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 215

Author: Sawyer, Eugene Taylor, 1846-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1928

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RUFUS E. STEWART .- A man of vigorous ac- tivities, who knows how to persevere and to give his energy and intelligent direction to the task at hand. Rufus E. Stewart holds the responsible position as manager of the Esperanza Ranch on the San Jose- Saratoga Road, near Cupertino. Mr. Stewart can well be proud of his association with the Golden State, as he is not only a native son, but the son of an intrepid pioneer of '49, that hardy band whose ranks are growing thinner year by year. He was born at San Diego, February 26, 1881, the son of Robert M. and Mary (Ellef) Stewart, born in Texas and Tennessee, respectively. Mrs. Stewart passed away some years ago, and the father passed away in December, 1921, at the age of eighty-one, having had an eventful life as a miner in Texas, Arizona and California, coming here at the height of the gold rush, crossing the plains in an ox-team train in 1849, and afterwards engaged in stock raising in San Diego County. He was one of the developers of the Dia- mond Mine in that county, and owned a 3,000-acre ranch; he afterwards farmed near Santa Ana. Rufus E. Stewart was educated in the schools of Los An- geles, the family having removed to the vicinity of that city, and he then became interested in farming and stock raising, gaining a thorough and practical experience. From the time he was a lad he was em- ployed by Thomas H. B. Varney, of Varney, Green & Owens, known throughout Southern California as bill posters and sign painters. Mr. Varney treated him as if he had been a son, and a warm friendship sprang up which has endured ever since. In 1913 Mr. Stewart came to Santa Clara County as super- intendent of the Meads ranch at Alviso, and the great care he gave their pear orchard brought it up to good production and put it on a profitable basis. After two and a half years he resigned this position to accept his present place, offered him by his old friend, Thomas H. B. Varney, as superintendent of the Esperanza Ranch. In 1916 Mr. Varney pur- chased the ranch and a few weeks later bought the Col. Hersey ranch, adjoining, the two comprising 115 acres, and Mr. Stewart as superintendent has given it his best efforts in the development, and is rapidly bringing the orchards into splendid shape, the quality of the fruit being a very high standard.

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During the busy season he employs fifteen people to assist him in handling the products of this large acre- age. The ranch is well equipped with the latest im- proved farm machinery, including a tractor, and the fruit of the orchards is handled by the California Prune and Apricot Growers' Association, for both Mr. Stewart and Mr. Varney are strong believers in cooperative marketing. Mr. Stewart has been a close student of horticulture and his valuable experi- ence and close observation make him well posted and authoritative in his line. He is very systematic and methodical, so from the first day on the Esperanza Ranch he has a record (card system) of every detail and transaction, including a weather report.

In Santa Cruz, on November 4, 1908, Mr. Stewart was married to Miss Annie Livingston, who, like himself, is a native of California, born in San Fran- cisco, a daughter of Henry H. and Agnes (Bodell) Livingston, who were natives of Ohio and Chicago, Ill., respectively. When a youth her father crossed the plains over the overland trail in pioneer days with his parents, and when the Civil War was raging he enlisted in defense of the Union, serving in a Cali- fornia regiment. He died in 1913, being survived by his widow until 1914. Mrs. Stewart was reared in Fruitvale and there received a good education in the public schools. She is a woman of much native business ability and is intensely interested in her hus- band's work, aiding and encouraging him materially in his ambition, and Mr. Stewart gives her no small credit for the success he has accomplished as a hor- ticulturist. Mr. Stewart is a Democrat in his po- litical affiliations and a loyal supporter of all that makes for the upbuilding of Santa Clara County. He is fond of the open, and spends as much of his time in outdoor recreation as his busy life will permit.

JOSEPH WOLF .- About three miles west of Santa Clara on the Wolf Road, is the well-tilled farm of twelve acres belonging to Joseph Wolf, an industrious and honorable citizen of Santa Clara County. Mr. Wolf was born in Minneapolis, Minn., July 3, 1866, the son of Antone and Elizabeth ( Murer) Wolf. The father was a native of Ger- many and came to Minneapolis when a young man and was married after arriving here. When he arrived in Minneapolis it was a small town and he could have taken a 160 acre claim now in the city of Minneapolis but like hundreds of other pioneers he had the desire of locating where there was tim- ber, so he took a claim in Medina township, about eighteen miles out, and cleared the land. When he had it well improved he sold it and bought a small farm at Crystal Lake, four miles from Minneapolis. There he built the first hotel, the Crystal Lake, and was its proprietor for ten years when he rented it and lived in Minneapolis. When the hotel burned he built a large brick hotel; later he sold it and came to California in 1886 and spent the rest of his life in the Cupertino district as did the mother.

