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 252

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 252

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Horace S. Fuller began his education in the gram- mar school in Crete, Neb., and finished at the Doane College of that city. In York, Neb., he was married to Miss May Harrison, a native of Springfield, Neb .. daughter of George Murray and Saraetta (Jackman) Harrison, both natives of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. The

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

father is deceased, but the mother is still living. There are three daughters in the family, Nell, Mrs. May Fuller, and Grace. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller are the par- ents of one son, Horace Stevens, third. In 1909 the Young Lumber Company was purchased by Horace S. Fuller and George L. Meissner and operated under the firm name of Fuller-Meissner Company and the following year, 1910, the corporate name became the Fuller Lumber Company with Robert S. Fuller as manager, who remained in this capacity until his death on January 5, 1920. After the death of Robert S. Fuller, Horace S. Fuller became president and man- ager of the company. Mr. Fuller is also interested with his uncle, R. P. Fuller, in a lumber business in Manteca, Cal. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Elks of St. Joseph, Mo., the Masons of Oxford, Neb., the Chapter and Commandery of York, Neb., is a thirty-second degree Mason of Stockton and belongs to the Aahmes Temple, Oakland, Cal., the Rotary Club, the order of lumbermen known as the Hoo-Hoo lodge, being president of the Sacramento Valley divi- sion of this order; and is a member of the Central California Lumbermen's Club and the California Lumbermen's Association.

JOHN SEMENZA .- At the age of seventeen John Semenza came alone to the United States, a stranger in a strange land, with a very meager knowledge of the English language, so that his industry has brought his present prosperity. He resides on his thirteen-acre orchard six miles northeast of Stockton, which is devoted to fruit raising. He was born near Chiavari in the province of Genoa, Italy, April 1, 1867, a son of Bernardo and Maria (Filipel'i) Sem- enza, farmer folk who lived and died in their native land of Italy, the father passing away at the age of sixty-six and the mother at the age of forty. They were the parents of six children; William and Loren are residents of Oregon; John, the subject of this sketch; Katie, Mrs. Simaroli, resides in Alameda; Victor, and the sixth child died in infancy. After the death of his first wife, Bernardo Semenza married the second time and two children were born to this marriage, Maria and Jennie; both of them as well as their mother died in Alameda. John Semenza had two years' schooling in Italy, leaving home March 25, 1884, when seventeen years old, and came alone to the United States, arriving in San Francisco with one pound sterling. Stopping first at San Francisco he worked for wages for one year, then went to Victoria, B. C., working on railroad construction, going from there to Portland, Ore., and working with his brother for four years; then he returned to San Francisco for a short time, then went to Clover- dale, Cal. There he worked two years for the Italian Swiss winery, after which with two partners he had a vegetable ranch at Cloverdale and for eight years he carried on this business, then he returned to Portland, Ore., where he ran a vegetable garden for three years and then for one year ran a French bakery on Sixth and Harrison streets. During the next six years he divided his time between Stockton and San Francisco, then went to Sonora, where he worked for the Standard Lumber Company and later for the Union Construction Company at Valli- cita. Fourteen years ago he came to Stockton and purchased his present ranch of thirteen acres six miles northeast of Stockton, which he has planted to different kinds of fruits, peaches, plums, walnuts,

chestnuts, figs and apricots, the ranch being well irrigated. He is a Democrat in politics and frater- nally is a member of Roma Lodge No. 147, K. P.

CHESTER GALGANI .- A native son of Califor- nia who has been identified in a practical and success- ful manner with agricultural pursuits for many years, as Chester Galgani, located on a seventeen acre ranch on the Lodi-Lockeford road two miles east of Lodi. He was born in Sacramento, Cal., on July 2, 1883, a son of Peter A. and Mary (Ferretti) Galgani, the former a native of the province of Lucca, Italy, and the mother of Philadelphia, Pa. When the father, Peter A. Galgani, was about twenty years of age he settled at Sacramento, Cal., where he engaged in the merchandise business; he also tried his hand at farm- ing for a short time in the county. Chester Galgani is one of a family of six children, as follows: Clara is Mrs. Albert Burbridge of San Pedro, Cal .; Alba is Mrs. T. O. Daly of San Francisco; Ella is Mrs. Holmberg of San Pedro; Chester is the subject of this sketch; Louis is a marine engineer on the S. S. Santa Barbara; Patrick is deceased. The father passed away at the age of forty-seven years, the mother is still living at the age of sixty-five and re- sides in Los Angeles. The mother was married the second time to Harry Sexton, a native of Ireland, and they are the parents of one daughter, Shirley, now Mrs. Laurendeau of Santa Monica.

