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 169

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 169

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HERMAN SUND .- One of the oldest settlers of Los Gatos who has had much to do with the growth and development of the city, as well as shaping the destinies of its civic and municipal government is Herman Sund, who is highly respected and greatly loved and esteemed by everyone in this beautiful city. He is a native of Sweden, born at Venesburg, in December, 1844. a son of Herman and Margaret Sund. He was reared in his native place, had the advantages of the excellent schools for which Sweden is famous, and when fifteen years of age he left home and apprenticed to the carpenter trade. When twenty- three years of age he shipped aboard a vessel as a carpenter and sailed to different countries including Europe, West Indies, North and South America. In 1865, having quit the sea, he came to the United States and followed his trade in different Southern states and in Kansas until 1873, when he came to California. Locating in Oakland he worked at his trade in San Francisco. As foreman of carpenters he assisted in building the First and Second street cable roads in that city, on Clay and Geary streets.

In 1881, Mr. Sund located in Los Gatos and bought a ranch in the city, adding to it until he had forty- one acres. He engaged in contracting and building, and also established a lumber yard in 1884, which he ran for many years in connection with his building business, and being very active and energetic he built up a great portion of the city. He also improved his ranch with orchards, and since the city has grown he has laid out a portion of his land which he has

sold to builders of homes. When Los Gatos was in- corporated in 1887 he was elected a member of the board of trustees and reelected to the office. He took an active and prominent part in shaping the destiny of this beautiful foothill city, being now the only one living of the original charter board he is not only referred to as the father of the town but as the grandfather of the town.

Mr. Sund's first marriage was in Kansas, when he was united with Josephine Peterson, who died leav- ing three children. After coming to Los Gatos he was married to Miss Louise Schrepper, born in Glarus, Switzerland, a well-educated and cultured lady who came to San Francisco when twenty-two years of age and to Los Gatos in 1883, so she has also seen the growth of this pleasant city. Mr. Sund is a splendid specimen of the upbuilders and sup- porters of worthy measures, and a believer in pro- tection for Americans, he is a stanch Republican.

CHARLES GAGLIASSO .- An energetic man who did much to improve Santa Clara County and make of it the garden spot of today was the late Charles Gagliasso, who was born in Monforte, Pied- monte, Italy, October 15, 1864, where he was reared to habits of industry and received a good education in the common schools of his native place. He was married at Alba, Piedmonte, January 5, 1885, being united with Miss Margherita Lora, who was born in Guarena, Piedmonte, in 1865, and grew to woman- hood in that interesting country in Northern Italy. In 1887 the young couple came to Santa Clara Coun- ty, Cal., and located in the Montebello district. Mr. Gagliasso became foreman on Dr. Peroni's ranch and cleared and set out the Peroni vineyards, as well as superintending the building up of the winery on the place, and after ten years had 100 acres of the place in vineyard. He then purchased 160 acres of land on Table Mountain at the head of Stevens Creek and proceeded to clear the land and set out vines, in time having a vineyard of over 100 acres, and improved the place with residence and suitable buildings. Later he purchased the Dr. Hillman ranch, afterwards known as the Trout Farm, and proceeded in the same energetic way to improve it. However, these two ranches was not the limit of his capabilities for he also leased the Doyle ranch of 600 or 700 acres and operated it in connection with his two ranches until he passed away, March 4, 1911, leaving his widow and eight children and numerous friends to mourn his demise.

Since her husband's death, Mrs. Gagliasso took over the management of their ranches and with the aid of her children continues to care for and operate the properties. She sold the Trout Farm and pur- chased a splendid thirty-acre orchard at Campbell and a twenty-aere orchard on Mclellan Avenue, near Cu- pertino, where she makes her home. Their eight children are all living and proving themselves worthy sons and daughters of a pioneer couple. Joseph assists his mother in the management of the different ranches; Anne, is the wife of H. W. Reg- nart, a horticulturist of this district; John, also as- sists his mother; Angelina, is Mrs. Conrote of Gil- roy, but now traveling in Europe with her husband; Charles, is also assisting on the home farm; Onorina,

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is the wife of Boze Kriletich, and resides in San Francisco; Fiurivanti and Michael are at home. The children have been given a good education and are a credit to the parental training they have received. Mrs. Gagliasso is an interested member of the Cali- fornia Prune and Apricot Growers' Association and with her family is a member of St. Joseph de Cuper- tino Catholic Church.

