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 65

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 65

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A few days since Henry Tinkham, the butcher, lost a number of fat sheep in a rather peculiar manner. He had nearly 500 sheep in a corral on the Sam Miller ranch, Mariposa road. During the night quite a large number escaped from the corral and entering adjoining wheat field began eating the green wheat. Be- fore they were discovered they had eaten so much of the wheat that some of them died from overeating .- May 6, 1870.

A. S. Rider, who was one of Stockton's best known citizens, passed away yesterday. He was born in New York in 1830 and died in his sixtieth year. On August 21, 1851, he and James C. Gage started for California and ar- rived October 8. Mr. Rider went into the draying business in partnership with Jerome Meyers. In 1852 Mr. Gage bought out Meyers and the two young men continued in partner- ship for several years. They went into the sheep and cattle business in 1857, pasturing their stock where nows lies Banta. Later Mr. Rider engaged in the livery business, being the pioneer hackman of the city. In 1861, October 11, he married Miss Sarah Mclellan, whose mother kept the Crescent Hotel. In 1853, the date of the organization of the company, he joined Eureka No. 2 and remained in active service eight years. For nearly thirty years he led the parade for the exempts .- March 9, 1890.

The head of the notorious bandit Joaquin Murietta, cut off by Harry Love and his com- panions, and afterwards exhibited throughout the county, in a glass jar preserved in spirits, was levied upon the other day by the sheriff and sold to a fool bidder for $11 .- June 4, 1856.

Last Saturday afternoon at 2:30, as several hundred persons gathered on the El Dorado Street bridge to see the working of a new pump, the boiler of the old threshing engine exploded, scattering death and destruction in every direction. In a moment the street was strewn with horribly mutilated bodies and with wounded and disfigured victims. Fifteen were instantly killed and many badly wounded. Among those instantly killed were Robert Johnson, father of R. B. Johnson ; James Curry, a pioneer blacksmith; W. C. Adcraft, Michael Crowell, Charles Creanor, son of Judge Crea- nor ; S. B. Clowes, G. W. Felts, William Allen, James Cosgrove, H. B. Bishop, a student ; John M. Kirkpatrick, grain and hay dealer; M. E. Folsom, E. R. Avery, the engineer ; Foo Lee, and Arthur Tinkham. Among the wounded were Eyman Barbour, William Keyes, Charles Harris, H. Brown, Frank Coburn, Nicola Milco, Alexander Gall, Charles Williams and J. M. Harry. Immediately all of the flags were pulled down to half mast and fire and church bells tolled the sad news. The follow- ing day the city was clad in mourning and

everywhere funeral processions were seen burying the dead .- February 27, 1879.

The most important event of the present theatrical season will be the opening of the Yosemite Theater on Tuesday evening, July 12, and the reappearance of Charles Froh- man's stock company of New York, in the in- dustrial play, "The Lost Paradise." The auc- tion sale for choice of seats in the Yosemite Theater was held last evening in Masonic hall. J. H. Barth was the auctioneer and the choice of box seats was first sold. The premium was in addition to the regular prices. The lower boxes and loges sold at $10 each, and the upper at $8.50 each. The orchestra and the three front rows in the dress circle sold for $1.50 each, and the remaining seats at $1 and 75 cents. H. C. Shaw started the box sales at $5, it was run up to $20 by George Sperry and was sold to Shaw at $22.50. He selected the second box from the stage on the right hand side. George Sperry took the loge on the left hand side for $10; James M. Littlehale, loge for two, right hand, $10; Frank D. Cobb and J. M. Kile, loge No. 3 left and No. 4 right hand, $13 each. George Wolf paid $8 for box G, and Arthur Levensky $7 for box E. C. E. Owens and Dave Rosenbaum $5.50 each for choice of seats. There were 295 seats sold at a premium of $295. This, together with the boxes, made a total premium of $374 .- July 8, 1892.

An invitation is extended to all persons inter- ested in the movement for the establishment of a public coffee house, under the manage- ment of the W. C. T. U. to attend a meeting in the Central Methodist Church tomorrow evening. They have rented the store on Main Street near El Dorado formerly occupied by Elliott & Beigle, and are now fitting it up. They propose to sell coffee and cake at cost .- March 8, 1884.

