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 112

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 112

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Mrs. Selby is the fourth child in a family of seven children, three of whom are living. Being an accom- plished and attractive woman she is able to give her own daughter, Elizabeth Louise, many advantages. In 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Selby bought their present home on South Fifteenth Street; and there they have since lived. He is a Democrat, Mrs. Selby a Republi- can, and she has served on the election board.

MRS. ROBERT S. INGLESON .- A splendid ex- ample of what a plucky American woman may do, her character ennobled by a high, definite purpose in life, when called upon to discharge enormous duties in the face of many and well-nigh overpower- ing obstacles, has been afforded in the life of Mrs. Robert S. Ingleson, the rancher, who lives at the corner of First and Gish streets, in San Jose. A native New Yorker, she was born at South Glens Falls, in Saratoga County, and was baptized Martha M. Parks, the daughter of William and Clara (Sweet) Parks, and the granddaughter of Daniel Parks. Her parents were descended from old New York families, and they left nine children to perpetuate their well- established lineage. Mrs. Ingleson was the second child and eight of the family are still living, Thomas, the seventh-born, having died at the age of twenty- three. Samuel, William, Archie F., and John are stockmen in Santa Clara County; Bertha has be- come Mrs. Hulbert Willis, of San Jose; Nellie is Mrs. Styles, of Los Angeles; the youngest of the family is named Mark, also a stockman, residing in San Luis Obispo County.

William Parks was a stockman after he came to California in 1877 and in 1881 became a partner with C. C. Schofield in the cattle business on the Mt. Hamilton Range on Black Mountain, east of San

alice Meads Selly.

W He Selby

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Jose. It happened, therefore, that Martha Parks at- tended the San Jose grammar school; and growing up, she was married at San Jose, on November 1, 1891, to Robert S. Ingleson, who was born on Alviso Road, in Santa Clara County, April 13, 1859, the son of Charles and Louisa (Bergen) Ingleson, na- tives of the Island of Guernsey, England, and Balti- more, Md., respectively. He sailed around the Horn to California in 1849, and bought land in the vicinity of Alviso, and it is believed that Mr. Ingleson built the first two-story frame house in the county. Mr. Ingleson made a trip back East and in Baltimore, Md., he was married, and he brought his wife out with him. There were nine children in their family, of whom Robert S. was the second-born. Mary, now Mrs. Harper, was the eldest; after Robert came Charles; then Elizabeth, who married Henry Gallagher of San Jose, and the others were John, Mrs. Margaret Shattuck, James, Clara and George.

Robert Ingleson attended the public schools of Santa Clara County, while growing up on the old home place, a ranch of 160 acres south of Alviso, and after they were married, they lived until the fall of 1906 on a part of the ranch, leaving it only when the place was sold. Mr. Ingleson then rented the old Flannery Ranch of 100 acres, and for nine vears conducted there a stock and dairy farm.

When Mrs. Ingleson had been married about one years, her mother died, and she was called upon to take her place as foster mother to the five younger members of the family, and to rear them as well as her own children. Mr. Ingleson died on February 9, 1916, highly esteemed and mourned by all who knew him, and she has since then been compelled to meet the perplexing problems of life alone. For- tunately, she has never cared much for diverting social activities, but has thrown her energy into her home and ranch duties, and thus developed a splen- did, dependable character. Fortunately, also, she inherited much of inestimable value from her father, who for a while was one of the superintendents of Mrs. Phoebe Hearst's estate, and for years had a force of about fifty men working under him. She owned a ranch in Merced County, but she farmed it, to grain, for only one season. In 1916 she purchased a ranch of thirty-one aeres known as a part of the Younger Tract, which was devoted to dairying and the raising of alfalfa. To this has been added six- teen acres adjoining, known as the C. C. Churchill Farm, and the whole is being developed into a fine berry farm. Then she owns a ranch of 275 acres on the Felter Road, southeast of Milpitas, where eighteen acres are devoted to prunes and the rest to general farming. This ranch is known as the Cullins Ranch, and under Mrs. Ingleson's skillful management, it has been brought to a high state of cultivation. Two children were born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ingleson, and they bear the names of Hazel and Dorothy; both are home, the joy and pride of their devoted mother.

