History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches, Part 34

Author: Morrison, Annie L. Stringfellow, 1860-; Haydon, John H., 1837-
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1070

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About 1890, he set up in the butcher business in Salinas. He chose the design of a window sash for his brand; and under this unique symbol his cattle became famous. His place was known as the old Smith Ranch, because it had been bought from a man named Smith. In 1904 he leased out the ranch, and sold the stock; and two years later he sold the ranch. In 1904, also, he located in Paso Robles and engaged in the livery and feed stable business. He built a large stable on Pine street between Thirteenth and Fourteenth, and remained proprietor of the establishment until 1911, when he sold the investment.

Since then he has been in the cattle business as raiser, dealer and shipper, in partnership with H. S. Cahill; and together they leased the Sargent Ranch at Bradley, in Monterey county, conducting the same under the name of Taylor & Cahill. This ranch comprises fifteen thousand acres on the Salinas river ; and in order to secure sufficient stock for their range, they brought cattle from other parts of the county when drought or other conditions enabled them to buy to advantage. From Mexico, for example, they brought train load after train load, some trains containing fifty or more cars; and when they had fattened the cattle on the range, they sold them in the mar- kets of San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 1915. they brought a train load of cattle from Nevada, and again two shipments from that state in 1916.

Mr. Taylor has owned various properties in Paso Robles, but most of these he has finally disposed of. Several years ago he was one of the organ- Lers of the Paso Robles Pharmacy, and the company erected a building for their drug store: later they sold the business and in 1917 disposed of Up onilding. He was a member of the board of trustees, for one term, of The city of Paso Robles, and previously served as a school trustee in Slack's GammeHe was a prime mover in building the Athletic Park in Paso Robles, wbob old- much to the attraction of the town. With three others, he laid wat lhre gr hunds, built the grand stand and graded the diamond; and when the park boas Opened in 1911, as one of the finest in the state, it was dedicated wobecgenuine "Wild West" show, of which he was master of ceremonies. Afres barberne, for which half a dozen giant steers were slaughtered, added

Alder BShome

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to the popularity of the occasion and completed the success. Four years later, when Mr. Taylor desired to retire from the management, the Chamber of Commerce was glad to assume responsibility for the pleasure grounds.

In the old mission town of San Luis Obispo, March 8, 1895, Hiram Tay- lor was married to Miss Alicia May Azbell, who was born at San Emidio, Kern county. She was a daughter of Newton Azbell, a pioneer of California who crossed the plains with his parents in 1850. Grandfather Azbell died of cholera en route, and his widow brought the family through to California. Newton Azbell was married at Cambria to Eliza Davis, a native of Oregon, a daughter of George and Alicia (Sumner) Davis, who are represented else- where in this work. Newton Azbell was a pioneer farmer in San Luis Obispo and later in Monterey county. He died in July, 1903, and his wife, November 11, 1912. Mrs. Taylor was educated in the public schools of Indian Valley and at San Miguel. Two children, Grace Helen and Carl Hiram, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, and have contributed to the proud parents' popu- larity both in the town with which he has been so long identified, and in the inner circles of the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, of which he is an honored and valued member.

ALDEN BRADFORD SPOONER .- The sterling personal character- istics, accompanied by unquestioned executive ability, which have placed Alden Bradford Spooner among the foremost citizens of San Luis Obispo County, have been correspondingly exemplified in a worthy and enviable ancestry, variously represented among the history-makers of the world. He was born in Lorain, O., September 9, 1851, a son of Alden Bradford Spooner, Sr., who was a native of Maine, having been born at Bangor on June 6, 1824.

The elder Spooner attended school but a short time, and at the age of fourteen joined the U. S. Navy and sailed around the globe in the old ship "Constitution," taking three and one half years to make the trip. Upon his return to the home port, he left the salt water and sailed the Great Lakes ; and while engaged there, on July 11, 1848, he was united in marriage with Roxanna Gilmore, who was born in the town of Lorain, November 29, 1831. She came from a distinguished family. Her oldest brother, Gen. Quincy A. Gilmore, for example, a teacher at West Point, published a book on cement that is today a standard work. He also constructed the first rifled cannon invented, called the "Swamp Angel," which could carry a shell seven miles. Mrs. Spooner died December 19, 1898, at an advanced age, and was mourned by her family and a wide circle of friends who esteemed her for her fine character and her kindly acts.

