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 216

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 216

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HARRY S. TODMAN .- An experienced, influen- tial man of public affairs, whose family have had an interesting association with the history of the Golden State, is Harry S. Todman, the owner of one of the finest peach orchards at Clements. He was born at Oakland, Cal., in December, 1866, the son of John H. and Viola A. (Pomeroy) Todman, his father being a native of England who came out to America when a young man and settled at Victoria, in Prince Edward Island. While still a young man John Todman en- tered the United States and came West to Nevada, and in 1854 he came on to California. In Nevada he had mined with the Comstock Company; and on reaching California he settled for a while at Oakland, and then took up mining in various parts of the West- ern States. While prospecting on the Colorado River, near Yuma, Ariz., he was drowned in 1886. Mrs. Todman then removed to Stockton; and there she died, about twenty years ago, at the age of fifty years.

Harry Todman profited by the public school advan- tages of San Francisco, and for three years attended Valencia grammar school; and when fourteen years of age he started out for himself. In San Francisco

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he learned the paint and wall-paper trade, and after that he worked as a journeyman in San Francisco. In 1889 he came to Stockton and engaged in his trade on Market, near Sutter Street, where he maintained also a supply shop for painters and paper-hangers. His place of business was in the Union Block.

Ten years ago he sold out and purchased thirty acres of the old Athearn ranch, about one mile north- east of Clements, on the Mokelumne River, where he has a fine orchard devoted to peach-culture, known as El Nido Ranch. There is a first-class pumping plant in the orchard, pumping direct from the Mokel- umne River, and from this supply the land is irri- gated. He has a twelve-inch stream, and a gas engine of fifteen-horsepower.

At Stockton, on July 28, 1889, Mr. Todman was married to Miss Cora Hitchcock, a native of Canton, Miss., and the daughter of Charles N. and Sarah Eliz- abeth (Tatum) Hitchcock, in whose family were four children: Florence, now Mrs. Hamsher, of Acampo; William and Joseph, who died young; and Cora, now the devoted wife of Mr. Todman. Mr. and Mrs. Todman have the distinction of being the first couple to have been married by the Rev. Mr. Sink in Stock- ton. Mrs. Todman's father, Charles N. Hitchcock, was a machinist, who brought her to Oakland when she was three years old. Later, he removed to Stock- ton, where in 1919 he died at the age of eighty-two; his devoted wife had died three years before, aged seventy-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock removed to Stockton when Cora was ten years old, and there she attended the grammar and the high school. Her father was a native of New York State, who had moved to Wisconsin prior to the Civil War. He joined the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and was a first lieutenant; and he served in the Army of the Mississippi and sustained several severe wounds. After the war was over, he went to Mississippi to claim for his bride a lady he had met while fighting in the South; her parents were plantation owners, and of course were allied with the Confederacy. Two children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Todman: Jessie, now Mrs. E. P. Kayser, of Oakland; and Edna, Mrs. E. W. Drury, of Stockton. Mr. Todman is a Democrat, and served as an aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor 'George H. Stoneman. His only sister, Josephine M. Todman, an attorney-at-law, was execu- tive secretary for fifteen years in the office of Gover- nor Budd. Broad-minded, of many-sided interests, Mr. Todman has served on the Board of Directors of the Humane Society at Stockton. He is a member of Stockton Lodge No. 218, Elks, and belongs to several other orders.

WALTER H. TEMPLETON .- Twenty-two years ago Walter H. Templeton came to Stockton and en- gaged in teaming and contract hauling, which he has followed to the present time; he now owns two trucks and is so dependable that he has all the work he can attend to. He was born in Colfax County, Nebr., April 14, 1872, a son of Charles S. and Anna (De Long) Templeton, both natives of Ohio. The father, Charles S. Templeton, and family came to California in 1880 and located at Watsonville. He is a Civil War veteran and is now at the Soldiers' Home at Sawtelle, Cal. All the education that Walter H. Tem- pleton received was gained in the public schools of Watsonville. While still a young boy he worked with threshing gangs in Salinas Valley. In 1900 he located

in Stockton, where he began his teaming and hauling.

On March 23, 1898, at Salinas, Cal., Mr. Templeton was married to Mrs. Elizabeth Seiffert, a native of Stockton, a daughter of Lorenz and Lena (Fetter) Seiffert. Two children have been born of this union: Charles S., who married Miss Votz, born in Stockton; and Ruth Augusta. Mr. Templeton is a deputy con- stable of Stockton and in politics casts his vote for the man best fitted for office regardless of party lines. Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World of Stockton. Mr. Templeton and his family reside in their own home at 1303 E. Lindsay Street, Stockton.