Chester Galgani obtained his education in the gram- mar schools of Sacramento and Watsonville and when he was sixteen years old was thrown on his own re- sources; he first worked on the docks at Port Los Angeles; then worked as fireman for one year on a coastwise vessel; then for three years in his old posi- tion on the docks at Port Los Angeles; then we find him at San Pedro where he worked for five years as a teamster. About this time he homesteaded eighty acres in the Santa Monica hills which he proved up on and still owns and today it is very valuable land. He next was employed by the Santa Monica Park Company as a forest ranger, which occupied him for the next five years. During this time he was also a deputy sheriff of Los Angeles County, a state fire warden and a special Los Angeles policeman.

The marriage of Mr. Galgani occurred at Santa Monica on July 4, 1909, and united him with Miss Edna A. Matteoni, a native of San Diego, Cal., a daughter of Attillio and Josephine (Ferretti) Mat- teoni, who were farmers on the rich island lands of Sacramento County; later the father ran a hotel in Stockton until he purchased his ranch near Lodi. On December 18, 1917, they removed to Lodi and Mr. Galgani took charge of the Matteoni ranch of 171/2 acres on the Lodi-Lockeford road; fourteen acres of which is in vineyard and the balance in cherries with ample space left for a house and outbuildings. They are the parents of three children, Gladys, Harry, and Gemma, deceased.

Mr. Galgani is proud of the service that his brothers rendered to their country during the World War. Patrick A. enlisted about two weeks after war was declared and became a member of the Grizzlies and was first sent to Camp Tanforan, then to Camp Kearny where he was in a special allotment that was immediately sent overseas. He worked at bridge construction work and just before the armistice he was severely gassed and was sent back to New York, where he died shortly after arriving on home soil. Louis Galgani joined the Naval Reserves and was

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

put on the cruiser St. Louis and remained for 26 months. He entered the service as a second class fireman and was promoted to first class fireman and later to first class engineer; later he received his certificate as a first class engineer and he is now a marine engineer on the Santa Barbara. Mr. Galgani is a Republican in politics and fraternally is a mem- ber of the K. of C. of Lodi.

HEMAN D. SHINN .- Since a babe in arms, Heman D. Shinn has resided in San Joaquin County. He was born in Burlington County, N. J., December 8, 1853, a son of John R. and Maria A. (Doyle) Shinn, natives of New Jersey and New York, respect- ively. John R. Shinn first came to California in 1852, but remained only a short time before he re- turned to New Jersey. In 1854 he brought his wife and infant son, Heman D., out to this state by way of the Isthmus route. For a short time after his arrival he lived at Hangtown, now Placerville, where he mined for gold; but in the same year of 1854 he settled in San Joaquin County on the ranch now occupied by his son, Heman D. Shinn. The John R. Shinn ranch contains 400 acres, for which he then paid $1,000, and on which he resided until his death in 1867. Before his death he had disposed of 120 acres of the ranch, leaving a balance of 280 acres. He was a Republican in politics, and was well-known among the early settlers of San Joaquin County. Three children were born to himself and wife, of whom Heman D. is the only one living. The others were Ida M. and Denver J. Shinn. The mother lived to be eighty-two years old, passing away on the home place, where she had lived so long.

Heman D. Shinn attended the Franklin district school and the grammar school at Woodbridge, and has resided on the old Shinn ranch practically all his life. At the age of ten years he began to plow and clear the land of the heavy growth of timber; and when thirteen years old, on the death of his father, he assumed the running of the ranch with his mother. Ninety acres had been cleared when his father died, and he has since cleared the balance. His father teamed a great deal from Stockton and Sacramento to the mines, and as far as to Reno and Virginia City, Nev., so that the management of the ranch was largely left to his family. Since the father's death about thirty-seven acres have been sold, so that there are now 243 acres in the home place-eighty acres in timber bottom land, twenty-five acres in cherries, fifteen acres in pears, and the bal- ance of 123 acres in bearing vineyard. The ranch is under the Stockton-Mokelumne ditch, but it is so well subirrigated that Mr. Shinn has little need to resort to artificial irrigation. He has piped his ranch with cement irrigation pipe, and has two six-inch pumps for irrigation in case of necessity. He has also improved the place with fine buildings, making it one of the most modern and up-to-date homes in the county. Three miles north of Clements, Mr. Shinn bought 246 acres which he and his son farm to grain. The family also own 1060 acres of timber land in Calaveras County. Mr. Shinn is a stock- holder in the First National Bank of Lodi.