Yesterday afternoon about 4 o'clock an alarm of fire was heard and as the old fire bell began clanging a heavy black column of smoke was seen in the vicinity of Simpson & Gray's lumber yard. It was soon learned that' the Sperry flour mills were in flames, and in a re- markably short space of time the firemen were upon the ground. The Weber, taking water from the channel, was the first to play upon the fire, it being its month to keep up steam. It took the Eureka several minutes to get up steam from its cold boiler, and set at the cistern at the corner of Main and Commerce Streets, it soon pumped it dry and was obliged to go to the channel for water. The Old Betsey, by Chief Israel Rolf's order, was also put into service. The fire, which it is supposed started from spontaneous combustion in the second story, soon enveloped the entire building, and. the mill was soon a seething furnace of heat.

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

After raging about three hours the east wall fell with a crash and the mill was in ruin. The four-story building was erected in 1852 for a flour mill, but it proved a losing specula- tion. It remained idle for many years, but in the '70s it was purchased by the Sperry Flour Company and remodeled and refitted with the latest improved machinery, with a capacity of 600 barrels of flour per day. The total loss, in- cluding the dwellings of Edward Hickman and John Milan, is about $200,000, partly covered by insurance .- April 3, 1882.

Died in this city, January 17, 1864, Clotilde, wife of Charles Grunsky. She was the mother of Ewald and Lottie Grunsky, two of the first high school graduates, the former now of na- tional fame as an engineer, the latter widely known as a public school teacher.

As Lieutenant Merriam of the 1st California Cavalry was passing the Cumberland Presby- terian Church on Sunday last he noticed a small secession flag flying from one of the back windows. The rebel flag has two red and one' white stripe and seven stars in a field of blue. The lieutenant immediately captured the flag and brought it to this office. Secession- ists, even though they be ministers, should be be very careful about waving disloyal flags in a loyal community. There might be trouble. -October 26, 1863.

Assessor C. O. Burton reported the value of city property $1,130,965 ; improvements $775,- 700. The total valuation was placed at $2,- 835,407, an increase over previous year of $246,- 678. Mayor Buffington in his inaugural ad- dress gave the revenue of the city as follows : From taxes, $48,000; licenses $6,000; harbor master $17,000; rent of city property $5,000; fire department $2,000; hospital, streets and wharves $16,000; schools $7,000; interest $20,- 000; contingent $10,000. There was a balance of $23,000, which he hoped would be used in the liquidation of the debt. The second ex- pense was very heavy, the committee paying $1,250 a year for two rooms in the McNish building for the boys' school. The monthly expense of the four schools, averaging fifty pupils to each school was $525 .- March 5, 1854.

At the close of banking hours Saturday $1,188 had been received for the benefit of the yellow fever sufferers of the South. With various sums yet to be collected, the amount will probably reach $2,000. The following re- quest was sent to the Dramatic Club: "Deem- ing it to be the duty of the citizens to assist in providing funds for the victims of the yellow fever scourge of the South, we request you to give a series of entertainments for the benefit of the fund. (Signed) Fifty Citizens." In com- pliance with the request the club will produce on the evening of September 20 and 21 the two famous dramas, "The Octoroon," and

"Caste." The following persons will appear in "The Octoroon"; George Peyton, a planter, John E. Budd; Salem Scudder, a Yankee, W. B. Starbird; Jacob McClosky, a shyster law- yer, James H. Budd; Pete, the negro, George E. McStay ; Wahnotee, an Indian, William M. Gibson ; Paul, a yellow boy, Miss Ella Block ; Colonel Sunnyside, a planter, M. S. Thresher ; Captain Ratts, Willis Wilkins; La Toche, Lin- coln Ruggles ; Sambo, George Young ; Zoe, the Octoroon, Louise Cahill of San Francisco; Dora Sunnyside, Minnie Clifford; Mrs. Pey- ton, Mrs. M. S. Thresher; Dido, the cook, George Young. The orchestra of eight pieces will be under the direction of Emile Dreyfous. -September 4, 1878.

The body of Samuel Clarke, the engineer who was drowned by the derailing of the loco- motive on the trestle work in Yolo County, was brought here last evening and taken to the residence of his brother, Dr. F. R. Clarke. The funeral will be held this afternoon at the resi- dence, 215 Oak Street. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the Odd Fellows will attend the funeral. Mr. Clarke was sixty years of age and commenced work on the Sac- ramento division of the Central Pacific in 1866. In 1892 he wrote a letter to the officers, stating that during his twenty-one years' service he had covered a distance of 1,000,051 miles with only two accidents. He was selected by the Brotherhood as their representative pallbearer at Senator Stanford's funeral .- July 14, 1894.