REESE B. THOMPSON .- The owner of a splen- did ranch of 350 acres, eighty acres of which is in Tokay grapes and eighty acres more ready to set to the same variety, is Reese B. Thompson, the son of an early settler of California. He was born in Sacra- mento County, six miles east of Galt, near Dry Creek, on June 13, 1891, a son of James Henry and Lavissa (Smith) Thompson, both natives of Virginia, who came to California in 1876. They were the parents of eleven children, namely: Mary, now Mrs. Conner of Wilton, Cal .; Edgar H., of Lodi; C. W., of Acam- po; C. R., of Stockton; Reese B., of this sketch; Jos- ephine, Mrs. J. H. Chapdelaine, of Lodi; Florence, Mrs. Galt of Stockton; Walter; and Reba, Bessie and James, the last three deceased.

Reese B. Thompson attended the Alabama district school in Sacramento County and completed his edu- cation with a commercial course at Stockton. When sixteen years of age, he started working in a store in Lodi, and later he worked in a store at Stockton. Then he went to Woodbridge, San Joaquin County, and rented the Huron ranch of seventy acres, which occupied him for three years, after which he pur- chased the Russell ranch of 350 acres, where he now resides. When Mr. Thompson purchased this ranch it was grain land. He immediately set about to pre- pare the land for grape cuttings, and now has eighty acres in young vineyard and eighty more acres ready for planting; he also contemplates putting in thirty acres to cherries and twenty acres to prunes. There is a splendid irrigation system on the ranch, consisting of a No. 2 turbine direct-drive Sterling motor-driven pump. He has also constructed two new barns on his ranch.

On Thanksgiving Day, 1916, Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Lucile Chapdelaine, a native of Min- nesota, and a daughter of Alex and Antonette Chapde- laine, residents of Woodbridge, San Joaquin County, for the past twenty-five years, where they own a vine- yard. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are the parents of three children: Reese, Jr., Cathleen, and John Alexis.

TODA BROTHERS .- Prominent among the busi- ness men of Farmington are the Toda brothers, pro- prietors of Toda Bros.' Store. The safe policy which they inaugurated in their business carcer has secured for them a patronage which makes the volume of business transacted of considerable magnitude. L. A. Toda, the senior partner of the firm, was born at Farmington, June 13, 1883, while his brother, J. D. Toda, was born on April 26, 1890, at the same place. Both boys were educated at the Shady Grove school. L. A. Toda completing his education in 1899 and J. D. Toda in 1906. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Julius Toda, are still living at Fostering Calderas Count

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father was an active business man, farmer, stockman and butcher in Farmington from 1875 to 1907, when he removed to Calaveras County. He was born in Denmark and came to San Francisco in 1859, being first-mate on a sailing vessel around the Horn. He was married at Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County, to Miss Nellie Schrock, born in Texas, who came with her parents across the Isthmus in 1853. Her father, Lewis Schrock, was born in Pennsylvania, and her mother was Susan Holman, born in Texas, and there married to Lewis Schrock, one of California's earliest gold miners. He made his first trip to California in 1847, and served two terms in the Cali- fornia Legislature in its early days. Mrs. Julius Toda as a child, was in the early fifties the only white child between Mokelumne Hill and Stockton.

In 1902 L. A. Toda entered the retail butcher shop of his father, Julius Toda, pioneer butcher of Farm- ington, and was associated with him until 1911. In 1907, J. D. Toda began clerking in the store of R. M. Buckman, where he remained until 1911, when the two brothers decided to go into business for them- selves. They purchased the Buckman store in 1911, which is now known as the Toda Bros.' Store, and they have been so successful that they are supplying farmers ten miles in each direction from Farmington. They carry a full line of staple and fancy groceries, dry goods, hardware, automobile supplies, and both young men are popular in business circles, the duties and responsibilities of the management being equally divided, J. D. Toda having complete charge of the inside management while his brother, L. A. Toda, attends to the outside work and represents the firm in an official capacity in other ways.

