History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches, Part 58

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

USA > California > San Luis Obispo County > History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches > Part 58

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The war over, Mr. Kirchner was honorably discharged, and returning home was engaged with Congressman .A. P. Edgerton for five years, receiving one dollar per day and his board. In the meantime he bought and cleared some land and later undertook farming for a time. He was employed at a allequent date by Captain Sutermeister in the stone and marble works at Fort Wayne. Fifteen years were spent as salesman for the A. D. Prentiff Hardware Company of Fort Wayne, and he served as a letter carrier in the que-toffice at Fort Wayne for five years, under Postmaster Kyle. After finish- me his work there, he was made caretaker of Cedar Park at Fort Wayne and Temnained in that position until he came to San Luis Obispo, in 1911. Mr. Kirchner came from a family of landscape gardeners, and he has worked at that trade occasionally. He always had employment from the time he left the army, and never was forced to be idle.

Mr. Kirchner was twice married. His first wife was Caroline Waisbrod, to whom he was married in Indiana, and by whom he had three children, William G., Mary E., and Mrs. Kate Hetcher, all living in Indiana. His sec- ond wife was Mary Spigal, a native of Indiana, by whom he had a son, Gustav L . who studied for the ministry in Fort Wayne and St. Louis colleges, and is How the popular pastor of the Lutheran Church in San Luis Obispo.

In the month of June, 1917. Gottlieb W. Kirchner passed to his reward ; and his burial took place in Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, Cal. Mr. Kirchner was a charter member of Fort Wayne Post, G. A. R., and later joined the Union Veteran League. He was a member of Fred Steele Post, No. 70. G. A. R., of San Luis Obispo.

ALONZO H. SEEBER .- Various industries engage the attention of the presidents of San Luis Obispo County, many of whom have been called to this part of the United States on account of advantages of climate and business possibilities. Among these citizens who have made their influence felt since Sving in their lot with the Golden State is Alonzo H. Seeber. He was born Jetar on county, New York. August 13, 1842, a son of William and Ann The a saber, loth natives of that state and farmers by occupation.

My sceber followed farming until he was seventeen years of age, attend- 00 's ball - hools as conditions permitted. He learned the trade of ruchitar ike Towir ille and Dexter, N. Y., and when the Civil War broke 00 0.il Anen-1 7, 1862, in Company I, Tenth New York Heavy Artil- tff Voy corjis, and served with valor until his discharge, June 25. nye under Colonel Place and General Burnside, in the Army Www for ile first eighteen months, doing guard duty in the line Wirngon, D. C., on the Maryland side. He was under fire erTh- at the siege of Petersburg, took part in the Battle Wind wood & pomy skirmishes, and had many narrow and thrilling wwwto doce Ccars of service.

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

Mr. Seeber had one brother, Nelson, who enlisted December 26, 18631 in Company I, Tenth New York Heavy AArtillery, and served until the close of the war; also three uncles, Frank, George H., and Walter Seeber, all also in Company I. George Il. died of disease in 1862, but the others came out unscathed. Two uncles on the maternal side, William P. Groat and Harrison Groat, were in the same company, Company I, Tenth New York Heavy Artillery ; and one uncle on the father's side, Robert R. Bell, was first lieutenant of the same company. All of these men lived to be old men.

.After the war was over, Mr. Seeber went back to his trade of carpenter at Dexter, N. Y., and later located in Philadelphia, that same state, where he engaged in contracting and building, erecting many fine dwellings. For a number of years he even did his own manufacturing of interior furnishings. Later he removed to Carthage, N. Y., and for six years was employed in a chair factory. At the end of that time, in 1911, he came to San Luis Obispo, C'al., where he has lived practically retired from active pursuits.

While a resident of New York state, January 1, 1866, Mr. Seeber married Miss Caroline Remore, a native New Yorker and daughter of Peter and Mercy (Lasher) Remore, both born and raised in the . Empire State. Iler father fought in the War of 1812, and was orderly to General Brown. He was in the battle of Sacket's Harbor, on Lake Ontario. Her grandfather Remore saw military service in the Revolutionary War. To Mr. and Mrs. Seeber two children were born. W. Fred, a rancher located near the tank farm, is mar ried and has three children, Gaylord R., Laurence F., and Doris M. \ daugh- ter, Anna Belle, married F. H. Cooper ; she died, leaving one son, Herbert ().

