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 78

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 78

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

James Walter Graves grew up in this county and profited by a good common schooling; after which, in 1877, he was duly graduated by Heald's Business College of San Francisco. Then he entered the em- ploy of Bancroft and Co., the publishers, in San Francisco, but at the end of sixteen months he left the city on account of ill-health, returning to the ranch in this county. In partnership with his father and older brother, N. H., he next took up sheep raising and for several years was active in Corral Hollow, where he regained his health; and with the exception of eighteen months spent in the Santa Clara Valley in orcharding, he has made this county his home since 1879. He now owns a fine ranch one and one-half miles north of Manteca, where he main- tains his home.

In 1880, on the French Camp Road, Mr. Graves was married to Miss Emma Liesy, a native of this county, who passed away in 1883; and two years later he married a second time, when he chose for his wife Miss Carrie Smith, who was born in Wisconsin and came west in 1880. Two children were born to the first union: D. F. Graves is married and resides as a a rancher near Lathrop; and Dr. C. E. Graves is a veterinary surgeon and resides at Santa Cruz with his wife and one son, Harold. One son, Cleve, was born to the second union; he was a partner with his father, but he passed away on December 6, 1921, survived by his widow and a son, Kenneth.

Mr. Graves served as deputy sheriff under Thomas Cunningham, as early as 1890, and as deputy con- stable until April, 1918, being elected to the office of constable of Castoria township, in the administra- tion of which he has shown signal ability. He was elected again in 1922, receiving the highest vote of any county officer in his township. He is a stand- pat Democrat and is a charter member of Lathrop Camp No. 92, M. W. A., in which he is a past officer. He is also a member of Charity lodge, No. 6, I. O. O. F., Stockton, and of the Manteca Lions Club.

Mr. Graves opened the second real estate office of Manteca, known as the Irrigation District Land Co., and he maintains a careful vigilance as to all details regarding information given out to his patrons, and is well known for his ability in appraising lands of this valley. He has served as the secretary of the Man- teca Creamery from its day of operation in 1896 for one year, when he resigned to become manager of

434

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

the Co-operative Butcher Shop. He has always been a strong advocate of irrigation, and one of the prime factors in the move which culminated in the incorpora- tion of Manteca in 1918. From 1907 to 1910, he was chairman of the commonwealth committee of this county; from its organization, for five years he was chairman of the Manteca Board of Trade; he wrote the maintenance bill of the State highway, and was active in getting it into the legislation of the state. He was also the author of the shooting ordinance as to State Highways, the incentive having been an acci- dent on his own ranch in 1909. Through the untiring efforts, also, of our subject the standard of quality of the rock and construction material has been great- ly elevated, his good work in this direction having been accomplished in connection with others, notably Dr. Goodale and Orrin Henderson of Stockton. Always public-spirited and progressive, Mr. Graves has taken the lead in several important movements, all of which have borne good fruit.

CHARLES L. NEWTON .- An experienced, suc- cessful vineyardist, who has also been able to serve his fellow-citizens in the official capacity of county supervisor, is Charles L. Newton, a native of Cali- fornia, having been born in Amador County on January 27, 1857. His father, Dr. Jabez Newton, came to California in September, 1849, and landed at French Gulch, in El Dorado County; he was a mem- ber of the Connecticut branch, dating back to the Mayflower, and a descendant and relative of men high in public and professional stations. Dr. C. B. Newton, a younger brother of Jabez, was a regent of Bellevue Hospital, in New York, and Dr. Jabez Newton was also a well-known physician, although after coming to California, he abandoned practice and went in for mining, in Eldorado and Amador Counties. He opened up a copper mine between Ionia and Jackson in Amador County which became well-known as the Newton Copper Mine. When he came to Woodbridge, he helped to lay out the town, and then he settled in the locality.

In this vicinity, therefore, Charles L. Newton went to school, and at the San Joaquin Valley College, conveniently located at Woodbridge, he completed his studies. His father had gone into the hotel busi- ness while in Amador County, while he was locat- ing mines, and in that county he acquired about 2,000 acres of land, which he sold on coming to Wood- bridge. For many years, Dr Newton was proprietor of the Keith Hotel at Woodbridge, until he retired, and he lived to be 83 years old. He had married Miss Mary E. Rutledge, a member of a family whose history is elsewhere sketched in this volume, and she lived to her seventy-sixth year. Five children were born to this worthy couple. Our subject was the eldest; then came Prof. C. B. Newton, of San Francisco; J. F. Newton, deceased; Annie, Mrs. J. S. Mayberry, of Antioch; and Jennie, Mrs. A. C. White, of Stockton.