Joseph was their only child and he was educated in the public schools of Minneapolis. When he reached sixteen years of age he was apprenticed to learn the machinist trade in the Perry Machine Shops adjoining the big flour mills and became an experienced machinist, working at his trade for four years. In 1886 with his parents he came to California and upon arrival settled in Santa Clara County. He purchased an eighty-acre tract of land

a quarter of a mile north of the Homestead Road, three miles west of Santa Clara. The ranch was grain land, and he was among the first to set out vineyards and orchards. When it was all set out, he began selling portions of it, until now he has only twelve and one-half acres left, which is in full-bear- ing cherries, apricots and prunes; there is an ir- rigating plant on the place that flows 350 gallons to the minute. Since settling on the ranch, Mr. Wolf has made substantial improvements in the way of a comfortable residence and other buildings. In 1909 he was instrumental in having the road put through from the Homestead to the San Francisco Road and it was named the Wolf Road in his honor.

Mr. Wolf's marriage occurred in October, 1916, and united him with Mrs. Villa (Amos) Graham, born in Iowa. She passed away in December, 1919, leaving an adopted daughter, Grace Graham, who presides gracefully over his home. Of recent years, Mr. Wolf has been engaged in general hauling and is equipped with a three and a half ton truck and two ton truck, which are especially adapted to the hauling of fruit from orchards; he also has a Sampson tractor with which he does orchard work; and a wood saw for sawing stove and furnace wood. Mr. Wolf has fitted up a machine shop on his ranch run by a gasoline engine that furnishes power for his turning lathe, circular saw and other ma- chinery; he also does auto-body building and has invented an auto-body that serves two purposes, for general hauling and for hauling fruit from orchards. He is a member of the California Prune and Apricot Association and the California Cooperative Canneries.

RALPH W. EATON-The worthy son of a dis- tinguished pioneer, now retired, Ralph W. Eaton is interesting, first because of his family connections, and secondly on account of what he himself has ac- complished to add to the credit and honor of the family name. He was born at Sterling, Reno County, Kans., on May 27, 1882, the eldest son of Ernest C. and Viola L. ( Merrell) Eaton, and a maternal grand- son of Major William Merrell, who served as a major under General Sherman in the Civil War and was later prominent in G. A. R. circles in California, where he died. On July 12, 1901, Mr. Eaton re- moved with his parents from Kansas to California, where his father invested in a ranch on Homestead Road, a fine orchard tract of twenty acres two miles out of Santa Clara.

Ralph attended the Santa Clara high school for a couple of terms, and soon was working as a rancher and the stand-by of his parents. In July, 1910, he signed a contract with the Government to transport mail by automobile from San Jose to Mt. Hamilton -- a new departure from the old-time method of horse and stage-and only after he had conducted this en- terprise for three and a half years did he sell out to a Mr. McCormick. Since that time, and before he entered the service of the Government, Mr. Eaton has been a Santa Clara Valley orchardist. He bought and sold several ranches with profit, and at present owns a ranch on the White Road, four miles from San Jose, which he has improved from a stubblefield to a prune and peach orchard.

Ernest C. Eaton, the father of our subject, made an enviable reputation as a very successful operator in rauch land, by himself highly developed, and as one of the most respected directors of the San Jose

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Mutual Loan Association; and Ralph Eaton, al- though still a young man, has certainly proven a chip off the old block. His parents were always con- sistent prohibitionists, and he has been equally con- scientious as a progressive in national politics, and in every way a first-class "booster" of the region in which he lives, works and thrives.

At San Jose, May 24, 1906, Mr. Eaton was married to Miss Beulah James, born at Mattoon, Ill., the daughter of D. W. James, of Santa Clara, the well- known mechanic, who is a native of Illinois and mar- ried a native Oliioan, Miss Olive Crowel, like him- self a pioneer worthy of the honor of posterity. One child, Joyce La Verne, blessed this union; and she is a student at Horace Mann School. The family reside in their comfortable and hospitable home at 799 South Seventh Street, and with his wife Mr. Eaton is a member of the Methodist Church.

