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 137

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 137

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He then farmed a part of the old William Curtain ranch, on the Downing Road, the part now operated by J. F. Rose, and only at the end of eight years sold out his interest, being attracted to Milpitas. Here he entered into a partnership with Joseph Pashote, the father of the Pashote Bros., to conduct the grocery and general merchandise business now under- taken by the Pashotes, the partners buying ont Mr. Cunha, but in 1908 he sold his interest to Mr. Pa- shote, and he built another store in Milpitas, which he has since conducted.

At Milpitas, in January, 1904, Mr. Carlo was mar- ried to Miss Lena Pashote, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Pashote, the former an early settler of San Leandro, where he engaged in farming. The bride was born in San Leandro, and in the excellent schools there received her education. Four children have blessed this union, Mary, John, Alfred and Joseph, all of whom attend the Milpitas school. In national political affairs a standpat Republican, and one who is influential in local councils, Mr. Carlo is popular in fraternal circles. He is a member of the I. D. E. S., and he is secretary of the Milpitas lodge; he is also secretary of the U. P. E. C. of Milpitas, is the supreme director of the S. E. S. of Milpitas, and a charter member of the Milpitas lodge of the Wood- men of the World.

HENRY D. MATHEWS .- An experienced and accommodating official, whose dependability is ap- preciated by all who come in contact with him, is Henry D. Mathews, a native of New York City, where he was born April 11, 1845. His parents were James H. and Mary Elizabeth (Gorse) Mathews, and they settled at St. Paul, Minn., when Henry was eleven years old. His great-great-grand- father, David Matthews, a native of England, set- tled in New York, and was mayor of that city from 1777 to 1783; at that time the family spelled their name with two t's.

Henry D. Mathews went to the public schools in New York City and St. Paul, and from his seven- teenth to his twentieth year was in the Civil War as

a member of Company G, Sixth Minnesota Volun- teer Infantry, serving from August 13, 1862, until August 19, 1865, when he received his honorable discharge. Returning to St. Paul, he was with James J. Hill when the latter was steamboat agent there, from April, 1866, to March, 1869; afterwards he was with the Northern Line of steamboats on the Missis- sippi River for a few years and then was agent for the Diamond Joe Line at St. Paul for about fifteen years. Becoming president and treasurer of the Northwestern Lime Company, he was thus occupied until 1894, when he disposed of his holdings to come to California.

On coming to San Jose, Mr. Mathews was presi- dent of the Los Gatos Wine Company, and when the Good Government League was formed in 1902, he was elected councilman at large for San Jose. After twenty months in that office, he was appointed city treasurer and four months later was elected to that office, in 1904. At the end of two years he was elected mayor of San Jose in 1906; owing to the effects of the earthquake of that year, much had to be done to public buildings and public works, and it so happened that the responsibilities of office were greater for Mr. Mathews in that period than they ordinarily would have been and he was able to accomplish just so much the more. On leaving the office of mayor, Mr. Mathews served as bank exam- iner under Alden Anderson, state superintendent of banks, until 1911, when he became manager of the Kennett branch of the First Savings Bank of Shasta County, continuing there for seven years. On Octo- ber 1, 1918, he resigned and returned to San Jose. and since then has been manager of the Safe De- posit Department of the Garden City Bank and Trust Company of San Jose.

In Chicago, in 1890, Mr. Mathews was married to Miss Martha E. Shideler, and their son is Henry D. Mathews, Jr., an automotive electrician. He was in the officers' training camp at Camp Taylor, and thus did his part to help along the American canse in the great World War.

Mr. Mathews is past master of Friendship Lodge No. 210, F. & A. M., is a member of Howard Chap- ter No. 14, R. A. M., and past commander of San Jose Commandery No. 10, K. T. He is also a life member of Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at San Francisco, and with his wife belongs to San Jose Chapter No. 31, O. E. S. and to Rose Croix Shrine No. 7. of the order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem. He was formerly a member of Acker Post. G. A. R., in St. Paul, but since coming to California has been a member of Sheridan-Dix Post. An enthusiastic Californian, Mr. Mathews is a good "booster" and leaves no stone unturned to help along the great work of development of town, county and state. In May, 1920, Mr. Mathews was elected to the post of city councilman, taking up the duties of this office in July, 1920, for a period of six years, and is rendering very valuable service. He has made a study of traffic and traffic congestion, was the originator of the safety zone ordinance and is also the father of the new parking ordinance which greatly relieves the congestion in the business dis- trict. Mr. Matthews championed, against much oppo- sition the advent of the Western Pacific into San Jose which gives the city another railroad. In fact all these years there has not been a movement that

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

had for its aim the betterment and development of the city and county but Mr. Matthews has taken an active part in the putting them over.