After finishing his schooling, Charles Newton went into the butcher business in Woodbridge, purchas- ing the interests of the firm of Thompson & Fol- ier; and this shop he ran for about ten years. On September 26, 1883, he was married at the old Jahant ranch, about four miles north of Woodbridge, to Miss Katherine Jahant; the wedding being a noted affair. Rev. A. J. Compton performed the ceremony, and not less than eighty invited guests attended.

Her parents were Victor and Soli Jahant, the former a native of Ohio and the latter a native of England. He came to California in 1852, and two years later bought some 640 acres originally located by Charles Grassard and Peter Jahant, in 1853, and the next year Victor Jahant came into possession of said sec- tion of land located in Liberty township, four miles north of Woodbridge. Mrs. Newton was one of a family of seven children. Her father was a very en- ergetic farmer, and kept his ranch in a fine state of cultivation, always using the best farm machinery he could buy. Wheat at that time was the main product looked for, and he raised some of the best in the state. In 1877, he built a splendid ranch home and there he established his family.

Mr. Newton sold his business in Woodbridge in about 1887 and they moved to Shasta County, and located at Anderson; there Mr. Newton opened a butcher and ice business; and he also carried on the forwarding business at that point, and remained in this line of activity for four years. On his return to Woodbridge he engaged in butchering for a year, and he then took a position with Thompson and Com- pany, at Lodi, where he remained for one year and a half, resigning to assume public office.

He was elected county supervisor, 1899, and later he was re-elected four times, giving twenty years to the public service. During the years he served as supervisor he was for many years chairman of the finance committee and also chairman of the com- mittee on roads, bridges and franchises. Always an advocate of good roads and road improvement he saw the need for bonding the county to build per- manent roads, but it took two years to get the people thoroughly interested so a bond issue of $1,890,000 was voted which built the spendid permanent roads of today. Thus San Joaquin County was the first county in the state to issue bonds to build perman- ent highways. In fact, Mr. Newton, as supervisor, was an enthusiastic supporter of every movement for the building up of the county and bettering the con- dition and enhancing the comfort and happiness of its peoples. Mr. Newton, though repeatedly offered the chairmanship of the board, steadfastly refused the honor in order that he might better carry the work he planned from the floor. He was a member of the committee appointed from different county supervisoral boards to handle the San Joaquin Valley exhibits for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco in 1915. Feeling after giving twenty years to the office of supervisor that he had done his duty faithfully and wishing to be free to look after his private business and ranches, he refused to be again a candidate, so in 1918 he stepped down and out from the office, leaving. behind an enviable record, it being the general opinion that he was one of the best supervisors San Joaquin County ever had.

Since retiring from office, Mr. Newton has given himself exclusively to the occupation of a vineyard- ist; sixteen years ago having set out about fifty acres of the old Jahant ranch to grapes,-thirty acres to Tokay and twenty acres to wine grapes. He has been steadily improving his vineyard, and today he has it in a fine-bearing condition. He also purchased a twenty acre vineyard adjoining his home place and on each place he has installed pumping plants. He is now the director of the Woodbridge Vineyardist Association, and has done much to raise this to a front rank among similar California organizations.

CL Newton

437

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

Always a Democrat in politics, Mr. Newton has been active in the councils of his party in county and state politics having served as a member of the county central committee for years as well as a dele- gate to county and state conventions. He was a member of the state convention that nominated Jas. Budd for governor of California.

With the exception of four years spent in Shasta County, Mr. Newton has made Woodbridge his home since 1869; and he at present resides in the house formerly belonging to the Folger family, which he remodeled. Two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Newton, and one is living. Charles Victor died at the age of 26; the other son, D. E. Newton, of Woodbridge, is the field manager of the Pioneer Fruit Company. Mr. Newton is a member of Woodbridge Lodge of Masons; is past master, and with his wife is member of the O. E. S. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias, and the Native Sons of the Golden West.

