USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches > Part 102
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Mr. Hansen was united in marriage with Mrs Laurchce Herd-16 Christiansen-of Danish parentage, a native of Schleswig-Holsten Bis hed first husband, two children were born ; and after her umon with Mr Hansen they were given the Hansen name and have been reared as his own Annic
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is the wife of Lou Williams and has three children, their family residing in Cat cañon ; Mary married C. W. Dowell and resides at Arroyo Grande. Mr. Hansen has been a very public-spirited citizen, and has served as a school trustee for many years and is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican. In the fall of 1916 he bought a lot in Santa Maria and erected a modern bungalow home where he and his good wife reside in the enjoyment of the comforts of city life, and where they are surrounded by a wide circle of friends. They believe in the golden rule and are charitable towards those less fortunate than themselves.
SANTA MARIA FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY .- The nucleus of the pres- ent library was due to the efforts of the Minerva Literary Club, which had maintained a circulating library in Santa Maria for fourteen years prior to the organization of the present institution. The ladies of the club had carefully selected several hundred volumes during those years, and when the organiza- tion of a library was proposed, the members of the club were untiring in their efforts to make it a success. As soon as the library was assured, the club donated their books to start the collection.
The project was launched by Miss Bertha Kumle, who was sent from the State library to work up an interest in a library for Santa Maria; her efforts bore fruit, for besides the ladies of the Minerva Club, other prominent people, including L. E. Blochman, P. O. Tietzen, J. F. Goodwin, A. McNeil, W. A. Haslam, S. Fleisher and others, interested themselves in the project. Mr. and Mrs. Paul O. Tietzen, always among those who are ready to help build up the city, donated the half block of ground for the building site and fine lawn. Negotiations were begun with Andrew Carnegie for a $15,000 dona- tion, but word came back that the population would not warrant more than $10,000 for a building, which he gave after the usual preliminaries had been gone through with. The good people of the town wanted a better building and were going to have it, so they went down into their pockets for the bal- ance, and in a very short time, in 1908, the contract was let to Frank Darby, and the building costing $12,000 was ready for occupancy in 1909. In 1914 the city acquired the corner lot, which makes a lot about 300x200 feet for the library site.
In order to get the donation from Mr. Carnegie, the city entered into an agreement to provide a sum of one-tenth of his donation each year for the upkeep of the library. The amount appropriated by the city annually, there- fore, is $1,200. The following board of trustees was appointed by the city council : A. McNeil, J. F. Goodwin, L. E. Blochman, S. Fleisher, W. A. Has- lam. Mrs. Minnie Stearns was employed as librarian, and she still holds the position, giving evidence of her administrative ability by the modern methods introduced from time to time. There are 3,500 volumes on the shelves, and additions are made year by year. The library is well patronized by the people of the city. The present board consists of .\. McNeil, J. F. Goodwin, W. A. llaslam, A. R. Jones, and M. A. Kerr.
The library is now a branch of the Santa Barbara County Free Library, with six hundred volumes additional added to the collection of books by mutual arrangement, which gives satisfaction to all the patrons. The Santa Maria Library compares favorably with libraries in other cities of the same size, and even larger than Santa Maria, and with its well-kept grounds it adds very materially to the city's attractiveness.
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MARK H. WHITNEY .- To live in the midst of the unequaled fertility of the Santa Maria valley, is to have a broad outlook, and to aspire to great things. Here as elsewhere there are specialties in agriculture, and he who can so marshal his forces as to excel in the production of any desired com- modity may be sure of an extended appreciation and an income commensurate with the extent of his operations. Mark II. Whitney has fifty-two acres which he cultivates to beans and grain, having besides a half interest in a threshing outfit, with Joseph Lopez for a partner, and tries to operate both just a little better than anyone else.
A native son, Mr. Whitney was born in Biggs, Butte county, May 20, 1886, a son of Mark and Elizabeth (Haas) Whitney. The father was born in Litchfield, Mich., moved West when a boy, settling in Nevada, and later became a stockman there, also following that vocation after settling in Butte county. He married in 1884, in Winnemucca, Nev., brought his wife to California, and after three and one-half years spent in Butte county, as a stock-raiser, became the manager of a grain warehouse located on the Sac- ramento river at Butte City, in Glenn county, and for eleven years held that position, coming to Santa Maria in 1899. He died in 1905 at the age of fifty- one. Mrs. Whitney is a daughter of Holgate and Ellen (Lee) Haas, born in Chestnut Hill, Penn., and was seven years old when her parents settled in Nevada in 1871, where she was reared and educated.
