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 87

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 87

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While on a visit to Maine in 1863, Mr. Simpson married Miss Augusta D. Pennell, a native of his home county, where she was born in 1842; and they made their wedding journey to California via Pan- ama. Upon returning to Stockton he built for his bride the residence at the corner of El Dorado and Oak streets, regarded at that time as a veritable palatial home, where he breathed his last, following two weeks of illness; and where five of their six chil- dren were born, two dying in infancy and one daugh- ter, Jessica Pennell, at the age of twenty-four. Those children now living are Estelle S., the widow of the late Minot Tirrell; Bertha G. and Andrew W., Jr.

Mr. Simpson was very fond of outdoor sports, as might have been expected of a son of Maine who had the good fortune to come out to California in the days where the Golden State was "all outdoors," and in the prime of manhood, he spent many leisure hours with rod and gun. His judgment was re- garded as a factor in the successful management of the Stockton Savings and Loan Bank, and just prior to his fatal illness, he made a special effort to attend a meeting of the directors. He was generous to a

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fault, and quietly and unknown only to the recipients of his kindness, he often assisted others less fortu- nate than himself. He was, however, above all a kind and indulgent husband and father, and his hap- piest hours were spent at the fireside of his own home. The center of innumerable ideal friendships, his death occasioned widespread sorrow as his life had added to the lustre of his land and day.

THEODORE H. BECKMAN .- The name of Theodore H. Beckman is engraved on the pages of San Joaquin County's history, for through many years he has been an important factor in the agricultural and financial interests of this section of the state. With a mind capable of planning, he combined a will strong enough to execute his well formulated purposes, and his energy and perseverance have re- sulted in the accumulation of a handsome property, which places him among the substantial citizens of the county. He is a native son of San Joaquin County, having spent practically all the days of his life within the environs of his birthplace, and when ready to enter upon the active duties of life he took his place among the men of progress and public spirit who in the last two decades have been the leading factors in the recorded advancement of the agricultural, business, social and institutional inter- ests of this section of the state. His birthplace was the Beckman ranch on Kettleman Lane southeast of Lodi and the date May 3, 1871, a son of Henry and Margaret (Toni) Beckman, who figured prominent- ly in the county's history.

Henry Beckman was born in Prussia, near Bremen, March 13, 1834, his parents being William and Wilhelmina Beckman. William Beckman, the grand- father of our subject, was a farmer by occupation, and one of Bonaparte's soldiers, and after he was captured he fought for Blucher. He died in 1868. Henry Beckman was reared on a farm in Prussia. His mother having died when he was only three years old, he was put out among strangers until fifteen years old. In 1848 with his brother, Chris- topher, he came to America, sailing from Bremen and landing at Baltimore; together they went to New Haven, Pa., thence to Illinois, where they re- mained a year, working most of the time on farms for sixty-five dollars a year and board and then they were for a time engaged in lumbering and farming in Wisconsin. In the spring of 1853 they came to California, crossing the plains with ox teams, arriving in Stockton after a journey of six and a half months. After being here a year they set- tled on land in Elkhorn Township where they re- mained, making improvements, and in 1859 they divided up the land. That year Henry Beckman pur- chased his ranch, located about twelve miles from Stockton, and two miles from Lodi. He was one of the enterprising farmers of the township, and. came to own about 1,000 acres of land which was well im- proved with substantial buildings. In 1868 he mar- ried Miss Margaret Toni, a native of Switzerland, and four children were born to this worthy pioneer couple: George V., Theodore H., of this sketch, Frank W., deceased, and Eva M., Mrs. Harry T. Bailey. Mr. Beckman was a member of the Masons of Woodbridge and a charter member of the Wood- bridge Grange. Politically he was a Democrat. He passed away in October, 1910, while Mrs. Beckman is still living at a good old age.

Theodore H. Beckman was reared in the county and received his education in the public schools, supplemented by three years at San Joaquin Valley College, an excellent educational institution no longer in existence. In 1900 Mr. Beckman inherited 300 acres of his father's ranch, sixty acres of which is in vineyard, sixty acres in orchard, and the balance in pasture land.