JOSEPH S. WEST, M. D .- Among the strong and forceful personalities who have lent their aid to medical science the name of Joseph S. West stands out with peculiar clearness. He was born at Argyle's Landing, Currituck County, N. C., on August 22, 1844, his youth being spent in the usual way, attending school and helping to operate his father's plantation; he then set about to learn engine construction at the Tredegar Iron Works at Richmond, Va. In March, 1861, he entered the service of his country in Com- pany C under Captain W. Prescott, Tredegar Battal- ion, for the purpose of defense of the Tredegar Iron Works. On August 15, 1861, he joined the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues, C. S. A., under Captain Vick- ery, stationed at Sewell's Point, on Hampton Roads, Norfolk County, Va, for defense of Norfolk, Ports- mouth and Gosport Navy Yard; several naval battles were participated in between the Confederate Vir- ginia (Merrimac) and the U. S. ships Cumberland, Congress, Roanoke, St. Lawrence, etc., and with the famous Monitor, these battles occurring during March, 1862; he also participated during the Seven Days fight with McClellan around Richmond, Va., remaining with the "Blues" until September 21, 1862, when he received a commission in the Confederate Navy as third assistant engineer; he reported for duty to Commodore Josiah Tattnall, flag officer com- manding at Savannah, Ga., on October 8 and two days later was assigned to duty on board the C. S. Iron Clad Atlanta, Captain W. Blair, commander, as third assistant engineer and on May 21, 1863, was promoted to second assistant engineer. About June 17, 1863, the Atlanta, then being commanded by Cap- tain Webb, in Warsaw Sound, on the coast of Geor- gia, engaged in battle with two monitors, the Wee- hawken and the Nahaut, and a wooden "double end- er" gunboat. Going aground on a bar, about three miles from land, the Iron Clad finally surrendered, after losing several men. The men on board the ship were paroled and sent ashore, and Mr. West with the officers was held a prisoner until October 16, 1864; meantime being shifted from Warsaw Sound, Ga., to Hilton Head, S. C., to Fortress Monroe, Va., to Philadelphia, to Fort LaFayette, New York Har- bor, and to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, arriving there on July 4, 1863, where the prisoners remained until they were carried back to the James River, Va., where they were exchanged at a landing called Ve-

rina, above City Point, General Grant coming aboard the little river steamer on which they were detained and addressing them kindly and assuring them of their exchange. The prisoners were taken up to Richmond, Va., visiting the Secretary of the Navy, who then took them over to President Jefferson Davis. Within the next few days, Mr. West went on board the C. S. gunboat Hampton of the James River fleet, as chief engineer, remaining with her until the evacuation of Richmond, with the other vessels of the fleet guarding the river approach to Richmond. At the evacuation of Richmond, the fleet was com- manded by Rear Admiral Raphael Simms, late com- mander of the Alabama in her battle with the Kear- sarge; the shipping was destroyed at Richmond and the soldiers marched inland as far as Greensboro, N. C., where the most of them joined Gen. Joseph E. Johnson's army, Mr. West taking the rank as junior lieutenant, and on May 1, 1865, the army surrendered to Gen. W. T. Sherman, Mr. West being then twenty years of age.

Returning home, Mr. West was employed, for a time, as steam engineer; later he began reading medi- cine and attending lectures at the Eclectic Medical Institute and at the Ohio Medical College, both located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was graduated from the former institution in 1874. Returning to his home at Hickory Ground, Norfolk County, Va., Dr. West began the practice of medicine and continued until March 4, 1878, when he started for California, locating in Colusa, where he engaged in the practice of his profession until his removal to Tracy in 1904. During Dr. West's residence in Colusa, he became very act- ively connected with the Methodist Church as choir leader, member of the official board, and teacher in the Bible school for many years.

About 1894 Dr. West had the misfortune to be injured in an accident, which within a few months necessitated the amputation of his left leg, just below the hip, and by some mistake in the care he received a poison was introduced into his system which par- alyzed the other limb as well as both arms and hands. A man of only ordinary cast of character would have surrendered at least his practice of his profession; but in a wheel chair and carried by his son, he went back and forth to his office on week days and to church on Sunday, where he always led the choir, and taught the Bible class, and was easily the leading spirit in the church as well as in all public matters and community affairs. Along with his professional studies, Dr. West had mastered music in a rare degree. He was also a student of the Greek New Testament, and had some knowledge of Hebrew and was an able critic and expositor of the Scriptures.

