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 63

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 63

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John M. Burnett, the father of our subject, was born in Missouri in 1838, and for awhile was sent to private schools. Later, he entered Santa Clara Col- lege, from which he was graduated in 1858 with the A. B. degree. A year later, that honored institution gave him the Master of Arts degree. He studied law, was admitted to practice in 1865, and then opened a law office in San Francisco.

On July 2, 1902, David M. Burnett was married to Miss Mabel Arques, the daughter of Luis Arques, a prominent attorney; and their son, John M. Burnett, born on May 1, 1903, has lived to represent the fourth generation of the Burnetts and their enviable association with California history. They also have a daughter, Martha Arques Burnett, a student in the San Jose high school.

ALEXANDER P. MURGOTTEN .- Well known throughout the state as the editor and publisher of The California Pioneer and later of The California Elk, Alexander P. Murgotten has done much in this capacity to promote the good of the organizations which his papers represented, and has also rendered efficient assistance in advancing the interests of San Jose, the city in which he has resided for fifty-six years. A member of one of the early pioneer fam- ilies of California, he has spent nearly all of his life in this state, and by his intelligence, ability and in- tegrity has been influential in promoting its indus- trial, social, fraternal and political welfare. A son of the late Henry Clay Murgotten, he was born Feb- ruary 10, 1846, in Lagro, Wabash County, Ind., and he comes of distinguished French ancestry, his great-grandfather Murgotten having been a wealthy 22

Parisian. Grandfather Murgotten was an officer in the French navy in 1808, served under Napoleon, and after the second banishment of Napoleon was in a ship that was lost off the coast of America. Being rescued by an American vessel, he settled perma- nently in Baltimore, Md., living there until his death, of cholera, in 1831. He was a practical business man, and quite well-to-do, for in addition to his earnings he received regular remittances from his father in France. The correct French spelling of his surname Mr. Murgotten has never definitely ascertained.

In Muncie, Ind., December 24, 1837, Henry Clay Murgotten married Susan Shaffer, who was born in Lycoming County, Pa., a daughter of Adam and Elizabeth (Gordener) Shaffer. Elizabeth Gordener was of French ancestry, and was a daughter of George Gordener, who was a life-long resident of Lycoming County, Pa., and served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. On December 24, 1887, in P'la- cerville, Cal., Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Murgotten cel- ebrated their golden wedding anniversary, the occa- sion being one of joyful memory. Mrs. Murgotten lived but a few months longer, passing away in San Jose, June 21, 1888. Of the children born of their union two survive, namely: Mary H., widow of Hon. William A. January, of San Jose, and Alexander P., the subject of this sketch. Henry Clay Murgotten was a staunch Republican in politics, a past grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and one of the founders and leading members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church of Placerville.

Coming with his mother to California when a boy of six years, the father having preceded them, Alex- ander P. Murgotten was carried across the Isthmus on the back of a native. He was reared and educated in Placerville, Eldorado County, attending the public schools until sixteen years old. He was one of the first newsboys in the mines, beginning to sell papers as soon as he arrived there. The New York, Boston and St. Louis papers, although six months and even a year old, sold readily for fifty cents, and illustrated papers brought fifty cents and a dollar each. He later entered the employ of William A. January, pub- lisher of the Mountain Democrat, and in his office learned the printer's trade. Coming with Mr. Jan- uary to San Jose, in 1866, on January 1, he worked for two years on the Santa Clara Argus, as foreman of the office. Embarking then in business for him- self, he has since been extensively engaged in job printing and publishing. In 1877 he started the Pio- neer, a paper that had a good circulation and was devoted to the interests of the California pioneers. From 1885 until 1889 Mr. Murgotten was in the em- ploy of the Government, being superintendent of deposit melting in the United States Mint in San Francisco, and likewise being the representative of the superintendent between the melting, refining and coining departments, in this capacity handling all the gold twice, millions of dollars' worth of it passing through his hands every day. On change of admin- istration Mr. Murgotten returned to San Jose, and as junior member of the firm of Cottle and Mur- gotten resumed the publication of the Pioneer, con- tinuing with his partner for five or more years. In February, 1901, he established The California Elk, a large, twelve-page quarto, issued monthly in the interests of the Benevolent and Protective Order of

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Elks of the United States, also actively and profita- bly engaging in a general printing business.