WILLIAM ALLEN JOHNSTON .- A deservedly eminent representative of the California Bar is Wil- liam Allen Johnston, who was born at San Jose on September 29, 1856, the son of Silas Newton and Virginia L. (Faber) Johnston, natives of Kentucky and Iowa, respectively. The Johnstons are an old

Kentucky family of Scotch- Irish descent, while Grandfather John S. Faber was born in Virginia in 1810 and became a pioneer of the Mississippi Valley, taking part in the Mexican War. After the death of his wife he brought his daughter, Virginia L., across the plains to California in 1852, spending his remaining days in Santa Clara County, where he passed away on August 9, 1900, at the age of ninety years. Silas Newton Johnston also came to Cali- fornia across the plains, arriving here in 1853, and for years was a carpenter and then established him- self in the lumber business on the present site of the Glenwood Lumber Company on Third Street. Later he became vice-president of the old Union Savings Bank and was also a member of the city council. He died on October 2, 1907, and Mrs. Johnston passed away on January 3, 1909. They were the parents of six children: William Allen of this sketch; J. H. Johnston, M. D., who died in 1904; Walter S., a druggist of San Jose; Frank F., of Hubbard & Carmichael Bros .; a daughter died in childhood, and L. May is the wife of R. B. Hale, of Hale Bros., Inc., San Francisco.

The eldest of the family, William Allen Johnston, attended the public schools until 1871, and then matriculated at the University of the Pacific, from which he was graduated with the A. B. degree in 1876, three years later the university conferring upon him the Master of Arts degree. In the fall of 1876 he entered the law school of the University of Michigan and on March 28, 1878, he was graduated with the LL.B. degree. Returning to California, Mr. Johnston was admitted to the bar of this state on April 30, 1878, and he soon thereafter formed a partnership with Thomas H. Laine, who was state senator and then a member of the State Constitu- tional Convention in 1879. From December, 1884, to 1890, Mr. Johnson discontinued practice on account of the condition of his eyes, but he has again become a familiar figure in the courts of law, having resumed practice and taken in with him his son, Faber L. Johnston. Mr. Johnston is a stockholder in the Security State Bank and the Security Savings Bank of San Jose, being attorney for both banks, and as vice-president of the latter he safeguards important financial affairs in which thousands are interested. With his son he is attorney for the San Jose Build- ing & Loan Association.

At San Jose on January 24, 1884, Mr. Johnston was married to Miss Cora L. Laine, a native of Santa Clara County and the daughter of Senator Thomas H. and Lucy (Chapman) Laine, pioneers of '49. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John- ston and in late years their family circle has been made happier by the birth of four gandchildren. Tla Lee is the widow of Capt. A. E. Preston, who died of influenza while serving in the Engineering Corps in France, during the World War; Hazel M. is Mrs. H. D. Ainsworth; Faber L., a graduate of Stanford University, is in partnership with his father; William N. is an automobile machinist; Dorothy is a graduate of Stanford Unversity. Mr. Johnston is an honored member of the California Bar Associa- tion, and in the councils of the Republican party he is a valued leader.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

THOMAS O'CONNELL-The life of Thomas O'Connell, who passed away on March 18, 1921, affords a striking illustration of the value of indus- try and determination. A native of Ireland, he was born November 4, 1846, the son of James and Joannah (Maroney) O'Connell, both natives of Ireland. The father died before the family left their native land, but the mother lived to reach the United States, passing away at New Haven, Conn. They were the parents of eleven children.

Thomas O'Connell was educated in the common schools of Ireland, and left home at the age of seventeen, coming to the United States, and settled at New Haven, Conn. He remained there for a year and a half, working at odd jobs, then came to California in the year of 1868. He worked in a brickyard in San Francisco for one and a half years, then moved to San Benito County and engaged in farming for twenty-six years. Here he acquired considerable property. In 1895 he moved to San Jose and established his wood and coal business, which has proved a profitable undertaking. In the year 1901 he retired from active business life and his five sons have since been successfully conduct- ing the business, which has prospered under their management. July 9, 1906, the business was in- corporated under the name of O'Connell Bros., Inc. The growing business is located at Sixth and St. James streets, and their large real estate holdings comprise 15,000 acres of land.