Early in 1904, the family located in Tracy, where he became very active in a mercantile line and in the affairs of the community. He was also the founder of the confectionery and ice cream parlor on Central Avenue, which is now conducted by his son, Warwick W. West, whose sketch appears in this work. In 1910, when the town of Tracy was incorporated, Dr. West was among the most active; he served as sec- retary of the Board of Trade for many years, uphold- ing every movement of any merit for the continued good of the community; he served as clerk of the original high school board and was one of the ener- getic members of the board which organized the West Side Union high school. Always a strong

438

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

advocate of irrigation, he worked and sacrificed much in the interest of the first district started, though the successful completion of the system did not come for many years, yet he lived to enjoy some of the results of his labor and sacrifice. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Tracy Methodist Church.

The marriage of Dr. West occurred in the East and united him with Miss Anna Augusta Hasker, a native of Virginia, and five sons and two daughters were born to them. Sidney V., M. D., of Cenco, Cal., was in the late war; Raleigh C., D. D. S, of Oakland, Cal .; Marian M., now Mrs. R. G. Hyatt, an accomplished musician of Los Angeles, Cal .; War- wick W., merchant at Tracy, Cal., whose sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this work; Paul Ambrose, in busi- ness in Los Angeles. The two oldest children are deceased. Merriam died in Virginia in infancy and Paul died when twelve years old' at Colusa. Mrs. West passed away in Tracy in 1910, while Dr. West passed away on January 24, 1920. Fraternally he was an honored member of the Colusa Lodge of Masons and Odd Fellows, and politically a stanch Democrat. Dr. West lived to see the going of "John Barleycorn" to the fight against which he had given heroic service, and to see the end of the World War and the return of his two sons, Capt. Sidney V, and Paul A., who served overseas, with the 182nd and returned with the 91st Division; he fought in the Argonne and in Flan- ders, and was badly gassed several times.

PETER KNOLLENBURG .- A pioneer settler of San Joaquin County who had watched and aided the growth from a primitive condition to its present state of prosperity, was Peter Knollenburg, an esteemed veteran of the Civil War, and an honored citizen of his community for the past half century. He was born in Holland and came to this country when but sixteen years of age. On landing here he joined the 35th Massachusetts Regiment and fought for the preservation of the Union. At the close of the war he came to California and shortly after settled in Tracy. For a number of years he was in the draying business, but of recent years lived a retired lite. He prized highly the friendship of the old comrades and many times entertained them in his home in Tracy. He always made a gala day of his natal anniversaries and many times hired the Arlington and gave a free show to all those who cared to attend. He attended every session of the grand encampment of the state which was held in Stockton in 1921, hiring a taxi to take him to and from that city. On Deco- ration Day he was one of the three old Civil War veterans who attended the exercises.

Following a stroke of apoplexy, Mr. Knollenburg was removed to a Stockton hospital and on June 19, 1921, passed away at the age of seventy-eight, sur- vived by his wife, Mrs. Mary l'assler Knollenburg, now eighty-two years old, who resides in Tracy with her daughter, Mrs. J. O. McKeany, the older of her two surviving children, the youngest being Mrs. Floyd Kuykendall of Oakland. Mr. Knollenburg was a member of Rawlins Post of Stockton. An estimable citizen, whose busy life was filled with in- teresting experiences, Mr. Knollenburg stood high in the estimation of the citizens of his community, and his passing away caused deep sorrow to his many friends and acquaintances.

JAMES Y. COATES .- Having resided in Stock- ton since infancy, County Supervisor James Y. Coates maintains a justifiable pride in San Joaquin's devel- opment, with which he has been so conspicuous. As a public official he has promoted institutional, road and bridge improvements; and as a business man he has also met with deserving success.

Mr. Coates was born in Silver Cliff, Colo., on July 10, 1879, but in 1883 his parents, Stephen B. and Phyllis (Harris) Coates brought him to Stockton. His father was a Canadian, while his mother was born in England. He obtained a public school edu- cation; and, anxious to put his energies into a busi- ness career, put in effective time with the P. A. Buell Lumber Company as clerk. Public service beckoned, however, and he spent four years as deputy county clerk under Eugene D. Graham. He also served as under sheriff with Sheriff Walter F. Sibley, and in the same capacity for Sheriff Wm. H. Riecks.

