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 125

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 125

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The marriage of Mr. Cox occurred on August 10. 1848, in Lee County, Iowa, and united him with Miss Dicey Baggs, a native of Champaign County, Ohio. They were the parents of the following children : John was a rancher and died on his home farm; Jacob M. was also a rancher, as well as office deputy county clerk, who passed away in San Jose; Maria was the wife of Andrew Loyst; Mary Jane is Mrs. Henry C. Walter, and they own and reside on the old William Cox home place; George W. is an en- thusiastic orchardist on a farm of the old Cox ranch; Joseph E. and La Fayette are prominent orchardists on a part of their father's old homestead; Elmira and William are deceased. The family are deeply attached to their father's old home and have, with- out exception, retained the portion of the estate they inherited. which they have greatly improved by setting it out to orchards, now full-bearing. Even though they have other interests, their sentiments hold them to the old homestead and they cling to

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and revere their father's memory and are worthy descendants of a worthy sire. William Cox was a school trustee for some years in the early days. He was a Methodist in religion, and a truly good man.

JAMES E. BEAN .- As a successful horticultur- ist and upbuilder of Santa Clara County, James E. Bean as thoroughly merits as he also thoroughly en- joys the esteem and good will of his fellow-citizens, and his excellent judgment in business matters had given him a place of well-deserved prominence, since his advice can ever be given the utmost reliance. Mr. Bean was born at Minneapolis, Minn., on February 28. 1862, the son of James and Roanna (Fox) Bean, substantial American citizens, esteemed and influen- tial wherever they have resided. The father, who was born in New Hampshire in 1822, removed to Minne- scta and for years was the United States paymaster to the Chippewa Indians. During his residence there he became interested in banking and various commer- cial enterprises. In 1880 he removed to West Branch, Iowa, where he remained for two years, and then came out to San Jose, Cal. He and his wife took up their residence on the Alameda, and there at the splendid old age of ninety-three, Mr. Bean died, his wife having passed away ten years before.

James E. Bean attended the public schools of Min- neapolis and was then sent to Providence, R. I., to continue his studies at the Friends Boarding School, where his parents had also been educated; during this time he also attended lectures at Brown Univer- sity, Providence. On his return to the Middle West he located at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and having chosen to study pharmacy, he entered the wholesale and re- tail house of G. C. Haman as clerk. Finishing his pharmaceutical studies in 1887, he then entered into partnership with his employer, the firm name being Haman & Bean. Later he purchased another drug store in Cedar Rapids and was also secretary and manager of the Cedar Rapids Linseed Oil & Paint Company. In December, 1890, he disposed of his in- terests, and coming to California, located at Sani Jose. He soon became manager of the Madera Flume and Trading Company, with Madera as his headquarters. The majority of the stock of the com- pany was owned by stockholders of the Safe Deposit Bank of San Jose; over 300 men were employed and more than 33,500,000 feet of lumber were cut in a season. The company maintained twelve branch yards and offices, so that Mr. Bean was naturally a very busy man. After eleven years he disposed of the interests of the company and returned to San Jose, where he became secretary of the San Jose Safe Deposit Bank, combining the duties of this office with other active service in the bank until 1908, when he bought the controlling interest of H. B. Martin & Company, wholesale grain and produce dealers of San Jose. Soon after this he took in partners from Salinas, Cal., and changed the name of the corpora- tion to the Salinas Valley Grain and Produce Com- pany, having warehouses and mills throughout the Salinas and Santa Clara valleys. In 1918 Mr. Bean closed out the business of this corporation, taking two years to dispose of their interests, so that the final disposition was in 1920. In addition to these ac- tivities, Mr. Bean is interested in real estate, owning ranches in different parts of California and timber lands in Oregon and business property in San Jose.

On April 19, 1893, Mr. Bean was married in San Jose to Miss Edith Coolidge, born in Honolulu, a sister of C. C. Coolidge, district attorney of Santa Clara County. Mr. and Mrs. Bean have been blessed with five children: Mary Isabel, James Edwin, Jr., Jerome Coolidge, Donald and Paul Dows Bean. Mr. Bean is a member of the San Jose Chamber of Com- merce, the San Francisco Commercial Club, and politically is a strong Republican. A truly self-made man, his initiative, perseverance and application have been the potent factors in his success. His record is an enviable one and his advice on business matters is frequently sought by others, who repose the great- est confidence in his judgment. Of a pleasing per- sonality and kindly, generous impulses, he is ready to help others who have been less fortunate than himself, and can ever be counted upon to lead in any movement for the county's upbuilding.