ALFRED WASHINGTON ELLET. - Since coming to Palo Alto, Alfred Washington Ellet, the efficient vice-president of The Stanford Bank, has lived so quietly that few of his acquaintances have even guessed at his exceptional technical knowledge of the banking business. The old adage of "poets being born, not made," applies equally to banking as Mr. Ellet has clearly proved by many years of successful work in this intricate and interesting busi- ness. Mr. Ellet is the son of Edward Carpenter Ellet and a grandson of Brigadier-General A. W. El- let of national fame. He was born at El Dorado, Kan., August 15, 1871. His childhood was spent in El Dorado until he was sixteen, when he entered Swarthmore College where he followed the general college course, and by his close application to his studies laid the foundation for the remarkable suc- cess which has attended his business career. At the age of nineteen he entered the master mechanic's office of the Union Pacific Railway at Ellis, Kans., where he remained for six months, and then held a position with the Gille & Van Peyma Wholesale Hardware Company of Kansas City, Mo., for three years, after which he became a clerk in the National Bank of Commerce of said city, where he remained for a period of twenty-five years, perfecting himself in the work of all departments.

At the end of a quarter century in the bank, Mr. Ellet was appointed deputy bank commissioner for the State of Kansas, and for seven years was an honored and most efficient member of the State Banking Department of that state. He was widely quoted as an authority on banking and has made its every detail a close study. After resigning from the Bank Commissioner's office, he was made vice-pres- ident of The Stanford Bank which was then being established at Palo Alto, and by his keen judgment and personal oversight, as well as his great exper- ience, he has placed the venture upon a firm basis, and made The Stanford Bank one of the solid insti- tutions of the valley. Although holding the office of vice-president of both the Palo Alto and Mayfield branches of the Stanford Bank, he personally attends to all the details of the business of the two estab- lishments and closely oversees the work of his care- fully trained assistants. Every day finds him at his desk and his office hours are the same as those of his employes. The new, handsomely furnished home of the Stanford Bank in Palo Alto owes its inception to him. Without doubt Mr. Ellet is among Califor- nia's most proficient bankers, having gained his knowledge by close and thorough study in all lines of the business from the days of his earliest man- hood, and has perfected himself in the mysteries of finance and banking as carefully as astronomers or other men of science study their art. The growth of The Stanford Bank has been steady and healthy. On May 31, 1918, it opened with total assets of

$210,352.18, and on June 30, 1922, its sheets showed $503,773.58, and this is mainly due to the clever man- agement of its skilled vice-president.

On September 29, 1898, Mr. Ellet married Lida Anna Lewis of Kansas City, Mo., a charming and popular girl and the daughter of William H. and Mary F. (Doggett) Lewis, a well-known wholesale shoe dealer of Kansas City. Mrs. Ellett's grand- father, the late Rev. W. H. Lewis, of Missouri, was a prominent minister in the Methodist Church, South. He was the author of the History of Methodism in Missouri, was a frequent contributor to the Chris- tion Advocate and the founder of the Young Ladies' Seminary at Independence, Mo .; he lived to reach the age of ninety-six years.

Mrs. Ellet's ancestors trace back to the Spotts- wood family of Virginia, of which Alexander Spotts- wood was governor in Colonial days, and to the old Burwell stock one of whom, Lewis Burwell, was a colonel during the Revolution. One of her ancestors, Anna Spottswood, was the heroine in the famous novel "The Virginian," and the "Anna" in Mrs. El- let's name comes from her.

Mrs. Ellet is thus entitled to membership in all the leading patriotic organizations, the Daughters of the Revolution. Colonial Dames, and the Society of Colonial Governors. Mrs. Ellet was born at Chilli- cothe, Mo., but when she was seven years of age removed with her parents to Kansas City. She was educated at the Central Female College in Lexing- ton, Mo., a school of the Methodist Episcopal Church. She is a very gifted woman, generous and beloved by all who know her. Coming as she does from distinguished southern blood, she is an un- swerving Democrat, and laughingly refers to their marriage as the union of the "Blue and the Gray."