Since 1906 Mr. Coates has been vitally identified with county affairs; and added recognition came when, in 1914, he was elected supervisor of the Sec- ond District, and re-elected in 1918 and again in 1922. His career as supervisor is marked, among other achievements, by paving and road work of var- ied extent; new buildings, stock barns and other pro- gressive installations at the San Joaquin County Fair Grounds, but notably for the erection of the new $30,000 Detention Home, considered the finest of its kind in California, also the erection of the new isola- tion ward and old people's home at the San Joaquin County Hospital.

As a member of the firm of Jones-Coates Com- pany, with offices in the Yosemite Building, Super- visor Coates has been unusually successful in attract- ing settlers and capital here, the firm making a spe- cialty of handling farming property and farm sub- divisions. All these years Mr. Coates has been more or less engaged in ranching and the development of farming lands.

This energetic Stocktonian married Miss Grace Sellman, a native of Stockton, daughter of Lafayette Sellman, the well-known pioneer who operated the first laundry here. Mr. Coates is a member of San Joaquin Lodge No. 19, F. & A. M., also of Stockton Commandery No. 8, Knights Templar, as well as Ben Ali Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Sacramento. He is also a member of Stockton Lodge No. 218, B. P. O. E. In national politics he is a decided Republican.

FRED A. WEST .- A well-known citizen and rep- resentative agriculturist of San Joaquin County, Fred A. West, who is also chief engineer of the city pump- ing plant, was born near Mark West Hot Springs, Cal., on March 14, 1880, so called in honor of the founder, Mark West, the grandfather of our subject. At the age of fourteen he was a printer's devil on the Sonoma Democrat at Santa Rosa and while there read the Stockton Mail and became greatly in- terested in Stockton on account of the manufac- tories. Being mechanically inclined and having had some experience in a machine shop, when he was eighteen years old he decided to go to Stockton, so he borrowed ten dollars from a friend and upon his arrival in Stockton on November 1, 1898, his sole possessions amounted to two dollars and seventy- five cents. He then secured employment in the blacksmith shop and foundry of the Houser-Haines Company and later in the blacksmith shop and con-

1 1

441

HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

struction room of the Holt Manufacturing Com- pany. He first learned to fire the engine of the har- vester and later he was sent out with the harvester, first to Fresno and then to Ione. In 1906 he secured his first job with the city of Stockton when he ran the new steam roller on the streets of the city and has been in the employ of the city ever since. He next ran a gas ditching machine; then was trans- ferred to the city pumping station and still later be- came chief engineer of same. When the new outfall sewer was completed in 1920 and the new $120,000 pumping plant installed Mr. West was put in charge of the plant, which he is handling with thor- oughness and capability.

The marriage of Mr. West occurred in 1907 and united him with Miss Bertha Lehman, a native of Roberts Island and a daughter of the late Henry Lehman, a native of Germany, an early settler of the county, who located on Roberts Island in 1865 and farmed there for many years. Mr. West now farms a forty-nine-acre ranch on the island, the property of Mrs. West. Mr. and Mrs. West are the parents of two children: Elaine and Fred L. Fraternally he is past sachem of the Red Men, past commander of the Maccabees and past president of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

DAVID R. REYNOLDS .- For the past sixty-nine years, David R. Reynolds has been a resident of San Joaquin County, and he is naturally most familiar with the history of those early days, his mind bear- ing the impress of the pioneer annals of the Pacific Coast. In San Joaquin County he took up his abode and became influential in the progress and develop- ment of his locality.

Mr. Reynolds is a native of Putnam County, Ind., his birth occurring May 1, 1835, and he was one of five sons born to James and Martha (Ramsey) Reynolds, both natives of Kentucky. The eldest son, Richard, a farmer and miner at French Camp, San Joaquin County, died 1915, being then eighty-three. The other three sons are Eldridge and Edward, twins; and James A., residing at Capitola. His great-grand- father in the Reynolds line was a soldier of the Revo- lutionary war, and his maternal grandfather dis- played equal valor in defending American interests in the second war with England. When David R. Reynolds was in his fourth year his parents removed to Grant County, Wis., becoming pioneers of that district. Wisconsin had not then been admitted to the Union, and amid the wild scenes of frontier life our subject was reared to his eighteenth year, when the family started for California, across the plains, being from May until September upon the way. They first settled near the present site of Placerville, but in the fall of 1854 came to San Joaquin County, where the father, James Reynolds, settled upon a ranch near French Camp. He entered land from the Government, and was one of the earliest residents upon what is known as the sand plains. There he remained until his death in 1867, assisting in the pioneer development of the county.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 78

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