GEORGE THOMAS CLARK .- Naturally promi- nent among the distinguished librarians of the coun- try, both on account of his own scholarly and literary attainments, and also on account of the famous insti- tution he helped to create and which he now directs with such mastery, George Thomas Clark, librarian of Stanford University Library, enjoys a most envia- ble position throughout California, wielding as he does a powerful influence here in the cause of higher learning. A native son, he was born at San Fran- cisco in 1862, first seeing the light on December 7, the son of the Hon. Robert Clark, a prominent busi- ness man of the Bay City, who so ably represented his district for a term in the California State Legis- lature. He was a native of Vermont, and while still a resident of the East, was married to Miss Augusta Caryl, a native of New Hampshire, both parents rep- resenting fine old American stock. George Thomas Clark, growing up in an environment certain to de- velop in him to the greatest extent his natural powers and special talents, was graduated from the Univer- sity of California in 1886, with the degree of Bachelor of Science, and six years later, on June 8, at San Francisco, he married Miss Annie Douglas, a native of Ohio, then residing at that city, a lady of talent and exceptional charm, who is now deceased. One son, Douglas Clark, blessed this happy union, and in time he was graduated from Stanford University, as a metallurgist and mining engineer.

During the year of his graduation from the State University, Mr. Clark was made assistant librarian of the University of California Library, and from 1887 to 1890, he was deputy state librarian. For the next four years, he was classifier at the California State Library, and from 1894 to 1907, he was librarian of the San Francisco Public Library. Since 1907, Mr. Clark has been at the helm of the great center of re- search and repository of literature which, more than ever since the appalling earthquake and fire, has moved forward to take front rank with the renowned and most serviceable libraries of the world; and only those who have used that library extensively, or have watched with expert knowledge and regular review the development and growth of the establishment, can fully appreciate what Mr. Clark has done, in co- operation with others and on the foundations already laid, to make the library what it is. In 1913 Mr. Clark was sent East by the trustees of Stanford Uni- versity to look over the important libraries and to get suggestions from them. When he was the head of the

James Eedwin Bray.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

San Francisco Public Library in 1904 he had made a tour of the country to gather ideas for a new build- ing which was to be erected in that city. On this first trip he visited practically all of the well equipped libraries of that time, so that his later tour was a rounding out of the former inspection and he looked over only the buildings which had been put up in the meanwhile. During the year 1920, Mr. Clark, during a leave of absence from the University, made a jour- ney around the world on which, as a side issue, he visted famous libraries and purchased books. He went first to Japan, where he was entertained by the Stanford Club, which is composed for the most part of Japanese graduates from Stanford. From Japan he proceeded to the Malay settlements and India, where he had planned to meet Dr. Brainerd Spooner, '99, the deputy director-general of the Indian Archae- ological Survey; but did not do this owing to the fact that he did not reach Delhi, the capital, until April, and the government had already moved to the summer capital in the hills at Simla. Mr. Clark, fol- lowing this course of travel, finally came to Europe. On this trip he purchased over 10,000 volumes for the university library. Most of them were out of the way books which had been ordered for several years and which had not been found in that time. While a student at Stanford, Mr. Clark was an editor of the "Blue and Gold" and in his senior year was the joint editor of the "Occident," then one of the leading student publications. He is a member of the A. L. A., and also of the Library Association of California; and he has to his credit the immense work of a joint compiler of an index to the laws of California covering the period from 1850 to 1893.

JOHN SNYDER .- During August, 1901, John Snyder passed away, and Santa Clara County lost one of its largest and most successful ranchers and most energetic, capable and public-spirited pioneers. On February 11, 1828, in Harrison County, Ind, he was born, the son of Joseph K. and Sarah ( Fleming) Snyder, the father, a native of Philadelphia, Pa., and the mother born in France. Her name was originally Flamonde, but it was changed to Fleming after she and her sister Louise, afterwards Mrs. Harry Bowen, came with Stephen Girard to Philadelphia, making their home with his family until they were married. The Snyder family had settled in Harrison County in 1821, when it was but a wilderness, and in the fall of 1839 removed to what is now Tipton, Cedar County, lowa, where the parents reared and educated their family of five daughters and three sons. In 1849, when John Snyder was twenty-one, he joined a small party in which were his father and brother- in-law, Moses Bunker, in a trip across the plains. The two wagons comprising their outfit, with ox teams and provisions, traveled alone until reaching the Missouri River, when they were joined by others. The party underwent the usual hardship and danger incident to a trip across the plains in those early days, and arrived in California where Chico has since sprung into existence. The two older men soon re- turned to lowa. The following winter was spent in the mines, and then Mr. Snyder went to Trinity County, and after joining the new camp became aware that the supply of provisions was running low. and volunteers were asked for to go in search of food to replenish the larder. Mr. Snyder was among

the number chosen to go to Humboldt Bay for this purpose, and later he was one of a party to make a trail to the Salmon River from Trinity County. He then located in Weaverville. An expedition was or- ganized by a man named Ross, who discovered the Scott River, but never received the credit for his dis- covery. Scott, after whom the river was named, met Mr. Ross and party when they were in pursuit of Pawnee Indians who had stolen their ponies, and from the party learned of the location of the river. Turning his course in the direction of the river, Scott appropriated its discovery.

