History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 102

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928

USA > California > Santa Clara County > History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 102

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Albert Chester Lawrence engaged in mining for two years, and then he went into San Francisco and tried his hand as a building contractor, but not meet- ing with success, in 1850 he bought a ranch of 160 acres in Santa Clara County, securing a squatter's claim, and shortly afterward he went into the mines on the Salmon River in Humboldt County, and there remained until driven out by the Indians. He then returned to his ranch and when the Southern Pacific Railroad Company proposed to build a line he donated the right-of-way through his land, and a station was built on his farm, which was called Law- rence. He also became station agent, filling that position until his death. He was born in 1810 and lived to be seventy-six.

William Edward Lawrence attended school in Boston from his seventh to his twelfth year, and when his father went to California he was sent to the Boston Farm School until he was sixteen; he then bound himself to a farmer at Lincoln, Mass., for two years, and later, at Malden, he was employed in a factory and then in a tinshop. In 1855 he came west to Illinois and for a time clerked in Kewanee. Bureau County, and then engaged in outdoor work in Henry County. In 1859 he returned to Malden, Mass., and worked there for a year, and there, on

November 4, 1860, he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln. In December he started with his mother and three sisters to California; these sisters were Ellen E., now deceased; Alvira C., who lives at Campbell, and Adra Anna, now Mrs. Keith, of the same place. They traveled by way of the Panama route and arrived in San Francisco on January 10, 1861, after a trip of twenty-two days. General Al- bert Sidney Johnston came on the same ship.

On March 3, 1863, Mr. Lawrence enlisted at San Francisco for service in the Union Army, being mus- tered in by Major Ringgold at Pratt's Hall, and he was in the California Battalion, a picked body of volunteers to be sent East to fill out a Massachusetts regiment, and he left California March 20, 1863. He was in Company C, commanded by Capt. Geo. A. Manning, but when they reached Massachusetts they become Company M, of the Second Massachusetts Cavalry, commanded by Col. Charles Russell Lowell. In the spring of 1864 he and his comrades came under the direction of General Merritt, of General Sheri- dan's cavalry, and he in a company of 125 men were ambushed at Drainsville, Va., by Colonel Mosby, Imboden and White, guerrilla leaders, who fired on them from ambush, killing fifteen and wounding thirty. His regiment served from the battle of Winchester in all the cavalry engagements in that part of the country until Lee's surrender, and they were in fifty-one cavalry fights, besides small skir- mishes. Out of 558 men mustered into that battalion, only 181 were mustered out, and of liis own company only three are living today. Although Mr. Lawrence never sustained any wounds, he lost five horses, one of which, the fifth, was shot from under him when he was taken prisoner of war. This was in the battle of Drainsville, February 22, 1864. He was sent to Libby Prison and was there three weeks; and then he was removed to Andersonville Prison, where twenty-one of his same company died in seven months' time. Upon receiving the news that the Union forces might take Andersonville, he, with other prisoners, was rushed to Savannah, and there he spent two months of "hell." Two more of his company died, and out of the twenty-seven taken prisoners only four lived to get out. He himself made his escape from the Savannah prison and for three weeks wandered through the swamps of South Carolina and Georgia; he was headed for Sherman's army, and when only two days' distant from the Union forces he was stricken with swamp fever at Brown's Ferry. He went to a black slave for help, but was betrayed, and sent to Barnwell Jail in South Carolina; when he had been there three days it was necessary for the sheriff to smuggle him away t prevent his being lynched by a company of home guards, as they termed him a "Massachusetts Yank." He was taken to Blackwell Station, thence to the Co- lumbia Jail in South Carolina, and after that on to Florence, in the same state, and from there to Wil- mington, N. C., and he was finally paroled at Golds- boro, N. C., and joined the Union lines at Wilming- ton on March 3, 1865.

At Wilmington, N. C., at the Hilltop House, Mr. Lawrence was for two weeks unconscious from ex- posures he had endured, and when he finally came to his senses, a week passed before he was able to take a small glass of milk punch. Dr. Charles Rob- inson brought him through the crisis. Mr. Lawrence had spent one year and ten days as a prisoner of war, and he was finally paroled on March 3, 1865, and in April he arrived at Annapolis, and he re-

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ceived a furlough of three weeks, with orders to re- port to Reedeville Hospital, in Massachusetts. At Reedeville he was sergeant of the police, and lie re- mained there until June 23, 1865, when he was dis- charged and returned to California in August.