The marriage of Mr. O'Connell in May, 1872, united him with Miss Julia Elizabeth O'Brien, born in Boston, Mass., and who survives him. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell are the parents of seven children: James William, died in early manhood at the age of twenty- three; Charles Thomas married Elizabeth Cunan and has three children, Maurice Robert, Adrian Earl, and Clarisse Evlyn, and is manager of O'Connell Bros., Inc .; Franklin J. married Rhea Fenton and has three children, Fenton, James and Ruth, and is manager of O'Connell Bros. ranch; George Daniel is mar- ried to Maime McMurray and has two children, Irwin and Kenneth, and has charge of the meat and grocery department for O'Connell Bros .; Albert F. and Lillian are twins, the former married Grace Clark and he assists in the management of their ranch, while Lillian married Eugene 1. Cunan of San Jose, who passed away August 9, 1917, leaving his widow and little daughter, Eugenia; Elmer Stephen has charge of the fuel department for O'Connell Bros.

Politically Mr. O'Connell was always a stanch Democrat, and with his family belonged to the Cath- olic Church. While winning his way to a front rank in business, at the same time he gained the confidence of associates and acquaintances, and was esteemed for his high principles of honor and in- tegrity in business transactions and was mourned by a large circle of friends. He always labored ef- fectively and earnestly to uphold the interests which made for public progress and improvement.

SALMA DARLING .- A successful orchardist who has resided in Santa Clara County for more than a quarter of a century, Salma Darling, is now living retired from active cares at 122 North Thir- feenth Street, in the enjoyment of a competence gained through many well-spent years. He was born in Wheelock, Caledonia County, Vt., on June 5, 1847, the son of Ezra French Darling, whose parents were David and Mary (Bickford) Darling; grandparents, Moses and Judith (French) Darling;

and great-grandparents, John and Hannah (Morse) Darling. John Darling served with the New Eng- land militia at the capture of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island, on June 17, 1745, and Moses Darling was a pensioned veteran of the Revolutionary War, who had the great honor of being at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was at first a private soldier in Captain Isaac Baldwin's Company and later he was promoted to be sergeant-major. Mary Bickford was the daughter of Eli Bickford, also a veteran of the Revolutionary War who served in the navy. He was taken prisoner, sent to England, and there confined. After a while he attempted to escape, by swimming to a foreign ship anchored two miles off shore; but he was overtaken by his pursuers and recaptured. He died at Danville, Vt., in 1854, at the age of 101.

Ezra F. Darling, the father of our subject, mar- ried Miss Lorinda S. Hill, the daughter of Eben and Nancy (Pillsbury) Hill, and the granddaughter of Capt. Caleb Pillsbury. The latter had been commis- sioned by King George, but at the outbreak of the Revolution, he and his entire company of 100 men lett the king's service without ceremony, and swore to stand by the Continental Congress. Mr. and Mrs. Darling, in 1854, moved with their family to Derby, Orleans County, Vt., and there Mr. Darling became so actively interested in local political affairs that he was elected to the State Legislature. He died at Derby in 1898, at the age of seventy-six.

Salma Darling grew up on his father's farm and attended both the common public schools and the academy. When about twenty-one, he left home, removed to Illinois, and at Rock Island entered the office of a civil engineer. In 1870 he was engaged by the Rockford, Rock Island and St. Louis Rail- way, as instrument man for the Beardstown Divi- sion, and when that work had been completed, he was employed to make railway surveys in Vermont and Illinois. In 1876 he removed to Texas, and entered the engineering department of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway, under Maj. James Converse, the chief engineer, and he gave the company and that gifted man such satisfaction that he remained with him for seven years as assist- ant and resident engineer on lines and construction from Lafayette, La., to Devil's River, Texas.

On September 18, 1882, Mr. Darling was married at St. Paul, Minn., to Miss Clara E. Chamberlin, the ceremony taking place at the residence of her brother. In October the young people went to Eagle Pass, Texas, where Mr. Darling was engaged as resident engineer on the Mexican International Rail- way, south to Leona, Mexico, and including the low- water bridge and the masonry for the permanent bridge over the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass.