In San Jose, June 28, 1868, Mr. Murgotten married Martha Kelley Munroe, a native of Medina, Ohio. Her father, Charles Munroe, started for California by way of Cape Horn in 1851. He resided for a while in San Jose, but during the excitement caused by a rich discovery of gold in Central America, he went to the mines of that country, and died there.

Mr. and Mrs. Murgotten celebrated their golden wedding anniversary June 28, 1918. Of their union five children were born, two living, Henry C. Mur- gotten and Rev. Dr. F. C. Murgotten.

Politically, Mr. Murgotten is a Republican and fraternally, he belongs to San Jose Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M. He is a Shriner, a Sciot, belongs to the Scottish Rite and a member of the Sons of the Rev- olution, is a past noble grand of Garden City Lodge No. 142, I. O. O. F, and is a charter member of San Jose Lodge No. 522, B. P. O. E. He was one of the prime movers in the forming of the Santa Clara County Pioneers' Society, which was organized June 22, 1875, and of which he was secretary for a quarter of a century, resigning the position in 1900, but is again occupying that office. Religiously, Mr, Mur- gotten is a member of the Episcopal Church, and is liberal in his religious views, according to everyone the right to worship God as conscience dictates.

During the Exposition in San Francisco in 1915, Mr. Murgotten was president of the California Pio- neers of Santa Clara County and was instrumental in engineering one of the largest and most interesting days-Pioneer Day-when more than seventy thou- sand attended from all parts of the state.

JULIUS MARTIN .- Numbered among the first settlers in California who were instrumental in the progress and growth of the Santa Clara Valley, and more especially the section about Gilroy, mention is made of Julius Martin, the first American to settle here, taking up his residence in January, 1844, and ever after maintaining his home here. He was born in Stokes County, N. C., on January 2, 1804, the son of wealthy parents, who gave him the very best of educational advantages by sending him to Chapel Hill College with the intention of his entering West Point. As a student he excelled in many sports and won a host of friends. One of his schoolmates was Governor Stanley of North Carolina. Circumstances were such that he did not enter West Point and he moved to Alabama, then to Mississippi, and in 1833 to a little town called Sibley, near Independence, Mo. There he lived, farmed and traded until 1843, when he started on the overland journey to California with his wife and three daughters.

One of his neighbors, Joseph Childs, with some others, went to California in 1841 to "look over the country" and so enthused were they with the soil and climatic conditions, that when they went back to Missouri in 1842, their stories created the desire on the part of many friends to make this their home and among these were Julius Martin and his family. Their party consisted of thirty men, besides six women and the children. They gathered at Shawnec Mission and on May 31, 1843, began the long trek across the continent, happy in the thought that at the end of their journey they would find their heart's desire. Among the party was David F. McClellan, a

nephew of the scout and trader, Capt. Joseph R. Walker, who had come to California in 1833. Mc- Clellan was informed by his father that the party would meet Walker somewhere on the plains and to try to induce him to turn back and guide the train in safety through to the coast. The first 100 miles were made slowly and as they got farther along they encountered several trains en route for Oregon and all traveled together in harmony and comfort. In the trains encountered were Peter H. Burnett, who became the first governor of California; S. J. Hens- ley, Major Redding, J. W. Nesmith and others who became prominent in various circles in pioneer days.

The little party reached the Kaw River, journeyed westward to the south fork of the Platte, which took them four days to cross, then on to Fort Lar- amie, where the emigrants gave a grand ball, there being some 1,500 in the party at that time. Leaving the fort they soon encounted Captain Walker and he agreed to act as their guide after he had de- livered his furs at the fort. He caught up with them at Independence Rock and saw them safely here.