On August 23, 1865, he was married at Malden, Mass., to Miss Susan Eleanor Phelan, an old school- mate of his sister. She had been born on a sailing vessel in the West Indies, for her father, Theodore, was a first mate, and he eventually went down in a storm at sea. The same day he was married, Mr. Lawrence left for California with his wife, and trav- eled by way of Panama; and on October 31, he landed in San Francisco. He ran his father's farm for a year and then rented a farm of twelve acres near Lawrence, and he was one of the pioneer straw- berry growers in the Santa Clara Valley; and then he bought a ranch of twenty acres adjoining the rent- ed farm in the Jefferson school district and there for seven years raised strawberries. His wife's health failed, however, and it was necessary to seek a change of climate, so he sold his ranch and bought another place of eighty-six acres near Los Gatos, where he raised hay, grain and stock. He still owns fifteen acres of this ranch. There Mrs. Lawrence died on March 10, 1893.

Mr. Lawrence's second marriage occurred on Aug- ust 1, 1893, uniting him with Mrs. Lottie E. (Phil- lips) Broughton, a native of Crown Point, N. Y. Her parents were John and Melissa (Colburn) Phil- lips, and she was graduated at the Crown Point high school, teaching school for two years, until she re- moved to Livingston County, Ill., where she mar- ried William Broughton, a farmer who operated 1100 acres of fine land near Kempton, Ill. He died in Illinois in 1888, and in 1891 she came to California with her two children. Burnell died here at the age of eighteen, and DeEtte is the wife of E. N. Richmond of San Jose.

In 1915 Mr. Lawrence left his ranch and moved to San Jose. He had six children by his first mar- riage, three of whom are living: William Chester is in the salmon fishing business in Alaska; George Al- fred, a physician and surgeon practicing in New York City, holds a record as recruit examiner in the late war and was commissioned a major in the Medical Corps, U. S. A .; Albert Hume is a min- ing engineer in Chile and Bolivia. George Alfred Lawrence married Julia Pinkney, a member of an old New York family; Albert H. Lawrence . married Miss Fannie Johnston and they have five children -Howard, Eleanor, Dorothea, Lucy and David. Mr. Lawrence is a member of the board of auditors of the Santa Clara Pioneer Society, and he is a senior past commander of the E. O. C. Ord Post No. 82, G. A. R. at Los Gatos. For the third time he is serving as aide-de-camp on the department com- mander's staff ,and one year was an aide-de-camp on the staff of the national commander. Mrs. Lawr- ence is past president of E. O. C. Ord Corps No. 51. W. R. C. of Los Gatos.

MRS. LOUISE GUERRAZ KIRK .- Among the pioneer women who braved the dangers and endured the hardships of pioneer days is Mrs. Louise Guerraz Kirk, who has been a resident of California since 1848 and of Santa Clara County since 1850, still hale and hearty and with her abundance of reminis- cences is an interesting talker. She was, in maiden- hood, Louise Guerraz, a native of Missouri. Her father, John D. Guerraz, was born in one of the

French colonies in Switzerland, his family dating back to France. Coming to America when eighteen or nineteen years of age, he made his way to Tennessee and liking that section was content to remain. There he was married to Elizabeth Bridges, a native of that state, coming from an old Revolutionary family in Tennessee. They made their way westward and were living in Clay County. Mo., when Louise, the subject of this review, was born. In 1848 John D. Guerraz started across the plains with his wife and four children, making the journey in wagons drawn by ox teams, taking six months to complete the journey, being piloted by Captain Childs. They arrived in Hangtown, then called Dry Diggings, un- til the hanging of three desperadoes when it was called Hangtown, this incident occurring while the Guerraz family was living there.

Mr. Guerraz engaged in the grocery business in Hangtown until 1850, when he came to Santa Clara County, locating on a ranch in the Campbell district, improving a farm of 160 acres, engaging in grain farming and viticulture. Later on he disposed of this ranch and purchased another in the mountains, but not satisfied, he sold and located in San Jose, where he lived retired until he died at the age of eighty-eight; his widow then made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Kirk, until her death, in 1894, at the age of eighty-five. Of their family of six children, five are living: Mrs. Louise Kirk, Mrs. Susan Robinson of Campbell, John David resides near Edenvale, Henry lives in San Jose, and William re- sides in the Roberts district.