In Stockton, on December 8, 1874, Mr. Shinn was married to Miss Emma S. Tock, a native of Mainc, and a daughter of James Tock, now deceased, who was born in Maine and became a resident of San Joaquin County. There were five children in his

family: James; Elizabeth, Mrs. Russell; Sarah, Mrs. Turner, deceased; Anna, Mrs. Benson, and Emma S., Mrs. Shinn. Mr. and Mrs. Shinn are the parents of three children: Mae, Mrs. Bancroft, of Wood- bridge; Elmer John, of Woodbridge, who married Gladys Healey, of Alameda; and Bessie A., Mrs. Atwell, a widow residing at home with her parents, and the mother of one child, Ruth. Mrs. Atwell is the owner of a twenty-acre producing vineyard. Mr. Shinn is a member and past grand of the Odd Fel- lows Lodge at Woodbridge, and with his wife is also a member of the Rebekahs, of Woodbridge.

CHARLES A. SIBECK .- A well-known citizen of the Thornton district of San Joaquin County, who is also a native son of California, is Charles A. Sibeck, the owner of a fifty-acre orchard three- quarters of a mile north of Thornton. He was born at Placerville, August 6, 1882, a son of Charles and Caroline E. (Weiss) Sibeck. The parents were natives of New York and Germany, respectively, born on May 22, 1833, and June 22, 1842. The father came to California during the gold rush of 1849, and began mining near Placerville, where he remained for about five years. Then he went to logging at Bijou, Cal., and followed this occupation for some fifteen years, after which he returned to Placerville, where he owned and operated a mill. He ran this mill for about ten years, and then bought a ranch at Elk Grove, Sacramento County, consisting of one sec- tion of grain land located three miles northeast of old Elk Grove on the Stockton road. During the time he was logging at Bijou, he acquired 1,400 acres of timber and grazing land, which he disposed of previous to his death. There were four children in the family: Caroline, deceased; Mrs. Alice Edwards, residing in San Francisco; Charles A., of this sketch, and Josephine, Mrs. Henry Allen, of Stockton. The father passed away on the Sacramento County ranch in December, 1913, at the age of eighty, and the mother died in 1911, sixty-nine years old.

Charles A. Sibeck attended the Jackson district school, in Sacramento County, and remained on the home place until his father's death. When the prop- erty was divided, he received 120 acres as his share, and his sisters inherited a like amount. Mr. Sibeck continued to improve his property until 1915, when he sold out and removed to his present fifty-acre ranch, which he purchased at the time, and where he now resides.

On February 26, 1906, in Sacramento, Mr. Sibeck was married to Miss Ethel Doty, a native daughter of California, born at Sheldon, in Sacramento County, a daughter of Jonathan C. and Lillian Jane (Tragan- za) Doty, the former a native of Iowa, while the latter was born in Sacramento County. Grandfather Thomas Traganza was a native of England who came to California in the carly fifties. Jonathan C. Doty came to Sacramento County about 1870, and engaged in farming. In 1912 he purchased a fifty- acre ranch, which is now the home place of Mr. and Mrs. Sibeck; and here, two years later, he passed away at the age of sixty-one years. The mother now resides at Elk Grove, Cal. There were eight children in the family: Arthur; Elmer; Mabel, Mrs. N. E. Baker, of San Francisco; Ethel, Mrs. Sibeck: Frank; Robert G .; Raymond; and Harvey, who is now deceased.

Robert G. Doty. a brother of Mrs. Sibech. :

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

born at Sheldon, Cal., September 16, 1893, and when old enough learned the barber's trade, which he followed for three years at Woodland, Cal. He joined the state militia and entered Company F, Second California Infantry, and served five months under Captain Caldwell and Colonel Waukowski on the Mexican border, at Nogales, Ariz. He then re- turned to Sacramento and was discharged, and on July 6, 1917, re-enlisted at Fort Mason in the same company and same regiment. He was transferred to the 160th Regiment, Fortieth Division, and was in training for five months at Fort Mason, after which he was sent to Camp Kearney and trained there for ten months. His own regiment was sent to France, but he was retained at Camp Kearney, training raw recruits. During August, 1918, he left for France via Camp Mills, N. Y. He sailed for Liverpool, England, and thence across the Channel to La Havre, France; but his company was held in reserve and did not get to the front. In March, 1919, he returned to the United States and was discharged at the Presidio, San Francisco, with the rank of corporal. On August 10, 1920, at Sacramento, he was married to Miss Flaudie Mary Brakebill, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Henry and Etta (Couch) Brakebill. Her father was a farmer who came to Tulare County, Cal., when she was a young girl, and there she received her education.

