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 146

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 146

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Elizabeth Love thatson

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

EDWARD F. ELLIS .- From pioneer times to the present the Ellis family has been connected with the development and upbuilding of Santa Clara County along agricultural lines, and Edward F. Ellis, who is operating a portion of the old homestead, is worthily sustaining the traditions of the name in this respect. He was born near Los Gatos, on the old Ellis Home- stead on Shannon Road, December 8, 1871, a son of John and Ann ( Kennedy) Ellis, born in New York and Canada, respectively, who journeyed to California around Cape Horn in a sailing vessel in the '50s. The father was a tanner by trade and the family took up their residence on a farm of 163 acres situ- ated on the Shannon Road, where Mr. and Mrs. Ellis spent their remaining years, the former passing away in 1876 and the latter in 1915. They had three children, all of whom are living, Edward being the oldest and the only one now in Santa Clara County. After completing his public school course he aided his mother in the cultivation of the home ranch, as his father had died when he was only five years old. continuing to operate the ranch and care for his mother on the home place until she died. He now owns thirty-four acres thereof, the remainder of the property having passed out of the possession of the family. He is a practical agriculturist, whose stand- ards of farming are high, and everything about the place indicates that he follows progressive methods. He has an orchard of apricots and a vineyard.

Mr. Ellis gives his political allegiance to the Re- publican party, for he deems that its policy best con- serves national progress. He is a lover of fine horses and for recreation turns to hunting and fishing. His entire life, covering a period of fifty years, has been passed in this community, whose welfare and progress are to him matters of deep moment, and the sterling worth of his character is indicated in the fact that he is held in the highest esteem by those who have known him from the early days of his boy- hood to the present time.

JAMES PRINCEVALLE. - Justly prominent among the business men of Santa Clara County is James Princevalle, the popular mayor of Gilroy, who has done so much in the creating of the new. up-to- date and beautiful city. The historic town owes a generous share of its mercantile impetus to this na- tive son who was born there on September 1, 1875, and who came to be the owner of two of the most profitable and desirable enterprises, an ice-cream and confectionery manufactory, and a grocery, formerly owned by his highly-esteemed father, long the land- mark at the corner of Monterey and Fourth streets. His father, Giacomo Princevalle, identified with the past rather than with the present Gilroy, was born in Italy and crossed the wide seas in 1849, his mind aglow with better prospects in the land of gold; but meeting with the same small measure of success there which discouraged thousands, he wisely turned his energies to other channels, and settled in San Francisco, where he opened a store. He had many difficulties with which to contend on account of a lack of knowledge of English and of American busi- ness ways; but the wide-awake folks of the hustling bay city were not slow in recognizing the value of his honesty and his genial, helpful ways, and in time

he found a foremost place among the most prosper- ous of Italian-Americans there. He found his ideal in an Italian maiden named Palmina Lomietta, and having married her, they established themselves in prospective domestic comfort and happiness; but a disastrous fire in San Francisco, sweeping away everything he had, and almost demanding as addi- tional toll the lives of his wife and baby, turned his attention to inland Gilroy,

Re-establishing himself here in 1869, Giacomo Princevalle commenced again, facing and surmount- ing cach succeeding new difficulty with fortitude and optimism. Beginning with a little fruit stand on a street corner which many pioneers will recall, he en- tered the grocery trade, branched out and further developed, until he was able to retire from active business life in February, 1904. Four sons and one daughter blessed their union, and James, the subject of our story, was next to the youngest in the family.

James got all the help and benefit possible from the public school courses, and then pursued a com- mercial course at the Garden City Business College, from which he was graduated in 1896, when he en- tered upon the years of training under his father which were to prove, after all, the most valuable aids of all. In 1898 he commenced to manufacture con- fectionery, and also began to make ice-cream and to operate a fine soda-water plant. He was success- ful from the first; and in February, 1904, he was able to purchase the well-established grocery from his father, and to carry the responsibility of the joint enterprises. His store soon was recognized as one of the most substantial institutions in the local com- mercial world, carrying a large and varied assortment of strictly first-class goods.