Louise Guerraz was a little girl when she crossed the plains, but well she remembers the many in- cidents of the trip, the wonderful, strange sights of the wilderness and then in Hangtown she saw many more wild and interesting incidents. After coming to Santa Clara County she received a good education at Notre Dame College. She was married here to Socrates Kirk, a native of Ohio, also an intrepid pioneer who had crossed the plains in 1850 and was one of the pioneer grain farmers of San Jose. Be- coming interested in horticulture, he set out orchards until he had a large acreage devoted to raising prunes, peaches, apricots, and cherries, one of the finest and largest orchards in the county. Mr. Kirk was an energetic and ambitious man, and while he did well for himself, did much to improve and build up the county. He was never idle, but always look- ing to see what he could do to improve his place and assist in making the community more prosperons and a better place in which to live. At the time of the earthquake, April 18, 1906, he was a very ill man. The shock proved too much for him and he passed away the morning of April 19, 1906, at the age of seventy-four years, a man highly esteemed and hon- ored, who was deeply mourned by his family and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Kirk were the parents of six children, three of whom are living: Mrs. W. S. Goodenough, Eva S. and Bert T. Kirk.

Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Kirk has continued to live in their beautiful home they had erected on their ranch at the head of Hicks Avenue, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. In national politics, like her husband, she is a Republi- can and they were both devoted members of the First Methodist Church in San Jose, in which she is still active and in whose benevolence she has always taken an active part.

Polar lo. Lee

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

PROFESSOR ROBERT A. LEE-Listed among those professional men who are interested in the education of this generation of the twentieth century is Professor Robert A. Lee, who for the past twenty years has occupied the office of principal of the Lowell School, San Jose, California.

Robert A. Lee was born at Lewis, Essex County, New York, April 26, 1870, and is the son of Lebbeus and Hattie (DeLong) Lee, both natives of New York, having been born in Essex County. The father was born August 12, 1828, a son of Timothy Pitkin and Sarah Leason (Pratt) Lee, while the mother was born November 17, 1837. Professor Lee is the seventh generation removed from John Lee, who came to this country from England and was one of the founders of Hartford, Conn., in the year 1634. His descendants held important offices. both civil and military, members of the family having served with distinction during the Colonial and Rev- olutionary Wars. John Lee's ancient gravestone still stands in a Connecticut cemetery; beside it is an imposing modern monument. Lebbeus Lee be- came a judge of the justice court, and later associate judge of Essex County. He migrated to San Jose in the year 1872, and here conducted the Granite and Marble Works until the year 1882, and then entered the field of horticulture, becoming prosperous as an orchardist from the start. His ranch was located in The Willows, adjacent to San Jose and here he re- sided until he passed away in 1908, being survived by his widow who died in 1917. Of their six child- ren, four of whom are now living, Robert is the fourth oldest.

Robert A. Lee attended the Lowell Grammar School and the San Jose High School, and then became a student at the San Jose State Normal School where he was graduated in 1890; after this he took special courses at Stanford University and the University of California and has followed the profession of teaching since 1895. He first entered upon the work of his profession in Winters, Yolo County, and later in Fresno. In 1900 he was offered the principalship of Lowell School, the school he attended in his boyhood days, and here he has been its head for more than twenty years.

Mr. Lee is married to Orlena B., daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley H. Arnhart of Kent County, Mo. In 1874 Mrs. Lee removed to Woodland, Cal., with her parents who were pioneers of Yolo County and the parents of seven children, six of whom survive, a brother having recently been killed in an auto- mobile accident at Petaluma. Both Mr. and Mrs. Arnhart have passed away within recent years.

Professor and Mrs. Lee have one daughter, Veva, a graduate of the San Jose State Normal School, who is now the wife of George Lyon Cross, a grad- uate of the University of California and now resident auditor of the Folsom State Prison, having held this position since 1916. He is giving perfect satisfaction to the state administration, being noted for his ability in curbing leaks and cutting down expenses.