Some miles west of Fort Hall the Oregon wagons bade goodbye to the California contingent and the latter wended their way slowly towards their goal. They found plenty of game and kept their larders well supplied. As they neared the California line they began to run short of provisions and some of the party made up a light pack train and traveled rapidly to reach Sutter's Fort and get back to their party before the snows set in. They reached the fort, but were too late to make the return trip and after several days of waiting, Walker turned south and guided the little band by way of Walker's Lake (now Owen's) through Walker's Pass and thence to Four Creeks (Visalia). Provisions were getting shorter and at the lake they burned their wagons, buried all castings and saws, etc., for they had material for a saw and flour mill with them. With women and children and light packs they started out, but had to kill a mule for provender on the way. They were forty-eight hours without water, then found a spring and by scooping out a place large enough, had plenty for the people and animals. They arrived at what is now Visalia, then to Mis- sion Soledad on the Salinas, in December, 1843, worn out with the long and hard journey, but happy to have reached the end of their travels.

Julius Martin and his little party came to San Ysidro (Old Gilroy) a few days later and he located there until in 1850, when he moved to a fine ranch he had secured near New Gilroy, and this location was ever afterwards his home. He served with Fre- niont as a captain of American Scouts and both he and his wife were present at Sonoma at the raising of the Bear Flag. He left his family at Gilroy while he tried his luck at mining, but finding that was not his forte, turned his attention to trading with miners. When he returned again to ranch life he began im- proving his property and in time owned one of the best ranches in this section of the county. It is pleasant to relate that the original ranch is still in possession of the heirs of Julius Martin and with the passing of time has become very valuable prop- erty. He took a very active part in the settlement of this section, always lending a helping hand to those seeking a home and kept open house for all way-

Tulind Martin

Elisatutti martin

Georgia Mo Beane

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

farers. For about thirty years he was blind, but he was so familiar with locations and so sensitive to touch that he would walk to Gilroy and about the town without assistance.

Mr. Martin had married, on February 14, 1838, Elizabeth Hedrick MePherson and she first saw the light on November 23, 1819, in Roane County, Tenn. She was a woman of many resources, and after her husband lost his sight, she took charge of their large ranch of some 1,300 acres and carried it on successfully until her death. They had six children, all girls, the first three born in Missouri and the others in Santa Clara County: Mary married P. B. Tully and died leaving two daughters-Mrs. Elmer Ray of Gilroy and Mrs. Elizabeth Riggins of San Francisco; Arzelia became the wife of Abraham Lewis, she died leaving three children-George of Los Angeles, Mildred, Mrs. James Sargeant, of Gil- roy, and Abraham, an attorney in Honolulu; Martha married Franklin Oldham and died, the mother of four children, but now all are deceased. She was only a babe of three months when the family began their journey to California; Susan came next, and she was the first white child, born by a few hours, in the Santa Clara Valley. She is now Mrs. A. Philbrook and lives in Susanville, Cal .; Georgia was next to the youngest and was born at Old Gilroy. She married first, Dr. James F. Johnson, a physician of San Jose, and they had one son, Edward F. He was graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1892, returned to Gilroy and embarked in the drug business, married Elsie Garret of Sacra- mento and they had two sons, Edward Martin and Garret Abeel. He died on August 10, 1917, and the business was continued by his widow until 1922, when the oldest son, Martin Johnson, was graduated from the University of California in Pharmacy, class of '22, and now manages the establishment. His grandmother sent him to college that he might take his father's place in the business world. In 1922 Garret Johnson graduated from the Gilroy high school. Mrs. James F. Johnson, in 1906, became the wife of J. WV. Beane, who learned merchandising with Marshall Field of Chicago and was a pioneer merchant of Gilroy and later a trusted employe of Ford & Sanborn Company of Salinas and King City, but now retired in Gilroy. Julia F. was the youngest girl and she married Charles Hornbeck and died in 1921 in Gilroy, leaving one child, Edith, who with her father is living on the old Martin homestead, one- half mile from Gilroy. The daughters were edu- cated at Notre Dame and Gates Institute.

