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 181

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 181

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OTTO L. KETCHUM .- Another practical rancher of pronounced executive ability is Otto L. Ketchum. the experienced and very efficient superintendent of J. E. Smith's Solis Ranch, on the Watsonville Road. about eight miles northwest of Gilroy. He was born at San Jose on December 17, 1867, the son of Elvin M. Ketchum, a native of Michigan who migrated to California in 1850, by way of the Isthmus of Panama -a worthy, sturdy pioneer who survived the turbu- lence of the mining period, and reached San Jose in the early '60s. He married Miss Henrietta Edson, daughter of Henry B. and Achsah H. (Soper) Edson, both of whom were natives of Vermont; and they mi- grated to California by way of the Isthmus, in 1856, located in the Santa Clara Valley, and finally settled at San Jose. Mr. Ketchum was an expert carpenter, a man capable of accomplishing a great deal for the young commonwealth into which he had come; but he died a premature death in the early '70s.

Otto Ketchum was reared and schooled in the Llagas district; and he also attended the Reed Street school at San Jose. From the time of leaving school until coming to his present place, he followed ranching and orcharding. In f914 he became a foreman for the Solis Ranch of J. E. Smith, near Gilroy, his long ex- perience in fruit culture, since he was a boy, com- mending him to the proprietor of the famous farm tract. He has eighty acres of very choice land under excellent cultivation, and now very fruitful. Mr. Ketchum resides upon the Smith place with his mother, and he is thus able to give the ranch his closest attention.

A Republican in matters of national political im- port. but a good, nonpartisan "booster" when it comes to putting his shoulder to the wheel, Mr. Ketchum is a member of the Gilroy lodge of Odd Fellows, and also the Masonic lodge at Gilroy. He takes pride in discharging responsibility in the most conscientious manner, and devotes as much personal care to Mr. Smith's choice ranch as if it were his own. Fellow- ranchers feel the value of an inspiration to do, and to do well, derived from his stimulating example.

WILLIAM F. GIACOMAZZI .- An enterprising, progressive rancher who, in forging steadily ahead, has set the pace for others as well as for him- self, and has promoted the good fortune of neigh- bors and competitors, while building up his own prosperity, is William Francis Giacomazzi, the well- known dairyman whose farsightedness led him to invest in a motor transport for milk which has been of the greatest service. He was born at Salinas, on August 14, 1896, the son of James and Catherine Giacomazzi, the former a native of Mogheno, Switz- erland, in Canton Ticino, who came out to Cali- fornia in 1886 and settled in Monterey County. Mrs. Giacomazzi passed away at Salinas in 1900, but Mr. Giacomazzi survived until 1910. Both lived worthy lives. and both died rich in friends. They had three children beside our subject, who was the third. Vincent was born in Switzerland on August 14, 1886. James, Jr., is deceased; and Elven, the young- est, is with his brother in business.

William Giacomazzi attended the grammar school at Salinas, and later went to Heald's Business Col- lege, and he grew up to inherit an interest in a fine grain farm of 330 acres in Monterey County. In 1916, he came into Santa Clara County, and three years later, in November, he opened a dairy on the Tuttle Ranch on Capitol Avenue. In 1920, he sold the dairy back to Mr. Tuttle, and then he took up trucking. In partnership with his brother, Mr. Giacomazzi owns two trucks of one and a half tons each, and two trucks of two tons each, and one truck of three and a half tons; and he makes both day and night trips; a night trip to Oakland and a day and night trip to San Francisco,-hauling milk for the farmers, carrying consignments to the East Bay Milk Producers' Association. All in all, they haul about 350 cans of milk daily, and although they employ two drivers, they take turns in going along themselves.

Public-spirited and patriotic to an admirable de- grce, Mr. Giacomazzi served in the late World War, enlisting on September 5, 1918. He was sent to Camp Kearny and was in the Sixteenth Trench Mortar Battery, stationed there until the end of the war. Then, on February 5, 1919, he was hon- orably discharged at the Presidio at San Francisco. On February 8, 1920, he was married at San Jose to Miss Mabel B. Wilcox, a native of Berryessa, and the daughter of F. C. and Mary C. Wilcox and a granddaughter of Orin Wilcox, who with his family of seven children came around the Horn to California in 1861. They left their Connecticut home on the day that the Civil War broke out. Orin Wilcox became a prominent jeweler at Watsonville. Mrs. Giacomazzi was schooled at Berryessa and San Jose, where she attended Heald's Business College. One son has been granted Mr. and Mrs. Gia- comazzi,-William Francis, Jr. Mr. Giacomazzi is

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a Republican, and as such has sought to elevate the standard of citizenship, especially among his parents' countrymen coming to California and as- sociated with him; and in fraternal matters, he is active as a member of the Maccabees and the Wood- men of the World at San Jose.