The only child of his parents, Mark H. Whitney attended the grammar schools, and early began working on the farm; and after the death of his father he took charge of the home place, and has continued to sucessfully raise grain and stock. With his partner, Mr. Lopez, Mr. Whitney derives a considerable income, during the season, from threshing. The outfit consists of a Case separator, with a 32-in. grain cylinder and a 40-in. bean cylinder, a 60 h. p. Russell engine, fourteen wagons, fifty-two men, thirty-four horses, two autos, and a cookhouse. The grain season lasts about sixty days and the bean season about thirty days.
Mr. Whitney is a self-made man, highly esteemed for his devotion to principle. He is a Mason, a member and past master of Hesperian Lodge No. 264, F. & A. M., and he also belongs to Fidelity Chapter No. 96, Royal Arch Masons. He has a host of friends and is recognized as a public-spirited citizen. He makes his home with his mother, who is a member of the Methodist Church and active in the Ladies' Aid. in which she has been an officer.
JOHN ROBERT EARL .- The record crop of small white beans grown on the Suey ranch in 1916 is credited to John Robert Farl. It excelled that of all other tenants, bringing him, together with his crop of barley, a tidy sum Mr. Earl comes from the well-known Fark family and is a son of Robert \\ and Nettie (Mattingly) Earl. He was born in Santa Maria valley on the Earl ranch, on August 20, 1889, of a family mentioned in the sketch of Robert W. Earl, on another page of this work. He attended the public sob of. and from the time when he was twelve years of age he was able to drive ? twelve-horse team and plow, thus assisting his Father on the home ranch until he was twenty-one.
Then he leased one hundred sixty acres of the Nicholson ranch and farmed for himself until 1913, at which time he rented three hundred seventy five acres of the Suey ranch, of which T. C. Asmus is superintendent. In lolo his yield of beans was 3.182 sacks from two hundred acres, sixteen sacks to the acre, forming the record production ; and 1,300 sacks brought him nine cents
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per pound. Mr. Earl has twenty head of work horses which he keeps busy the year around, and he himself is a hard and steady worker, knowing full well that it insures his success.
On October 29, 1916, Mr. Earl and Miss Belle French, a native of this valley, were united in marriage. She is a daughter of Charles French, who resides south of Orcutt, and is a well-known rancher of that part of the valley. Both Mr. and Mrs. Earl are popular throughout the valley, where their entire lives have been spent; and they have many friends, among whom they are social favorites. Mr. Earl is a member of Santa Maria Lodge No. 90, Knights of Pythias, and is a self-made man.
T. C. ASMUS .- With the sterling qualities for which the German nation is noted the world over, T. C. Asmus has worked his way forward to an encouraging degree of success by his close identity with the ranching inter- ests of the central coast counties, and especially in the Santa Maria valley, as superintendent of the Suey rancho owned by the Newhall Land & Farming Co. of San Francisco, consisting of George A. Newhall, president; W. Mayo Newhall, vice-president ; Almer W. Newhall, secretary. This ranch is located five miles northeast of Santa Maria, and contains 45,000 acres, part of which is leased on shares to tenants who are responsible and energetic, and who have been making a success of raising grain, hay and beans under the guid- ance of Mr. Asmus. There are thirteen tenants on the Suey ranch, and one tenant on the Todos Santos ranch of 11,000 acres near Casmalia, owned by the same corporation. Forty thousand acres of the Suey and 7,000 acres of the Todos Santos ranch are given over to grazing, and some of the finest beef cattle and hogs sent to the market come from these properties. The home ranch on the Suey has two hundred fifty acres under plow and employs from nine to thirteen men. The live stock on the rancho's . broad acres is of the highest grade, as noted by different packing companies of Los Angeles when they assert that the best bacon hogs they get on the Pacific Coast come from the Newhall Land & Farming Company of Santa Barbara county. The cattle are raised from Durham cows and Hereford bulls, which, in the estimation of the best cattle men on the Coast, yield better results than any other breeds.
