the first furniture factory in the city. He estab- lished his plant at the corner of Fremont and Market streets and was numbered among the pioneer business men and upbuilders of the city.

Mr. Morrell attended the Lincoln grammar school at Fifth and Market streets in San Francisco, and after their lessons for the day were ended the boys would frequently devote their energies to digging up Indian beads and other trinkets on the present site of the San Francisco Civic Auditorium. He also re- members when there were plank sidewalks on Mar- ket Street and the first railroad station was located at the intersection of that thoroughfare with Seventh Street, his reminiscences of San Francisco's early days being most interesting. In 1879 he came to Stockton, where he attended the public schools, and afterward completed an apprenticeship in furniture designing and decorating, becoming very proficient in that line. Later he embarked in business on his own account, erecting a large planing mill on Lafay- ette Street in March, 1890, and at the same time he began his work in architectural drawing. The mill was afterward destroyed by fire and Mr. Morrell has since devoted his attention to architectural work, in which he has been very successful. The greater part of the business blocks in Stockton were designed by him and also a large number of fine homes, for which he has likewise selected the furnishings. His repu- tation has spread beyond the boundaries of Stockton and he has drawn the plans for public buildings and

private residences in cities from Bakersfield to the northern part of the state and he has also done archi- tectural work in Nevada, being widely known in this connection. In fraternal circles he is well known, belonging to Stockton Lodge No. 218, B. P. O. E., and to Charity Lodge No. 6, I. O. O. F. He occu- pies a position of leadership in his profession and his work, which is of high character and standard excel- lence, is a credit to the city and a feature in its sub- stantial improvement.

PACIFIC CARPET CLEANING COMPANY .- The enterprising concern conducted under the firm name of the Pacific Carpet Cleaning Company, located at 330 South California Street, Stockton, Cal., is one of the pioneer institutions of this city, being established in 1897. On March 1, 1910, George S. Ferguson and Anthony V. Bowers purchased the business, which was of small proportions and which consisted principally of cleaning carpets; during the twelve years of their ownership new departments have been added and it has become a prosperous and well paying business. The company manufacture awnings, mattresses, do upholstering, renovate mattresses, and do all kinds of carpet cleaning, specializing in carpet shampooing, this being done by a special machine. After the carpet has been cleaned, soap is used and the luster brought back, thus increasing the life of the fabric.

Anthony V. Bowers was born on his father's ranch near Stockton, San Joaquin County, Cal., on October 20, 1879, a son of Frank and Mary (Sheehan) Bowers, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Massa- chusetts. His father sailed around the Horn in 1861 and was one of the early grain farmers of San Joaquin County, his ranch being located on the Waterloo Road, six miles from Stockton. There were eight children in his father's family: Mrs. J. V. Sprengler, Mrs. M. L. Gravem, Mrs. J. F. Muldowney, Henry A., Frank E., Charles A., Anthony V., of this sketch, and George W. Both parents have passed away.

Anthony V. was educated in the Greenwood school and was graduated from the Stockton high school with the class of 1898. He is a natural born musi- cian; at the age of six years he began playing the violin and at the age of seven began the study of that instrument, and when thirteen years of age was playing professionally. He has been a teacher of the violin for many years and is now the director of Bow- ers' Orchestra, which is very popular in Stockton for dances, entertainments, etc. For five years he was a bookkeeper for a local firm and in 1910 bought an interest in the above company, which has proven a good investment. Fraternally he is a member of the Stockton Lodge No. 218, B. P. O. Elks, and the Fra- ternal Brotherhood; he is also a member of the Stock- ton Rotary Club. Mr. Bowers' marriage united him with Miss Ella Reynolds, a native of Oakdale, Cal.

George S. Ferguson, the other partner in the above enterprise, is also a native of San Joaquin County, born near Linden on September 8, 1878, a son of William W. and Ida (Prather) Ferguson, the former a native of California and the latter born in Missouri. His paternal grandfather was a native of Illinois and crossed the plains in the pioneer days, settling in Stockton where he conducted the Eureka Bakery. W. W. Ferguson was a grain farmer for many years near Linden and was a member of Stockton Parlor No. 7, the N. S. G. W. There were two sons in the

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

family: Elmer S., deceased, and George S., the sub- ject of this review. The father passed away, but the mother still lives on a portion of the old home place near Linden. George S. attended the Linden school and followed farming until his removal to Stockton where he became associated with a carpet company, and in 1910 he purchased an interest in the Pacific Carpet Cleaning Company.

The marriage of Mr. Ferguson united him with Miss Lida Smith, a native of San Francisco, Cal. He is a member of the Junior Order of Mechanics and the Loyal Order of Moose. He owns a twenty-acre fruit ranch at Linden, a part of the home place, which is in full-bearing walnuts, prunes and peaches.

JOHN J. SCHEURER .- A man of good business capacity, John J. Scheurer now holds the responsible position of line foreman with the Western States Gas & Electric Company at Stockton. . A native of Ken- tucky, he was born in Louisville on November 11, 1859, and was taken by his parents, Jacob and Marian Eva (Schuck) Scheurer to Evansville, Ind., where he was reared. His parents were both natives of Ger- many, the father born in Nassau in 1824 and the mother in Baden in 1830, and they were married in Kentucky on October 30, 1848. Jacob Scheurer, who was a cigar manufacturer and dealer, died at Evans- ville, Ind., in June, 1897, the mother passing away there in June, 1896, the mother of ten children, four of whom are living.