ALDEN FRENCH .- An enterprising, successful rancher whose progressive methods are as interest- ing as the splendid results he has attained, is Alden French, who dwells about two miles south of Alviso. He was born on the old French Ranch on November 2, 1879, the son of Mortimer D. French, a native of Wisconsin, who had married Miss Mary Gallagher, a native of Santa Clara County, the daughter of An- drew Thomas and Maria ( Martin) Gallagher, and the granddaughter of Andrew T. and Mary ( Sis- kron) Gallagher, of New York. In the fall of 1848 her father sailed on the bark John W. Cater for Cali- fornia by way of Cape Horn, and he reached San Francisco the following March. He took up mining, among his other ventures, in Tuolumne County, and when he came to Santa Clara County went to work in the Redwoods. Later he purchased a schooner and carried freight between San Francisco and Al- viso. Eventually, he settled down to farming on 160 acres in the Alviso district, near Santa Clara. Mrs. French died in 1911 at the age of fifty-seven years, while Mortimer D. French passed away in 1906, at the age of sixty-six, and was buried on the day be- fore the great San Francisco earthquake. He was a farmer, a cattleman, and also a grain and hay farmer, the eldest in a family of seven children; and he was thirteen years old when his father died. His mother was a native of New York and crossed the plains from the Empire State with her parents. Mortimer D. French prospered exceedingly as a farmer and stockman, his holdings being increased to 300 acres. He was a large grain farmer and later on he became a breeder of Percheron horses and Durham cattle and was a leader in this line for many years. The French home ranch was a noted place.

Mr. and Mrs. Mortimer French had eight children: Alden, John, Ernest A., Hazel, Marian, Albertina, now deceased; Gertrude, and Andrew, also deceased; and when Alden was four years old, his father left the ranch, moved to San Jose, and in partnership with Mr. Jarvis engaged in distilling. Then he took up the buying and selling of horses, hay, wood and coal. Alden, therefore, attended the grammar school in San Jose, and for two years he continued his stu- dies at the high school in that city. When nineteen years old, he entered the service of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, and for nine years he was in charge of their store room in San Jose. Then, in various departments, he worked for over eight years for the Walsh-Col Wholesale Company of San Jose. In the spring of 1919, Mr. French became actively engaged in the management of the Gallagher ranch, on the San Jose-Alviso Road, and he has ever since been foreman of this farm, in which he also has an estate interest. It was purchased by Andrew Tho- mas Gallagher in the fifties, and had about 123 acres, in time well-irrigated and supplied with artesian water. More land was added, and now there are about 360 acres, one-third of which is devoted to the growing of pears, somewhat more to apples, while

110 acres are given up to pasture, berries and hay. Packing houses are near-by, and from twenty-five to fifty men are given employment. Sixty or more carloads of pears and six to eight carloads of quinces are shipped annually. Mr. French also has an estate interest in a ranch of fifty acres left by his father, on the Mountain View-Alviso Road, which is devoted to pasture and hay.

At San Jose, on October 18, 1904, Mr. French was married to Miss Anna M. Purcell, a native of San Jose, and the daughter of John and Delia Purcell. Mrs. Purcell, who was Teresa Gorman before her marriage, was born in Australia and came to San Francisco at the age of twenty. In 1868 she came to San Jose and two years later she was married to Mr. Purcell. Of their seven children, three are living; May, married Joseph Calice, the manager of Black's Package Company at San Jose; Anna, is Mrs. French; Naomi, is Mrs. Alfred J. Pinard of San Jose. Mr. Purcell, who was at one time superintendent of streets of San Jose, died in 1900. Mr. and Mrs. French make their home on a part of the Gallagher Ranch, although they also own a home at 438 North Sixth Street, San Jose. Four of their children are still living-Mildred Gertrude, Alden Edward, Mary Martha, and Mortimer Alfred French; but their second-born, who was also named Alden, passed away aged eleven months. In national politics a Republican, Mr. French is too good an American not to throw aside narrow partisanship and work for the best interests of the community in which he lives, supporting heartily those men and those meas- ures most appealing to him.

