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 123

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 123

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He was educated in the public schools of San Jose and at Santa Clara College, and after this he took up the study and practice of surveying and civil engineering under A. T. Herman for two years; then with his father he went to Central America, where he remained for a period of eight years. On his return to San Jose he became secretary and manager of the San Jose Electric Light Company, a position he filled for two years, when he accepted a position with Mr. Pieper, city engineer of San Jose, continuing with him until Mr. Pieper's death, when Mr. Sainsevain received the appointment of city engineer, serving acceptably for a period of six years. During this time he laid out the main sewer and sewer system. Next he was deputy county assessor under L. A. Spitzer until his death, and then under Mrs. L. A. Spitzer until the close of her term of office, when he entered the county surveyor's office eight years ago, since which time he has been serving under Mr. Ryder.

Mr. Sainsevain resides in a comfortable home he owns in Sainsevain Villa, a subdivision his father laid out of the 116-acre farm in 1870. In San Fran- cisco occurred the marriage of Mr. Sainsevain and Lillian Ebeling. She is a native daughter, born in San Francisco, whose father was one of the pioneer jewelers of that city. Their union has been blessed with two children: Eugenio, died at the age of twen- ty years, just as he was entering Stanford University. and Isabelle, now Mrs. Schweitzer, who has one child, Eugenio Schweitzer.

JOSEPH E. RUCKER .- From the date of his arrival in California, in the early days of 1852, Joseph E. Rucker was intimately associated with the upbuild- ing of the Santa Clara Valley, first with its ranching interests, and later as the founder of the firm popu- larly known as the Rucker Realty Company, pioneers in the real estate business of this locality and active factors in its development.

Joseph E. Rucker was born in Howard County, Mo., in 1831, the son of William T. and Verenda S. (Taylor) Rucker, who moved to Howard County, Mo., in 1830, soon after their marriage in Virginia, where the father was born in 1809 and the mother in 1810. In 1832 they removed to Saline County, Mo, and for the next twenty years they engaged in farm- ing there, successful among their generation and honored for their many sterling qualities. In 1852 the whole family made the long trip across the plains to California, and William T. Rucker succeeded in bringing through 200 milch cows, no small undertak- ing in that day, but a very profitable one for him, as he had purchased them for ten dollars a head and was able to dispose of them for from $150 to $200 a head. Soon after arriving here he bought 160 acres of land southwest of Santa Clara, which he sowed to wheat, his first crop yielding fifty bushels to the acre. This was in the season of 1852-53 when seed potatoes and seed wheat each cost five cents per pound. Mr. and Mrs. William T. Rucker were the parents of eleven children: Joseph E., of this review; Mary L., Mrs. Benj. Campbell; John S .; W. D .; R. T .; Dr. H. N .; Z. T .; Nancy C., Mrs. John P. Finley; George F .; Margaret E., Mrs. Clark; B. W. Mr. Rucker passed away in 1879, his wife surviving him a number of years, her death occurring in 1897.

In 1853 Joseph E. Rucker took up eighty acres of land, which he farmed until 1855, when he bought a dairy near Gilroy. In 1858 he disposed of this and bought a ranch, which he operated until 1864, when he sold it. Then he bought the ranch at Campbell, where he lived until he bought a tract of ten acres in The Willows in 1874, and that same year went into the real estate business, in which he was engaged during the remainder of his life. In 1883 he took his son into partnership with him, the firm becoming J. E. Rucker & Son, successors to Rucker & Page, and this company became foremost among the realty and insurance concerns of the Santa Clara Valley.

In 1855 Joseph E. Rucker was married to Miss Susan Brown, a native of Holt County, Mo, who came to California in 1851 with her parents, Samuel and Susan (Woods) Brown. They were also pio- ncer settlers of Missouri, coming there in 1825 fron their old home in Kentucky. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rucker: William B., Annie, deceased; Mary E., now Mrs. M. A. Boulware; James T. and Samuel N., twins; the latter was a member of the State Legislature in 1885, and in 1889 was mayor of San Jose; Joseph H. is now head of the realty business, with offices in both San Jose and San Fran- cisco: Susan is the wife of Judge P. F. Gosbey of San Jose: Lucy M., the wife of Dr. Chas. A. Way- land. Joseph E. Rucker passed away in 1890, sur- vived for seven years by his devoted wife. A life-long Democrat, he took an active interest in the affairs of his party, and he was a Mason, belonging to San Jose Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M, Howard Chapter

F.a.Wimax

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

No. 14, R. A. M., San Jose Commandery, K. T., and San Jose Chapter No. 31, O. E. S. A conscientious member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and a generous supporter of its benevolences, he was the first single man to join this church in the Santa Clara Valley, which church was built by his father and known as Rucker's Chapel. A worthy pioneer, he contributed much to the permanent upbuilding and development of this section of California, his death closing a career that had been upright and honorable in every relation of his well-spent life.