FLOYD O. BOHNETT .- For over a half century the Bohnett family has been continuously identified with the agricultural development of Santa Clara County and in this field of activity Floyd O. Bohnett is proving a worthy successor of his father, being recognized as one of the most progressive orchardists of this part of the state. He was born on the old home place on the Los Gatos and San Jose road, August 15, 1894, his parents being Joseph and Tamer (Barker) Bohnett, born in Michigan and California, respectively. In 1870 the father came to California from Michigan, purchasing a tract of 180 acres in Santa Clara County, which he farmed a few years and then sold and bought fifty aeres on the Los Gatos Road; here he set ont an orchard and after twenty- eight years sold it to his son Floyd O. He now lives retired in a bungalow on an acre of the ranch. He was very successful in his farming operations and in 1888 erected a beautiful home, in which our subject is now living. The mother passed away in September, 1920. They had eleven children, five girls and six boys, all living, and all but two of them in Santa Clara County.

Floyd O., the eighth of the family, received a gram- mar and high school education and in 1911, when seventeen years of age, assumed the responsibility of the operation of the home ranch, which he has since successfully managed. In 1919 he purchased the or- chard from his father and gives it close attention. He is deeply interested in all modern developments along horticultural lines and utilizes the most im- proved equipment, including an evaporating plant. He is thus independent of the sun for drying pur- poses and through this process obtains the maximum of weight in the fruit. His time and attention are con- centrated upon his chosen life work, to which he gives much thought and study, keeping abreast of the times in every way. Mr. Bohnett, his brother, L. D. Boh- nett, and the inventor, H. E. Clauser, hold the patent right for the duplex interlocking building block, a new system of permanent construction of concrete build- ings. They are incorporated as the Duplex Construc- tion Equipment Company and manufacture the ma- chines and molds for making the above concrete bricks and are now introducing it into the various parts of the United States. It is as substantial as brick or concrete buildings and at the same time com- petes with frame construction in prices. Mr. Bohnett individually has the Santa Clara County rights and

has a plant for manufacturing the brick on his ranch. lle believes in the cooperative marketing of fruit and is an enthusiastic member of the California Prune & Apricot Growers Association, the California Coop- erative Cauneries and the California Walnut Growers.

Mr. Bohnett was united in marriage at San Jose with Miss Violet Morgan, born in this locality, and they reside in their large residence on the ranch, which has been, for many years, the home of the Bohnett family. They have two children, Joseph, Jr., and Thomas Morgan. In his political views Mr. Bohnett is a Republican and he is now serving as school trustee of the Cambrian district, the school that his mother and all eleven children attended. He was made a Mason in Charity Lodge No. 362, F. & A. M. at Campbell, in which he is past master; he is a member of all the Scottish Rite bodies in San Jose and he is also a member of Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at San Francisco. His work snstains the enterprising spirit that has long been synonymous with the family name in Santa Clara County, for he has lived up to worthy standards, and his influence is always to be counted upon in the promotion of any measure looking to the improvement of the com- munity in which he lives.

ALPHONSE J. MAISONNEUVE .- Industry, frugality and perseverance have been leading traits of character in the career of Alphonse J. Maison- neuve, who has been engaged in the mill business in California for the past thirty years. Born December 16, 1871, in Kankakee, 111., he is a son of Panl Maisonnenve, who also was engaged in milling. Both father and mother were natives of Montreal, Canada, removing to Illinois during their early married life. The mother, Julia Longtin, passed away after their removal to Kansas, when Alphonse J. was a baby. The second marriage united bim with Miss De Lima Paradise, who was also a native of French Canada and came to the states in the early '60s. She proved to be a mother to the orphan boy and his brother Paul, who now resides in Oakland.

Mr. Maisonneuve's early education was obtained in the public schools of Kansas, but as early as 1886, when only fifteen years of age, he set out for him- self to earn his own way in the world. His first job was in a large flouring mill near Marshall, Minn., and where he remained for two years. In 1888 he removed to California, settling in Ventura County, where he only remained for a year. In 1901 he set- tled in San Jose, establishing a home at 356 South Ninth Street, but now lives at 121 Vine Street.

In 1895 Mr. Maisonneuve was married to Miss Elizabeth Delaney, born in County Manchester, Eng- land, coming to America with her grandmother in 1883. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Maisonneuve: Aileen M. the wife of R. C. Ken- ter, residents of Santa Cruz; Joseph, an ex-service man, who served in the U. S. Navy during the World War, was second gunner's mate, and was for over three years in the Asiatic station; Elsie E .; Cecil, wife of Sheldon E. Crawford of San Jose; and Carmela. The children were all educated at St. Mary's and St. Joseph's schools. Fraternally Mr. Maisonneuve is an active member of the Woodmen of the World, serving as the manager of Alamo Camp No. 80 of San Jose, and is also a member of Eagles No. 8, Gowonga Tribe of Redmen and Neigh-

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bors of Woodcraft, and Millmen's Union No. 262. Politically he is a consistent Republican.