As a boy John J. Scheurer worked for the Evans- ville Gas Company as a lamp trimmer; later he be- came interested in baseball and became the leading player in southern Indiana, and played throughout the southern states in the Southern League as catcher for about five years. In 1882 he joined Sells Bros. circus as boss bill poster, covering 44,000 miles in one season; in 1886 he was with the W. W. Cole circus for one season, then went back to Sells Bros., but when he arrived in Stockton in the winter of 1888, he concluded to end his circus career. He began working for. the Stockton Gas Light & Heat Com- pany, now the Western States Gas & Electric Com- pany, being service construction foreman, and is now the oldest employee of the company, having been with them since 1888.

In Stockton, on March 14, 1894, he was married to Mrs. Bertha J. (Fairfield) Barthold, born near Fort Wayne, Ind., a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Thurber) Fairfield, natives respectively of Kenne- bunkport, Maine, and Quebec, Canada. Grandfather Fairfield ran boats on the Erie Canal and later became a pioneer of Fort Wayne, Ind., Fairfield Avenue in that city being named for him. James Fairfield was a farmer in Allen County, Ind., and there Mrs. Scheurer was reared. Her first marriage united her with C. G. Barthold, and they came to Stockton in 1888, where he worked as an electrician until his death in 1892, leaving her two children: C. G., who is with the Western States Gas & Electric Company, and Bertha Jamesetta, who died February 9, 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Scheurer are the parents of two children, John E. and Cyrus L., who died at the age of two years. John E., who is with the Western Gas & Electric Company, served in Battery C, California. on the Mexican border and afterwards served over- seas in the World War. He married Miss Florence Davis and has two sons, Ralph E. and Jack Louis.

Mr. Scheurer is a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics and is past counselor of that order; he is a member and past chancellor com- mander of Charter Oak Lodge, K. P., and belongs to the Knights of Khorassan.

MATTHEW D. FOCACCI .- An enterprising and thoroughly progressive business man of Lodi, who has done much to place and keep his town in the front rank of San Joaquin County cities, is Matthew D. Focacci, the president of the Lodi Shoe Store, Inc., at 10 West Pine Street. He was born here on De- cember 16, 1883, although his parents, John and Maria Focacci, were both natives of Italy. His father came to Lodi in early days, and for some time was in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company; and he died in 1896, leaving an unblem- ished reputation as an honest and intelligently indus- trious man. Mrs. Focacci is still living, the mother of six children. The eldest is Mrs. Columbia Denevi, John is the second; our subject was the third, and the others are Joseph, Louis and Charles.

Matthew attended the school at Salem, but when Mr. Focacci died, and his widow bought twenty-one acres of raw land, a part of the John Hutchins ranch, the present site of the Emerson School, for $110 per acre, he assisted his mother to improve the place. They put in water, planted a vineyard, and also went in for an orchard and the growing of vegetables; and at the end of the year they were able to sell the property at $700 per acre. This property, since subdivided, is known as the Schroeder Tract, and lots are sold there at as high a figure as $1,200 each -an interesting contrast to the time when the Fo- caccis were farming the place, and packed their grapes, which they sold for twenty cents a crate, under the trees. They also leased a part of the Girard Tract for farming purposes.

After the ranch was sold, Mr. Focacci decided to enter the mercantile field, so he accepted a position with J. P. Callahan, who conducted a small shoe store on North School Street. There he gained a thorough knowledge of the shoe business, and he then bought out Mr. Callahan, and later with Mr. W. H. Thompson he incorporated the Lodi Shoe Store. In 1914 they removed to their present place of business in the Lodi National Bank Building, where they carry only the highest quality of stock, and have built up a very profitable trade. Mr. Focacci is a graduate of the American School of Practipedics, at Chicago, where he completed a two- year course in 1918; and he has found that his actual experience; as well as his reputation for expert train- ing in shoe-fitting and all that pertains to the foot specialist, has been of great assistance to him. This art of expert shoe-fitting has been in vogue in the finest shops in the East for some years, and Mr. Focacci has the honor of being one of the first to introduce it into California.

At Lodi Mr. Focacci was married to Miss Jennie Beronio, also a native of the town of Lodi; and they have one son, Leslie D. Focacci, who is now two years old. Mr. Focacci is a popular member of Lodge No. 18 of the Eagles, Lodge No. 848 of the Woodmen of the World, and also of the Lodi Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West.

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Ж. D focacci.

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MRS. NELLIE WEHR .- A native daughter, Mrs. Nellie Wehr was born in Cherokee, now called Tyler, Nevada County. Her father, Jeremiah Morrison, was a native of Ireland, where he learned the blacksmith trade. He emigrated to New Orleans, La., and there married Miss Isabella Gilday, also a native of the Emerald Isle, born in Donegal, who had come to New Orleans, La., with her uncle. In 1849 or 1850, Mr. Morrison came via Panama to San Francisco, where he followed his trade, and then later made his way to Cherokee, Nevada County, and established himself in the blacksmith's business. His shop came to be the leading establishment in the place in the "days of '49," when they shod oxen as well as horses at the smithy. He died on December 11, 1867. His widow survived him for many years, passing away at Redding, while on a visit, in April, 1906, at the ad- vanced age of eighty-two years. There were five children born to this pioneer couple: Mrs. Mary Huy, who died at Redding; Mrs. Sarah Collins, resid- ing in Redding; Hanora, now Mrs. James Graham, residing in Stockton; Mrs. Isabelle Cuddy, of South- wick, Idaho; and Mrs. Nellie Wehr, of this review.

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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 204

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