FRANK A. WILCOX .- A representative of Santa Clara County whose success in life has enabled him to ·command an influence helpful to many others besides himself, is Frank A. Wilcox, widely known for his association with the Wilcox Fruit Company, resid- ing on Coffin Road, three miles to the northwest of Santa Clara. The son of the Hon. Isaiah Alonzo Wilcox, one of the most esteemed pioneers of Santa Clara County, Frank Asa was born in Fruitvale, Alameda County, on November 16, 1860, the eldest in a family of four sons and one daughter, and while vet a youth he was fortunate in mastering a thorough knowledge of the fruit trade, so that long before most young men, he was able to start in business for himself with a good practical experience as part of his capital. Toward the close of 1889, he secured by purchase twenty acres of choice land lying west of his father's ranch in Santa Clara County, and com- inenced to raise seeds and fruits, and two years later, he added to his holdings a twelve-acre tract, which he set out in fruit, and in 1904 he bought another twenty acres, also for fruit culture. About the same time he formed a working agreement with Charles Parker of Santa Clara and W. H. Metson of San Francisco, and first undertook the growing of vege- tables for seeds; and from that early venture of nearly twenty years ago, sprang the California Seeds, Inc., of which Mr. Wilcox was secretary, and they shipped sceds to all parts of the United States, and even to Europe. Although so successful in the seed business that that industry alone almost monopolized his at- tention, he continued to operate his thirty-two acres, and also to take care of his one-fifth interest in his father's estate.

After the death of his father, in 1897, the Wilcox Fruit Company was incorporated. It took over the orchards and business of the deceased pioneer, and developed an enviable property and trade. Its present officials are F. A. Wilcox, president, I. A. Wilcox, general manager; and Walter Wilcox, secretary and treasurer. The company has sold off some land, and bought other land, since Isaiah A. Wilcox's death, and at present it has seventy-six acres. Frank A. Wilcox with his two sons owns eighty-six acres, the whole being devoted to growing pears. Mr. Wilcox saw the need of drainage for this section, so with others laid a drain pipe line for 6000 feet to get a proper outlet, and then he laid tile throughout his property, which he finds of great benefit to the land and his growing orchards. He has also installed an underground system for spraying the trees, oper- ated from a central plant. By this method spraying can be done immediately after a rain, instead of the old way of having to wait several weeks for the ground to dry sufficiently to allow the hauling of the tank wagon. He is a stockholder in the Bank of Italy, and he also is a director in the California Pear

Growers Association, which he helped to establish in 1918. He helped to organize at San Jose, the Co- operative Canneries, a state-wide institution, and he is a director of the Santa Clara unit.

At Santa Clara, in 1886, Mr. Wilcox was married to Miss Mary L. Ortley, a native of Santa Clara County and the daughter of Capt. John Jacob and Almira Ortley, honored pioneers. Her father, one of the ablest sea captains of several oceans, brought his own ship to the Pacific Coast in 1849, and after- ward engaged in Coast trade; and her mother, who was Miss Wade before her marriage, crossed the great plains to the Golden State to reach her longed- for goal. Captain Ortley, then running a line of freight steamers between San Francisco and Alviso, and he and Miss Wade were married on Christmas Eve, 1858, and they made their home near Alviso. A sister of Mrs. Wilcox is Mrs. Frank A. Hunter, and her history is given elsewhere in this work in the life-story of her husband. Three children blessed this fortunate union of Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox. Fannie Almira had become a gifted, promising young lady of twenty when, in 1907, she died, popular as a grad- nate of the Santa Clara high school. Lloyd Ortley Wilcox, married Miss Nola McCline of Santa Clara, and they have two children, Barbara and Frank Al- fred. Adrian C. Wilcox, graduated from the Uni- versity of California and has become an agricultural expert. He entered the U. S. service and for two years during the war he was associated with the Agricultural Department in the work of increasing the production of wheat-an important work for which he was especially recommended by his former professor; he was married to Miss Irma Currie of