Mr. and Mrs. Sibeck are the parents of two chil- dren, Vernon and Audrey. Fraternally, Mr. Sibeck is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Elk Grove, of which he is a past grand, and is also a member of the Encampment and Canton at Elk Grove, while Mrs. Sibeck is a member and past noble grand of the Rebekah Lodge of Elk Grove. Mr. Sibeck is also a member of the Galt Parlor, N. S. G. W.

HENRY SIEMERING .- Born in Nimburg, Han- over, Germany, March 7, 1874, Henry Siemering is a son of Henry and Minnie (Dohrmann) Siemering. Three months before he was born his father died, and in consequence he was reared until he was eleven years old by his grandfather, Dick Siemering. The opportunities for an education were limited, for at the age of eleven years he began to earn his own liv- ing. In 1885 he left his native country and came to America. Coming direct to San Francisco, he found work in a grocery store during the day, and at night went to school, working in this way for six years. He then moved to San Joaquin County and began work- ing for wages on various farms in the Ray and New Hope school districts. Afterwards he rented a farm for a few years and engaged in farming on his own responsibility. With the funds he had been able to accumulate by hard labor and careful saving he then purchased a forty-acre ranch four and a half miles west of Woodbridge. At the time of purchase there was seven acres of the ranch in bearing vineyard, and Mr. Siemering has set eight more acres to vines, so that there are now fifteen acres in grapes and twenty-five acres devoted to truck gardening and general farming, including about two acres of orchard.

On September 21, 1907, Mr. Siemering was married at Sacramento to Miss Stella Williams, a native of Keokuk County, Iowa, and a daughter of John H. and Minnie (Pample) Williams, the former a native of Iowa and the latter of Saxony, Germany. The parents came to California in 1890, and the father is now a vineyardist west of Woodbridge. Mrs. Siemer-

ing was the older of two children and the only one living. She was educated in the Woodbridge school. Mr. and Mrs. Siemering are the parents of four chil- dren: William, Lawrence, Minnie, and Francis (deceased). The home ranch is improved with an irrigation system consisting of a three-inch pump driven by a six horsepower motor.

LUVIGI SOLA .- Well known in connection with agricultural interests, especially that of grain raising, is Luvigi Sola, who for the past eleven years has been raising immense quantities of grain and whose present ranch comprises 1,045 acres, thirteen miles southeast of Stockton on the Mariposa Road. He was born at Villa Faletto, in the province of Piedmont, Italy, on October 6, 1855, a son of Andria and Do- menica (Alimano) Sola, farmers in Italy and the parents of ten children, of whom Luvigi is the sixth. Luvigi Sola was twenty-five years old when he re- solved to come to America, so he made his way to Havre, France, and arrived at New York on Christ- mas Day, 1880. Eight days later he went to Vincent, Ohio, where he remained three months and in all that time found only six days' work on a farm. In March, 1880, Mr. Sola made his way to California, where he had relatives. He went to work on a farm at seventy- five cents a day, then on railroad construction at Lockeford at one dollar per day. Five years before this, his brother Peter, accompanied by another brother, Batista, had come to California and worked on farms in the vicinity of Acampo. Batista Sola re- turned to Italy after three years in California, and in 1883 Peter Sola removed to Tulare, where he took up government land about two miles north of Delano in Tulare County.

On December 25, 1886, at Tulare, Peter Sola was married to Miss Lucille Zebena, born at Mosola, in Cuneo, Italy, July 1, 1868, daughter of Joseph and Marie Zebena, farmers, both now deceased. They had three children, Mrs. Sola being the youngest and the only one who came to California. Mr. and Mrs. Sola had three children: Domenica, Mrs. John Panero, has five children and is now farming the old home place at Tulare; Andrew married Miss Lucille Rae Serretti of Modesto, and they have two children and he is associated with our subject in farming; Peter is also farming with Mr. Sola. On June 5, 1894, Peter Sola passed away on the home place at Tulare. Mrs. Sola remained there after her husband's death and Luvigi Sola had also a home- stead of 160 acres near Delano. Luvigi Sola received his United States citizenship papers at Visalia in 1888, and proved up on his land. In August, 1900, Luvigi Sola and Mrs. Peter Sola were married, and besides rearing his brother's three children, they have five children of their own: Louis, Joseph, Mary, Lucy, and Lawrence. Twenty-three years ago Luvigi Sola settled in San Joaquin County, locating near Lockeford and farmed the Priest ranch for three years, raising large quantities of wheat on this 1,140- acre ranch. Since then he has farmed the Wash. Tucker, the Allen and the Commins ranches. In 1911 he purchased his present ranch of 1,045 acres, formerly known as the McDougall tract. Besides farming this large acreage, he leases large tracts of land in the district which is entirely devoted to rais- ing wheat. With the latest improved power ma- chinery, including a Holt seventy-five horsepower tractor and a Harris gasoline combined harvester, Mr. Sola and his sons are able to do most of the

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work and they operate 1,500 acres in all. Mr. Sola and his family enjoy the confidence of the business community and he has found that in the West his hope of benefiting his financial condition has been realized, for here he has secured a good home and gained a comfortable competence.