Mr. Seeber was a charter member of the Dexter. N. Y., Post, G. A. R .. and passed through the various offices therein. He is now a member of Fred Steele Post, No. 70, G. A. R., of San Luis Obispo. Hle and his wife always have been workers in the cause of temperance. Both Mr. and Mrs. Seeber have grown old gracefully, and have seen the bright as well as the dark side of life.

JESSE E. LEWIS .- The efficient superintendent of the county hospital of San Luis Obispo County, Jesse E. Lewis, has given many years of public service. From 1885 until 1896 he was superintendent of the institution of which he is now the head ; then he served for eight years as city treasurer of San Luis Obispo; and in 1909 he was again appointed superintendent 1 thu county hospital. His administration is marked by efficiency, and merits the commendation of the public regardless of party affiliations. He was born near Cedar Mountain in the vicinity of Salt Lake City, Utah, June 5, 1854. son of Jesse B. Lewis, a California pioneer of the early offics Ile father was a blacksmith, and followed his trade in San Bernardino until 1802. when he came to San Luis Obispo County and was employed by Dick Byer Later he leased the Pico ranch near San Simeon : and soon after, in 1863, he moved to Bakersfield.

Jesse E. Lewis lived near San Simeeg until 1864, and then in Morra, and attended the public schools of these places. In 1871 he began working ier J. H. Ilollister on the Chorro ranch, and for eleven years remained it this place. In 1883 he moved to San Luis Obispo, where he has since resided He engaged first in the livery business, and later in real estate and insurance For a time he was employed on the Tribune, then a weekly, conducted b Myron Angel and Charles Maxwell. He was then appointed to his present

HAS LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

1o Wow, od Hiring lits terms of service he has won a place for himself in the le os ou ffe wizens of the county by his efficient discharge of every duty

He morrow! ito one of the pioneer families of the county, his wife being Mia Palestin (-good, daughter of Henry M. Osgood, one of the pioneer rporders of the Arroyo Grande section and a jeweler in San Luis Obispo ber years They became the parents of two children, Elmer M., who married 10nes McCarran, and Jessie M., the wife of George Crawford, both residents of San Francisco.

Vr Lewis is prominent in fraternal circles, being a member of the Dodge. Chapter and Commandery in Masonry : a Past Grand of the local lodge of Odd Fellows ; a member, since 1877, of Park Lodge, No. 40, Knights of Pythias ; and a member of the B. P. O. Elks. He is public-spirited, and is a supporter of all movements that upbuild the county of his adoption and pro- mote the welfare of its citizens.

RICHARD H. DANA .- A descendant of one of the early families long famous for its great landholdings, and for its part in laying the foundations of the great state of California, Richard H. Dana is a successful ranchman residing on the John Carr place. His great-grandfather was William Dana, who was born in 1767, married a Miss Davis, a daughter of an artillery officer in the American Revolution, and died at the end of the century, a little past thirty years of age. His grandfather was Captain William Goodwin Dana, whose life began in 1797, and who, at the age of eighteen, was sent by his uncle, a merchant, to Canton, China, for two years, and after that to Calcutta and the Sandwich Islands. So successful was he in his mission that in 1820 he opened a good-sized branch house in Oahu, erecting a warehouse on the island; and this venture led him, as captain of a sailing ship, to run back and forth between California and Honolulu, and to the South American coast.

About 1825, Captain Dana settled at Santa Barbara and there built a schooner, declared to have been the first seaworthy craft ever committed to the waters of the Pacific. Ten years later, as a naturalized citizen of the Mexican Republic, he was granted the Nipomo Rancho, a superb tract of 37.000 acres. In the meantime, at Santa Barbara, on Angust 10, 1828, he married Miss Maria Josefa Carillo, the eldest daughter of Don Carlos Antonio Carillo, governor of Alta California ; and by this estimable woman he had twenty one children. Some of those who latest survived are William C., Charles W., John F., Henry Carillo, Ramon H., Francis, Edward Goodwin, Mleline Eliza, Frederick A., David A., Elizabeth C., and Sarah A. Dana.

Frederick 4. Dana was the father of the subject of our sketch, and was Torn on June 12, 1849, dying in 1900. His wife was Miss Manuela Munoz, a mike xn Sab Luis Obispo, and she is still living at Nipomo, honored by all To have the good fortune to know her. Thirteen children were born to Vocal wol Manuela Dana ; and seven are still alive.