The marriage of Mr. Beckman on January 30, 1900, in Lodi, united him with Miss Grace Diers, a grand- daughter of that old pioneer, Jacob Brack, whose history will be found on another page of this work. She is a daughter of William H. and Mary (Brack) Diers and was born and reared in the Lodi section and received her education in the Turner district school, supplementing with a course at West's pri- vate school in San Francisco. Mr. and Mrs. Beck- man are the parents of two sons, Earle Brack Beck- man and Stanlee Theodore Beckman.

Mr. Beckman is the senior member and president of the firm of Beckman, Welch & Thompson, brok- ers, dealing in loans, buying and selling farm lands, city property, grain and fruit and is among the most substantial business firms of Lodi. In 1921 this firm disposed of their store to Pearson, Knutsen & Minni- han of Stockton, and the Stockton Hardware Com- pany bought the hardware department, but Beckman, Welch & Thompson retained their brokerage busi- ness. Mr. Beckman is an independent fruit packer and shipper, having two packing sheds of his own to take care of his abundant fruit crops each sea- son. One of his packing sheds is at Brack's sta- tion on the Western Pacific, four miles west of Woodbridge, and the other at Lodi. He ships through the Pacific Fruit Exchange, of which he has been a stockholder for many years; he is also a director of the Lodi National Bank and a member of the finance committee and owns considerable stock in the Lodi Investment Company. He is a Republican in politics, but the honors and emoluments of public office have had no attraction for him, as he prefers to devote his attention to business affairs, wherein he has met with well merited success. He has served as a trus- tee of the Henderson school district for eighteen years and of the Lodi Union high school for the last six years. In 1896 Mr. Beckman was patron of the Eastern Star Chapter of Woodbridge; in 1900 was the master of the Masonic lodge No. 131 at the same place; he is also a member of Stockton Chapter, Stockton Commandery, and Islam Temple A. A. O. N. M. S. of San Francisco, and belongs to the Native Sons of the Golden West of Lodi and of the Elks of Stockton.

Mr. Beckman has installed a very complete irriga- tion system for his vineyard and orchard, having concrete pipes for carrying water to all parts of his ranch; there are three wells on his ranch having an eight-inch, a seven-inch and a six-inch pump with thirty, twenty-five and fifteen horsepower motors for power. Mr. Beckman employs about fifty people to take care of his fruit during the busy season and his payroll in 1921 amounted to $20,000. He is vice- president of the Woodbridge Vineyard Association. Mrs. Beckman inherited 200 acres of the Brack es- tate eight miles west of Lodi, 140 acres of which is in vineyard and sixty acres in grain land. She is an active member of Woodbridge Chapter O. E. S., a past worthy matron and is past grand district deputy of the fourteenth California district for this

J.H. Beckma

Smar

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HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY

order and has attended almost every session of the Grand Chapter. She is very active in all civic affairs and a member of the building board of the Lodi Woman's Club. Mr. and Mrs. Beckman have ac- cumulated a gratifying amount of worldly possessions through their own industry and thrifty management, and the esteem of their fellow-citizens is deservedly accorded to both of them.

JAMES M. BIGGER .- After years of experience studying and demonstrating soil possibilities and production in the famed Delta country of central California, during which time he made numerous experiments in agricultural operations that set new records, even in the wonderous Delta of the Stock- ton country, James M. Bigger, formerly superintend- ent of the Drexler tract, opened real estate offices in Stockton, with a branch in San Francisco in 1918. and took in as a partner, Jesse J. Inman, formerly of San Francisco, and under the firm name of Bigger and Inman are doing an extensive business. He was born and reared in the farming districts of Ontario, Canada, and while still a young man removed to New York and later spent some time in Pennsylvania. In 1884 he came to Santa Clara County and was en- gaged in the dairy business for three years; then we find him in San Joaquin County where he has since followed farming on a large scale in the Delta dis- trict; he also has farming land in Sutter County. On Rough and Ready and Roberts islands in the Delta district he is extensively engaged in raising vegetables and grain and has farmed as many as 3000 acres in the Delta; one season he had 500 acres in celery and has also been a large grower of asparagus and other vege- tables; in Sutter County he farms from 500 to 1700 acres to fruit and grain; he built the first silo in northern California and the second ever erected in this state; this was on the Albert Lindley ranch on Rough and Ready island; for a number of years he conducted the largest dairy in the county.