Los Angeles, a granddaughter of the founder of Tus- tin, Orange County. Frank A. Wilcox's father died on April 1, 1897; and his mother, who was Mary Frances Abbott before her marriage, breathed her last on May 13, 1891. In 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox built their beautiful residence, which they later re- modeled, making it a commodious country house. Mr. Wilcox is an Odd Fellow, a past grand and a past chief patriarch in the Encampment.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARY .- Wide- ly known as among the most attractive of all the ex- ternal features of the Stanford University, the splen- didly-equipped and equally splendidly housed library of that world-famous institution of higher learning, has become of absorbing interest and abiding satis- faction both to the discriminating and exacting scholar, and the ambitious student. Its superb build- ing alone, according to the well-chosen phrases of President Ray Lyman Wilbur, materializes a dream once before almost a reality. When one studies the simple and effective arrangement of the building, with its many conveniences, made possible through experi- ence-illustrative of more than one theory and fore- thought of the librarian, George Thomas Clark, and and those associated with him in the immense labor of calling again into creation such a storehouse with all its complicated machinery-he cannot but think that perhaps the earthquake may have been kind in its rude shattering of former hopes. The erection of the library has hastened the inevitable rearrangement of roads through the campus so as to provide the easiest access to the residence district, in spite of the great projected quadrangles blocking the direct course from Palo Alto, and, attractive without, and beautiful

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

in its simplicity within, the new library has taken its firm place in the life of Stanford scholarship.

When Stanford University first opened its doors for instruction on October 1, 1891, there were only 3,000 volumes in its library, and the home of the library was in the building occupied of late by the law library. At the end of the first year, there were still accommodations for only about 100 readers, in one large room, but the number of volumes had in- creased to 8,000, and these books were on shelves capable of holding 10,000 more; so that it is safe to say that, in the first few years, the most important of all works available for student use were in the pri- vate collections of the professors, assembled at the latter's expense. In this first year, however, was ac- quired the valuable gift from Timothy Hopkins of some 2,000 volumes on railroads, the nucleus of the 10,000 volumes he was ultimately to give as the Hop- kins Railway Library. At the end of the second year, the library's staff consisted of a librarian and two student assistants, and the library, contained 15,600 books. At the close of this second year, oc- curred the death of Senator Stanford, followed by attempts on the part of the government to invalidate the deed to the university, so that had it not been for the continued munificent interest of Mr. Hopkins in the welfare of the institution, the library would have made little or no progress because of want of funds. The library, for example, had less than $2,000 to spend for books during the second year, and Mr. Hop- kins alone gave three times that amount. In this year was also acquired by purchase through private subscriptions and eventually through the proceeds of a great fair, or kirmess, in which nearly the whole of the university took part, the valuable library of Professor Hildebrand of Germany on Germanic phi- lology and early literature,-a magnificent collection. comprising about 4,600 volumes and over 1,000 pam- phlets. Edwin H. Woodruff, who was the librarian at Stanford from 1891, accepted a professorship of law at Cornell University several years later, and in time Herbert C. Nash, long private secretary for Senator Stanford, contributed his intelligence and fine personal qualities in helping to bridge over the diffi- cult and lean years of the library. Not the least in- teresting items in the history of this indispensable adjunct of the university is the record of work per- formed in 1898 by some seventy-eight volunteer stu- dents, who, under the able direction of A. V. Babine, prepared a card catalogue.