EDWARD DELMAESTRO .- San Jose owes much to the enterprise, progressiveness and business ability of Edward .Delmaestro, whose activities as a building contractor have contributed to the improve- ment and development of the city. He has an ex- pert knowledge of the carpenter's trade, which his grandfather and father also followed in this state, and the family name has long figured prominently in building circles of this district. A native son of Cali- fornia, Mr. Delmaetro was born at the New Almaden mines on October 23, 1889. His paternal grandfather, John Delmaestro, a native of Switzerland, came to California in 1851 and engaged in contracting, then be- came the first foreman in charge of the construction of the New Almaden mines, continuing with them until his death in 1889. The father was reared in Switzerland, but when fourteen years old he went to South America where he learned the carpenter and cabinet maker's trade. In coming to San Jose. he engaged in contracting and then went to the New Almaden mines, where he became foreman, continuing for thirty years and is now living retired at the age of seventy-two years in San Jose; the mother passed away in 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Delmae- stro had eight children of whom Edward is the youngest, the others being John, who is connected with the Bean Spray Pump Company of San Jose: and Madeline, deceased; Mercedes, Isabel and Teresa of San Jose; Leta of Los Angeles and Mrs. Jennie Sterling, deceased.

In the acquirement of an education Mr. Delmae- stro attended the public schools at New Almaden and then learned the carpenter's trade under the able guidance of his father, when then a lad of fourteen

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years. He came to San Jose and when sixteen he started out as a journeyman carpenter and has pro- vided for his own support since fourteen years of age, and after following his trade for a number of years took a course in architectural designing, con- tracting and building in the International Correspon- dence Schools of Scranton, Pa. He has become recog- nized as one of the leading building contractors of the city, specializing in the designing and erection of first-class bungalows, and also doing general repair work. His work, which is of high character and standard excellence, has been a credit to the city and a feature in its substantial improvement, while his business methods have ever balanced up with the principles of integrity and honesty.

In January, 1906, in San Jose, Mr. Delmaestro was married to Miss Adeline Lunsford, a native of this city and a daughter of Lewis and Isabel (Courtois) Lunsford, who are mentioned elsewhere in this vol- ume. Mr. and Mrs. Delmaestro are the parents of three children: Pearl attending Notre Dame College, Edward, Jr., and Frederick. Mr. Delmaestro is a Republican in his political views, interested in the welfare and success of the party. He is a member of the Builders' Exchange, and with his wife is a member of the Fraternal Aid Union.

MRS. MARY W. GEORGE .- A distinguished rep- resentative of the educational profession in California who has been privileged to contribute something definite, far-reaching and permanent toward the devel- opment of popular education in the great Pacific Commonwealth, and especially to help mould and direct educational movements in Santa Clara County, is Mrs. Mary W. George, formerly dean of women at the State Normal at San Jose. She was born in Racine, Wis., the daughter of S. W. and Elizabeth A. Wilson, and coming to San Jose with her mother at the age of twelve. She attended the high school of this city, and then continued her studies at the State Normal at San Jose, later matriculating at Stan- ford University. There she specialized in psychol- ogy and education, and in due time received the Bachelor of Arts degree.

At San Jose, on June 7, 1888, Miss Wilson was married to Professor T. C. George, at that time a member of the faculty of the University of the Pa- cific, a native of Ohio who brought with him to the Coast the Ohioan's glorious inheritance of a love and respect for learning. He was a deep student of the natural sciences, especially astronomy, visiting all the great observatories in Europe, and in the United States. This travel and first-hand knowledge of ob- servatories and their work helped to make Professor George a very successful instructor in the department of astronomy. He had made his home in San Jose since coming to California in the '70s; and there he passed away, in 1895, the father of two children: Carolyn, who is now Mrs. William Huff of Kellogg. Idaho; and Charles M. George of San Francisco.