At a later period Mr. Snyder made another trip to Scott River and took out considerable gold, but on account of bad weather the party followed the course of the river to its head, then in the direction of Fort Jones, and to Shasta Butte and the Oregon trail. Here the party broke up, some going to Oregon and Mr. Snyder and his friends going to Sacramento. For a short time he lived in the vicinity of San Jose, and after working in the redwoods a few weeks was em- ployed on farms during the winter of 1850-51. Re- turning to Santa Clara County the following spring, he was taken ill with fever and was unable to do any- thing until 1852, when, in February, he returned to the redwoods. In 1855 he was again in Santa Clara County operating a farm and threshing machine, and his success led him to establish a home of his own, shortly after his marriage with Martha Kifer, in the fall of 1855. Mrs. Snyder also came from a pioneer family of the coast country, having been born at Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Ky., in which state her father, John Kifer, had settled after his re- moval from Tennessee. The father was born in Pennsylvania, and in 1847 removed to Jackson Coun- ty, Mo., where he engaged in farming, and from where he crossed the plains with his family in 1853. The train consisted of twenty wagons, and he had 150 head of cattle, and was selected captain of the train. Settling near Mountain View, he purchased government land and farmed for the balance of his life, his death occurring at the age of seventy-seven years. His wife, formerly Lucy Martin, was born in Tennessee, and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Snyder, at an advanced age.

Mr. Snyder continued to farm until the fall of 1859. when he bought a farm near Mountain View, and lived there until 1865. Meantime, in 1861, he had pur- chased the large tract of land on Permanente Creek, which originally consisted of 1160 acres. He bought the land on time, but he was fortunate with his crops and from the first year's yield was able to pay for one-half of it. His grain crop of 1862 was the first raised in this section of the county. His success in- spired others and was an incentive for his neighbors to plant their land to grain, and the section became fa- mous for the quality and quantity of its grain output. He had about 500 acres under cultivation and twenty- five acres in orchard, principally French prunes, and sixteen acres in vineyard. He also owned eighty acres in the Collins school district in vineyard, and his farm near Mountain View of 160 acres in hay and grain. He also owned 300 acres in Monterey County, a part of a tract of 1200 acres he had purchased with his brother-in-law, Mr. Kifer, in 1866, as well as valuable property in San Mateo and Fresno counties. Fol- lowing Mr. Snyder's death, his widow occupied the

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home ranch of 700 acres. Mrs. Snyder proved an excellent manager, and an ideal mother, rearing a family of five children, all of whom reflect credit - upon her teachings and example. She passed away in January, 1919, at the age of eighty-one. Her eld- est daughter, Sarah Ann, is the widow of William F. Foss, of San Jose; Arthur J. is a rancher of Mountain View; John H. passed away six years ago; Martha B. became the wife of Dr. W. H. Hammond; she passed away on their ranch near Mountain View, leaving one child, Muriel, who is the wife of Raymond Haynes; Letitia became the wife of E. F. Kendall, residing on a ranch called "Kendall Dell," five miles south of Mountain View. Mr. Snyder was a Democrat in poli- tics, and fraternally was a Mason. He was respected and honored in his locality and contributed to its standard of manhood by a noble and upright life.

EDMUND L. FELLOWS .- A man of recognized worth and ability who has contributed much to the horticultural development of the Santa Clara Valley and whose mining interests are also extensive is Ed- mund L. Fellows, a native son, born at Napa, April 4, 1865, the son of a pioneer family of 1850, estab- lished in the state in that year by his father, George Fellows, one of the most interesting characters in the early history of the state.