In 1914 Mr. Maisonneuve owned and operated the Fourth Street Planing Mill, and constantly employed sixteen men; however, in 1917, he disposed of his business with the intention of engaging in the ice and cold storage business, but on account of the restric- tions of the Government, he was unable to get a permit for such a business. He then assumed the superintendency for Shirley & Sons Planing Mill, who were formerly his partners. He has always been liberal with time and money for movements for im- provements, and is recognized as a progressive and enterprising citizen. . He believes in the future of Santa Clara County, and has never had occasion to regret his determination to settle here.

FREEMAN H. KEMP .- A well-educated, genial gentleman, who is now living retired from active service, is Freeman H. Kemp, a Civil War veteran, who has led a most active and useful life. He was born on September 29, 1837, in Boston, Mass., and entered public school at the age of six years. In 1855 he went to sea on a whaler, cruising in the South Pacific Ocean, then took a trip to the West Coast of Africa. On April 10, 1861, two days before the call of 75,000 recruits, he enlisted in Company C, Third United States Infantry, and his regiment served as bodyguard for General MeClellan for many months. During his service he was under Mcclellan, Burn- side, Hooker and Meade and remained in the Army of the Potomac during the entire rebellion. In April, 1864, the company in which he was serving was re- duced to twenty men and sent to New York on a recruiting expedition. He was honorably discharged at Fort Columbus, N. Y., but remained there only a short time when he reenlisted in Company E, Forty-second Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and went to Fort Alexander, Va., across from Washing- ton, D. C. Five months later he was honorably discharged at Reedsville, Mass.

In November, 1865, at Independence, lowa, Mr. Kemp was married to Miss Flora E. Root, born at Worcester, Mass., on December 1, 1848, who re- moved to lowa in 1864 with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Kemp are the parents of three children: Charles Grant came West with his parents and passed away on June 30, 1920; Alice E. is the wife of A. J. Beaty and they have four children and reside at Paso Robles; Herbert Lincoln is married and has one child and they reside at Healdsburg.

Early in 1873 Mr. Kemp removed with his family to Knox County, Nebr., which was at that time a pioneer country and they took up a homestead and farmed until 1894. During the severe floods of 1881 he cared for sixteen of the sufferers and Mr. Root cared for twenty-four. His farm consisted of 120 acres and was devoted to the raising of grain and stock. In 1894 he removed to Paradise Valley and was one of the pioneers who bought a tract of un- cultivated land, covered with oak trees, which he « leared, developed and set to orchard, which he disposed of in 1919. On his forty acres, ten of which was in orchard, he developed a spring that never has ceased to flow. The family then removed to Morgan Hill and invested in several pieces of property. Mrs. Kemp is active in club life at Morgan Hill and belongs to the W. C. T. U. and the Civic Club.

In politics Mr. Kemp is a stalwart Republican and rejoices in the fact that he voted for Abraham Lincoln and was in attendance at his second in- auguration and was a member of the guard, one of the very few surviving members of that body; he was in Washington the night of Lincoln's assassina- tion. A brother, Stephen B. Kemp, served in the Tenth Massachusetts Infantry and was wounded seven times; another brother, George H., was on the Frigate Congress, destroyed by the Merrimac; Frank E. Kemp, the youngest brother, was wounded and captured and held prisoner at Libby Prison and later was removed to Andersonville, where he met death by starvation. It is not to be wondered at that Mr. Kemp loves peace and hates war with a vengeance. Of a sunny, philosophical, optimistic, common-sense temperament, Mr. Kemp is a good neighbor and a good friend, and is always appreciated by those who know his character and his conversa- tional powers as good company.

FRANK HUBBARD .- An enterprising, prosper- ous stockman so conversant with California condi- tions that he has set the pace for others in the same field of alluring endeavor, is Frank Hubbard, living about fourteen miles out of San Jose on the Mt. Hamilton Road, and esteemed and influential as perhaps the most extensive stockman near Halls Valley. A genuine Hawkeye, he was born near Council Bluffs, Iowa, on January 8, 1850, and his parents were Adam Clark and Abigail E. (Chase) Hubbard. His father was born in Ohio in 1820, and was reared in Wabash County, Ind .; and in 1852 he crossed the plains to California, and for a year remained in Eldorado County. In September, 1853, he came into Santa Clara County, and as a farmer he was located half-way between Evergreen and Jackson. On account of his health, he went up into the hills northeast of Mt. Hamilton, and there engaged in stockraising; but the drought of 1864 bankrupted him.