After Professor George's demise, Mrs. George took up work again at the State Normal School at San Jose, and soon became the dean of women; and for twenty years she continued in that eminent and re- sponsible position, traveling extensively throughout the world and giving much time to the development of human geography in the schools of California. until her resignation in 1919.

Sbe now lives at Carmel Highlands, the center of a devoted circle in which are both affectionate chil-

dren and grandchildren. Mrs. Huff is the mother of two children: Elizabeth and Mary; and Charles M. George is the father of a son, Marquam Charles. Mrs. George maintains a keen interest in all that is going on in the world, and she is particularly interested in the elevation of politics, the promotion of higher civic standards, marching, as did her highly-esteemed husband with the Republicans, and never failing to give her full moral support to all that seems best for the community or region in which she lives.

. M. J. ROCHE .- An enterprising rancher who has done much for the permanent and healthy devel- opment of the commonwealth of California is M. J. Roche, the successful farmer and stockman living on the Alviso Road, one mile north of Santa Clara, on the historic Donohue estate known as the Laurel- wood Farm which he leases and operates in sight of the eminent cross erected by Father Colligen to mark the spot where the first Santa Clara Mission, founded in 1777, was located. He was born in County Gal- way, Ireland, forty-nine years ago, the son of James Roche, the head steward and manager for Edmund J. Concannon, a lawyer of distinction and a wealthy land-owner; and in that capacity, our subject's father bought hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep, and conditioned and exhibited blooded cattle and sheep at the principal fairs in Ireland and England. He married Miss Mary Monroc, and they had eleven children, among whom the subject of our interesting story was the eighth in the order of birth.

The lad was sent to the Christian Brothers' school and then to St. Gerlet's College, in Tuam, and after that he worked at farming and stock-raising and trav- eled with his father, and bought live stock and at- tended many fairs. He may be said to have been born in the cattle and livestock business, and to have been in it all his life; so that on coming out to Cali- fornia, when he was less than fifteen years old, he had already received the most valuable training. Arriv- ing in the Golden State, where he was to begin to earn his own way in the world, Mr. Roche engaged with the California Powder Company, at Santa Cruz, and entered the office as a confidential employ of the company's president, the late Colonel Peyton, at the same time that he made a modest commencement in the cattle trade. During fifteen years' employment, he saved enough money to buy a stock ranch of 1500 acres in Monterey County and stock it; and ever since that he has been engaged in buying, raising and sell- ing cattle for beef and dairy purposes.

In 1904, he came to Santa Clara County and leased his present place, consisting of about 900 acres, and in addition he has leased hill land in Santa Clara County. At present he owns 500 head of cattle; but at times he has had four times that number, and he has leased hill and mountain range besides. In or- der to replenish his herd he has made trips to Nevada, New Mexico and Mexico and other places, to purchase cattle which he gathered together in train- load lots, and he shipped them to his home ranch and fed and later sold them. Mr. Roche also owns an ex- cellent farm at Milpitas devoted to a model dairy. He owns, too, other property in the Santa Clara Valley, and has prospered well. Many years ago, Mr. Roche became a citizen of the United States, and he belongs to the St. Clare's Catholic Church at Santa Clara, and to the Eagles at San Jose.

Ernest, French.

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ERNEST A. FRENCH .- Another wide-awake and prosperous representative of an interesting pio- neer family is Ernest A. French, who lives about five miles north of San Jose, on the Alviso-San Jose Road. He was born in San Jose, December 23, 1887, the son of Mortimer D. French and his good wife, who was Mary Gallagher before her marriage, and he was the third in a family of eight children. A more extended mention of the parents and grand- parents is found in the biography of Alden French, on another page of this history.

Ernest A. attended the Alviso grammar school and for three years he pursued the prescribed courses of the San Jose high school; and then, in his nine- teenth year, he struek out for himself. He took up the sheet metal trade in San Jose, and then, going to Montana, secured a homestead near Galata, but he stayed there only two years and then gave it up. He next returned to San Jose and became foreman on a part of the Gallagher ranch, where he worked for seven years bringing the estate to its highest de- velopment. About that time, he purchased six aeres of the old Trinkler Ranch, which he retained for three years and then sold. This enabled him to buy twenty aeres on the Alviso Road running to San Jose, and in 1920 he completed a pretty stucco hun- galow there. He devotes his land to apples, and his scientific, painstaking eulture enables him to produce the finest variety and quality in enviable crops.