Talhealed at the Nipomo public school, Richard Dana worked out on Maxine Tanches, and then was employed in the oil fields at Orcutt, in Un sane Marin valley, and the California Canon and elsewhere, becoming ( Ip : 00 fromi wo] dresser ; but when the opportunity presented itself, to coching, which he likes much better and in which, assisted by 0 1. 1. 14 . Dana, he is making a pronounced success. He rents para the John Carr farm, where he lives, and another forty-

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Mr. x hers H. B. Smith.

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

five acres of A. F. Careaga, and thirty acres of the U. S. Careaga estate- He plants the one hundred twenty acres largely to beans, though devoting some of the land to hay. Both brothers are deservedly popular, and few young men in or near Los Alamos give greater promise than Richard 11. Dana.

HENRY B. SMITH .- During his long connection with the vicinity of Paso Robles, Henry B. Smith has been associated with many enterprises for the benefit and advancement of the general welfare. He was born July 9, 1841, in Carey, Wyandot county, O., a son of William, and grandson of kri Smith, the latter a native of Connecticut and a farmer by occupation, who had served in the Revolutionary War. He moved to Sacketts Harbor. V. Y., where he died. He married Phoebe Mills. William Smith walked all the way to Wyandot county, bought land at Elyria and got started, and then went back to New York state and married Lucy Turner. The grandfather. Samuel Turner, was born in New York, was a shoemaker by trade, and also served in the Revolutionary War. The father, William Smith, served in the War of 1812, and when the Battle of Sacketts Harbor was fought, was seventeen years old. He farmed at Elyria, (., later moved to Carey, and was acci dentally drowned in 1849. His widow moved to Nebraska, where she died in 1884.

Henry B. Smith is the ninth in order of birth in a family of eleven chil dren, three of whom are now living. A brother, Daniel Smith, served in the Civil War, in the 100th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Henry B. Smith was reared on the farm at Carey until he was twelve years of age. Then he went with his parents to Princeton, Bureau county, Ill., helped improve the farm near there, attended the public school, and studied at loml ard University at Galesburg. He taught school for eleven winters, working on the farm in summer. When able, he purchased a place on the edge of 1.ce county, north of Princeton. He became prominent in that section, and served as supervisor of his township and as justice of the peace. In 1874, he re- moved to Thayer county, Neb., bought land one mile from Carlton and improved it, and successfully engaged in farming his three hundred twenty acres. While there, he also served a term as justice of the peace.

In 1885, we find Mr. Smith in California, where he purchased land m San Luis Obispo County near Creston, and devoted his three hundred acres to grain and stock-raising, specializing in hogs. In 1892, he sold out at a good profit and purchased his present place of thirty-five acres on the Adelaida road, three miles from Paso Robles. lle cleared it of brush and trees, for it was raw land and had never been cultivated, and set out walnut trees, forty feet apart. He now has seventy large trees, from which he has had seventy sacks of nuts. His almonds, peaches, cherries and nectarines have never missed yielding a very satisfactory crop. He erected his residence and other buildings on the place and has a very comfortable ranch home accessible to market and schools. Since coming to this state and settling in San Luis Obispo County, Mr. Smith has taken an active interest in the maintenance of good schools, has served as trustee of the Creston school for several years and was clerk of the board, and has again served as justice of the peace. He is a self-made man in every seuse of the word, optimiste and of a humorous vein, always seeing the pleasant side of things as the happen. He has done his share in pioneering in the various places in which he has lived, and has taken a very active interest in the upbuilding of c& b

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SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

sectione In politics he is a Republican on national issues, while in local matters he selects the man, regardless of party lines, best qualified, in his judgment, for the office.

Mr. Smith was united in marriage in Illinois with Miss Emma Stone, a native of New York. To them were born nine children, five of whom grew lo maturity. Bertha is Mrs. Dodson of Palo Alto; Clark S. is a prominent business man in Paso Robles; Fred is a business man in Palo Alto; Paul is a graduate. M. E., of Leland Stanford University, and a farmer on Estrella plains : Lillie is now Mrs. Corbaley of Palo Alto. Mrs. Emma Smith died in Nebraska. The second wife of Mr. Smith, to whom he was married in Illinois, was formerly Miss Elizabeth Nesmith, a native of Pittsburg, Pa.

S. JACKSON LOWE .- A worthy son of California and one of the progressive citizens of San Luis Obispo County, S. Jackson Lowe was born in Sonoma county, January 23, 1878. When he was a child of two years, his parents brought him to this county; and here he has remained ever since, carving a name for himself by his own efforts. He attended the grammar and high schools in San Luis Obispo until he was eighteen years old, and worked on his father's farm near town, whither they had removed from their first location near Morro, until the death of his parent in 1908. He was engaged in stock-raising and dairying and met with a fair degree of success.