Professor and Mrs. Lee have their home at 740 South Eighth Street where they have been residents for some years past and here they extend a hearty welcome to their many friends. Professor Lee was made a Mason in Friendship Lodge No. 210, F. & A. M., in which he is a past master, and now is secretary; he is a member of Howard Chapter No. 14. R. A. M., San Jose Council No. 20, R. & S. M., and

San Jose Commandery No. 10, K. T. He is also a charter member of the San Jose Bodies of A. & A. Scottish Rite of Freemasonry-of the 32nd degree, Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., a member of San Jose Pyramid No. 9, A. E. O., Sciots and Hatim Tai Grotto, M. O. V. P. E. R. Professor and Mrs. Lee are members of San Jose Chapter No. 31, O. E. S. and Rose Croix Chapter, Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem, in which they are officers. Professor Lee also holds membership in Observatory Lodge No. 23, 1. O. O. F., Barnes Encampment No. 77 and Alamo Camp, W. O. W. He was instrumental in assisting in the recent organization of the DeMolay Order for Boys. This organization is for boys be- tween the ages of sixteen and twenty-one and is supported by the Scottish Rite, and San Jose Chapter of the Order of De Molay was the first organized in the state, January 1, 1921.

Ar. Lee has served as president of the San Jose Normal Men's Club and has acted as secretary since 1902. He was elected president of the grammar school division of the California State Teachers' Association and presided at the session held during the Panama-Pacific Exposition at San Francisco in 1915; he has also served as secretary of the State Teachers' Association and as a member and secre- tary of the advisory council of that body. In national politics, he is a stanch Republican, and votes in accord with the principles of that party.

REUBEN D. CLEARWATERS .- In the year 1885 Reuben D. Clearwaters took up his abode in San Jose. He was born at Knoxville, Marion County, Iowa, July 21, 1867, a son of Reuben and Catherine (Dunivin) Clearwaters, natives of Indiana and Tennessee, and were married in Indiana, and then moved to lowa. The father became an extensive landowner in Iowa, having braved the hardships of the early frontier days there, and also in the state of Kansas, whither the family removed when Reuben D. was but two years old. Here, with his parents, Reuben D. spent his boyhood days, amid the delight- ful surroundings of the country, assisting his father in whatever was to be done. Later the father and mother removed to San Jose, where the father passed away during the year of 1911. Mrs. Clearwaters died here in 1894.

In 1891 Mr. Clearwaters was married to Miss M. Caine, who had been a resident of California since 1884, and they became the parents of three children, Rolland D. served three years in the U. S. regulars, and also in the World War, he has a wife and one child; Eva is the wife of George Hanson, and the mother of two children, they live in Portland, Ore .; Mrs. Winifred D. Carter resides in San Jose. For a short period of time, Mr. Clearwaters was a resi- dent of Los Angeles, but came to San Jose in 1885. During the year 1898, Mr. Clearwaters was engaged in the furniture business, but later disposed of his business and entered the employ of the San Jose Fire Department, where he has served well and faith- fully, counting among his warm, personal friends the late Chief Brown. In 1912 he was appointed captain of Chemical House No. 1, Market Street. and in 1917 he assumed charge of Fire House No. 3 and is acceptably serving as captain of same.

A second marriage united Hr. Clearwaters with Miss Selena Wells, who has resided in California since 1876, and in San Jose since 1888. Fraternally,

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Mr. Clearwaters is connected with the Moose and Woodmen of the World, and also an active member of the "Pastime Club" of San Jose. In his political views he is a Republican, advocating keeping politics out of all departments of city government. Mr. Clearwaters was instrumental in organizing the Civil Service Association of San Jose. His activities have been wisely and carefully directed and he has consistently adhered to high standards of manhood and citizenship.

E. M. CUNNINGHAM .- A man of pleasing per- sonality, charitable and of great kindliness, E. M. Cunningham has aided in building up the Saratoga section and has become a successful horticulturist. He is the owner of a splendid orchard half mile north of Saratoga, which he has brought to a high state of productivity. He was born near Moberly, Mo., May 31, 1857, the son of Joseph Cunningham, a native of Tennessee, born near Nashville, February 11, 1820. Grandfather William Cunningham was a native of North Carolina, but moved to Tennessee, locating near Nashville. . He married Narcissa Jenkins and both died in Missouri. Joseph Cunningham came to Missouri when a young man with his parents, locat- ing on a farm near what is now Moberly, Randolph County. He was married the first time to Margaret J. Hannah, who died soon after the birth of their first child. In 1846 he married a second time, being united with Mary Jane Gooding, born in Randolph County, Mo., July 2, 1827, a daughter of Judge Gooding, who served as judge of Randolph County. In 1849 Joseph Cunningham had become so interested in the gold excitement in California he determined to set out for the El Dorado so hic crossed the plains in 1849 in an ox-team train, walking most of the way. He followed mining until 1852, then returned via Isthmus of Panama to his home place in Missouri, where he farmed until 1863, then sold his belongings and brought his family across the plains, being outfitted with mule teams and also brought a herd of loose mules. He located in Solano County, and for eight- een years engaged in raising grain in the Suisun Val- ley. In 1881 he came to Saratoga, where he purchased a ranch and this he began setting to orchard. Joseph Cunningham was a member of the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church for forty-six years, while his wife be- longed to the same church two years longer. This worthy pioneer couple had nine children, of whom E. M., our subject is the fifth in order of birth. He came to California, crossing the great plains with his par- ents in 1863, and thus it came that he had his sixth birthday on the desert on the overland trail. His schooling was in his home district in Solano County.