George Fellows left his native state, New Hamp- shire, when nine years old, and accompanied his par- ents to Galena, Ill., where he was reared. In 1850 he joined the gold-seekers on the Pacific Coast, and more fortunate than many, he acquired a genuine lik- ing for mining and was interested for the remainder of his life, operating on gradually increasing propor- tions. From Hangtown he removed to Nevada County, and there he discovered the Plumbago mines and the Fellows lead, later called Gold Canyon. Later he located other large, valuable properties and he became known as one of the most successful gold mine owners in that section. In 1862 he removed to Napa, and while there, with others he built the Napa Valley Railroad, afterward a part of the Southern Pacific system. From 1870 to 1875 he was superin- tendent of the Phoenix quicksilver mines near Calis- toga, and then engaged in farming, first near Brent- wood, Contra Costa County, and then near Spokane, Wash. He returned to Mountain View, Cal., in 1900, and there his death occurred on May 15 of that year. During his lifetime he made a fortune, and being most liberal and kind hearted, much of it was given to charities and to educational institutions. His mar- riage had united him with Ann McCabe, who crossed the plains with her parents in 1852, her father, Thomas McCabe, settling near Brentwood, where he died in 1886. Mrs. Fellows passed away in 1901, the mother of a family of eleven children, nine of whom are still living.

The fifth child in the family, Edmund L. Fellows, engaged in farming in the vicinity of San Jose until 1890, when he became interested in horticulture, help- ing to set out and develop the orchards of the fa- mous Quito Ranch, of which he has been for some years the owner, this being one of the finest orchard properties in the Santa Clara Valley. The ranch, which consists of 550 acres, is beautifully located on Saratoga Avenue. It is splendidly equipped, the head- quarters being centrally located on the ranch, with ample buildings to care for the stock and imple- ments, as well as space for the dry yards, sufficient

to dry all the fruit on the ranch, including an evapo- rator of large capacity. It is indeed a busy place, and often a dozen teams may be seen in the morning, starting to the various parts of the ranch to take care of its cultivation. Before becoming so extensively interested in horticulture, Mr. Fellows assisted his father in his later mining projects in Nevada County and is still largely interested in that district, a region that has some very rich ore and has what is termed picture rock, of high value.

Mr. Fellows' marriage united him with Miss Laura E. McCoy, a member of one of the pioneer families of this region. Her parents were Reuben and Ellen D. (England) McCoy, who were married December 12, 1866, the latter a native of Missouri. Reuben McCoy was born in Greene County, Tenn., February 4, 1825, and in 1836 went with his father to Missouri, where he lived until April 13, 1850, when he started for California in an ox-team train, reaching here on August 29. He became a prominent farmer in Santa Clara County and passed away on August 9, 1886, his wife surviving him until February 1, 1922. In addition to his large horticultural interests, Mr. Fel- lows is prominently identified with the political and social affairs of the county, and is a stanch Republi- can. Fraternally he is a member of True Fellowship Lodge No. 283, I. O. O. F., the Encampment and Patriarchs Militant. Mr. Fellows' ranch is under a high state of cultivation and is one of the truly pleas- ant and hospitable rural homes in the neighborhood. He is an ardent lover of nature, is devoted to his in- teresting calling and being gifted with business sa- gacity, has long since passed the experimental to the assuredly successful stage.

JAMES H. ELLIS .- Throughout Central Califor- nia no man was better known or more highly esteemed than James H. Ellis, a successful dairy farmer, who became prominent as a substantial and well-to-do resi- dent of Gilroy. He was the descendant of a promi- nent Virginia family and a native of the Old Domin- ion, born November 25, 1828. His parents moved to Illinois when he was but six years old; then re- moved to Montrose, Iowa, on the Mississippi River, and it was there he grew to manhood and acquired an education in the public schools. He was a mem- ber of a family of seven children, and after leaving school learned the bricklayer's trade and was thus engaged until he reached twenty-one, when he de- cided to remove to California. In 1849 he · came across the plains with ox team and, locating in Colusa County, Cal., he engaged in mining for sev- eral years, and was quite successful at times, but he amassed no great wealth in this venture. About 1854 he spent a short time in Sacramento. Later, coming to the Santa Clara Valley, he located near Santa Clara, where he engaged in farming.

Mr. Ellis was married to Miss Harriet Zuck on November 25, 1855, his twenty-seventh birthday. Mrs. Ellis was the daughter of David and Maria Louisa (Linnton) Zuck, the former a native of Penn- sylvania, and the latter of Ohio, and she was born in Marion County, Ohio, May 10, 1838. When a young man her father accompanied his parents to Ohio, locating first in Ross County and afterward in Marion County. In 1849 he came to California and engaged in mining, but in 1851 returned to Ohio. The following spring he again started west with his

Edmund Lo Fellows

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

family, and after a journey of six months behind ox teams they reached their destination. The family first located in Marysville and Mr. Zuck followed mining until 1853, when he removed to Santa Clara County and purchased land near Gilroy, and it was upon this farm that both he and his wife passed their closing years.