As might be expected from so enterprising and public-spirited a young merchant, who has here in- vested all his estate, and who is therefore deeply in- terested in the future welfare of the whole region. Mr. Princevalle has been long interested in political movements and propositions, especially those fostered by the Democratic party. He first assumed the re- sponsibility of public office when, in 1904, he was elected by a large majority as the Progressive can- didate to the Gilroy City Council, soon serving as chairman of the street, and a member of the police, fire, water, gas and public buildings committees. His broad, progressive views made themselves felt throughout town life; and it is not surprising to find him mayor of Gilroy, having been elected to that high office in May, 1920. He is a member of the Gilroy Fire Department, is active as second vice- president of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, is a member and secretary of the State Retail Grocers' Association, his popularity there and high standing in the community of Gilroy as a representative mer- chant enabling him to exert the widest influence on measures most favorable to the grocery-consuming public. When Mr. Princevalle married, at Hollister, on June 29, 1902, he chose for his life-companion Miss Eva F. McFarland, a native of Albany, Ore., and she presides with grace over their household. Mr. Princevalle is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the Foresters, and he is also a member of the B. P. O. Elks of San Jose, and is president of the Gilroy Golf and Country Club.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

H. L. PARKMAN .- Prominent among the most progressive, able business men of California may well Le mentioned H. L. Parkman, one of the honored citizens of San Jose, who, together with his accom- plished wife, who is a member of a well-known pio- neer family of Santa Cruz County, are representatives of the best forces and tendencies in the California civilization of today. Although living on his fine fruit ranch at Sunnyvale, Mr. Parkman carries on his extensive business operations in San Francisco and so joins his country life with the throb of the Coast metropolis. He was born at San Jose on February 17, 1879, a son of the pioneer musician, Professor George Parkman, who is still alive, at the ripe old age of eighty-five, and resides with his daughter, Mrs. C. C. Spalding at Sunnyvale. Notwithstanding his advanced years he is busily engaged every day, and holds a very responsible position at the State Hospital at Agnew, where he is superintendent of the shoc department. He was San Jose's pioneer band and orchestra leader, and was born at Cardiff, Wales, and was married in England to Miss Elizabeth Ann Parsons, a native of the ancient and beautiful city of Bath. He came out to America in 1851, and crossed the great plains the same year with his de- voted wife; and they at once located at San Jose. Mrs. Parkman continued to live in Santa Clara County until 1913, when she passed away on June 6, in her seventy-third year, at the home of her son, the late Dr. Wallace E. Parkman, in San Jose.

Eight children were granted this eminent pioneer couple. George, now sixty years old, is a musician at Eureka. Elizabeth died in her fourth year, while crossing the great plains. Charles died twenty-four years ago. Will passed away in Montana, in 1911. He was a carpenter by trade. Jessie is the wife of the Hon. C. C. Spalding, of Sunnyvale, whose life- history will be found outlined in another part of this historical work. Dr. Wallace E. Parkman breathed his last at San Jose, on October 5, 1915, forty-three years old. Maud died when she was ten years old; and Harry Leland, the subject of this sketch, who is the youngest of the family. The lat- ter's early life was passed in San Jose, and when able to take up responsible work, he entered the circulation department of the Evening News, taking charge of that responsible work, and later managed the ad- vertising end. His first employer was Charles Will- iams, at that time the proprietor of the News; and he was with him for many years. Mr. Parkman con- siders that the training and experience he acquired there were invaluable, for Mr. Williams was one of the greatest masters of system in San Jose business circles. Resigning from the News, Mr. Parkman went to San Francisco and engaged with the Em- porium, where he was for a year in charge of the credit department; and when he left, he joined the Gorham Rubber Company as a salesman. When that concern was absorbed by the United States Rubber Company, he entered the employ of the latter, and having amply demonstrated his ability and dependa- bility, remained in their service for ten years. Re- signing once more, he became district manager of the Republic Rubber Company, with whom he remained six years. He resigned that position on January 1, 1921, and accepted the management of the Acme Rubber Company's interests, with the Ralph Pugh Rubber Company, at San Franisco.

When Mr. Parkman left the United States Rubber Company, eight years ago, he sold his residence at 3217 Central Avenue, Alameda, built by himself, and bought twenty acres on Pastoria Avenue, Sunny- vale; and in 1920 he built a beautiful, two-story resi- dence there. Mr. and Mrs. Parkman offered numer- ous ideas and novel features which were incorporated in the general plan by the architect, Warren Skill- ings of San Jose; Henry Bridges of the same city became the contracting builder. It is one of the finest residences at Sunnyvale, surrounded as it is by a well-kept ranch in a high state of cultivation, with a fine orchard of apricots, peaches and prunes. Mr. Parkman has always been public-spirited, and is at the present chairman of the board of school trus- tees of Sunnyvale.