After his marriage, Mr. Spooner left the sea and started business for himself at rigging up vessels. He also began, at Lorain, Ohio, to study for the ministry of the Methodist Church. After his ordination he came West and landed in San Francisco, where he remained but a short time, after which he was sent to Crescent City, Del Norte county, where he preached the Gospel for a time. From there he went to Portland, Oregon, and thence to Oregon City, once more returning to Crescent City in California. His next charge was at Rohnerville, Humboldt county. From there he came south to Chico, Butte county, and one year later, on account of the ill health of his youngest daughter, who was suffering with malaria, he came to San Luis Obispo County. He was the first preacher sent by the Methodist Conference to preach in this county, and held services in Cambria and in Arroyo Grande

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

for two years. He had pre-empted land on Toro creek, and here he began development to make a home for his family. During the rest of his life he was a local preacher.

He also assisted in piloting vessels into Morro Bay, and it was while he was thus engaged that he lost his life. He had gone out to meet a vessel, the "Mary Taylor," when a big swell upset the small boat he was in and he was drowned, February 5, 1877. His death was a severe loss to the family and to the county, where he had made his influence felt for the advancement of gen- eral conditions. He was a charter member of Chorro Lodge, No. 168, 1. O. O. F., which he assisted in organizing. He and his wife had seven children born to them, five of whom are now living. The oldest daughter, Roxanna, died at the age of five years in Ohio; Alden B., Jr., of this review, was the next in order of birth; Nettie is the wife of James Jordan ; David R. lives in San Jose : Elizabeth married Capt. John Ross of San Francisco; Cornelius G. is of Morro; and Edmund L. died July 17, 1908, leaving three childreni. From the date of his arrival in California in 1858 until the time of his death in 1877. Reverend Spooner was one of the best-known citizens of the coast section. He was unselfish in his zeal to help mankind and counted no journey too long to visit and comfort the afflicted.

Alden B. Spooner, Jr., a worthy son of his father, was brought to Cali- fornia by his parents when a lad of seven, and he attended the public schools in the various places where the family lived during the years his father preached the Gospel under direction of the Conference. In 1868 he accompanied them to San Luis Obispo County and attended the first public school held in the county, in a log house built on San Simeon creek. At the age of nineteen, his school days over, he rented his father's ranch on Toro creek and for the following two years was engaged in farming.

From the ranch, he went to San Francisco, where he hired out to A. H. Rockwell, the celebrated horse trainer of New York, and traveled over the state with him, after which he was engaged with Rockwell & Hulbert to go to Portland, Oregon. He boarded the steamer "Pacific," but could not agree on the salary he was to receive, and went ashore. It seemed that some kind Providence had intervened to save the young man, for on the trip the steamer was sunk with all on board. Mr. Spooner went into the livery business in San Francisco on Mission street, near the Palace Hotel, remained a short time, and then sold out and came back to San Luis Obispo County and took up farming near Morro, which he followed for several years with success. While he was living in that section he served six years as road master, his term expiring in 1892.

It was at that date that he leased sixty-five hundred acres of the Pecho ranch, facing the ocean, and engaged in dairying and raising stock. So successful was he that in 1902 he was able to buy the land ; and he has added on from time to time until he now owns eight thousand acres, with six miles of ocean frontage, which he operates with the aid of his three sons under the name of the Pecho Ranch and Stock Co., an incorporation with himself as president, Alden B., Jr., vice-president, and Quincy G., secretary. For the Pel twenty five years Mr. Spooner has been raising, buying, selling and dealing in stock, running about five hundred head of cattle and large num- bers of hogs. He began on a small scale, about fifteen years ago, to breed up to a high standard of Holsteins, and now has some of the finest cattle to be seen in the county. Where he has led, others have followed, and the

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grade of stock has been improving for years. He has been a horse fancier and has raised some fine animals during the past years. The dairy house on the ranch is modern in equipment, the machinery is operated by steam power, and the most sanitary methods are in use. The building is of concrete and the dairy includes about fifty high-grade Holstein cows. The two silos on the place have demonstrated their worth and have a capacity of one hundred eighty tons each. The ranch is nicely located in a cove where it is pro- tected from the winds off the ocean ; and buildings and surroundings are kept in fine shape.