In 1883 Mr. Darling was transferred to mainten- ance of way on the main line east of San Antonio, with headquarters at Houston, Texas. In 1885 Mr. and Mrs. Darling became convinced that a cooler climate was advisable, and while urged to take a leave of absence only, they decided to make the change permanent. The next year, therefore, they came out to San Jose, Cal., and on Plummer Avenue they erected an orchard home. In 1914 they removed to their present attractive residence, at 122 North Thirteenth Street in San Jose. Mrs. Darling's mother, Eliza J. (Cropper) Chamberlin, was born in Maryland; her father, Jeremiah Chamberlin, was a native of Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin

Thor Donnell Julia E. Channell

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

were among the old pioneers of Rock Island, 111., where Mr. Chamberlin was engaged in farming, the lumber business, and other enterprises, and where he held many positions of public trust in county af- fairs. They came to San Jose in 1888, and lived here the greater part of the intervening time, alternately residing at Carmel. Mr. Chamberlin died in 1892, at the age of seventy-four years and eleven months, while Mrs. Chamberlin passed away in 1909, at the age of eighty-four.

Mr. and Mrs. Darling's son, Harry C. Darling, was born at Moline, in Rock Island County, Ill., on November 25, 1885, and was taken by his parents to California when he was a year old. He attended the Willow Glen Grammar School and the University of the Pacific Academy, where he followed a year's course in civil engineering, continuing in the same subject for three years at the State University. In 1911 he was assistant engineer for a power company in the Sierras, and the next year he entered the service of the Engineer Department of the California State Highway. In 1917, when the World War was in full swing, he left his work as resident engineer and enlisted in the Engineering Corps of the U. S. Army. In September he was sent to the Engineer Officers' Training Camp at Vancouver, Wash., and after graduation, in November, he was temporarily with the One Hundred Ninth Engineers at Deming, N. M. In December, 1917, he was or- lered to France as first lieutenant of the engineers, nnassigned. He reached France early in January, where he expected to be sent to the front; but instead he was assigned to the Gas Service, later the Chemi- cal Warfare Service. After a short training at inter- mediate and advanced stations, he was ordered to St. Nazaire, Base Section No. 1, as port officer for the C. WV. S., at the ports of St. Nazaire and Nantes. He was given a second lieutenant, sergeant and a detachment, and he was responsible for the safe handling, storing and forwarding of all C. W. S. material, including all high explosives received at these ports. Late in December, 1918, he embarked at Bordeaux for the United States; and on January 11, 1919, he was discharged at the C. W. S. head- quarters, Lakehurst, N. J., and reaching home, soon resumed his work on the State Highway.

In August, 1919, Harry Darling was married to Miss Edna Mary Rogers, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry K. Rogers, old residents of San Jose; and on December 9, 1920, their daughter, Barbara Janice, was born. Salma Darling is an honored member of the Sons of the American Revolution; and Harry also belongs to the California and the National sections of that some order, and to the American Legion and the American Association of Engineers. Thus the Darling family have well es- tablished themselves in Santa Clara County.

HUGH A. DE LACY .- A thoroughly efficient and popular public official is Hugh A. De Lacy, the undersheriff of Santa Clara County, a familiar and welcome figure around the historic Court House, a splendid example of fidelity, manning his post every day, although seventy-five years old. As the founder of the "Evening News," and therefore a veteran newspaper man, Mr. De Lacy has himself been a part of the interesting past of Santa Clara County; so that, blessed with a wonderful memory, he is fre- quently a valuable source of information to lawyers and judges alike. He arrived in California in No-

vember, 1862, when he was seventeen years old, hav- ing come from New Orleans, where he was born on - September 23, 1845, the son of Stephen De Lacy, who settled at New Almaden in 1860, and he con- tinued a resident of Santa Clara County until he died. He had married Miss Ann Cribben; and as the mother of our subject she accompanied the latter on his trip from New Orleans to California in 1862. Mr. De Lacy was employed by the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Company, and so it came about that Hugh De Lacy was engaged to run a stationary engine there. He had profited by the excellent courses of instruction in the New Orleans public schools, and he found it easy to make a success of anything he attempted in his new field.

The history of the De Lacy family is full of in- terest, and it is not surprising that father and son have inherited such strong and helpful traits. Both of our subject's parents were born in Ireland, for during the reign of Henry II of England. Hugh De Lacy, the Norman, went over to Ireland and took possession of the country. Our Hugh De Lacy, when hardly seventeen, became a Confederate sol- dier, and in March, 1862, he joined the Orleans Guards Battalion, Company C., Third Louisiana Brigade, and fought at Shiloh, one of the 350 strong, of whom only seventy came out uninjured. It is known in history as the Hornets' Nest, and it was during the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, the first day of the engagement, that General Albert Sidney Johnston was killed. Alter a service of four months, Mr. De Lacy was discharged under the "Conscrip- tion Act," as he was then under eighteen.