On Saturday last, while speeding his mule on Main street at the rapid gait of three miles per hour, one of the drivers of the street car line stopped his car to purchase some candy. A short distance from the store he again checked his speed, to pump a drink of water and wash down the candy. The five passengers on board were much amused at the coolness of the driver .- August 6, 1883.

A game of baseball was played yesterday on the green in the northern part of the city near Dr. R. W. Henderson's residence. About forty young men took part, sides being chosen with Mr. Nelson, the school teacher, and Mr. Den- ning as chiefs. An interesting game of ten innings was played .- January 16, 1867.

A workman while digging the foundation for the Hickman building, corner of Weber Ave- nue and Levee, at a depth of five feet below the surface, unearthed a Mexican half dollar bearing the date 1723. The question is, how did it get there? The rare and valuable coin was sold to Perk Sampson of the Eureka saloon for three dollars .- January 20, 1867.

The property situated at the corner of Main and Center Streets and known as the Chestnut- wood & Moore property, was sold at adminis- trator's sale some time ago to Henry Cowell,

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

the wealthy Santa Cruz lime dealer, for $6,250. The property was owned by George Cross- more, deceased. When the sale came up for confirmation by the court, yesterday, David S. Rosenbaum raised the bid to $9,120, and it was sold to him. The lot, 60x100 feet, is covered by a two-story brick building .- October 3, 1894.

All of the members of the Royal Arch Ma- sons who could be found yesterday were served with summons to answer the suit of Powell S. Lawson in Sacramento to prevent his expul- sion from that branch of Masonry. Lawson for over thirty years has been a Royal Arch Mason, and for twenty-five years a Knight Templar. He is a man of wealth and an ex- president of the Sacramento pioneers. The suit is one of many phases of the conflict which has arisen in many Masonic jurisdictions over the so-called Scottish Rite. Lawson is a mem- ber of the consistory that is said to be looked upon by Knights Templar as clandestine, in- asmuch as it confers twenty-six degrees, in- cluding that of the Templar, without asking the local commandery of the order. In some places these consistories confer the twenty- nine degrees from "ancient craft" or "blue lodge" to the thirty-second degree. The charge against Lawson is the violation of an unwrit- ten but well understood law against soliciting persons to enter the Masonic body and he is charged with soliciting a Royal Arch Mason to enter the Scottish Rite consistory of which he is a member. The meat of the conflict in most cases is the reaching out of consistory workers in the Scottish Rite, below the Knights Templar instead of requiring the candidate to become a Knight, a prerequisite to admission to the higher degrees, sometimes called "in- effable." The short cut was at one time so cheap in Chicago that a Master Mason could get the twenty-nine extra degrees at an ex- pense of ten dollars to twenty dollars, while to go through the intermediate degrees would have cost $100 .- August 7, 1898.

The magnificent pipe organ in the Central Methodist Episcopal Church was heard in all of its beautiful combinations last evening when Professor Carl of New York gave a recital. The grand tones of the instrument were new to many persons who had not previously heard it. The professor thoughtfully introduced some old-time melodies to interest the people who love the songs of their childhood days. The ladies' trio by Clara Lefflers, Albertina Parker and Mrs. Bender was heartily ap- plauded and the instrumental quartet compris- ing Professor Steele, John Patterson, Theodore Elliott and Sam Frankenheimer was well re- ceived .- September 4, 1895.

Died suddenly at the residence of his daugh- ter; Mrs. George Gray, Dr. Joseph Ham- mond, age seventy-eight years. Doctor Ham- mond was one of Stockton's pioneers. He ar- rived in the city in 1850. Six months previous he shipped to California a frame house by the way of Cape Horn, and sailed a few days later. By coincident he and the vessel with the frame house entered the Golden Gate the same day. ^The house, loaded on a scow, was towed up the San Joaquin River to San Joa- quin City, where it was put up. A year later the house was removed to Stockton, and later sold to O. P. F. Kallenbach, a Stockton press- man .- January 2, 1870.

David S. Terry, one of our most prominent citizens, is soon to visit the Atlantic States. Mr. Terry came with the first settlers to Stockton and by his integrity and ability as a lawyer has succeeded in laying the foundation for a large fortune."-September 11, 1852.