Since becoming a permanent resident of San Luis Obispo County, Mr. Spooner has entered into the spirit of progress of the western country, has witnessed the development of the Pacific Coast country from Portland to San Diego, and has often had a part in the upward trend. He is a Re- publican in polities, a friend of education and a believer in a high standard of schools, and served as trustee of Morro district and as clerk of the board for years. He is a charter member of Cayucos Lodge, I. O. O. F., and has passed all the chairs.

Mr. Spooner was united in marriage, April 18, 1881, with Miss Mary Florence White, a native daughter ; and they became parents of three sons : Quincy Gilmore, Carleton Ross, and Alden Bradford, Jr. Mrs. Spooner died in February, 1898, mourned by all who knew her. Mr. Spooner is a man of broad education, is an intelligent traveler, and is familiar with the state his- tory, in which he is much interested. He has been a liberal supporter of all movements for the benefit of the people and state, and is known as a man whose word is as good as his bond.

FRED WICKENDEN,-One of the oldest men now living in the Santa Maria valley, both in point of years and in length of residence in this section of the state, is Fred Wiekenden of Foxen canon in the vicinity of Los Ala- mos. He was born at Portsmouth, England. November 18, 1825, and was reared at Chichester, where he received his schooling, after which he was offered a position as a draughtsman to assist in building the first South American railway running from Lima to Callao, Peru. He was also offered a position as secretary to one of the captains of a sailing vessel that was going on an exploring expedition with Sir John Franklin-which expedition later came to grief when the vessels were wrecked. After considering both propositions, Mr. Wickenden decided that he did not have the qualifications to hold the latter position, and so went to Pern. He left England, March 17, 1850, arrived at Gorgona in due time, then took a canoe up the Chagres river as far as they could go and from there rode on the back of a native to Panama. On reaching his destination he entered into the work with zest, and was made manager with five hundred men under him. For a time he em- ployed an interpreter, but after a few months he could speak Spanish as well as the natives, and thereafter dispensed with his services.

When, at the end of two years, the road was completed, Mr. Wickenden left Peru for California, induced to make the trip on account of the gold excitement that had spread to all parts of the world ; and he arrived in this state in 1852.

On his arrival in San Francisco, he went at once to the mines along the Yuba river, but stayed only a short time, as the heavy rains had caused

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foods that washed out the slice boxes, thereby rendering mining impossible. Ile therefore found himself once more in San Francisco, and some time later he came down to San Luis Obispo County, where he engaged in the sheep business.

It was while at that place that he became acquainted with William Foxen, also an Englishman, who had settled in Santa Barbara county at an early date and was engaged in raising stock, and after whom Foxen canon was named. Mr. Wickenden became interested in one of Mr. Foxen's daughters, Ramona, and on July 16, 1860. they were married. at the old mission at San Luis Obispo. It was her father, known after he had embraced the Catholic religion as William Domingo, who came to California as master of a sailing vessel, and left his ship when he saw opportunities for trading with the natives. Building a sailing boat known as the "Goleta," at a place that now bears that name in Santa Barbara county, he did a coastwise business from San Diego to San Francisco, buying and exchanging goods for hides and tallow, which were stored until the ships from across the ocean called for them. Soon after his arrival, he married Señorita Eduarda Osuna, whose grandmother came from the city of that name in Spain. Mr. Foxen estab- lished a general merchandise store on the rancho he had come to own. con- sisting of some eight thousand acres. He began the stock business, and in time his herds numbered thousands, and he became a wealthy man for his day. At the time of his death he left each of his children over eight hundred acres of land as their share of the estate. More complete mention of him is made in the sketch of T. F. Foxen on another page of this work.

In 1862 Fred Wickenden and his wife became residents of Santa Barbara county ; and since that time he has carried on an extensive stock-raising busi- ness with good financial success. Residing in Foxen canon all these years, he has grown to be one of the best-known men in this part of the state. To Mr. and Mrs. Wickenden nine children were born. W. F. Wickenden, who died in 1915 at the age of fifty-four, was the oldest. He was engaged in the grocery business in San Luis Obispo, until his retirement to private life. He married Maggie Sauer, and with her six children she survives him at San Luis Obispo. The second son, James D., died in 1899, aged thirty-five. Albert P. married Emma Castro, and has four children. He is now president of the Wickenden Corporation, and resides in Los Alamos. Sarah married John f. Conway, a realty dealer of San Francisco and Santa Maria. They have four children and dwell in San Francisco. Ernest Wickenden is next in order of birth, and lives on part of the Wickenden ranch with his wife, for- merly Josie Carteri, and their two children. Ida married P. A. H. Arata of San Luis Obispo, and died in 1899, leaving two children. Robert A. is connected with the C. H. Reed Company of San Luis Obispo. He married Ida Merritt of Santa Maria. Nellie is the wife of Howard Dill, who is con- nected with a large printing establishment in San Francisco, and she is the mother of six children. The ninth, and youngest, is John R., superintendent of the ranch, where he resides with his wife, formerly Flora Kriegel, and their two children.