The Martins entertained with the true Southern hospitality and all travelers north and south always found a welcome at their home. Many men of prominence were their guests, among them U. S. Grant, later president of the United States. Mrs. Martin was glad to relate the early stories of Cali- fornia and tell that she had lived under four flags- Spanish, Alcalde, Bear and the American, and had them on display at her home. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and aided the needy at all times. She died on December 2, 1900, having survived her husband from December 26, 1891, when he passed away, having reached the good old age of eighty-seven years, cleven months and twenty-six days. Mr. Martin was always of a

jolly disposition and although blind and almost eighty-five, he could dance the fisher's hornpipe with the grace of one half his age. He liked best of all to talk of pioneer history and was an authority sought by all delving into the history of the early days. One of the responsible positions he filled before courts were established was that of judge advocate of his district and his word was law on all matters. Mrs. Martin had a large collection of clippings and papers relating to California history which she pre- served with great care and now are a valuable acqui- sition to the annals of the county. The old Martin home is still standing and was built of logs hewed by hand from the redwood and oaks found growing near Gilroy in 1845.

HENRY MILLER .- Few among the names of those pioneers who did the big things in helping to develop and build up California into the Golden State have come to have half of the fascination of romance and the glamor of renown such as surrounds the hon- ored name of Henry Miller, the cattle king of Cal- ifornia and father of Los Banos, whose story is the narrative, like that of a fairy tale, of the remarkable career of a man whose industry, intellect and integrity conquered one of the most promising, and in truth one of the richest empires on the face of the earth. A butcher boy in the days of his San Francisco youth, he won lands and amassed a fortune above that of many a king, and was lord, not only of all that he could survey, but of twice the area of the king- dom of Belgium. He reached his ninetieth year, and it is safe to say that nearly eighty-five of those years were periods of hard toil, and strenuous activity.

Henry Miller was born in Brackenheim, Wurtem- berg, Germany, on July 21, 1827, and grew up a farmer's boy, familiar with country life from early childhood. When fourteen years old, he had, among other duties the job watching over a flock of geese; but one day he walked home, leaving the geese to look after themselves, and informed his astonished and skeptical sister that he was through with that sort of slow routine and was going out into the world to do something for himself. Two or three years were spent in Holland and England, and then, setting sail for New York, the ambitious young German was engaged as a butcher in the small city even then the New World's metropolis. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 attracted not only the attention of most of the civilized world, but it seized hold of Henry Miller with such a grip that in the famous Argo- naut year of '49 he joined the hurrying throngs try- ing to cross the Isthmus of Panama, and himself sought the new El Dorado. Upon arriving in Pan- ama, Henry Miller, then only twenty-two years of age, discovered an exceptionally good opportunity for engaging in business, and there formed a partnership with an American; but the enterprise had been launched only a few weeks, when Miller was stricken with Panama fever-a most serious malady at that time of inadequate medical skill and attendance. When he had sufficiently recovered to hobble down to his business house, he discovered that his partner had swamped the business beyond all possibility of salvation, so that when all the bills had been paid, Miller had sufficient cash to obtain passage to San Francisco, where he landed in 1850, with just five dollars in his pocket, and a walking stick in his hand. He was still weak, from the effects of the fever,

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but he resolutely hobbled forth to seek employment, and made it a point to call at every business house along Montgomery Street. Usually, he met with disappointment; but before the day was over, he had engaged himself to a butcher.

A young man of Henry Miller's natural and already developed ability could not be expected to accept employment from another person very long, and after the San Francisco fire in 1851, he leased a lot on Jackson Street, erected a one-story building, and there opened a retail butcher shop, and this unpre- tentious business store with its very small stock but early openings and late closings became the corner- stone of the Miller fortunes. He went down into the valleys below San Francisco, purchased beef cattle and drove them into the city for butchering; and in these journeyings about the country he became well- acquainted with the cattle-raisers of the state and their conditions. There were several large compet- itors in the butcher business in San Francisco at that time, and among them was one in particular, Charles W. Lux, who was soon to appreciate Miller's capabilities. In 1857, Henry Miller visited the cat- tle-raising regions and quietly secured options on all the available beef cattle north of the Tehachapi range, and when the astonished buyers of his competitors appeared there were no beeves to be had by them. This splendid stroke of enterprise, marked at that time, enabled Miller to make his own terms with Lux and others, and partnership with Lux was the imme- diate outgrowth of the puzzling situation.