Soon after marriage the young couple moved to the vicinity of Gilroy and it was there that Mr. Ellis rose to prominence as a dairy farmer, continuing for forty- six years. He had energy, was capable of hard work, and was ambitious, and these qualifications secured his advancement in the financial world. Retiring from active pursuits in 1891, he spent his remaining years in Gilroy, where his death occurred November 25, 1900. In national politics he was a supporter of the Republican party. He was one of the original stockholders of the old Bank of Gilroy and a director at the time of his death. With Jesse D. Carr lie or- ganized the Salinas City Bank of Salinas; also with Mr. Hawkins organized the first bank in Hollister and was a stockholder in the Commercial & Savings Bank of San Jose. After her husband's death, Mrs. Ellis continued to reside on the home place until she passed away in October, 1907. They were the par- ents of six children: Alvin L. died in May, 1919; Milton, deceased; Laura is Mrs. Frank Vetterline; Emma married George T. Dunlap and resides in Oakland; Dora married Edgar Hollaway and both are deceased; and Marion E. is deceased.

JAMES HENRY CAMPBELL .- The name of James Henry Campbell is inseparably interwoven with the history of Santa Clara County and more especially the beautiful town of Campbell, for his father, Benjamin Campbell, laid out the little town and it was named in his honor, now the very center of one of the finest fruit-growing sections of Santa Clara Valley. Here our subject was born on Decem- ber 12, 1852, a son of Benjamin and Mary Louise (Rucker) Campbell, both parents pioneers of Santa Clara County. In tracing the ancestry of Mr. Camp- bell, we find his paternal grandfather, William Camp- bell, to have been a native of Bourbon County, Ky., a tanner by trade, and a soldier in the War of 1812. He operated a tannery near Greenville, Ky., prior to going to Missouri in 1839, and there followed farming pursuits until he crossed the plains to Cali- fornia in 1846, making the trip via the Platte River route. Capt. Benjamin Campbell, the father of our subject, was a youth of twenty when his parents came to California, and during the trip across the plains he drove one of the teams, walking most of the way. William Campbell preempted a claim of 160 acres two miles south of Santa Clara and his son Benjamin assisted him in preparing a home for the family in the new country, staying with him until 1849, when he returned to Missouri by way of Panama, on a visit. Upon his return to California, in 1851, he pur- chased the land upon which the town of Campbell stands, and in the fall of the same year again re- turned to Missouri, this time to claim his bride, Miss Mary Louise Rucker, born in Missouri, daughter of William and Verenda (Taylor) Rucker. They were married in Saline County, Mo., and in the spring of 1852 he again made the trip to California, accompa- nied by his wife, her father and his family, and also

two of his sisters and their families. He was captain of the ox-team train and they brought a band of cat- tle. Three children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Campbell, of whom James Henry, the subject of this review is the eldest; Laura Ann, Mrs. Swope, is deceased, and Lena M. is Mrs. S. G. Rodeck. In 1885 Benjamin Campbell began the cul- ture of fruit commercially, which proved a good bus- iness venture in that locality. In 1890 he conceived the idea of founding a town in the midst of the fruit- growing district and having determined upon a line of action, he permitted no obstacle to turn him from his accomplishment. Realizing the many evils of in- temperance, he was determined that the town should be founded on temperance principles, and the town will forever remain so. The original plat of Camp- bell contained but eighteen lots, but since then many additions have been made by the Campbells with the same clause in the deed, and the place has increased in size and population. In executing the deeds to these lots, the title was made subject to the follow- ing conditions and restrictions: "That if the party of the second part, his heirs or assigns, shall at any time sell or keep for sale, on any portion of said premises, or knowingly permit anyone to keep for sale any spirituous of intoxicating liquors either dis- tilled or fermented, the entire title and estate in and to said premises hereby created, shall cease, and title to said premises shall thereupon revert to said party of the first part or his heirs and assigns forever, and it shall then be lawful for said party of the first part, his heirs or assigns, to enter upon said premises and eject said party of the second part, his heirs or assigns, and every person claiming under them, or either of them," Benjamin Campbell was active in the affairs of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and for many years was a steward and trustee and superin- tendent of the Sunday school. In early days he was a Whig, then a Democrat, but prior to his demise was a Prohibitionist in his political views. He was the first postmaster of Campbell, and for two years was a justice of the peace, school director for a num- ber of years, a member of the board of trade, a pro- moter of the Bank of Campbell, of which he was vice-president and director, and he was a trustee of the Grange. He died March 27, 1907, and his widow survived him until March 5, 1913.

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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 125

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