PROF. JOSEPH WESLEY RAINEY .- A man who has contributed to the pleasure of the music loving people and has done his share to raise the stand- ard of music in San Jose is Prof. Joseph Wesley Rainey, a native of County Antrim, Ireland, born October 8, 1838, a son of Hugh and Sarah Rainey. The father was a farmer and died when our subject was three years of age. When a lad of ten years he came to Birmingham, Mich., where he attended the public school. He showed much talent for music, possessing a splendid voice and he continued the study of music under Migalo Signor, a well-known teacher of his time in Detroit, and later Mr. Rainey was engaged in teaching singing. During the Civil War he showed his patriotism by volunteering his services, enlisting in Company D, Twenty-second Michigan Volunteer Infantry, on September 3, 1862, taking part in the battles of Danville and Hickman Bridge, Ky., Peavine Creek, Chickamauga, Wauhat- chie and Missionary Ridge, Tenn, Atlanta, Ga. He was mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., June 26, 1865.

Mr. Rainey was married December 16, 1868, at Birmingham, Mich., to Miss Hattie Philbrick, who was born at Troy, Mich., a daughter of Henry Phil- brick, a native of New York State and a successful voice teacher in Michigan. Hattie Philbrick studied piano and voice and possessed a beautiful alto voice. They were located at Pontiac, Mich., where Mr. Rainey was chorister of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Mrs. Rainey was the organist, and in that city, too, he taught voice.

Becoming interested in the Pacific Coast region, Mr. and Mrs. Rainey removed to San Jose in 1883, where they became well known in music circles, Mr. Rainey as a teacher of voice and Mrs. Rainey as a teacher of piano. He was leader of the Methodist Episcopal choir for two years and the Presbyterian choir for seven years; at the same time Mrs. Rainey served as the organist. At the end of this period, Mrs. Rainey became organist for the True Life Church at Eden- vale, a position she filled for eighteen years, at the same time being a member of the church. Prof. Rainey continued teaching in San Jose and at the same time sang at the Catholic churches in that city for about thirty years, the last engagement being at St. Joseph's Church, over a period of nine years. Possessing a very sweet and pure tenor voice, he gave his audiences much pleasure by his interpretation and clear rendition of solos, and continued his singing until eighty-one years of age. He and Mrs. Rainey now live retired, spending a part of the year in San Jose and the balance at their orchard home in the Lakeside district of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where he owns fifteen acres devoted to the culture of prunes, being an enthusiastic member of the Prune and Ap- ricot Growers Association. Thus at this cozy country home, Mr. and Mrs. Rainey in their liberal and kind-hearted way dispense a generous hospitality. They have one daughter Lessie Mf., the wife of Prof. Joseph E. Hancock, head of the Grant grammar school in San Jose, the parents of two children --- Velda and Joseph Rainey Hancock. Mr. Rainey is a Knights Templar Mason, a Knight of Pythias and a member of Sheridan-Dix Post No. 7, G. A. R., and

with his wife is a member of the Eastern Star. They now look back upon their interesting and pleasant careers in San Jose with much pleasure and are de- lighted that so much of their active life was spent in this beautiful Santa Clara Valley.

JAMES WESLEY FORWARD .- A contractor who thoroughly understands the many ins and outs of successful building in California is James Wesley Forward, a native of Morrisburg, Dundas County, Ontario, Canada, where he was born on April 13, 1850, the son of James Forward, who was primarily a farmer but also a minister in the Methodist Church; preaching in the neighboring meeting houses. He had married Miss Ann Gocher, and she lived, the devoted mother of our subject, until he had attained his twentieth year. They had five children, three sons and two daughters, and among these James Wesley was the youngest. All are dead excepting the latter and one brother, Thomas, who lives at Ches- terville, Ontario, Canada.