STILLMAN H. BENNER-Prominent among the young business men of San Jose is Stillman H. Ben- ner. His untiring energy, his indomitable will to succeed, has been the means whereby he has gained the respect and confidence of the community in which he lives. He was born at Rocky Ford, Colo., February 13, 1890. His parents. Stillman M. and Flora H. (Sheldon) Benner, moved to the state of Washington when Stillman H. was but a year old, his father being an orchardist. In 1893 his parents removed to Campbell, Santa Clara County, Cal., and it was here their son attended the grammar and high schools. When but sixteen years of age. Still- man H. started out to make his own way in the world. His first experience at wage earning was with the Western Union main office at San Jose.

Having determined to make a place for himself in the music business, Mr. Benner entered the employ of the Eilers Music Company, where he remained for one and one-half years. The next year and a half he spent with the Sherman Clay Music Company. Following this, for four years, he was with the Brown Music Company. Leaving the employ of the latter firm, he accepted a position with Allen's Em- porium at an advanced salary. He remained with them until February, 1920, when he definitely de- cided to open up a business for himself. naming his place Benner Piano Hospital, at No. 33 East San Antonio Street. He deals in new and second-hand pianos, is an experienced piano tuner, and a piano .repairer, and gives it his personal supervision, and he

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is already taking his place among the live young business men of San Jose.

On January 1, 1910, Mr. Benner was married to Miss Mignonette F. Capien, a native of Akron, Ohio, the daughter of J. H. and Lilly M. Capien. The fam- ily came to California when their daughter was eleven years old. Two children, Lester and Fay, have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Benner. Having obtained a thorough experience in the art business at Allen's Emporium, Mrs. Benner has opened an art depart- ment in connection with her husband's music busi- ness, known as Benner's Art Shop. Mr. Benner is a member of the W. O. W. of San Jose.

JOSE J. BERRYESSA-A family with a most in- teresting history is that of Jose J. Berryessa, who was born in the old Mission of San Jose on Novem- ber 9, 1842, the son of Carlos Antonio Berryessa, who had married Miss Josefa Galindo. Nicholas Ber- ryessa, the great-grandfather of our subject, came from Spain around Cape Horn about 1765 and settled in Old Mexico-that is, he tried to settle there, but found that he could not do so with advantage, on account of the wild tribes there. He therefore pushed north into California, and pitched his tent in the Santa Clara Valley. Grandfather Berryessa was also named Nicholas, and was born in this county and died here. Juan Crisostomo Galindo, the maternal grandfather, who died in 1877 at the age of 106 years, was born in Santa Clara County, the great- grandfather having migrated to California prior to the founding of the Missions in this county, when the inhabitants were Indians and wild animals roamed the plains and mountains. Mr. Berryessa remembers when stock became so numerous that they had to gather them in corrals to be killed for the hides and tallow so as to give feed for the re- mainder. After coming here, the Berryessas and the Galindos acquired large portions of land, section after section, in fact all the land that lies between the present eastern limits of San Jose and the moun- tains to the east, and as far north as Milpitas. In after years, this great area was designated in a Spanish grant; but when the Easterners came to Cali- fornia, the Berryessas lost out through the treachery of one of their family. Carlos Berryessa then bought some of the same land, and later still about one- quarter of a section, from the Pueblo, and there the parents resided until they died. Don Jose is the eldest of their family of eight children, five now living.

Mr. Berryessa was reared to farm life and stock- raising, one result of which was that his schooling was entirely neglected. This deficiency he partly made good in after life. He remained at home with his father until he was thirty-one years of age, al- though he was not satisfied with the life of a farmer. Then he engaged in other pursuits, and among them he took up the threshing of grain; and by his industry and economy, together with his acquired business habits, he was able to purchase a threshing machine, engine, etc., and for many years he has been actively engaged in this line of work. He owns thirty-six acres of the old Berryessa land, which he bought from an uncle, devoted to the cultivation of prunes and general farming, and in 1908 he removed from this ranch to San Jose and retired, and now rents his ranch. He used to raise fine Norman horses and roadsters on these trim thirty-five acres, and with the little ranch are interwoven cherished memories.