The marriage of L. A. Toda on March 31, 1913, united him with Miss Lois A. Tarr of Lodi, daughter of John and Claudia (Kelley) Tarr, pioneer farmers and both now deceased. One child has been born of this union, Robert. Mrs. Toda is a member of the Rebekah Lodge at Farmington.

On June 9, 1912, J. D. Toda was married to Miss Pauline Summers, daughter of George R. and Eliza- beth (Holden) Summers, pioneers of California, now ranchers near Valley Home, in San Joaquin County. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Toda: Jack S. and Betty Ellen. Mrs. J. D. Toda is also active in the Farmington Lodge of Rebekahs. The firm of Toda Bros. are members of the Retail Gro- cers' Association of California, and fraternally both are members of Valley Lodge, No. 135, F. & A. M., of Linden, and of Farmington Lodge, No. 296, I. O. O. F., J. D. Toda having served as noble grand, and also as deputy registration clerk of his district since 1912. In matters of citizenship both brothers are progressive and take a helpful part in promoting the prosperity of the county and especially the Farming- ton district which has been their home all their lives and where they are numbered among the representa- tive citizens.

FRANK R. CAPURRO .- An interesting Stockton- ian is Frank R. Capurro, who was born in that city on April 27, 1864, the son of Joseph and Maria Ca- purro, both natives of Italy. The father, who was highly esteemed by all who knew and had dealings with him, is deceased, but the mother, the center of a devoted circle, is still living at the age of seventy- nine. She resides in the old home on East Sonora Street, which has been the residence of the family for

over fifty years. Joseph Capurro and his brother Manuel sailed around Cape Horn from Italy in 1851, and when they reached Stockton they engaged in fur- nishing mules for the hauling of supplies to the south- ern mines. Their corrals and stables covered a whole block, for they had from 2,000 to 3,000 mules in serv- ice, and for years did a flourishing trade. In later years the father was foreman for Marcus De Blaine- ville, who conducted a warehouse and commercial business on the water-front.

Frank R. Capurro attended the Lafayette and Franklin schools, and at the age of sixteen learned the trade of a barber, which he has followed ever since. He opened his first shop thirty-eight years ago with Jack Carter as a partner, on Center Street, oppo- site the Russ House; and such has been his standing in the community as a reliable citizen that for a num- ber of years he has acted as interpreter in the Supe- rior Courts of San Joaquin County as well as Police Court and the District Attorney's office.

When Mr. Capurro married he chose for his bride Miss Lizzie Cotter, a native daughter, born in Stock. ton, and a member of a well-known pioneer family. Mr. and Mrs. Capurro enjoy an enviable popularity.

MRS. JENNIE (SPROTT) CLEMENTS .- Pre- eminent among the most interesting factors in the history of romantic California must be rated the lives of such genuine and worthy pioneers as the late Thomas Clements, who passed away in 1893, and his estimable companion who so admirably sustains his standards in the old Clements home, in whose honor the town of Clements was named. Thomas Clements was a well-known and prominent citizen of San Joa- quin County, where he took up his abode in 1872, settling upon the ranch which is yet occupied by his widow. He was born in County Armagh, Ireland, on the Glenview Farm, December 18, 1837, his parents being John and Mary (Lester) Clements, who were also natives of the north of Ireland. In the place of his nativity he was reared, obtaining his education there in its public schools, and in 1857, when twenty years of age, he migrated to. America, making his way direct to California. For a number of years he resided in Amador County, and remained there until his re- moval to San Joaquin County in 1872.

On April 15, 1868, Mr. Clements was united in mar- riage to Miss Jennie Sprott, also a native of the north of Ireland, her birthplace being Banbridge, County Down, and her natal day being September 21, 1841. She is a daughter of Thomas and Jennie Sprott, like- wise natives of the north of Ireland. When a girl of six years she was brought to New York City by a married sister, with whom she resided until after she attained womanhood, leaving the East for California in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Clements were the parents of seven children.

Thomas Clements always carried on agricultural pursuits, and prospered in his undertakings, investing extensively in fine lands. His Amador County ranch contained 585 acres and is still in the possession of his estate. The property lies south of Ione and is used for grazing land. The ranch at Clements con- tains 1,400 acres of land under cultivation, and was the first to be planted to hops in the northeast part of San Joaquin County; these Mr. Clements prepared and sold to the San Francisco and Eastern markets. He also engaged in diversified farming and planted a fifteen-acre almond orchard. The entire ranch is char-

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acterized by an air of neatness and thrift, indicative of the spirit of the former owner, who justly ranked with the leading agriculturists of central California.