Fred Wickenden is now (1917) in his ninety-second year and is seem- maly hale and hearty, and as active physically and mentally as many men wr sixty and less. He and his good wife, now in her seventy-eighth year, Www in peace and contentment at their okl home place, honored and re-

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spected by all who know them. Mr. Wickenden was one of the prime movers in organizing the Wickenden Corporation, that now owns some five thousand acres of land devoted to the stock business, and has from four hundred to six hundred head of stock all the time. One thousand acres are under the plow, and large crops of beans, hay and grain each year make up much of the harvest.

In 1917 the corporation sold to the Associated Oil Company the oil rights on twenty-three hundred seventy-five acres tributary to the Los Alamos valley, and there is now one producing well and others in contemplation. Half the purchase price was paid in cash, and the balance is payable when oil is struck in such quantities as will warrant the transformation of the property into an immense oil field. The officers of the Wickenden Corpo- ration are Albert P., president ; Robert .A., secretary and treasurer ; Fred, vice-president : John R., superintendent. The directors are Albert P., Robert .A., John R., Fred, the father, and Ramona, the mother.

MR. AND MRS. JOHN E. CHILDS. Though a considerable period has elapsed since the death of John E. Childs, he is not forgotten by those with whom the last years of his busy life were passed. Of English ancestry, he was born either on the plantation outside of Rockville, Montgomery county, Md., or in the mountains of Allegany county. His father was Enos Childs, born in England, April 7, 1794, and a captain in the navy in the War of 1812. He married Eleanor Virginia Goss in Charleston, S. C., De- cember 14, 1819. She was born on July 6, 1804, a daughter of Captain Goss, a native of Vermont, and Jane van Ryerson, a native of New Jersey, who ran away from home, and was married in New York. This so enraged her father that he disinherited her, cutting her off with one shilling. The father of Enos Childs was William Childs. He was married in 1781 and died in August. 1818; and his wife died the following year in the month of May. William Childs lived on a plantation near Rockville, one hundred twenty acres of which later became the property of his son Enos. Enos Childs died in Baltimore, November 23, 1852. Eleanor, his wife, died in 1865, in George- town, D. C.

The progenitor of the name in the United States was Henry Child, as the name was then spelled. He and his wife, Jamima, lived at Portland Manor, on property known as Wickham and Pottenger's discovery, part of which was willed to their son William Childs. There Henry died. Decem- ber 12, 1767, and his wife in 1784, in Anne Arundel county, Maryland. The maternal ancestors of John E. Childs were of German and Holland Dutch extraction. Enos Childs was a large planter in Maryland and at one time was the owner of over five hundred slaves. kach of his children had a per- sonal servant.

John E. Childs was educated in Baltimore, came across the plains in 1850, when a young man, with Colonel Hollister and twenty men, and on his arrival here located near San Jose, and worked in the New Almaden quicksilver mines, later becoming superintendent. In 1862 he was sent to San Luis Obispo county by the owners of the Josephine mine, Barron and Bell, to take charge of that mine, and he carried on operations until they closed down three years later. lle then engaged in farming near Chorro for a time, and also, in partnership with Samuel Pollard, operated a fouring mill there, this being one of the first mills in the county. He was active in politics and served one

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term as oninty tax collector. When John E. Childs left Maryland, he deeded to his mother his share of the property there, so she would not be denied the comforts of life while she lived.