James Wesley was sent to the grammar school of his home district, and then for fifteen months he at- tended the high school; but he spent a good part of his early life on the home farm. In 1872, breaking away from the associations of his past, he crossed into the States and came to California; and in Sonoma County he followed dairying for a year. On his re- turn to Canada, he was married at Chesterville on February 17, 1874, to Miss Mary Garrow, a native of Chesterville and the daughter of Allen Garrow, a farmer, who had married Eliza McIntosh. For the next five years Mr. and Mrs. Forward lived at Wil- liamsburg, but farming there proved unprofitable, and Mr. Forward sold out and took up building, at the same time moving back to Morrisburg. The For- ward family have great constructive genius; many of this family have been successful builders. In this connection it may be stated that Edgar Forward of Montreal, a nephew of our subject, is one of the Canadian Government's leading engineers. It was he who completed the great steel bridge of the Grand Trunk Railway, which spans the St. Lawrence River at Quebec, after others had failed.

Mr. Forward relates with keen interest how he got into building. While at Morrisburg, he was hauling lumber needed for the building of the Metho- dist Church; and when the contractor asked him to help finish the two towers, he responded and soon got such an understanding of the trade that he re- mained with the contractor for five years. As this contractor was a man of much experience and en- gaged only in notable undertakings, Mr. Forward had the best of apprenticeship, and when he finally left him, he also left the locality. He went to Minne- apolis, and spent there the summer of 1887; but not being impressed with conditions there, he and his wife and family came out to San Jose. Here he took up building again; and entered upon that aggressive career as a contractor which has made him so well known throughout the Santa Clara Val- ley. A Republican, with all which that historic name implies, Mr. Forward has always worked and voted for that which seemed best for the interests of the country or the community at large.

The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Forward: Mabel married Haven W. Edwards, the well-known educator; Frank is living at Superior, WVis .; Effie Lillian is Mrs Robert B. Bailey; Flor- ence Amy married Gilbert Nelson and resides at San

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Jose; Mabel is the mother of a girl named Mary H .; Effie has three children, Vivian, Orville and Jack; and Frank has a daughter, Teresa Mary. Four chil- dren died in infancy. Mrs. Forward died at San Jose in 1891, and was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Mr. Forward was married a second time August 29, 1893, to Miss Edith A. Pillow, born at Lee, county of Kent, England, being a daughter of Thomas and Ann (Aspen) Pillow, who were born, reared and married in London. The father was a lighterman, waterman and shipping agent, and belonged to the higher mid- dle class of England. In January, 1872, the parents with their eight children, four boys and four girls, embarked on the sailing vessel "Dover Castle" for New Zealand, and after a four months' voyage landed safely at Little Harbor. They continued to live in New Zealand until 1888, when they embarked for San Francisco, where they landed in November, 1888. They soon moved to San Jose, and Mrs. For- ward continued to live at home with her parents until her marriage. Her father died in San Jose in 1902. The widowed mother went to New Zealand again. In 1912 Mrs. Forward made a trip to New Zealand to visit her mother in her last sickness; she arrived at her mother's bedside just four days before her death, and remained in that country one year before re- turning to San Jose. Mrs. Forward is a woman of deep religious conviction and has served as secretary of the Women's Missionary Society for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Forward are members of the United Presbyterian Church. They are comfortably domi- ciled and live happily, in their new bungalow, at the corner of East Julian and North Sixteenth streets, which Mr. Forward built in June and July of 1921.

SAMUEL J. IRWIN .- An expert printer who has equally demonstrated his ability to make a suc- cess of pear growing, is Samuel J. Irwin, of the vicin- ity of Agnew. He was born within six miles of the city of Londonderry, in the northern part of Ireland, on June 8, 1870, the son of William Irwin, a farmer, who had married Miss Mary McCarthur. They had six children, Samuel being the fourth. He attended the national schools in Ireland, and then learned the typesetting and printing trades. He also worked as a journeyman printer, enlarging his experience. In 1891 he came to America and settled in Pennsyl- vania; and there he continued to do job printing. He also moved to New York, then to Philadelphia, and finally to Chicago; and in each of these places he worked at his trade.

In 1901 Mr. Irwin migrated far enough west to settle in Santa Clara, and for six years he worked as an attendant at the Agnew State Hospital. While thus employed, he met and in April, 1920, married Miss Dora McComas, the daughter of the late Charles L. and Elizabeth Jane McComas, the well- known pioneers. Mr. McComas was a native of West Virginia, who located in Missouri, and in 1856, at Platte City, he married Elizabeth J. Hatfield, a native also of West Virginia, and a daughter of John Hatfield, and who had moved to Missouri with her parents and located in Platte County. Her grand- mother, Susan Brumfield, before her marriage, was also born in West Virginia. In 1863, Mr. and Mrs. McComas set out across the plains for California, and having at length arrived at Alviso, they soon moved to the vicinity of Santa Clara. In 1872 they purchased eighty acres three miles northwest of Santa Clara and one mile west and Mr. McComas

grew to enjoy eminence among the farming folk through his success in raising strawberries, black- berries, raspberries, alfalfa and grain. He passed away in 1885. Later, Mrs. McComas demonstrated her talent for managing the ranch until her death in 1905. Of their nine children Mrs. Irwin was the sixth child; only four are now living.