On October 22, 1879, at the home of the bride's mother near Rockville, in Suisun Valley, occurred the marriage of Mr. Cunningham and Amanda C. Russell, who was born, reared and married at the home place, a house constructed of lumber shipped around Cape Horn in a sailing vessel, all framed and ready for construction. Mrs. Cunningham was the daughter of Henry and Adeline (Alford) Rus- sell, natives of Ohio and Virginia, respectively. Her father came to California in 1846 across the plains when a young man, while her mother came over- land with her parents the same year, when she was a girl of thirteen. Grandfather Andy Alford brought his family across the plains, being outfitted with ox-

teams. They passed the Donner party, whom they traveled with for a few days and came through by the old trail safely to California, He settled in So- lano County, where he became a large landowner and influential man, and gave the five-acre site for the old stone Methodist Church at Rockville; he served in the Mexican War, being stationed at Benicia Bar- racks. Henry Russell was also in the Mexican War, serving in Southern California; later his parents joined him and they located on a farm near what is now Fairfield. After the marriage of Henry Russell, he purchased a part of the Alford farm and then en- gaged in farming and teaming. He set out the first commercial apple orchard in that section, comprising twelve acres, and this was a landmark for years. He teamed to the mines at Virginia City, Nev., and it was from exposure on these trips he contracted the discase that resulted in his death in 1864. His widow later married G. H. Pangburn and resided on the old Russell place until her death at the age of seventy- six years. By her first marriage she had seven chil- dren, three living, Mrs. Cunningham being the fourth child; by her marriage to Mr. Pangburn she had six children, five of whom are living. Amanda Russell had the advantages of the public schools and when children, she and Mr. Cunningham knew Edwin Markham, all being reared in the same vicinity. After his marriage, Mr. Cunningham rented land and engaged in raising grain, but in the fall of 1881 he gave it up and in November of that year located at Saratoga, where he purchased eight and a half acres, the richest piece of land he could find. This he im- proved and set to orchard, raising the trees for the purpose as rapidly as he could. At first he had up hill work and many discouragements, but by perse- verance and the aid of his good wife, they added to their holdings until they now have twenty-one acres, all bearing orchard and as productive a place as can be found in the valley. In fact the fertility of this soil was well known by the Indians, for they had their village close by and raised their crops along the fertile banks of the creek. Mr. Cunningham is a believer in cooperation and is a member of the Cal- ifornia Prune & Apricot Growers' Association, the l'ruit Growers' of California, Inc., and the California Walnut Growers' Association. They are the parents of two children; Florence R. is a graduate of the San Jose State Normal and also of the San Francisco National Training School for Christian Service, and assists her mother in presiding over the home. Charles N. completed a three-year special course at the Uni- versity of California and has charge of the home farm, as well as his own orchard. He was married to Miss Eva Lipscomb and has three children-Charlotte M., Helen E., and Charles Newton, Jr. Mr. Cunningham served as trustec of the Saratoga school district for many years. In national politics he is a Democrat.

In 1875 Mrs. Cunningham became a member of the old stone church in Rockville and has been affiliated with this denomination ever since. Mr. Cunningham joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in April, 1881, and both were charter members of the Saratoga Methodist Episcopal Church and have been active in its benevolences ever since. Mr. Cunningham has been trustee all these years, as well as superintendent of the Sunday School many years, while Mrs. Cun- ningham has been a steward since its organization.

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History of Santa Clara County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, Part 102

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846- Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1928

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928