On October 18, 1864, occurred the marriage of John E. Childs with Miss Refugio Esquer, who was born in Monterey, January 29, 1844, a daughter of Enos Esquer, a representative of the old Spanish régime in California, who served as judge under both Mexican and American rule. Her mother. Josefa Pico, was a daughter of Presentacion (Ruiz) Pico, and granddaughter of Maria Ignacio Lugo, who married Jose Ruiz She was also a niece of Pio Pico, the last governor of California under Mexican rule, and an aunt of Gen. M. J. Vallejo. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Childs were born these children : Mrs. Richard Leland, Harry P., John W., Charlotta B. and Mrs. E. R. Frazier, all of San Luis Obispo. During his lifetime Mr. Childs was very public-spirited and supported all worthy projects. His widow, a talented lady, has her residence in San Luis Obispo.

CHARLES O. KING .- From the time when he settled in San Luis Obispo County, in 1877, until his death, which occurred February 4, 1916. Mr. King was associated with the development and progress of the coast country. He was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., February 5, 1847, a son of Charles M. and Frances ( Briggs) King. The father came to California in 1860, via the Isthmus of Panama, and engaged in mining at Placerville and later in Alpine county.

Charles O. King lived in Placerville, Eldorado county, Cal., until he was twenty years of age. Mining was the leading industry of that section, and after leaving school he took up that enterprise, working in the mines in Virginia City, Nev., and Alpine county with varied success until 1877, when he came to San Luis Obispo County. He found employment in the onyx mines here, working for George Mock for a number of years. He began his public-service career as chief office deputy under A. M. Hardie, county as- sessor, filling that position for seven years, after which he became manager for four years of the San Luis Abstract & Title Bureau. In 1892 he was elected county assessor and served continuously for twelve years. In 1910. he moved to Palo Alto and the following year was appointed corporation expert in the office of the late L. A. Spitzer, who was assessor of Santa Clara county. He was re-appointed by C. Y. Pitman, who succeeded Mr. Spitzer. and held the position until his death, in 1916. His thorough knowledge of the building and loan business made Mr. King an invaluable member of the committee on rehabilitation of the Palo Alto Building and Loan Association. He was considered to be the best-posted man on the land laws in the state, was an expert on taxation and land values, and well known all over Cali- Tornia. Ile was an Odd Fellow from the age of twenty-one, a member of the Foresters and formerly of the Elks.

In 1873 Mr. King was united in marriage with Mrs. Emma A. (Smith ) Milar in. Her father, Edwin H. Smith, a native of Massachusetts, crossed Me pluns with ox teams in 1850, mined for a time and then returned to the last ad with his wife and four children he came back to California, across the plans, 1 1852, settling in Placerville, where he mined. Then he came to Sattar obispo county and engaged in farming. Ile was best known in this money through his association with the Methodist Church, and was a gen-

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To Mr. and Mrs. King were born several children : Harlan C. is a call- tractor in Palo Alto; Mabel L. is a teacher in Berkeley : Preston Wallace is a civil engineer in San Francisco; and Alfred T. is an orchardist in Santa Clara county. By her first marriage with Mr. McFarlin, Mrs. King had a daughter, Mrs. Minnie J., wife of H. M. Root of San Luis Obispo. The fol- lowing are the grandchildren : Guy, Earl and Lenore, children of Harlan C. : John Bennett, son of Preston W., and Mrs. Emma C. Logwood, and Edna 1 .. daughters of Mrs. Minnie J. Root.

No name in San Luis Obispo and environs commanded more hearty respect than the name of Charles O. King, whose honesty and square dealing were widely known and appreciated ; and his loss was more keenly felt in San Luis Obispo than in any other place, for it was here that he had endeared himself to his constituents and friends, who were legion.

JERRY DONOVAN .- No small place in the story of our country's progress must be accorded to the history of the Irish in America, to which the life story of Jerry Donovan, the extensive landowner near Santa Maria. would prove an important contribution. He first saw the light of day at Skibbereen, County Cork, but is such an early settler of the Santa Maria Valley that he might well be called a California pioneer. When about nine- teen years of age he came to America, and soon after reached Watson- ville, where he worked by the month on a farm, milking cows. lle next started for himself in the dairy business, in a small way, his idea being to get hold of some land: and this led him to invest in a hundred eighty acres, which he still owns and which he at once devoted to the purposes of a dairy farm.

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History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches, Part 34

Author: Morrison, Annie L. Stringfellow, 1860-; Haydon, John H., 1837- Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company Number of Pages: 1070

Author: Morrison, Annie L. Stringfellow, 1860-; Haydon, John H., 1837-
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company
Number of Pages: 1070