Recently Mr. Irwin has also become a horticultur- ist, and has developed some fourteen acres of a pear grove. He has made a specialty of Bartlett pears, and his orchard is a beautiful sight to behold. His ten- year-old trees are heavily laden, and this is largely due to hiis thoroughly scientific and practical meth- ods of caring for the trees and their products.

Mr. Irwin was made a Mason in Liberty Lodge No. 299, F. & A. M., Santa Clara, and is a member of San Jose Chapter No. 14, R. A. M., was knighted in San Jose Commandery No. 10, is a member of Islam Temple A. A. O. N. M. S. in San Francisco, and is a member of the Order of Sciots in San Jose. Mr. Irwin was reared a Presbyterian, while Mrs. Irwin is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Politically he is a Republican.

ROBERT K. O'NEIL .- An enthusiastic, pains- taking student of the law, whose knowledge and coun- sel have been frequently sought by the professional attorney, is R. K. O'Neil, chief deputy county clerk of Santa Clara County. He is a native son, born in San Francisco, on Silver Street, South Park, April 21, 1869. When he was only six years old he was placed in a home for children in San Francisco and until he was twelve he was reared in that sheltering institution, then was taken to a ranch near Antioch, Contra Costa County, where he spent the next eight year of his life, since which time he has made his own way in the world.

In 1894 he attended Heald's Business College in San Francisco, and after finishing his course, came to San Jose and studied law in the office of W. L. Gill, the noted criminal lawyer, for about eighteen months, then for the next six years and until the be- ginning of 1906, he worked and studied in the law office of Jackson Hatch, of whom he has always been a great admirer. In 1898, while in Mr. Hatch's office, he was admitted to practice at the bar of California. Directly after severing his connection with Mr. Hatch, Mr. O'Neil opened an office and began building up a clientele for himself and was getting nicely estab- lished, when the earthquake of 1906 broke up his plans and practice. On July 1. 1906, he accepted a position in the county clerk's office and has gradually worked his way to the position of chief deputy. For six years he was clerk of department number one, and in 1912, followed W. T. Aggeler as chief deputy, which position he now occupies, attending to the legal affairs, particularly naturalization, passport and clection work of the office. As the result of his con- stant study of law, his experience in office practice and as courtroom clerk, Mr. O'Neil has become one of the best-versed men in legal lore in the county. He is a member and secretary of the local Bar Asso- ciation, and expects to eventually resume the practice of law. For many years he has been a member of Observatory Parlor of the Native Sons. In national politics a Democrat, Mr. O'Neil is broad-minded when it comes to local issues and is a supporter of the best men and the best measures.

Mr. O'Neil was united in marriage at San Jose, September, 1901, with Miss Sae Alice Thompson,

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born in Denver, Colo., the daughter of John and Carrie Thompson, who now reside in Oakland. Mr. Thompson was for many years a prominent con- tractor and builder in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Mr. and Mrs. O'Ncil have two children, Agnes B. and Robert Grant, both attending the San Jose high school. The family have resided for several years at 327 Willow Street.

JAMES ALEXANDER FORBES .- Numbered among California's very earliest pioneers, James Al- exander Forbes lived a full and eventful life in the years of his long residence here, and as a man of education and culture, he left a strong impress on the developing affairs of his generation. He was born in Inverness, Scotland, of a wealthy old family there, and began his education in his native place, receiving the highest training in the classics, as well as in music and languages. Later he accompanied his uncle, a British official, to Spain, where he lived to manhood, graduating from the famous college of Salamanca. Entering the service of Spain in the warfare against the Moors, he later came to California on a Spanish man-of-war, landing at Yerba Buena, now San Fran- cisco, in 1828. Returning to Scotland, he came a second time to America, making a prospecting tour to Vancouver and coming to California in 1833 with a party of the Hudson Bay Company, camping on the San Joaquin River where the city of Stockton now stands. During this time he wrote a history of Cal- ifornia for the English Government, which was pub- lished in London and was the first history of this part of the country written in the English language. Ap- pointed consul by England, Mr. Forbes removed to the Mission of Santa Clara, in Santa Clara County, and was stationed there when California became a part of the United States. He soon took a prominent part in the development of the country under the new rule, and built a beautiful residence in Santa Clara, with many modern conveniences, such as dumb waiters, speaking tubes, etc. and had sent from Eng- land the first cook stove to be brought into California, and also brought the first carriage and plow into this county. He constructed the stone flouring mill at Los Gatos at a cost of $180,000, built at the peak of high wages, and ran it for some time, when it passed into other hands and then remained idle for many years before passing into the hands of its present owners. During the Mexican War, when the native forces under the command of General Sanchez gave battle to the American forces, sent here at the battle of Santa Clara, as it is known in history, Mr. Forbes, as British consul came out with a British flag and halted the engagement and advised the Mexican forces that on account of lack of equipment they had no chance and to cease their resistance as it was use- less for them to try to win over the well-equipped American forces.