The firm of Bigger & Inman maintain offices at 307 East Weber Street, Stockton. A specialty is made of handling farm lands, particularly in the Delta sections. City property is another important department, and carefully arranged descriptive lists of residence property are also shown to advantage. Estates are also managed, lands rented or leased and crops handled to the best advantage possible for owners, and a fire insurance department is main- tained Mr. Bigger is, perhaps, one of the best- posted authorities on realty values in the state. For many years he was confidential appraiser for sev- eral conservative firms, and vast sums of money have been invested in the Delta on his judgment. He keeps in intimate touch with the conditions of de- mand and supply, knows locations and values as few men get to know them, and when he becomes the in- termediary between buyer and seller both sides get the benefit of his wide experience. He was the first to introduce corn production for commercial pur- poses in the Delta, and scored a record yield of corn on the Drexler tract. He was one of the first and most persistent boosters for the Borden Delta road and the highway across Union Island, has been an indefatigable worker for all improvement.

Mr. Bigger is one of San Joaquin County's sub- stantial citizens who has given much of his valuable time without renumeration toward making the county fair a success. As the vice-president, with the fifteen

directors of the fair, he has borne the burden of the big undertaking purely out of a broad-minded desire to be of service to the community.

The marriage of Mr. Bigger united him with Miss Anna E. Farrington, a native of New York state, and they were the parents of six children, five of whom are living: Mrs. A. C. Parker, Olin M., Albert E., Lena E., and Alice I. Mr. Bigger was bereaved of his faithful wife November 23, 1916.

Mr. Bigger has for many years been a director of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce; a director in the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau, representing San Joaquin County; he is a director and was one of the orgainzers of the California Bean Growers' Association; during the late war he was food admin- istrator for San Joaquin County and conducted this office at his own expense; he was a member of the County Council of Defense, and a member of the advisory board for the western part of San Joa- quin County, working with the board of superivisors. He is on the Advisory Board of the Agricultural Department of the United States Veterans Bureau Training School, known as the Trinese School for Disabled Soldiers on Rough and Ready island, which is in its experimental stage being the first of the kind in the United States. It is men like James M. Bigger who have looked into the future and given freely of their time and means that are responsible for the growth of San Joaquin County and he is a real builder of this section of the state. He is a member and director of the Lions Club of Stockton.

ANSEL WILLIAM POST .- A worthy represent- ative of the native sons of the state, one who has been closely identified with the welfare of their com- munity is Ansel William Post, a lifelong resident of San Joaquin County and a prosperous farmer and vineyardist, having a productive twenty-five-acre ranch five miles south of Lodi on Cherokee Lane. He was born on his father's ranch about six miles north of Stockton on April 29, 1892, a son of Frank and Cora (Ralph) Post.

Grandfather William H. Post was born at South- hampton, L. I., on March 18, 1821, and at the age of nineteen shipped before the mast on the whaling vessel Nimrod, bound for the Indian Ocean. The vessel was filled with oil within thirteen months and then returned to port at Sag Harbor, L. I .; his next voyage was on the bark Gem and the lad was given the position of boat steerer, and this trip covered a period of eleven months and they returned with 3,200 barrels of oil; his third voyage was on the ship Illi- nois, sailing from Sag Harbor to the Siberian Coast, being out eighteen months and returning with 3,000 barrels of oil; his next voyage was on the same ship as second officer, bound for the same place and the ship returned with about 2,500 barrels of oil. Upon his return to Long Island he heard of the discovery of gold in California. He helped organize a com- pany and they bought the Sabina, a full-rigged ves- sel, and with a few passengers, set sail from Sag Harbor on February 9. After being out three days they encountered a severe storm, which damaged their ship, but by skillful management the vessel was brought safely through, and they made such repairs as they could arriving at St. Catherine, on the coast of South America, where they stopped and gave the ship a general overhauling and on August 9, 1849. reached San Francisco. The company which they