"Yesterday D. S. Terry, one of our most valuable citizens, returned, bringing with him a wife, a most valuable acquisition to society in San Joaquin County .. " (Little thought Mrs. Terry that in less than five years she and her husband would be the center of the most ex- citing event in California, and that thirty-five years later Sarah Althea Hill would supplant her place in her husband's love.)-February 22, 1853.

The comet, that splendid vision of the heav- ens, never before appeared so brilliant as last evening. It was truly magnificent, and dou- bly discounts all the fireworks shows ever seen. It is wandering to the southwest and it is said to be 50,000,000 miles from us .- Oc- tober 5, 1858.

Some 200 of the friends of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hale gathered at their residence on California Street, Tuesday evening, May 29, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their wedding. The presents were numerous and beautiful, the most costly being a 150 piece china set which was presented by friends. The twain were again united by H. T. Dorrance, and letters of congratulations were received from the Rev. E. L. Rexford, Unitarian minister in San Francisco, and from Mrs. Hale's former pastor, J. H. Farnsworth, of New Bedford, Mass. The gift of Mrs. Pickering from Rockport, Mass., was a poem, beautiful in thought and sentiment, of which the following was the first verse:

There is a holy tie that binds Two loving hearts in one:

Through weal and woe, in storm and calm, Till life's long race is run.

This holy tie ordained of heaven, And sanctified below, United two fond, faithful hearts Twice ten long years ago.

Berg Holt

BIOGRAPHICAL

BENJAMIN HOLT .- Linked indissolubly with the history of Stockton, the name of Benjamin Holt, inventor, industrial genius, loyal citizen and friend, will occupy forever a distinctive place in the annals of the city, for there has been no more loyal support- er of her fair name than he, none more devoted to her welfare, and, as the builder of Stockton's greatest industrial enterprise, no one more prominently or practically connected with her development and up- building. His genius and industry not only enriched the community, but carried its name across the moun- tains and the valleys and the seas, aiding in lifting the hard burdens of agriculture in the far places of the earth, and greatest of all, contributing at a cru- cial moment in the struggle of the Allies a new, un- heard-of weapon of warfare that brought terror to the hearts of the enemy. A record of the salient points of his career, illustrating the steps taken in his onward and upward march to attainment, should, and undoubtedly will, prove a source of inspiration to the ambitious men of the present generation whose aspirations lie along lines of a nature more or less similar to those pursued by Mr. Holt, preceding the period since which his position in the inventive and manufacturing world has been assured.

A native of the Granite State, so many of whose sons have gone forth as leaders in the professional and commercial life of the nation, Benjamin Holt was born in Merrimack County, N. H., on January 1, 1849, the seventh of eleven children born to Wil- liam K. and Harriet Parker Holt. The public schools in the neighborhood of his boyhood home furnished his early education, supplemented by a course of study at an academy at Tilton, N. H., and later, at a Bap- tist institution of learning at New London, Conn. In 1868, with his brothers, W. Harrison, A. Frank and Charles H. Holt, Benjamin Holt began the manu- facture of wagon spokes and hubs, and in 1873, he established his plant at Concord, N. H, greatly en- larging its capacity and adding to its output the manufacture of felloes, wheels, bodies and running gears. Here he continued in business for ten years, building up an extensive trade and becoming well known in commercial and manufacturing circles throughout the East.

His brother, Charles H. Holt, had come to San Francisco, Cal., in the early days and established a wholesale hardwood and wheel business. In this en- terprise he was joined in 1871 by William Harrison Holt, A. Frank Holt and Benjamin Holt, although the latter did not come to California until 1883, when he had disposed of his interests at Concord, N. H. This year, 1883, marked the beginning of this great industry at Stockton, as at this time he and Charles H. Holt there took up the manufacture of wheels and wagon material under the name of The Stockton Wheel Company. In 1892 the name of the firm was changed to its present one-The Holt Manufacturing 22

Company. Throughout the entire history of the Holt Company, Benjamin Holt was the mechanical head of the company and its president since its incorpora- tion in 1892. It was he who perfected the combined harvesters which greatly reduced the cost and labor of harvesting grain by combining the operations of cutting, threshing and cleaning. It was he who in- vented the self-propelled combined harvester, a com- bination of tractor and harvester. It was he who in- vented the "caterpillar" tractor, which proved the only solution of the problem of traction on soft and sandy places and over rough ground. The British tank, which struck such terror in the ranks of the German armies when it first appeared on the battle line in France, was founded directly upon the prin- ciple of this invention. During the campaign in Bel- gium, at one of the most trying periods in the history of the Allies, General E. D. Swinton, of the British army, saw one of Holt's caterpillars in action, and from the underlying principle of its traction conceived the idea of the fighting tank, and during the war Gen- eral Swinton came all the way to Stockton to meet Benjamin Holt, the inventor, to pay tribute to his inventive genius and to tell the story of the origin of the tank. More than 100 inventions cover his achievements in the line of industry, and they have been material factors in revolutionizing methods in agriculture, not alone in the cultivation of vast addi- tional areas, but in the solution of the labor problems of the farmer through the reduction of the manual labor necessary, particularly in the busy harvest sea- son. Two large factories comprise the Holt indus- try; one at Peoria, Ill., and the' Stockton plant.