The temporary quarters of the library being out- grown, Thomas Welton Stanford of Australia, who had already given 2,000 volumes on that country, do- nated $300,000 for a new library in the outer quad- rangle, and when it was first occupied, over 50,000 volumes were installed-all removed through the vol- untary assistance of about 250 students. The library of the Department of Law, recently enlarged through the private libraries of Supreme Justice Stephen J. Field and others, moved in where the main library had been. In 1901, Melvin G. Dodge, librarian of Hamilton College, became associate librarian, and was eventually made acting librarian, took hold, and dur- ing his administration, which lasted until 1907, the Dewey system of classification was adopted. In 1904, as it was evident that the library building in the outer quadrangle would not be adequate for the permanent home of the growing library, and also was not prop- erly protected from fire, Mrs. Stanford began the

construction of a new library building in front of the quadrangle buildings. This building was about com- pleted, except for interior finishing and furnishing, when it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1906 be- yond hope of economical reconstruction. In Febru- ary, 1905, Mrs. Jane L. Stanford, on departing for Honolulu for the benefit of her health, arranged for the creation of a Jewel Fund, by the sale of her jewels, for the purchase of books, and since Mrs. Stanford never returned alive, the Jewel Fund was established by the trustees in 1908. The bequest was made none too soon: the same year, 1906, the earth- quake destroyed not only the prospective library home, but neighboring libraries as well, and the board . of trustees were face to face with the necessity for immediate disbursements of a generous nature. In 1907, the librarianship, made vacant by Mr. Nash's death, was awarded George T. Clark, then the suc- cessful librarian of the San Francisco Public Library, and under his exceptional leadership, the Stanford Library entered upon a new era of development in which, since then, there has never been any back- ward movements. Valuable accessions to the gen- cral library have been made from time to time, and these have included the valuable professional libra- ries of President Emeritus John Casper Branner, on geology, and the late Professor Ewald Fluegel on English philology and early English literature. Among the donors of particular service to the library in thesc later periods are Timothy Hopkins, Thomas Welton Stanford, David Starr Jordan, John C. Branner, Her- bert Hoover, Charles G. Lathrop, Horace Davis, and J. E. Hewston. In 1913, the Board of Trustees de- cided to construct a new building in keeping with the wants of the university, and one that would meet the growth of the university for many years to come, but the erection of this important structure was de- layed by the World War and the national needs ap- pealing to patriots generally. At present the Uni- versity Library, which has a staff of twenty-nine members and sixteen student assistants, comprises over 350,000, about 50,000 of which are permanently housed in the Lane Medical Library in San Francisco, and some 25,000 in the Law Library; and since the new library building will accommodate about 700,000 volumes, adequate accommodations for hity years to come has been provided.

The Library of Stanford University has been placed in such a position as to terminate the cross vista of the quadrangles in much the same way that the church terminates the vista of the central axis; and when the buildings adjacent to the library are com- pleted, the library will have a large open court in front, flanked by smaller buildings. The structure is 180 feet wide by 235 feet deep, of steel construction reinforced by concrete floors and roof slabs, and the latter are covered with red tile in harmony with the other buildings of the university. The main facade is of San Jose sandstone, and the side and rear facades are of buffed brick, trimmed with sandstone. Just as the library itself is the central feature of the sec- ond quadrangle, the space under the cupola is the the central feature of the library. It is the place where the staff and the public meet; and sentimen- tally, as well as actually, it is the heart of the library. The shape of this high room and its proportions lend themselves admirably to a Romanesque treatment. There is a very strong suggestion of the Byzantine,

J. J. Anderson

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

as is quite often found in Romanesque work, which is further carried out by the hanging lights.

The reading room is a well proportioned room, 42 by 177 feet, and here, as in the whole interior treat- ment, the architects attempted to express the some- what ascetic character of the monastic architecture of the early middle ages, which is the type used in the university buildings. At the right of the deliv- ery hall is the main stack, equipped with shelves for 340,000 volumes, but with an ultimate capacity of 700,000 volumes. Across the western front are ar- ranged the periodical room, the Timothy Hopkins room and the faculty reading room. On the third floor is the seminar library, with five seminar rooms, while in the mezzanine between the second and third floors are four additional seminars and also eleven cubicles to be used for special assignment. Notwith- standing the handicap of war conditions, the work on this superb library structure proceeded with so little serious interruption that it was made ready for occupancy on July 7, 1919.