At San Jose, on October 12, 1904, Mr. Parkman was married to Miss Birdie R. Cummings, a native of Santa Cruz and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George H. Cummings, the well-known teamster contractor of Santa Cruz. She is also the niece of Fred and Charles Cummings, prominent citizens of that city. Mr. and Mrs. Parkman have one child-a daughter, Harriet Rowena. Mr. Parkman is a member of Apollo Lodge, F. & A. M., at Alameda, Lodge No. 522, B. P. O. E., at San Jose; Sunnyvale Lodge, I. O. O. F., the Eastern Star of Sunnyvale and the Transporta- tion Club of San Francisco. Mrs. Parkman is a member of Carita Chapter of the Eastern Star No. 115, at Alameda, while she is capably and creditably serving as the first president of the Parent-Teacher Association at Sunnyvale.

ALAN ELTZROTH CURTNER .- Among the native-born sons of California who is a worthy repre- sentative of the Curtner family of Santa Clara County, is Alan Eltzroth Curtner, whose father is also a native of California. Alan E. was born in Warm Springs, Cal., January 17, 1896, the son of Allen E. and Rosabella (Hewitt) Curtner. The father was born in Warm Springs, October 5, 1867; and grew to manhood on the farm of his father, Henry Curt- ner, and received his education at the Irvington Academy, of which the latter was one of the found- ers, and one of Santa Clara County's best known philanthropists, whose life story is found elsewhere in this history. Allen E. Curtner married Miss Rosa- bella Hewitt, a native of England, who came to Cali- fornia with her parents when she was fourteen years old. They reside on a ranch located on Maude Avenue, one and one-half miles from Sunnyvale, which consists of 275 acres, most of which is rented. They are the parents of three children, of whom Alan E., the subject of this sketch, is the youngest. Isa- bella is the wife of Bud Moore; Louise is the wife of Derol Chace. Alan E. obtained his education in the grammar schools of Warm Springs, after which he attended Washburn school and the Mountain View high school. When he was eleven years old his father moved to the ranch on Mande Avenue, and here he grew to manhood. On June 1, 1918, he entered the U. S. Army and was sent to Camp Kearney, being attached to Battery E, One Hundred Forty-third Field Artillery, and was in training until August 1 of the same year, when with his regiment he was ordered overseas, entraining to Camp Mills, Long Island; sailing on the transport Armach from Hoboken he landed in Liverpool, thence to La Havre, France, via Southhampton, then to Poitiers, and was

Sarkanay.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

encamped there two weeks. For a short time he was stationed near Bordeaux, then was at Camp de Souges one and one-half months. At the time the armistice was signed his company was preparing to take position at the front at Metz, Germany. He was then returned to the embarkation camp near Bordeaux and was among the first to arrive in New York, receiving his discharge at the Presidio, San Francisco, in January, 1919.

Mr. Curtner's marriage occurred at Santa Rosa on July 3, 1920, and united him with Miss Celesta June Burch, who was born in Illinois and received her education in the grammar and high schools of Los Angeles. After his marriage Mr. Curtner engaged in horticulture, and in the spring in 1921 purchased his present ranch on Homestead Road which is de- voted to raising prunes and apricots and is well watered by Stevens Creek, making it a very beautiful and attractive place with a magnificent view of Santa Cruz mountains. Mr. and Mrs. Curtner are achiev- ing success in their horticultural efforts and have a host of admiring friends.

MISS EMILY S. WILSON .- A highly esteemed resident of New York City, who very worthily rep- resents a pioneer in Santa Clara County still held in sacred remembrance, is Miss Emily S. Wilson, of 58 West 57th Street, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Wilson, since the late '60s identified with this region. They had put behind them, ere coming to California, the hard day's work, and so from their advent in the Golden State they were able to live in comfortable retirement, serene in a grateful ap- preciation of the past and in an optimistic view as to the future-immediate and vastly beyond. Mr. Wilson was born in Marlboro, Mass., on October 13, 1810, the sixth in a family of five sons and six daughters, and he grew up to help his father around the home place. His father, William Wilson, first saw the light at Cambridge, Mass., while his mother. who was Elizabeth Rand before her marriage, came from New Hampshire. The grandfather of our sub- ject operated his own small farm near Marlboro, with which he achieved that success which afforded a support for the family. When eighteen years of age, William Wilson, Jr., tiring of farm work, was apprenticed to a wheelwright and carriage-maker, and having mastered the trade, he followed it, for years, at the old Massachusetts town. As a Free Soiler and Whig, he was town assessor for seven years, and he also served on the board of selectmen of Marlboro and served as the board's chairman. Later he turned his attention and his energies to the care of a large estate in Marlboro, which he man- aged for years. He had been apprenticed to S. R. Phelps, the leading carriage manufacturer of that region, and his daughter, Miss Martha Phelps, be- came Mr. Wilson's wife, in every way realizing his expectations of noble and sympathetic womanhood, bravely shouldering, both in the East and West. whatever of responsibility came her way, She died at Gilroy on November 18, 1893, the mother of five children, Charles F., deceased; Sarah, Mrs. Winslow M. Warren, deceased; Emily Susan, our subject; Lavinia A., Mrs. Marshall E. Hunter, deceased; and Winslow. Mr. Wilson also died in Gilroy July 29, 1905, when past ninety years of age. The family were members of the Congregational Church, to whose " support they contributed generously.