Frank Hubbard joined his father in the stock- raising business when a young man, and in 1882 came down to Halls Valley and bought 300 acres of land; and now he controls about 8,000 acres of range land and aims to let run about 500 head of cattle. He has set out some twenty acres to orchard, in which he has about 2,000 young pear and prune trees, and has also erected a fine dwelling and all the necessary farm buildings on his home-place. He follows up-to-date methods, so it is natural that he gets results of the kind that every ambitious ranchman is always seeking after.

At San Jose, on November 17, 1880, Mr. Hubbard was married to Miss Retta L. Brakefield, a native of Pettis County, Mo., and the daughter of F. F. and Elizabeth (Taylor) Brakefield-the former a native of Ohio, the latter born in Virginia. Two of her sisters came to California-Elizabeth and Sofronia, now Mrs. J. D. Guerraz, of Edenvale. Five children and two grandchildren have sprung from this marriage, a son, Frank L., married Miss Edna Strong, and they have two children, Lucretia Eliza and Ruth; Lewis Saxe lives in San Jose; Eugene Clark is associated with his father in the manage- ment of the ranch; John Augustus died on Novem- ber 1, 1911; William Elmore was killed by his saddle horse falling on him September 26, 1921.

Joseph Francalango

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JOSEPH FRANCALANZO .- Recognized for gen- erations as a profession of prime importance to the health of every community, the apothecary and the druggist have enjoyed an exalted status and re- ceived a large measure of honor. Joseph Francal- anzo, one of the successful pharmacists of San Jose, Cal., was born in the Province of Foggia, Italy, March 14, 1894, and was the son of Generoso and Vincenza (Diblasio) Franealanzo, who came to Amer- ica in 1896 when Joseph was but a small child. He received his early education in the parochial and pub- lic schools in San Jose, Cal., whither he came with his parents from Providence, R.I., in 1908. Ever ambitious, he secured a position as delivery boy for the Wagner Drug Store, and in 1913 began working for the Fischer and Pellerano Drug Store, and it was then and there that he resolved to become a pharma- cist. With this end in view he gained valuable prac- tical experience, and at the same time pursued a cor- respondence course. In 1916 he became assistant pharmacist, and in 1918 became a licentiate pharma- cist, having satisfactorily passed all required exam- inations. He came to his present position with the Patterson Pharmacy in September, 1920, which was then located at 207 South First Street; but in Sep- tember of 1921 removed to its present location, 251 South First Street, near the Hippodrome Theater. The Patterson Pharmacy carries a large and up-to- date stock and has one of the largest and most com- plete prescription cases of any drugstore in Santa Clara County. The Patterson drugstore has been a familiar place and a well-stocked pharmacy for several years, but is doing even a greater volume of business at the present time. Mr. Francalanzo's thorough knowledge of the business, and his per- sonal acquaintance with most of his customers, and above all his courteous and pleasing personality, has contributed largely to its success.

LEE R. LENFEST .- A notably successful career is that of Lee R. Lenfest, a prominent land developer residing in Santa Clara County, the owner of a val- uable ranch in the northeastern part of the city of San Jose, and a fine tract of land near Manteca, while the methods employed in the cultivation and development of these places are the expression of the latest scientific research along agricultural lines. A native of Maine, Mr. Lenfest was born in Knox County, September 27, 1859, his parents being Daniel and Elizabeth (Whitten) . Lenfest. The ancestral record is traced back to Normandy, whence mem- bers of the Lenfest family migrated to the Isle of Guernsey, which was the home of the great-grand- father of our subject, the family name originally be- ing spelled Lenfeste. At the outbreak of the War of 1812 he was conscripted into the British forces, and when the ship reached a short distance from the American Coast, he jumped overboard and swam ashore. His son, Peter Lenfest, who was a farmer in Washington Township, Maine, married Margaret Campbell, a Scotchwoman, and they became the parents of thirteen children. The eldest of this fam- ily, Daniel Lenfest, removed to Clay County, Nebr., settling twenty-eight miles from Hastings, when the Indians, buffalo and elk were numerous on the plains. There he took up a tree claim and also preempted eighty acres; he was seven years in prov- ing up on these claims, which aggregated 240 acres, where he raised grain and stock, but he died soon after proving up on his land.

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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 215

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