JOHN ZUINGLIUS ANDERSON .- A life of great usefulness and far-reaching influence was ended on May 21, 1916, when John Zuinglius Anderson was called to his final rest at the age of eighty-seven years. He was one of the sturdy pioneers of Cali- fornia and his name is written high on the roll of the honored dead who were among the real builders and promoters of the state. A man of marked initia- tive, enterprise and determination, his distinguished ability would have gained him leadership in any voca- tion which he chose to follow. Descending from Scotch progenitors and early identified with the his- tory of America, the Anderson family possesses the high principles of honor characteristic of the one race and the independent and enterprising spirit of the other nation. Loyal to the land of their adop- tion, they have furnished representatives to aid thie country in almost every war in its history. The great-grandfather of John Z. Anderson was a Revo- lutionary soldier, enlisting with a regiment from old Virginia. The grandfather, George S., removed from that state to Pennsylvania, settling among the pio- neers of Crawford County. When the War of 1812 began he was prevented from becoming a participant by his responsibility as the head of a family, but two of his sons responded to the call for volunteers and showed the fighting spirit of their Revolutionary an- cestor. When the family settled in Pennsylvania, George, the father of John Z., who was born in Vir- ginia, was a child of two years. Early in life he be- came interested in general farming and stock busi- ness and for a number of years engaged as a drover over the mountains to the big cities of eastern Penn- sylvania. The dairy business also claimed his atten- tion for many years. His life was passed in the same locality and he lived to be eighty-nine years of age. His marriage united him with Miss Elizabeth Free- man, a native of New Jersey of English extraction, who accompanied her father, Thomas Freeman, to Pennsylvania when thirteen years of age and settled on a farm in Crawford County.

In this family of eleven children, of whom he was the only one to establish a home in California, John Z. Anderson was the fourth in order of birth. In this favored section of the East, he grew to manhood, receiving a good education, and being trained in hab- its of industry and perseverance. Becoming inter-

ested in the newly discovered gold regions of Cali- tornia, he decided to seek the new Eldorado, so in 1852 he made his way to California, being at that time twenty-two years old. He made the journey on the ship Daniel Webster to Greytown, when he crossed by the Nicaragua route to the west coast and thence on the vessel Pacific to San Francisco. When the ship cast anchor he hastened to the mines on the American River and for nine months followed the adventurous life of a miner, but failing to find the coveted gold in sufficient quantities to be paying, he turned his attention to general farming in the Suisun Valley in Solano County, in which he met with suc- cess. In 1857 he returned to Pennsylvania, where his marriage occurred. He returned with his bride to Solano County, Cal., and for ten years continued a resident of this state, but in 1866 revisited Pennsyl- vania with the intention of remaining in the East. However, he was not long satisfied with that part of the country and soon returned to the Golden State, establishing his home in San Jose, where he spent the remaining years of his life.

While ranching at Suisun, in the early days, Mr. Anderson also operated a line of freight teams from California to Nevada, hauling supplies to the princi- pal mining camps in that state, being thus occupied from 1863 until 1865 and winning substantial suc- cess in his operations along that line. Following his location in San Jose, he became interested in the fruit industry, shipping fruit to the East. He con- ceived the idea of shipping fresh fruit from California to the eastern cities by refrigeration, and many thought this a very impracticable idea, but he refused to abandon his project, so to test out he converted a freight car into a refrigerator car, dividing it into small sections and providing it with a plentiful sup- ply of ice; thus he shipped the first carload of ripe cherries from California to Chicago, the fruit being sent from San Jose. The cherries arrived at their destination in fine condition, and long-distance ship- ping of fresh fruit by refrigeration thus became a realized fact. Mr. Anderson invented the present cherry box used for shipping cherries that has since become so popular and in general use. He was urged by his friends to protect it by patents, but he refused to do so, being desirous that all should profit by his inventive genius. He was also first to employ women packers in his packing and shipping of cher- ries, thus opening a way for a new industry for women. Mr. Anderson was the first man in this state to ship ripe olives in carload lots to the East. He became the heaviest shipper of fresh fruits in Cali- fornia, sending consignments to Denver, Chicago and all of the large centers in the Middle West. Mr. Anderson was president of the J. Z. Anderson Fruit Company, being associated with his son, George, in this business until he retired from active business life. He was also president of the California Fruit Union, which was organized in 1883, the first co- operative fruit marketing organization formed for shipping California fruits to the East. He was never satisfied with old and worn-out business methods, but was constantly striving for improvement and advance- ment, and although a few of his experiments did not prove the success anticipated, he enjoyed a large degree of success and was responsible for many inno- vations of value, resulting in a notable saving of time and increased efficiency. His nature was a buoyant

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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 123

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