The competent superintendent of these properties, T. C. Asmus, is a native of Germany, born January 21, 1863, in the Kingdom of Prussia, on a farm near the Harz mountains, and reared to the farm life. His father, Frederick Asmus, died during the war of 1870 and left his widow, Marie l'agedmeier Asmus, and their nine children, in fairly good circumstances. She is still living in Germany, and at the age of eighty-five is hale and hearty. iler father had charge of the government stage from Berlin to Halberstadt. As a boy T. C. Asmus attended the common schools and the Real Schule, a special kind of industrial high school, and matriculated at the agricultural school at Baderslaben, from which he graduated with honors. He next be- Pime an apprentice and served two years on a 4,000 acre farm to complete his fericultural studies. The first year he received no wages and besides had to my his own board. He became a Verwalter or agent on this same farm, which was named "Rittergut Hopenseen." By the time he was twenty-one, he entered the army, serving from 1884 to 1887. He began as a private and advanced to a member of the Lehr battalion of Potsdam, which was the Crown Prince's body guard, virtually the pick of the German army. Having done his military duty, he resigned from the army, after a two year's leave of absence, which he had spent in America.
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During the spring of 1888, Mr. Asmus landed at the rancho Corral de Piedra near Edna, in San Luis Obispo County, and for twenty two months worked as a farm hand in all branches of ranch work, finally becoming but- termaker in the E. W. Steele dairy. Ile then accepted a position as foreman on the Eagle ranch, and afterwards he took charge of the Nacimiento ranch and remained for eleven years. The San Joaquin valley next claimed Mr. Asmus as a resident when he became associated with Miller & Lux as superin tendent of the Santa Rita ranch, Miller's "home" ranch, at Mendota. We next find Mr. Asmus in the livery business in San Francisco, where he conducted a stable for five years and met with fair success.
Thereafter he accepted the position of superintendent with the Newhall Land and Farming Co., and since assuming his duties, he has made the ranch a dividend-payer. He collects the landlords' shares from the tenants, advises the latter how to till the soil to get the best results, insisting on deep plowing and at the proper time, and, while he is a dictator, gets results for the tenants and owners alike. He is a man of ideas and strong will power ; he does not "guess," he "knows" ; in fact, the yields of hay, barley and beans are greater on the hills of the Suey ranch than on the level valley lands south of the river. In 1916, one hundred acres yiekled 5,300 sacks of barley, one hun- dred eleven pounds each. Since he took charge of the affairs of the rancho more uniform results have been obtained than in former years. Ile keeps ac- curate books ; knows the chemical composition of the soil, germinating qual- ties of the seeds, temperature, rainfall ; and distills the essence of truth from statistics, and is guided accordingly.
In 1898, at San Miguel, Mr. Asmus married Miss Mattie Smith, daughter of Fred and Catherine Smith ; and they have two children, Rudolph and Mar- garet. Mrs. Asmus is a member of the Catholic Church, while he is a 1.11- theran. In politics he is independent. Ile is kind-hearted, generous to a fault, just, and, above all, square and prompt in dealing with his neighbors and fel- low men, no matter what their station.
JOHN HENRY REINKE .- \ pioneer of California in 1854, John Henry Reinke was born in Hanover, Germany, August 7, 1835. Ilis father, Dietrich Reinke, was a farmer there, who married Miss Schumacher, and brought his family to Cincinnati, O., in 1844, where the parents resided until their death. Of their four children, John Il. is the youngest ; and he received his elucation in the public schools of Cincinnati.
In 1854, John Henry Reinke came via the Nicaragua route to California. Landing in San Francisco on May 19, he went to Coloma, and thence to Yankee Jim, where he followed mining in the Sierras till 185 .. He then made his way to Indian creek, Del Norte county, and engaged in placer min- ing until 1862. From 1862 to 1865. he mined on the Klamath river. Vier wintering at Eureka, in the spring of 18 che went to Silver (my, Ela Hi- next venture was made in the Lembi valley, during the mming excitenicht there. For some years he followed mining and sawmilling on Idiles. Wash ington, Oregon, and Utah. One year he hunted budalo in Texas, and then mined for two years in Colorado, and for five years in Argona His health being shattered, from exposure in hydraulic mining, and in damming streams and bridging rivers, he was forced to quit the mines.
In 1886 he located in San Luis Obispo County and pre-empted one hun- dred sixty acres in the Oak l'lat district, with a view to taking up ranching lle cleared some of the land and set out an orchard of a variety of fruit 47
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trees ! And when these came into bearing, he sold to the families in Paso Robles Here he built a house and barns, and had a cozy little home and well-kept ranch.
On account of rheumatism, Mr. Reinke sold his farm in 1916, and bought a place on Olive and Twenty-first streets, in Paso Robles, where he makes his home. One of the few now remaining of the old type of California miners, he has been over a great portion of the West and is very familiar with the mining geology of the country.