In 1890 Mr. Holt was married to Miss Anna Brown, a daughter of the well-known '49er, pioneer, miner, and later San Joaquin County farmer, the late Benjamin E. Brown of Stockton. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Holt became the parents of the following children: Alfred B. Holt, of Peoria, Ill .; William Knox Holt, of Stockton; Mrs. Anne Holt Atherton, wife of Judge Warren Atherton, of Stockton; Edison Ames Holt, of Stockton; and Benjamin Dean Holt, of Peoria. Mrs. Benjamin Holt, the widowed mother, continues to reside at 548 East Park Street, Stockton, loved and respected by all.

While Mr. Holt had been in failing health for about a month, death was not believed to be imminent, so that when the end came suddenly on December 5, 1920, at St. Joseph's Home, it came with a shock to the entire community. The mind of the great inven- tor was clear and active to the last, and one of his last requests is said to have been for information con- cerning progress upon an experimental machine in course of development at the plant.

Thoroughly democratic, Benjamin Holt moved about his great plant generally in his shirt sleeves, calling by their first names employees who had long been associated with him. In one corner of the

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works a room was set apart for him. This was "Un- cle Ben's" experimental room, and here he worked out the mechanical problems of the many devices that will ever be associated with his name. Modest and unassuming to an unusual degree, he shrank from any publicity, and when General Swinton came to Stockton to publicly acknowledge England's debt of gratitude to the inventor-a notable occasion in Stock- ton's war activities-it was with great difficulty that Mr. Holt was induced to occupy a seat of honor on the platform with the distinguished British officer at the mass meeting held at the auditorium. Fame came to him, but the simple routine of his life was undisturbed; the friends of his early days were still the friends of his choice. He was still Ben Holt- unchanged by the plaudits of the multitude; plain, honest, industrious and true.

CAPT. CHARLES M. WEBER-A record of the life of Captain Weber, through the most important and fruitful years of his activity, might well be called also a history of the city of Stockton, of which he was the founder. The high standing of this place as a business center, as a locality of beautiful homes and prosperous people, may be attributed in no small de- gree to his early labors, and finally, when he was taken from the scenes of his usefulness, his body was laid to rest in a city of the dead whose site had been donated by him years before and whose artistic sur- roundings resulted from his cultivated taste and great liberality. As he recounted in his last days the his- tory of his home town, he might well have exclaimed, "All of which I saw and part of which I was." No recital could be made of the early days of Stockton without considerable mention of his identification therewith, and his name is worthy of perpetuation not only in local annals, but also in the annals of the state which he chose for his home.

The birth of Captain Weber occurred in Homburg, Bavaria, Germany, February 16, 1814, during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. It was the ambition of his father, who was a Protestant minister, that he should be educated for the ministry, and his school life was planned accordingly. He was early sent to the common school in Homburg, and upon his grad- uation therefrom entered the academy and began the study of ancient languages and French, at the same time receiving several hours private instruction daily, so that he might be prepared for the German uni- versities at the proper age. The failure of his health under this undue mental pressure made it necessary for him to leave the university, where he had every prospect for making a fine record. This change in his plans was the means of turning his attention to the mercantile business, for which he had a natural adaptation, and which proved the entering wedge to his subsequent career in the New World. He had been in business but a short time when his thoughts turned to "the home of the free," and accompanied by a cousin he set out for America in 1836. It had been his intention to proceed up the Mississippi from New Orleans and visit a relative, Judge Hildegarde, at Belleville, Ill., the father of Eugene Hildegarde, pro- fessor emeritus of the University of California. The river was blocked with ice and instead he remained in New Orleans, where he secured employment in mercantile pursuits. Yellow fever was at that time very prevalent in the south and Mr. Weber fell a victim to the scourge. After his recovery he went to

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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 65

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