Miss Emily was born at Marlboro, Mass., on Sep- tember 12, 1840, and attended Mt. Holyoke College, at South Hadley, from which she was graduated with honors in July, 1861. Then she became a teacher at Mt. Holyoke, and when Mills College wanted a certain instructor, she joined the staff of that grow- ing institution at Oakland. She came to enjoy the diversion and stimulation incidental to wide, edu- cating travel, and spent two and one-half years in Europe, besides making several voyages to Hawaii, and an eight-months' cruise in the South Seas, where no white woman had ever been before, terminating with a delightful visit to New Zealand, Java, China and Japan. Miss Wilson organized the Tuesday Reading Club, and later the F. R. F. G. Study Club, composed of a limited number of the younger women of Gilroy, and belonged to the Tuesday Club of Marlboro, and the Barnard Club of New York; and in each of these she is an enviable influence for higher and better things. Her many friends in Santa Clara County rejoice at the opportunity afforded her to render real service to the world.

ALBERT J. CARREY .- Numbered among the notably successful men of the Gilroy district is Albert J. Carrey the owner and proprietor of the Pioneer Soda Works. He was born in Bordeaux, France, on July 4, 1864, the son of Louis and Katrine Carrey. farmer folks and peasants and parents of nine chil- dren. The father lived to be ninety-four and the mother sixty-five. He was reared and schooled in the country and assisted his father with the farm work and remained at home until 1884, when he decided that a greater future and more opportunities were to be found in America and California, where he had a brother at Gilroy. Arriving in San Francisco in the fall of 1884, he made his way to the town of Gilroy. He found employment on the large ranch of Miller & Lux, and though his knowledge of the English language was very limited, his determination to suc- ceed led him to apply himself during his spare mo- ments in the study of the language and he was ad- vanced to the position of chief foreman of the cheese factory, a position he held for ten years.

The marriage of Mr. Carrey occurred in 1895 and soon after he entered into partnership with James Sergeant at the Sergeant ranch and conducted a dairy business for twelve years, manufacturing cheese for the San Francisco markets; those years were years of toil, but success came abundantly and by strict in- tegrity and wise investing, Mr. Carrey became inde- pendent in a financial way. Late in 1902 he decided to leave the ranch and removed to Gilroy where he had considerable town property, on which he erected several fine residences which bring him satisfactory returns; he also owns the building occupied by the Buckhorn Billiard and Bowling rooms on South Monterey Street. Mr. Carrey resides with his family in a comfortable home located at 345 North Monte- rey Street. In 1914 he established the Pioneer Soda Works and is distributor for Napa Soda and Cook's Spring waters and has built up a fine business, his radius of distribution covering thirty miles north and south of Gilroy and extending into San Benito and Monterey counties. He has always taken an active interest in civic activities since receiving his U. S. citizenship papers in 1890 and is considered among Gilroy's most progressive citizens. He is a charter member of the Chamber of Commerce and

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

is a stockholder in the Gilroy branch of the Garden City Bank & Trust Co. In his political affiliations he is a Republican and fraternally he is a member of the Moose and Druids, being a past officer of the latter order. He and his family are members of the Catholic Church, and he is president of St. Mary's Church Improvement Club, in Gilroy. Mrs. Carrey is active in the work of the church. Mr. and Mrs. Carrey are the parents of two children, Celine, a stenographer in San Francisco, and Albert, Jr., a stu- dent in Stanford University. Mr. Carrey is proud to be identified with the prosperous city of Gilroy and his loyalty and public-spiritedness can be counted upon at all times.