At Berryessa, on November 1, 1873, Mr. Berryessa was married to Miss Helena Agnes Davis, born in San Francisco, the daughter of Thomas and Ellen ( Herron) Davis. Her father was a native of Eng- land, but at the time of her marriage, he resided in Virginia City, Nev. Her mother, who died when Mrs. Berryessa was only three years old, was of Irish descent. Helena Agnes received her education in the convent in Santa Clara. Eight children were born of this union: Josephine Agnes became the wife of Walter Schlosser, a government electrician living in the State of Washington; they have one child, Mildred. Mary Catherine is Mrs. J. E. Tetrault of Porterville; Mary Elizabeth is Mrs. Martin Haley, of Berryessa; she is the mother of one girl, Catherine; Frederick married Miss Lillian Williams, a San Jose girl, and the daughter of Michael and Anna (Farrell) Williams, who came to California in 1870 by way of the Isthmus of Panama route, from Dubuque, Iowa; Frederick is in the laundry business in San Jose, and he and his wife have two children-May Edith and James Lochr. Arthur was in the U. S. army dur- ing the war, but now employed at Mountain View; Walter is married to Edna Stackhouse. They live in San Francisco and have one child, Eugenia; Neva is living at home, and Albert is at San Jose. The Berryessas are of especial interest, perhaps, because they are among the few California native families to thoroughly Americanize themselves, so that they have long taken an active part in politics. Mrs. Ber- ryessa died March 17, 1902, mourned by a large circle of friends. Mr. Berryessa is a Republican, and under the banners of that party has sought to do what he could to effect civic reforms. He is a member of Santa Clara County Pioneer Society.

ALBERT E. MORRELL .- A native son of Cali- fornia, Albert E. Morrell was born on the Morrell ranch on the Summit, Santa Clara County, October 8, 1874. His father, H. C. Morrell, a native of Maine, came via Panama in 1853. His mother, Clarissa Bur- rell, was born in Ohio. Grandfather Lyman J. Bur- rell came to California in 1849, crossing the plains in an ox-team train. He returned East for his family in 1852 and brought them around Cape Horn and located in Santa Clara County. He purchased land in the Santa Cruz Mountains, being about the fourth or fifth to locate on the Summit, residing there for many years until he retired. Clarissa Burrell came to California when six years of age.

Mr. and Mrs. Morrell engaged in farming and im- proved the Morrell ranch, now one of the best fruit ranches in the district. Some years ago they retired to San Jose and there Mrs. Morrell died in February, 1922, at the age of seventy-six years, while her hus- band survives her aged eighty-seven years old. Their family comprised five children: Lizzie, Mrs. H. D. Norton, of Grants Pass, Ore .; H. C., Jr., and J. B., of San Jose; Minnie, Mrs. W. W. Thompson, of San Francisco, and Albert E., who received his education in the local school and at Los Angeles. From a youth he learned horticulture under his father on the home place. In 1908, with his brother J. B., he leased the Morrell ranch until 1911, when he bought his brother's interest and the partnership was dissolved, and he continues to lease the 3000 acre ranch and cares for the 150 acres of orchards on the place, devoted to

Mr and Mrs J. W. Forward

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

prunes, plums and pears, being considered among the finest in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

In San Jose Mr. Morrell was united in marriage with Edith Hammon, who was born in Oregon but reared in California, this union having been blessed with three children, Dorothy Claire, Edwin Albert and Shirley Mildred. Mr. Morrell is keenly inter- ested in the county where he has spent his entire life, and he has become a well-informed horticulturist. Fraternally he is a member of San Jose Lodge No. 522, B. P. O. Elks, in which he is a popular member.

JAMES W. FORWARD .- An alert and far-see- ing dairyman who is striking into new paths in the interest of the patronizing public, is James W. For- ward, whose ideal dairy ranch is on the Brokaw Road, northwest of San Jose. He was born near Spokane, Wash., on January 29, 1884, the son of J. A. Forward, a native of Montreal, Can., and a car- penter and builder. He married Miss Edna Walker, a native of Bloomfield, Cal., and a member of the Walker family who were early pioneers at that place, being a daughter of Alonzo and Elizabeth (Peters) Walker. J. A. Forward took up a homestead in Washington, and later came to Santa Rosa; but he remained there for only a short time and then moved back to Washington. In 1891 he came to San Jose; and here James W. Forward attended first the gram- mar and then, for two years, the high school long such a credit to the city.