FRED EARL .- A man who meets and looks his fellow men squarely in the face and parts with them on the square, as well as being a splendid type of manhood, who is successfully farming on the Suey ranch, is Fred Earl. He was born in the Santa Maria valley on the home ranch, November 20, 1883, into the family home of Robert W. and Nettie ( Mattingly) Earl, a more complete history of whom the reader may find in their sketch elsewhere in this volume. He went to the district school and was reared to farm pur- suits on the home place near Garey until he was twenty-one, and then he began for himself.
He is now in his fifth year as a tenant on the great Suey ranch, where he leases five hundred seventy-five acres of land, raising grain, hay and beans. Ile keeps twenty-five head of horses and from two to ten men busy all the time, and has been very successful.
In September. 1'04, Mr. Earl was united in marriage with Miss Nellie Orand, who was born in Kansas, a daughter of Gideon and Lydia (Grimes) Orand, who came to California when she was a child, so that in this state she received her education. Mr. and Mrs. Earl have had three children. Leo, Herbert and Harold, twins, the latter having died March 31, 1916, at the age of three years.
They are members of the Eastern Star and Mr. Earl is a member of Hesperian Lodge No. 264, F. & A. M .. and of Santa Maria Lodge No. 90, K. of P Since reaching his majority, Mr. Earl has steadily made his own way towards success and is giving his entire time and attention to building up his fortune and career. As a result, he is already counted one of the successful ranchers of the valley where he is so well and favorably known for his indus- try and strict integrity.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN NICHOLSON .- A well-to-do rancher. land- owner and successful grain and bean grower, as well as a man of hon- esty, industry and integrity. Abraham Lincoln Nicholson is a descendant of Revolutionary patriots and especially of Robert Livingston, one of the signers w the Declaration of Independence. He was born October 30, 1864, at Ossian, Winneshiek county, Iowa, a son of Powell and Caroline (Woodard) Nichol- son, both natives of Pennsylvania, where they were married, later going to lowa in the early days. The Nicholson family is of English ancestry, the progenitors settling in America in the early Colonial period, since which time niny have become distinguished citizens of this country. Robert Livingston hel ! blood relationship with the Nicholson family.
Educated in the public schools of lowa and reared on the farm until 1887, Mr. Nicholson then came to the Santa Maria valley, worked with his briller Ellis Nicholson, superintendent of the Sney ranch, for two years, and in 1889 started out for himself, leased land and in the fall of 1890 made his first purchase of one hundred sixty acres nine miles southeast of Santa Maria, to which he has added until he owns two hundred eighty acres there.
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His next buy was one hundred acres one mile east of Santa Maria, where he lives and which land now is worth $300 per acre. Mr. Nicholson has car- ried on general farming, raising stock, grain and beans, and has been very suc- cessful; and he has thus made a name and place for himself in the financial circles of Santa Barbara county.
In September, 1892, Mr. Nicholson was united in marriage with Miss Mary Snyder, who was born in Hollister, a daughter of John V. Snyder, a carpenter and builder. Both Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are now deceased. Mr. Nicholson is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
PHILIP SAMUELSON .- \ farmer and horticulturist who is also en- gaged in contracting and building, and has some of the modern residences in Paso Robles to his credit. Philip Samuelson first came to San Luis Obispo County in 1888. Ile was born in Dalehusby, Dalene, Sweden, on January 21, 1864, the son of Rev. Andreas Samuelson, a minister in the Baptist Church, who was an earnest and faithful preacher until his death. His wife, Carolina ( Pearson) Samuelson, is still living at the old home. Of their eleven chil- dren, nine are living, four of whom are in the United States, as follows: Mrs. Williams, of Santa Cruz ; Rev. Samuel E., a Baptist clergyman in Michi- gan : Joseph, who is engaged in the hotel business in Turlock ; and Philip, of this review.
Philip Samuelson was brought up, and received a good education, in his native place. When seventeen years of age, he began learning the cabinet- maker's trade, but soon decided to migrate to the land of the Stars and Stripes ; so in 1881 we find him in what is now Clay county, S. D., where he worked at farming and also at the carpenter's trade. As soon as he was twenty-one years of age, he homesteaded one hundred sixty acres in Faulk county, S. D., began improvements on the property, and farmed it for three years; but these all proved to be dry years, and he became so discouraged that he left it and came to San Luis Obispo County, Cal .. in 1888. He began working at his trade in Paso Robles; but finding work slack there, he went to San Francisco and Santa Cruz, and found employment in those cities until 1890, when he returned to Paso Robles.