LOGAN L. WHITEHURST .- A son of a wor- thy pioneer of California, Logan L. Whitehurst is successfully carrying on the lumber business estab- lished by his father under the name of Whitehurst & Hedges, or the Gilroy Lumber Yard, so many years ago. A native of Santa Clara County, Logan L. Whitehurst was born near San Jose, February 25. 1866, a son of L. A. and Hettie A. (Logan) White- hurst. The father was born in Princess Ann County, Va., June 4, 1834. When he was six years old the family removed to St. Louis, Mo., and there resided for four years; thence they moved to Lexington, that state. In 1849 he crossed the plains to California, and proceeded to Bidwell's Bar, Butte County, where he engaged in mining; but meeting with poor suc- cess, he returned to Missouri in the fall of 1852. Re- maining in that state until 1859, he once more re- turned to the Pacific Coast and, crossing the Isthmus of Panama, arrived in Sacramento September 22. 1859. At the end of two months he removed to Santa Clara County, and after a short stay in San Jose, located on the Santa Cruz toll road not far from Lexington, and engaged in lumbering. After re- maining here for ten years, in the winter of 1869 he went back East for a visit, but returned to California the following March and took up his residence in Gilroy, where he resided until he passed away at the age of seventy-three, on May 14, 1907. On Jan- uary 31, 1860, he married Miss Hettie A. Logan, a native of Missouri, and they were the parents of seven children, five of whom are living: W. A .; Janet, Mrs. A. M. Kelley and L. L., twins; Nettie, Mrs. E. F. Brownell; and Hettie, Mrs. W. E. Cun- ningham, all residents of this county. Mrs. White- hurst died in October, 1907. aged sixty-three. Mr. Whitehurst was a member of the I. O. O. F. for many years, and he served as mayor of Gilroy, and always was a strong advocate of all municipal in- provements; was president of the Bank of Gilroy for about twenty years and a director of the Bank of Hollister and the Safety Deposit Bank of San Jose.

Logan L. Whitehurst received his preliminary ed- ucation in the public schools of Gilroy and later at- tended a business college in San Francisco. After completing his education he entered the employ of his father and engaged in the milling of lumber in the Santa Cruz mountains and in working the ranch. In 1906 he became manager of the home yard at Gil- roy, which had been established some years before the railroad was projected through to Gilroy.

In 1909, at San Jose, Mr. Whitehurst was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Funkler, who was born and reared in San Jose, a daughter of William and Jennie (Ruff) Funkler, and they are the parents of

two children, Logan L., Jr., and Yvonne C. In 1910 Mr. Whitehurst erected a fine residence at 308 South Church Street. Fraternally he is a member of the Odd Fellows at Gilroy and the Elks at Watsonville, while Mrs. Whitehurst is a member of the Women's Civic Club of Gilroy. The lumber yards at Gilroy are operated under their corporate name of White- hurst & Hodges, or the Gilroy Lumber Yard, and are a distinct success owing to the ability, coupled with honesty and fair dealing, of the manager, who possesses the same high business principles of the elder Whitehurst.

JOSEPH EDWARD HANCOCK .- No section of California has been more fortunate than Santa Clara County in attracting to its territory and service the cream of educational talent; and among those who have come to reside and work here, who are already distinguished in the pedagogical world, may well be mentioned Joseph Edward Hancock, the popular principal of the Grant School in San Jose. He was born at New Almaden, Santa Clara County, on No- vember 24, 1874, the son of Joseph Hancock, a miner and foreman of construction, who married Miss Emma Harris, and with her came to San Jose about 1872. The father is now deceased.

Joseph Edward finished his public school work only to go on with his studies at the San Jose Nor- mal School and Stanford University. Then he was made principal of the Franklin School at San Jose, and so successfully discharged his responsibilities there that he remained the head of that excellent in- stitution for five years. Then he became principal of the Grant School, and he has been in charge there ever since, a period of twenty-three years. When he took hold of the helm he supervised the work of 350 pupils and 12 teachers; now 25 teachers enthusi- astically follow his lead and instruct 1,000 pupils. Mr. Hancock has been three times elected president of the alumni of the San Jose State Normal School; he is a member of the National Educational Associa- tion, the State Educational Association and the State Council of Education. For eleven years he has been a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Ed- ucation, and several times has been president of that board. He was also the chairman of the committee having charge of the great historical pageant, "San Jose," which was produced in 1917 for the benefit of the Red Cross at the beginning of the war. He be- longs to the Chamber of Commerce and for many years has been a member of the board of directors of the Y. M. C. A. When the county board of su- pervisors organized the County Charities Commis- sion, early in 1921, Mr. Hancock was appointed a member and has been chairman of that body since its inception. During the war Mr. Hancock served as county war garden director.

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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 146

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