Mr. Forbes was an experienced mineralogist and chemist, and when he first came across ore from what became the New Almaden Mine, he pronounced it cinnabar or quicksilver. He was one of the original owners of the mine and was for many years its treas- urer. His uncle was a member of the banking firm of Baron and Forbes, Mexico City, with a branch at Tepic, Mexico, and it was through him that the mine was originally financed. They took enormous sums out of this venture, but later much of this fortune was lost through litigation. While acting as British con-

sul, Mr. Forbes was married to Anita Maria Galindo, the daughter of Juan C. Galindo, who was a member of one of California's best-known Spanish families, and the owner of the Stockton ranch, lying between San Jose and Santa Clara, which afterwards became the property of Mrs. Forbes. Mr. and Mrs. Forbes became the parents of twelve children, the only survivor being James Alexander Forbes of San Juan, Capistrano, Cal., an eminent historian, scholar and musician. The late Alonzo Forbes, a former judge of Monterey County, passed away in 1921. Mr. and Mrs. Forbes spent their last days at Oakland, and there he died on May 6, 1881, aged seventy-seven years.

Mr. Forbes early saw the need of an institution for higher education in the Santa Clara Valley and so induced Father Nobili to open the school at Santa Clara which was the nucleus of the present Univer- sity of Santa Clara, and he contributed $3,500 to help in its establishment. He was a man of scholastic attainments, and was the master of six languages: throughout his life he remained an extensive reader, abreast with the advanced thought of his day, and his life was a precedent for the high standard of education of this great commonwealth of today.

CHARLES W. DAVISON .- A distinguished member of the California Bar who has also been privileged to serve his fellow-citizens in high offices of responsibility in civic life is Charles W. Davison, a native of New Hampton, Chickasaw County, Iowa. where he was born on July 30, 1874, the son of Lorenzo B. and Esther J. (Annabel) Davison, worthy pioneers of that state, who performed their part, in their day, in building the nation, and who eventually, migrating westward to California, came to live in Santa Clara County. Charles W. Davison graduated from the New Hampton high school on June 10, 1892, and then attended the Valders Normal School at Decorah, Iowa, during 1893-94.

He next matriculated at the Kent Law School. the alma mater of so many eminent jurists, pursuing courses there during 1894-95, and he was admitted to the Bar of California by the Supreme Court on December 24, 1895. Later, the U. S. District Court at San Francisco on October 23, 1899, admitted Mr. Davison to practice, and on July 1, 1907, the U. S. Circuit Court at San Francisco also granted Mr. Davison admission to practice in the Circuit Courts.

Responding to the call of President Mckinley for volunteers in the Spanish-American War, Mr. Da- vison enlisted on May 8, 1898, in Company E, Seventh California U. S. Volunteer Infantry, and he served his country until the close of the war. Then, having luckily returned to his home, Mr. Davison in 1902 was elected municipal judge of San Jose, and in 1906 he was re-elected; and in 1908 he was still further honored at the hands of his fellow-citizens by being elected mayor of San Jose, and in 1910 he was re-elected to that office. Mr. Davison's ad- ministration as mayor marked a new era in munici- pal development closely identified with the most rapid strides in the forward march of the city. Modern pavement was installed on the main thor- oughfares, the narrow-gange lines of the street rail- way were surrendered and the standard broad-gauge tracks built, and the city authorities obtained a gen- cral transfer system from the carlines. A devoted Republican in respect to political affairs of national import, Mr. Davison has assumed a nonpartisan

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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 137

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