At Linne. in 1891, Philip Samuelson was united in marriage with Miss Ahna Anderson, who was born in Westmanland, Sweden. Her father, An drew Anderson, was a watchmaker and jeweler, who brought his family to Nebraska in 1878, where he worked at his trade in Stromsberg. Later he migrated to Clearwater, Cal., and in 1887 came to San Luis Obispo County and bought 5,000 acres of Dunning & Dresser. He laid out this tract and sold about 2,000 acres, the rest going back to the original owners. The sale of the subdivision was accomplished in abont four years, the principal portion sold being in and about Linne. Afterwards he located at Compton, and later moved to Los Angeles, where he died in April, 1915. His wife was AnnaC. Pearsdatter who died eight months after her husband. Of their thirteen children, Mrs. Samuelson is the fourth in or ler of birth. She received her education in the public schools of Nebraska.
After his marriage. Mr. Samuelson engaged in farming for two years, when he removed to Los Angeles and for two years worked at his trade. He then homesteaded one hundred sixty acres at Manzanita P. O., Tehama county. Finding the location unsatisfactory, however, after two years he left it and moved to Oakland. After one year there, he went to Washington. where he engaged in contracting and building for seven years.
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In 1907, Mr. Samuelson returned to San Luis Obispo County and rented his present place of fifty acres east of Paso Robles, and soon afterwards pur- chased it. The land has been cleared, and a residence and barns have been built. There is a well twenty-four feet deep on the place, with an inexhausti- ble supply of water ; and a pumping plant has been installed for the irrigation of the alfalfa fields. The higher ground is set to almonds and pears.
During these years, Mr. Samuelson has been engaged in contracting and building. He has constructed many residences in Paso Robles and the country adjacent. In his building operations he is assisted by his oldest son, Ehner. The other children of the family are Florence, a graduate of Paso Robles High School, now attending the University of California ; Mildred, attending Paso Robles High School ; and Milton and Evelyn. Mrs. Samuelson is a member of the Baptist Church in Paso Robles. Mr. Samuelson was for six years a trustee of the Linne school district, until he resigned. Politicaly, he is a Socialist.
HANS NISSEN AAROE .- A young man who, by his energy and close application, is making a success of farming, Hans Nissen Aaroe is a native of California, born at Soledad, Monterey county, on June 10, 1890, the son of L. N. Aaroe, whose interesting life story appears elsewhere in this work.
Hans Nissen Aaroe was reared on the farm at Soledad, where he was educated in the public schools until he reached the age of sixteen years, when his parents removed to their farm near Paso Robles. Here he completed the grammar school courses, and then turned his attention to farming, as- sisting his father until he reached his majority, when, in partnership with John Hansen, he leased the Dresser ranch of 3,000 acres. They operated this property for a period of three years, when Mr. Aaroe bought his part- ner's interest in the stock and implements, and they dissolved partnership. HIe then leased the Louis Lauridsen ranch of seven hundred fifty acres, which he devotes to grain and to stock-raising, operating it with two ten-horse teams, and sowing about four hundred acres to wheat and barley each year.
The marriage of Mr. Aaroe occurred in San Luis Obispo, uniting him with Miss Annie Jespersen, a native of California, born in Bakersfield, Kern county, the daughter of John H. and Elisa (Lauger) Jespersen, who were born in Schleswig, Denmark. They came to California when they were young people, were married in San Luis Obispo, and engaged in farming. The father died at Pozo in 1907, while the mother is now farming in the Union district. Mr. and Mrs. Aaroe are the parents of one child, a little daughter, Gladys Janet.
Fraternally, Mr. Naroe is a member of the Woodmen of the World. In matters of religion, both he and his wife are of the Lutheran faith.
MRS. FRANCES E. LEWIS .- One of the old settlers of Paso Robles is Mrs. Frances E. Lewis, who was born at Brownsville, Ind., on July 11, 1836. She is the daughter of Jeremiah II. and Elizabeth (Locket) Wilson, natives of Virginia, who removed to Brownsville, Ind., where they were engaged in Omming. In 1841 they located in Davis county, la., where Mr. Wilson was a miller. Later he moved to Blackhawk, in the same vicinity, and there fol- lowed farming. Still later, he was a farmer at Hamburg, Ia. ; and here he Møl his wife died. Of their twelve children, Mrs. Lewis was the oldest. She Was raised on the farm, and was educated in the subscription schools held in (he rude pioneer log houses of those days.
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