When he started out for himself, James W. For- ward worked for one year in the mills of the Santa Clara Valley Mill & Lumber Company, and after that he learned the carpenter's trade under the direc- tion of his father. Later, he took up a course in drafting and from that he passed on to architecture, which he used in connection with contracting, in which he engaged in for eight years. Next he went to British Columbia and acquired a tract of land, but after three years he returned to San Jose, where he again engaged in contracting; but in 1914 he bought twenty acres of land on the Brokaw Road, north- west of San Jose, and thereon he has since built his home. He planted the land to alfalfa and started a dairy. He commenced in a small way, and at pre- sent he has forty cows, to which he will add from time to time. He sells all the milk direct to the con- sumer, and under his unique method of handling the milking, he has evolved the highest-test milk in the vicinity of San Jose. The cows are milked with machinery, and after passing through a pipe line, the milk is cooled to a very low temperature and deposited in a large tank from which it is bottled, the milk at no time coming in contact with the per- son handling it. The machine and pipe line are taken apart every day and washed and sterilized. Mr. Forward has two feeding pens, each with a feeding capacity for thirty cows; these pens face each other, so that all the cattle can be fed from the same car- rier. Mr. Forward has a separate milking pen where the cows are taken to be milked, and this pen has a capacity for thirty cows. All that is necessary to increase the capacity of his plant is the addition of another set of feeding pens; the one milking pen will suffice for as many cows as he cares to handle. He also has special cooling rooms and milk rooms.

At San Jose, on June 27, 1909, Mr. Forward was married to Miss Leola Lyth, the daughter of Frank and Prudence Lyth who came out to California from Nebraska when she was three years old. Mr. Lyth was a contracting builder. Miss Lyth went to the grammar and the high school, and the San Jose Normal; she then taught school for a short time previous to being married. Two children have been born to this union, Frances and Robert.

HENRY C. HOGG .- Among the prominent citi- zens of Santa Clara, who was well known and loved by all, Henry C. Hogg still lives in the hearts and memories of his family and numerous friends. He was born in Letcher County, Ky., January 29, 1836. His father, Hiram Hogg, was a native of Culpepper County, Va., and removed with his parents in 1802. when two years old, to Kentucky; there he married Miss Levina Polly, a native of Kentucky, and reared a family of eleven children. Mrs. Hogg passed away in 1846. Hiram Hogg afterward married Miss Polly Roark, and they were the parents of seven children. He passed away in 1863 and his wife in 1884. Henry C. Hogg, the youngest living son of the first family, made his home with his parents until he was nineteen years of age. He was educated principally in Lec County, Va. At the age of twenty-one he studied law and was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Perry County until September, 1861. He volunteered his services in defense of the Union and enlisted in Company D, Nineteenth Kentucky Infantry, as a private. On February 5, 1863, he was commissioned first lieutenant and March 10, of the same year, re- ceived his commission as captain. He was at Cum- berland Gap in 1862, and in December went to Vicks- burg with General Sherman, and remained there until after the surrender of the city. From Vicksburg his regiment was sent to New Orleans, where he served under General Banks until he was mustered out, January 28, 1865. He then located at Booneville, Ky., opened a law office, and also engaged in general merchandise. Living there until 1885, when he sold out and came to California. He had made a previous visit to the state in 1884, and purchased a ranch near Saratoga on the road leading from Saratoga to Moun- tain View, consisting of some forty acres of highly improved orchard.

The marriage of Captain Hogg occurred in Boone- ville, Ky., April 16, 1867, and united him with Miss Martha A. Marion, a native of Booneville, Owsley County, Ky., a daughter of Matthew and Rebecca (Kelley) Marion, who moved from Virginia to Ken- tucky in 1850. Grandfather Marion was a cousin of General Marion of Revolutionary fame. Her father was a farmer at Booneville, Ky., and they came to California in 1888 and resided at their ranch near Saratoga. The father died twenty years ago after that the mother made her home with Mrs. Hogg, pass- ing away 1915, at eighty-six years of age. Captain and Mrs. Hogg were the parents of five children: Charles H., resides in San Francisco, and is an attorney; Cora E., is now Mrs. Arthur L. Johnson, and resides in Providence, R. I .; Raymond C., is a rancher in Sara- toga; Carry V., is the wife of H. F. Stout of Saratoga; and Elton M., is in business in Honolulu. Captain Hogg was prominent as a Republican and fraternally was a member of the Masons and G. A. R. Finding

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no Methodist Church in the district in which he lo- cated, Mr. and Mrs. Hogg set about to establish one and were always prominent in the affairs of this or- ganization; both were trustees and Mrs. Hogg is still on the official board, an active member of the Eastern Star and the Woman's Relief Corps, and superintends the home place, taking an active part in the progres- sive movements of the community. Captain Hogg died February 5, 1912, a highly esteemed man, and was buried with Masonic honors.

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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 169

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