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had formed was a joint stock company and it was agreed that all were to stay together and work for the interests of the company. They had a large stock of provisions, which they intended to sell. During the three days they stopped in San Francisco they had trouble in keeping the crew together; finally they procured a pilot and sailed up the bay to the mouth of the San Joaquin River. Theirs was the first three-master that, up to that time, had come up so far. While opposite the fort of Benicia they were fired upon and compelled to lay to; some of the goods were taken to Sacramento in small boats, with most of the crew, leaving a few behind to look after the ship. At Sacramento they bought a six-mule team and went up to the mines. Grandfather Post was left behind on the banks of the river. One day he was taken violently ill and as the days went by and he did not improve, he finally took passage on a ship bound for the Sandwich Islands, where he completely recovered. From the islands he took the position of officer on the ship Deucalion, bound for Australia. After being loaded with her cargo, she sailed for

San Francisco. Grandfather Post only made one voyage after that. In March, 1850, he started for the mines where he spent about a year and a half. In 1853 he settled on the ranch, containing 300 acres, situated on the Cherokee Lane Road, where he re- sided until his death. The ranch then passed to his two sons, Fred Post and Frank Post, the latter being the father of our subject.

The maternal grandfather, C. R. Ralph, was born and reared in Vermont and at the age of seventeen went to live in Michigan, residing there until he was of age. In 1849 he arrived in California with his family and engaged in farming, stockraising and trading until 1856, when he returned to Michigan with his family on a visit. After spending a short time in Michigan they came back to California by the overland route and settled in San Joaquin County, where he followed farming until he was elected to the position of county assessor, which he filled for two terms to the entire satisfaction of the public. He passed away September 17, 1882.

Frank Post was married in 1889 and there were four children in the family: Constance, Ansel Wil- liam, the subject of this sketch, Ralph resides at Lodi, and Warren, deceased. The father passed away in 1899 and the mother still resides on a portion of the old Post place. The father was a member of the Knights of Pythias of Stockton.

Ansel William Post attended the Live Oak, Stock- ton and Lodi grammar schools. After his father's death in May, 1899, the family moved to Stockton, where they remained for three years, then returned to the home ranch where the mother had built a house on the 150 acres, her portion of the old Post ranch. After her husband's death, she sold seventy- five acres and then divided the remaining seventy-five into three parts, the mother keeping the twenty-five acres with the house, buildings and bearing twelve- year old vineyard and she gave her son Ralph twenty- five acres and our subject twenty-five acres. Both brothers have developed their property with irrigat- ing plants and have planted a portion of their land to vineyard. Ralph Post married Jean Villinger and they have a daughter Isabel; he is a member of the Masonic Lodge of Lodi and both brothers are Re- publicans.

JOHN CLEMENS GERLACH .- For many years prominent in the affairs of San Joaquin County, since reaching manhood's estate John Clemens Ger- lach has been an extensive rancher, and in his line of industry has made a great success. The com- munity in which he resides has also in other ways felt the impress of his influence and energy, and his public-spirited enterprise and excellent citizenship are to be accounted among the valuable civic assets of the county. He is a native of New York City, born on November 20, 1853, a son of Conrad W. and Mary (Krouse) Gerlach, the former born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, the latter also a native of that country. Conrad W. Gerlach emi- grated to America in 1849, landing in New York, where he made his home for a number of years, following the machinist's trade. In 1865 he came to California and was employed for a short time as a machinist in San Francisco, but in the fall of 1867 came to San Joaquin County and settled on Lone Tree Creek, and engaged in farming pursuits. He made the trip to California via Panama, and through his years of residence in San Joaquin County was known as an active, energetic and honorable farmer. His political support was given to the Republican party, and in religious faith he was a Lutheran. Of the children of this worthy pioneer couple, three are yet living: Daniel H. resides in San Joaquin County; John C. is the subject of this sketch; and Eliza is the wife of Theodore Henkey, also a San Joaquin County farmer. The father passed away on July 22, 1903, and the mother is also deceased.