At San Jose, on January 5, 1915, Mr. French was married to Miss Elizabeth Kerr, the daughter of well-known California pioneers; and their union has been blessed with the birth of three attractive child- ren-Ernest, Virginia, and Walter. Mr. French is an Odd Fellow, and belongs to Lodge No. 238 of Santa Clara. He is also a Republican, but his en- thusiasm for the platforms of that party in their relation to national politics and problems does not permit him to assume any narrow, non-partisan at- titude toward local questions. He is a good booster, and the success of many movements has been due to the hearty support of Mr. French and his patriotic fellow-citizens.

FREEMAN L. HOWES .- Many native sons of California have been content to spend their entire lives in the Golden State, finding here excellent op- portunities for advancement, and to this class belongs Freeman L. Howes, a representative of an old and honored pioneer family and a leading horticulturist of Santa Clara County. He was born on the old homestead, in the Union district of California, Oc- tober 28, 1865, of the marriage of John and Eliza- beth (Moyer) Howes, who were the first to settle in that locality. His education was acquired in the pub- lie schools there and later he attended the Garden City Business College at San Jose. When Mr. Howes was but twelve years of age his father died and on starting out in life for himself he took up the oecupa- tion of farming. For fifteen years he had charge of the Lion raneh and then returned to the Union dis- trict, where he has since resided. He is the owner of a productive and well-improved traet of sixty-five aeres, upon which he raises prunes and grapes, and has recently erected an attractive modern home on his property, which he has converted into one of the most desirable farms in the district. His ranch is

situated on the Los Gatos and Almaden Road and is operated along the most modern lines.

Mr. Howes married Miss Clara B. Place, of Los Gatos, who passed away on June 14, 1921, leaving two children: Ray L., a resident of Morgan Hill; and Ruby D. Ray served for four years in the U. S. Navy and during the World War was assigned to the battleship Florida. In his political views Mr. Howes is a Republican and fraternally he is identi- fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His life has been one of diligence and determination and his genuine personal worth and activity have combined to make him one of the representative men of this section whose careers have been influential factors in horticultural development.

MATTHEW J. GLENNON .- A man who was identified with the hotel interests of Santa Clara County for many years is Matthew J. Glennon, a na- tive of Ireland, born on June 18, 1858, the son of Peter and Anna (Kelly) Glennon, both natives of the Emerald Isle, who lived and died there. They were the parents of eleven children of whom Mat- thew J. Glennon, our subjeet, was the sixth child in the order of birth. He was a student in the schools of Ireland until he reached the age of fifteen when he decided to come to the United States. Arriving in New York City, he spent a number of years in the hotel business and then came on to Chicago and accepted a position with the Palmer House. While there Ferdinand De Lesseps of France and General Grant were guests at the hotel. Afterwards he was with the Grand Pacific Hotel until he returned to New York where he continued in the hotel business until 1887, when he accepted a position with the Coronado Beach Hotel at San Diego, Cal. Eight- een months later he came to San Francisco, re- maining until 1892, when he spent some time in Detroit. During the World's Fair he was with the Auditorium Hotel in Chicago until the fall of 1893, when he came back to California and engaged in the hotel business in San Jose. He was with the Vendome Hotel for a year and a half and then was in the hotel business for nine years in Santa Clara and also in Agnew, retiring in the year 1908, a successful man who had made good entirely through his own efforts and now is enjoying the fruits of his labors.

Mr. Glennon's marriage, united him with Miss Fanny Ryan, who was a native of Detroit. Mich. During the World War, he took an active part in the different war drives, being chairman of his dis- trict in the Liberty Loan Drives. Prominent in the Elks, Mr. Glennon is also a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Knights of Columbus. He has ever been prominent in all forward move- ments for the benefit of the Irish people and was chairman of the drive to raise money for Irish In- dependence.

GEORGE H. LE DEIT .- For many years the Le Deit family has been prominently identified with the meat business in Santa Clara County and George H. Le Deit is now at the head of a large enter- prise of this character, being numbered among the successful business men and progressive citizens of San Jose. He is widely and favorably known in this city, where he was born in March, 1889, his parents being Mathurin and Georgietta Le Deit. The father was a native of France and as a young man

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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 181

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