As an engineer and a carpenter he helped to build the first high school and the first Normal school in San Jose. In 1870 he became a deputy sheriff under Sheriff N. R. Harris; two years later he was elected a constable, and served in that office for four years; then he was on the police force for seven years, and became a police detective. He had strong leaning toward newspaper work, however, and so in 1883 established the "Evening News" of San Jose. This he conducted until 1890, when he disposed of his interest to Charles W. Williams. In 1892 he was elected chief of police and introduced the patrol system. In 1895 he went on the "Mercury" as advertising solicitor and collector, and in 1899 he became its business manager, continuing until 1901, when he resigned and went into the country; and at Coyote, Santa Clara County, he devoted him- self to cultivating prunes in the Owen orchard.

In 1909 Mr. De Lacy moved back into San Jose; and after resting some months, in 1910 he became undersheriff under A. B. Langford, but in January, 1914, he withdrew from that charge, and for the next five years busied himself as an agent for insurance and real estate. In 1919 he became the assistant of Sheriff George W. Lyle, and this responsibility he is still discharging, to the satisfaction of everyone.

In 1871 Mr. De Lacy was married to Miss Rebecca Clift, who came here from Cincinnati as a child, and grew up in Santa Clara County. She was a woman of singular gifts and attraction; and after a com- panionship of fifty years, passed to her eternal re- ward on January 26, 1920. One child had blessed the union, a son named Walter Bruce; but the promising lad did when nine years and eight months old. Mr. De Lacy, whose genial temperament lias made him companionable and approachable to many,

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

and whose ability as a public speaker is well known, has endeavored these many years to live up to the Golden Rule; with the result that few men have enjoyed a wider circle of friends. He owns a home place of an acre and a half on the Monterey Road, where in 1909 he built a handsome seven-room bungalow, in which he resides with enviable comfort.

JEREMIAH LEITER-A man of unusual intel- lectual ability, and high Christian character, Jeremiah Leiter, at the age of eighty-three, looks backward over the years with a satisfaction born of right liv- ing. While still a young man, he was threatened with pulmonary troubles, and was, on this account, debarred from entering the Civil War. Although re- tired from business cares, he gives much time to religious and educational lines, and takes an active interest in the affairs of the College of the Pacific.

Mr. Leiter comes from Holland ancestry, his fore- bears being two brothers who came to America in pre-Revolutionary days, one settling in Maryland and the other in Pennsylvania. He was born in Sen- eca County, Ohio, December 15, 1838, in the vicinity of Bellevue, a son of John Leiter, who was engaged in farming pursuits in Ohio. The mother, who be- fore her marriage was Miss Sarah Barger, was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio in an early day. They were the parents of nine children, four boys and five girls, of whom Jeremiah Leiter is the second son. During the year of 1845, the family removed to Fulton County, Indiana, and purchased a farm. The Indians were just leaving this part of the county, the farm was covered with a thick growth of trees and here on the farm Jeremiah was reared and learned to grub, clear, cut brush, plow and do every other kind of farm work, thus having a general pio- neer experience in the Hoosier State. When the family settled on this piece of land, not a house was in sight. A shanty was built and the family moved in, and the following summer the first log house in that locality was erected out of tamarack logs, cut and prepared from logs obtained from a nearby tamarack swamp. His summers were spent work- ing on the farm, going to school during the winter months. He afterwards followed the profession of teaching for five winters.

Mr. Leiter was married in 1862 to Mrs. Jane (Phillips) Schaffer, who was born in Virginia. For a number of years Mr. Leiter was engaged in the mercantile business with his brother-in-law, Hick- man Phillips, at Kewanna, Ind., and was thus engaged until 1875, when he was obliged to retire from the business on account of failing health. He removed to California and spent one year here, greatly benefited in health. Returning to Indiana, he again entered the mercantile business, but at the end of the year was again forced to take a vacation, going to Florida for one year; later removing to California, settling in Napa, where he remained for a year, removing to San Jose in 1883, where he has continuously resided. For a number of years he was engaged in the real estate business, and, as in other lines of work, he was successful.

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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 112

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