After his father's death, Jackson Lowe and his brother took charge of the estate and carried on the business until the death of the brother, May 1, 1912; and after the settlement of the estate by Mr. Lowe he moved to his present place, which is known as the West Slope Ranch. This comprises 3,815 acres of land, where he engages in dairying and stock-raising with merited success. Besides his own property, he owns a half interest in the old home ranch, which he himself aided in improving to its present condition. On his ranch he has erected modern concrete barns and dairy houses, up-to- date in every detail. He has a herd of registered Shorthorn cattle, numbering thirty-eight, the largest herd in the county.

When he began breeding Shorthorns, he had but five cows. He added to this number from time to time by purchasing registered stock, males and females, from the East as well as from the best California herds, and he is well satisfied with the results of his investment. Besides caring for his regis- tered cattle, he is quite extensively engaged in cattle raising, having about four hundred head of stock on the place, for which he has ample range. He is also raising from one hundred fifty to two hundred Duroc and Poland- China hogs annually. Mr. Lowe also raises grain and hay in sufficient quan- vities for his stock. West Slope Ranch adjoins Reservoir canon, the site of San Luis Obispo's water supply, situated about three miles east of the My. The ranch is watered by Reservoir canon, by the head waters of the West branch of Corral de Piedra creek, San Luis creek and numerous springs. It has been well named by Mr. Lowe, as it slopes westerly from the crest of Ha Santa lucia range to the state highway and Reservoir cañon. Because 6 70 Abundant water supply and its rich fields, it is one of the best stock Funded in the county.

No I we was united in marriage with Annie Jane Potter, who was born Ca 80 Luis Obispo County ; and they have four children, Jack L., Edward D., Anno Land George A. In political matters, Mr. Lowe supports the men Whin Mailers best qualified for public office, regardless of party lines.

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SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

He is a member of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, and is a liberal supporter of all public movements for the building up of the county ; and by all with whom he comes in contact, either in business or in a social way, he is highly respected and honored.

THOMAS FRANK FOXEN .- Thomas Frank Foxen, the popular and best-known representative today of what has been happily termed the pioneer of pioncer families in the vicinity of Los Alamos, is the son of William Do- mingo, formerly Benjamin Foxen, a native of Norwich, England, where he was born in 1798. When only a lad, Benjamin Foxen left Norwich and went forth to follow the life of an English mariner in the merchant service. Ile later became the first officer of a sailing ship, and navigated between many of the most distant ports and among the numerous islands of the Pacific. By the famous Captain Thompson, afterward a resident of Santa Barbara, he was advised to enter the shipping business ; and coming to the Mission town about 1818, or soon thereafter, he entered into an engagement with Captain Noriega. In a short time he built the boat known as the "Goleta" (or schooner), from which circumstance Goleta, a town near by on the coast, was named. With that vessel, he carried on a coastwise trade between San Diego and San Francisco, dealing particularly in tallow and hides.

Benjamin Foxen was united in marriage with Señorita Eduarda Ozuna. who became the mother of eleven children. She outlived her husband, dying about twenty-three years ago at the hale old age of eighty. At his marriage. yielding to the custom of the Roman Catholic Church, which he now joined. Benjamin Foxen changed his name to William Domingo.

About 1832, Benjamin Foxen acquired some two leagues, or 8,800 acres. of land in a cañon called by the Indians Tinaquaic, and laid out a farm. since known as Foxen's ranch, from which the district has come to be named Foxen's Canon. General John C. Fremont and his sokliers pitched their tents in the cañon for a couple of weeks, at the place known today as Fre- mont's Camp ; and before Fremont left to take Santa Barbara, occurred those historic exchanges between the general and the rancher which have ever since made the name Foxen one of peculiar interest in American history. The Mexican government learned of General Fremont's plan to descend upon the city ; and believing that the only pass by which he and his four hundred sol diers could travel would be the Gaviota, the native authorities enlisted all the men of military age to aid in the defense of the threatened city. This move Mr. Foxen found out ; and convinced that Santa Barbara could never with stand the seasoned soldiers of the Pathfinder, and that much bloodshe I might result if the two forces came into violent conflict, he led the Americans over the poor and almost unknown San Marcos trail, and thus enabled Fremont to enter Santa Barbara on Christmas Day while the good people were at mas -. and to surprise the town. For that really humane act, Benjamin Foxen was long unforgiven ; and yet it is claimed that General Fremont withheld the recognition due the sturdy pioneer. If that be true, it may be possible that the explanation for what is so unnatural to the famous American explorer is to be found in the fact that the second volume of his travels and conquests, the first part of which would deal with this period, was never published, or at least never reached the public.