In 1882 the village of Clements was laid out and named in his honor, that being the year in which the railroad was constructed through this part of the country. He took a deep interest in the upbuilding and progress of the town and was a friend to the cause of education, donating the brick with which the two-story school building was constructed. He was also the founder of the Presbyterian Church at Clem- ents, attended its services, and contributed liberally to its support. He also gave generously to churches of other denominations, and in fact was a supporter of many measures which contributed to the general good along material, social, intellectual and moral lines. His political allegiance was given to the Re- publican party. Fraternally he was a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Scotch-Irish Society of San Francisco. Mrs. Clements still resides upon the ranch, and has a fine home, the result of her hus- band's industry and enterprise. She is a member of the Congregational Church at Lockeford, and counts her friends by the score in the county, where she has made her home for the past fifty years.

WILLIAM J. TODA .- An enterprising business man, as well as a native son, of Farmington, is Wil- liam J. Toda, who is the proprietor of the Farmington Meat Market, sanitary and modern in every particu- lar. In 1920, at a cost of $5,000, Mr. Toda installed an up-to-date refrigerating system with a capacity of three tons per day. He was born at Farmington, March 4, 1882, the eldest son of Julius and Nellie (Schrock) Toda, natives of Germany and Texas, re- spectively. William J. Toda began his education in the Shady Grove district school for two years; then while living with his maternal grandparents he at- tended the Paloma district school near Fosteria, Cal- averas County, until his seventeenth year. He then became interested in mining in Calaveras County and spent the following twelve years prospecting and placer mining, with considerable success; meantime his father had been carrying on the stock business and meat market at Farmington. In 1910 William J. and his brother, L. A. Toda, entered into a partnership to carry on a retail meat business, which was con- ducted for two years, when the business was closed out on account of the illness of the latter. William J. Toda then returned to the mines, where he spent six months, then returned to Farmington and in 1914 he opened the meat market on his own account, and in 1920 improved his business with modern equipment run by electricity. Mr. Toda owns the property where his slaughter house is located on the Sonora Road and many improvements are under way for the betterment of this branch of the business. Mr. Toda formerly ran a meat route covering a territory of fifty miles, but this has recently been discontinued.

Mr. Toda's marriage occurred in Farmington, which united him with Miss Zana Gwin, a native of Kansas, a daughter of John and Jennie Gwin, now residing in Berkeley, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Toda are the parents of one son, Gwin Toda, a pupil at the Shady Grove dis- trict school. The family reside in Farmington in their comfortable residence and Mr. Toda is a mom- ber of the local Farm Bureau.

HARVEY J. CORELL .- An enterprising and pro- gressive native son, who is making a decided success of viticulture and horticulture in the San Joaquin Valley, is Harvey J. Corell, who was born on March 2, 1878, on his father's ranch, about five and a half miles east of Acampo. His father and mother, Wil- liam and Emily (Thompson) Corell, are both natives of Virginia, and came to California in 1875. William Corell was a stockman. Upon locating in San Joa- quin County he purchased 200 acres of land and rented 260 acres more, on which he raised grain and stock. He and his wife are the parents of seven children, namely: Helen, now Mrs. W. S. Montgomery, of Lockeford; Mary, Mrs. Platt Smith; James, residing in the Hawaiian Islands; Oscar, living in Lodi; Har- vey J., of this sketch; and Henry and Emma, both deceased. Both father and mother are still living in Lodi, their ages being eighty-five and seventy-nine years, respectively.

Harvey J. Corell began his education in the Bruns- wick school, but while still a young lad started to make his own way. Going to San Francisco, he obtained employment as night clerk at the Southern Pacific Hospital, where he worked for two years. About this time his father divided his property among his children, and Harvey Corell received thirty-five acres as his portion. He then purchased forty acres of open land from his brother, on which he planted a fourteen-acre almond orchard; this latter property he has recently sold.

The marriage of Mr. Corell occurred in Sacramento on May 28, 1907, and united him with Miss Anna Brandt, born near Clements, Cal., a daughter of Louis and Anna (Bowman) Brandt, whose sketch will be found in this volume. Mrs. Corell is one of a family of nine children. She and Mr. Corell are the parents of six children: Mildred, Naomi, Calvin, Florence, Louis William, and Helen Jane.