THE MODEL HAT SHOP .- A thoroughly up- to-date concern, whose enterprise has also stimulated other firms, is the millinery shop located at 15 West Elm Street, Lodi, known as the Model Hat Shop, owned and operated by the Misses Elsie A. Solomon and Helen E. Todd, thoroughly experienced in de- signing and trimming hats. This shop was founded by Mrs. Vassar, who conducted it for eight years as a parlor millinery shop, one of the first in Lodi. It was then sold to Miss E. M. McLachlan and success- fully conducted by her until it was sold to the present owners in 1919, and they have built up a fine, well- paying business. Miss Elsie A. Solomon is a San Joaquin County girl, born seven miles from Stockton on the Linden Road, a daughter of Gustave and. Agnes Solomon. Gustave Solomon came to Califor- nia in an early day, and for many years conducted a winery. He passed away in 1910, and her mother is now residing in Berkeley. Miss Solomon received her education in the Delphi district school, then attended the Washington school and the Stockton Commercial College in Stockton. She took un millinery work in Stockton and spent nine years in shops in San Fran- cisco and Stockton previous to locating in Lodi.

Miss Helen E. Todd was born in Diagonal, Iowa, a daughter of Edgar P. and Laura Todd. In 1901 Miss Todd accompanied her parents to California and settled at Selma, where her father is engaged in the real estate and insurance business. Miss Todd attended the Selma grammar and high schools and learned the millinery trade in Fresno and San Fran- cisco, and she, too, had nine years' experience before locating in Lodi.

In 1919 Misses Solomon and Todd purchased the business conducted by Miss Mclachlan, and their enterprise and industry have been rewarded by in- creasing patronage and the Model Hat Shop is a credit to the city.

MANUEL SILVA .- As general manager of the Associated Milk Producers, with headquarters at 53 Clay Street, San Francisco, Manuel Silva is making a decided success of the undertaking, and fully ninety per cent of the milk produced in the San Joaquin Valley is handled by this company. He was born on Pico Isle, one of the group of the Azores, August 23. 1875, a son of John and Mary Conceicao (Silveira) Silva, both natives of the Isle of Pico. Manuel is one of a family of five children and was able to attend the public school in the village of Candelaria, Isle of Pico. At the age of fifteen he left the home ranch and began working as a clerk in a general merchan- dise store in Candelaria, helping to support the fam- ily for three and a half years.

At nineteen years of age he left his native land on board the .S.S. "Peninsula," a Portuguese liner, and soon after his arrival in the United States entered the employ of the woolen mills at East Cambridge, Mass., where he was occupied for three years. Here he made the acquaintance of John Enos, and in partner- ship they conducted the California Hotel in Brook- lyn. After one year, John Enos retired from the business and Manuel Silva successfully conducted the

hotel for thirteen years, during which time he made a number of visits to his old home. His father passed away in 1896, aged sixty-five years.

Nine years ago, Mr. Silva brought his mother to Stockton, where he has built a comfortable residence for her and where he resides. His first start in the dairy business was made on Roberts Isle, where he had a small ranch in partnership with M. R. Dias, whose sketch also appears in this history. The busi- ness venture proved a success, and gradually a large business was built up and more land was added by lease. The development of the Riverside Farm has been accomplished solely by Mr. Silva, and it is with just pride that he refers to its wonderful develop- ment. In 1918 he became a director in the Associated Milk Producers of San Francisco, which has proven a success as a co-operative marketing company. In 1921 he became manager of the association, which position he still holds, being the successor of Mr. Frank Machado, its former manager. He was instru- mental in the organization of the Portuguese- American Grocery Company, a wholesale and retail establishment of Stockton. Twenty-two years ago Mr. Silva received his United States citizenship papers in Brooklyn, and ever since has been a stanch Repub- lican in politics. He is past president of the I. D. E. S. and an active member of the U. P. C. Mr. Silva makes his home with his mother in Stockton and enjoys the good-will and esteem of. his business associates.

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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 252

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