John C. Gerlach spent the first twelve years of his life in New York City, and then came with his par- ents to the Pacific Coast, arriving in San Francisco in 1865, and since the fall of 1867 has resided in San Joaquin County. He was reared to manhood on his father's farm and in the practical school of experi- ence learned many valuable lessons. In his youth he became familiar with all the duties of the farm, and in 1891 he settled upon the farm which is now his home, located on the Lincoln Highway, twelve miles south of Stockton. It is located near the Mossdale school house, the land being donated by Mr. Gerlach to the district for the erection of the school building. It is a valuable tract of land, com- prising 504 acres, upon which is a beautiful country house and good outbuildings, modernly equipped.

On October 22, 1890, Mr. Gerlach was united in marriage with Miss Augusta F. Zeppernick, a native of Germany, and a daughter of Peter and Mary Zeppernick, also natives of that country, both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Gerlach were blessed with five children: Edward C. is married and has one child and is the manager of the Gerlach ranch; Elsie, Ruby, Ella and Selma. Mrs. Gerlach passed away in May, 1916. In politics Mr. Gerlach is a Republi- can and he has always been a champion of the move- ments and measures which have for their object the welfare of the county. For many years he served as a trustee of the Mossdale school district and was also a trustee of the Reclamation district No. 17 of San Joaquin County. He is classed among the enter- prising, progressive and influential citizens of San Joaquin County, and in his locality he is well known, commanding confidence and respect by reason of his reliability in business, his loyalty in citizenship and his trustworthiness in private life.

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John & Gerlach.

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PHILIP FABIAN .- During the entire period of his residence in California, covering an eventful epoch of only a little less than forty years, the late Philip Fabian made his home in San Joaquin County, where he occupied positions of increasing import- ance in civic, industrial and financial circles. To the enthusiastic, progressive efforts of such citizens as he may be attributed the encouraging develop- ment of the city of Tracy and the surrounding coun- try, whose resources he was instrumental in pro- moting and whose future he was solicitous to build upon the substantial foundations of a successful past.

Of German birth, Philip Fabian was born in Zem- pleberg on February 17, 1843, and received his elementary education in his native land. Being a thoughtful lad, the oppression of the military powers of his own country weighed heavily upon him; his ideals of government not being that of burdensome military duty, but freedom to live one's life according to his desire, and he soon became desirous of satis- fying his ambition to leave his native country and seek his fortune in America. He embarked for America early in 1861, coming to California via the Isthmus of Panama, and located in Jackson, Amador County, making his way overland from San Fran- cisco carrying his pack containing his entire posses- sions. Very soon after his arrival in Jackson, Mr. Fabian found employment as clerk in the gen- eral merchandise store of Levinsky Bros., where he worked for two years. About 1863, in partnership with L. Levinsky, a general merchandise store was opened at Woodbridge where six successful years were spent, following which he settled in the West Side section of San Joaquin County and established the first general merchandise store of that locality in Ellis, about two miles from the present site of the city of Tracy. In 1876, the village of Ellis con- tained two stores, one blacksmith shop, five saloons, a school building and a town hall. Upon the com- pletion of the railroad from Richmond to Los Banos, the town of Tracy became an important junction and early in the year of 1877 Mr. Fabian moved his store building from Ellis and before the close of that year all the buildings had been moved to Tracy, most of the hauling being done by the late William Brock-

man. From that time forward, Philip Fabian be- came an active factor in all the improvements and developments of the town and surrounding country; ' being 'aware of the wonderful possibilities of this section, he made investments in land, choosing them with care and adjacent to the town he had selected for his permanent home. During those earlier days in the history of that section, there were no banks except in the larger centers, so Mr. Fabian came to the rescue of the farmers and saw them through any financial depression on account of failure of crops, the same as would a banking institution, thus his influence for the upbuilding of the community was felt throughout the county. Mr. Fabian so managed his affairs that during his entire business career, there was never a lien or a mortgage filed against any of his property. The large mercantile business conducted under the firm name continued until the death of L. Levinsky, associate partner, whose interest was purchased by A. Grunauer and L. Kroner, and the business was incorporated under the name of The Fabian, Grunauer Company. In 1889, Mr. Fabian removed to San Francisco and opened an office from which he transacted his vast

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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 87

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