JOHN R. CLOW .- For the past twelve years John R. Clow has proven his worth to the community as deputy county assessor; and meanwhile his activities along agricultural lines have aided materially in the growth and development of the locality in which he has resided for the past fifteen years. A native of Missouri, he was born in Jasper County on April 25, 1860. the son of Benjamin Franklin and Rachael (Southerland) Clow, pioneers of Indiana who removed to Missouri and settled in Jasper County in early days, and there farmed. The father, Benjamin F. Clow, lost his life in the Civil War when John R. was a child of two years. Some time later, the mother married a Mr. Stacks, a native of Kansas and also a farmer by occupation. The family started overland to California by the northern route; but learning of the terrible Custer massacre in the Black Hills, they turned back and took the southern route, the trip consuming four months and seventeen days. Settling on Dry Creek near Elliott, Mr. Stacks rented a place for the first two years; then he took up 160 acres of government land, proved up on it and then disposed of it and moved to Oregon, locating at Mitchell. Crook County. For many years Mr. Stacks conducted a sawmill at Mitchell; and when he disposed of it the family removed to Watsonville, Santa Cruz County. There Mr. Stacks passed away in 1917.

John R. Clow had very little opportunity to attend school; since he was seventeen years of age he has "hoed his own row," working for wages at whatever

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he could find to do, until he was married. He learned the stone-carving business, and for a number of years worked at his trade in Stockton; he worked also in sawmills, in the mines, and hauled logs for the Pleas- ant Valley Lumber Company.

The marriage of Mr. Clow occurred in Stockton on October 17, 1881, and united him with Miss Abigail Stacks, a native of Jasper County, Mo., and a daugh- ter of Willis Stacks, who removed from Illinois to Missouri. The young people went to live on the old Thorp ranch northeast of Clements, and farmed this 240-acre grain ranch for the next two years. Fifteen years ago they settled in the Elliott district, where Mr. Clow has ninety acres, twenty acres of which is in vineyard and eight acres in almonds. Mr. and Mrs. Clow are the parents of seven children, as follows: Etta Melza, deceased; Cora Elva, now Mrs. Sestrem, of Watsonville; Walter Henry, a resident of Lemoore and the father of two children, Darwin and Willette; Homer Alfred, of Tracy, who is married and has two children, George and Vira Jane; Jessie Myrtle, Mrs. Prout of Oakland; Georgia May, Mrs. Gray of Sacra- mento, and the mother of one child, Virginia Clow; and Ida Vera, Mrs. Grimes of Galt, who has one son, Jimmie. Mr. Clow and his family are members of the Christian Church .. Politically he is a Republican. In the capacity of deputy county assessor, he has been conscientious and thorough in the performance of his duty for the past twelve years; and the community is indebted to him for his efforts in the support of measures and movements looking to the prosperity and development of the county.

ALVA B. CONDY .- Representing the third gener- ation of the Condy family in California, Alva B. Condy can well take pride in his heritage as a native son of the Golden State. His parents are James H. and Lil- lian (Burres) Condy, and the father, who was born in Philadelphia, came here with his mother in 1869, to join his father, James Condy, who had come to Stockton two years previously, a fuller account of their family history being given in the sketch of James A. Condy, elsewhere in this volume.

Alva B. Condy was born at Gilroy, Santa Clara County, June 30, 1885, and later, when the father removed to Angels Camp, Calaveras County, he attended school there. At the age of sixteen he started to work for the Utica Mining Company and for two years was a fireman, and twelve years was hoisting engineer. Coming to Stockton he entered the employ of the Monarch Foundry Company in January, 1916, and in the six years he was with them he held various positions, among them assistant furnace man, in charge of the electric furnace. In November, 1922, Mr. Condy purchased the grocery business of J. A. Hulbert, at 1248 South Sutter Street, and assisted by his capable wife he is meeting with splendid success in this new line of work. This store has been established for about ten years and enjoys good patronage, which is increasing through the business policy of its new owners.

At Stockton on December 22, 1917, Mr. Condy was married to Mrs. Jessie (McLane) Tanner, a native of Arkansas and the daughter of Andrew T. McLane. They are the parents of a son, Lester. By Mrs. Condy's first marriage she had one daughter, Jessie Ruth Tanner. Mr. Condy is a stockholder in the Monarch Foundry Company and is the owner of valu-

able real estate in Stockton. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Foresters of America, of which he became past chief ranger in 1914.

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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 216

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