Benjamin Foxen died on February 19. 1874. After his death, each of his eleven children received eight hundred seven and a half acres of the cat. to

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

They, Children are follows: 1. John William, who married Stefana Ortega, www the Tarlier of mine children and is now deceased. 2. Martina married DE, Trio man. of Sanith Barbara, and became the mother of eight children. She we almdeccaand. 5, Ramona is the wife of Frederick Wickenden, both hus- Kamland Wit being alive, with their eight children. 4. Francesca married Leil Gond IM.on attorney at San Luis Obispo, now deceased ; and there she lives with her wax children. 5. Juana is the widow of Frederick Roth, and lives in Ventura with her six children. 6. Alexander Albert married Miss Niekada Botiller, and five years after his marriage he died, the father of one child 7. Marie Antoine married John Richard Stone, ex-sheriff of Ventura wohin .. and later a farmer at the Foxen ranch. He died and left eight chil- Www. She was again married, this time to Joel Cooper, a lawyer of Santa Barbara, who died without children. She now lives in Los Angeles. 8. Fred- Erick Romaklo married Miss Louisa Botiller, of Santa Barbara. He died and Toft eight children. The widow lives in Los Alamos. 9. Thomas Frank is the subject of this sketch. 10. John Charles, who resides in Watsonville, married Leonora Villa, and became the father of nine children. 11. Matilda married Leon Carteri, who lived at San Jose at the time when he died, the father of nine children. She married a second time, her husband being Lo- renzo Marre, and now lives at Santa Barbara.

Thomas F. Foxen married the widow of his brother, Alexander Albert, whose maiden name, as has been stated, was Adelaida Botiller. She was born in Santa Barbara, a daughter of Thomas Botiller, one of the pioneer jewelers of Los Angeles, a gentleman of French descent, and Maria (Olivas) Botiller, whose mother was Clara Pico, a cousin of Pio Pico, and the daughter of Miguel Pico, the first administrator of Ventura county, and a very ex- tensive landowner, numbering among his fine possessions the Simi rancho of ven leagues, or 40,000 acres. Mrs. Foxen was educated at St. Vincent's School at Santa Barbara, being, like her husband, a devout Roman Catholic; md with Mr. Foxen she has taken her place as a leader in local social circles. Ibeir marriage has been blessed with seven children. Gerald, the oldest, uharried Katherina McCartney, and is the father of four children. He is a paperhanger, painter and carpenter, residing at Los Alamos. Helen married Je Sepulveda, ex-sheriff of Los Angeles county, and has one child. Annie the wife of Joseph McCartney, a farmer at Santa Ynez. Leonard lives at Los Angeles, Clara married Leonard Simons and resides at Fresno. Margaret has remained at home. Edmund, who married Rebecca Rojes, is an undlover of the Pan American Petroleum Improvement Corporation.

Always responsive to the call of civic duty, Mr. Foxen has sought to ad- Willing the best interests of the community. In matters of national politics, he Adefinite stand as a Republican.

HANS N. HANSEN .- An example of what perseverance and industry applesfois demonstrated in the life of Hans N. Hansen, now living 20 + 1190 Bushon street, San Luis Obispo. He was born on a farm in 1 5. 1846, was educated in the schools of his home place, both farm until he was twenty-one years of age. He then de- www. ake his way in the world by changing his location, and United States, with California as his objective point. " was being thirteen days on the water on the Atlantic, and Az de: and arriving in San Francisco in 1868, he went

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AND ENVIRONS

direct to Petaluma, where he secured employment for a time on a Miry ranch. He later removed to Tomales bay and there continued his occupation. meanwhile learning the English language and the dairy business. Ilis next work was in Alameda county, in the harvest fields, and from there he went to Salinas, leased land in the valley and began farming on his own account. He made a success of his work, saved his money and branched out from time to time. In 1879 he came to San Luis Obispo County and rented a ranch near the town; and later he leased a part of the Murphy ranch near Santa Margarita, which he farmed for eleven years.

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History of San Luis Obispo County and environs, California, with biographical sketches, Part 58

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