The new firm entered the field vigorously, and gradually began to acquire lands upon which to graze its herds, for when Miller & Lux began their business as a firm, a vast domain of unfenced graz- ing land existed in the great sweep of valleys and western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range-in fact, millions of acres were unclaimed from the Govern- ment. As the population increased, and the business of Miller & Lux expanded, it became necessary to increase the acreage held for grazing purposes, and Spanish grants were bought at prices that would astonish the ranchmen of today. A square mile could then be purchased at a figure now quoted for a single acre, and in those days even cowboy employees took up Government land under the preemption, homestead and desert-land acts, and after acquiring a title would dispose of it to their employers for a few cents an acre. In this way, and by purchasing the rights of discouraged ranchers, the vast and tremendously val- uable Miller & Lux empire was obtained. It required foresight to inspire the investors, the power of looking ahead and discerning what so many others with equal opportunities failed to discover; but it also required courage, nerve to carry the deals through.

One of the most notable purchases made by this epoch-making firm was the great Santa Anita rancho of 100,000 acres near Los Banos, which was obtained from Hildreth & Hildreth with its vast herds, soon after Henry Miller's advent in the San Joaquin Valley; and the Hildreth brand of three bars, crossed through the center became the Miller & Lux brand for many years thereafter. And whatever or where- ever the brand of Miller & Lux was to be found, one might bank upon it that it represented a desirable, superior quality, for the secret of the rise of Henry Miller to the position of millionaire cattle baron was his remarkable knowledge of cattle, and an equally remarkable knowledge of men.

It is stated that Henry Miller at one time had the ambition to own the whole of California, but whether that be true or not, it is known that he was never anxious to part with lands after he had once acquired them, especially if they were suitable for grazing purposes, and he was ever ready to invest all surplus cash in the purchase of land. It is said, on the other hand, that Charles Lux at one time became frightened at his partner's purchasing proclivities, and sought to retire from the business. "Mr. Miller, we now have $100,000 in the bank in cash, and I think that this is an opportune time to dissolve partnership. Let us settle up." "You say that we have $100,000 in cash?" replied Mr. Miller. "Well, wait until I return from this trip." When Mr. Miller came back, Mr. Lux found that the firm had just invested in more land to the tune of $100,000, for Miller could not pass up a good chance to invest in acrcage when the cash lay temptingly at hand. While Mr. Lux was a good financier and office man, there is no doubt of the fact that he was made a millionaire in spite of himself, and that he owed much of his own prosperity to his more aggressive partner. He could not let go when he wished to, and he remained a member of the firm until his death in 1887.

Henry Miller reckoned his holdings by the square mile, not by the acre, and a bit of evidence he gave in court some years ago-entertaining reading today. "In taking it ranch after ranch," he said, "in Santa Clara County it has an extent of twenty-four miles north and south, and about seven to eight miles east and west. In Merced County we have thirty-six miles north and south, and then about thirty-two miles east and west. The Malheur property is an extent of ninety miles northwest to southeast, and about sixty miles north to south. Then comes the purchase of what we call the Todhunter & Devine property. That lies in Harney County, Ore., and comprises over seven-tenths of 125 miles north and south and about seventy-five miles east and west, with a good distance in between." There is no doubt whatever, however, that the amount of the Miller & Lux holdings have been greatly overestimated. A special writer for one of the noted San Francisco dailies gave an estimate of 14,539,000 acres, but be- hind these astounding figures was a journalistic pur- pose of exaggerating, for with ownership and leases combined, the total would not reach half of that fig- ure. The richest holdings are in Merced and Madera counties, and amount to probably 350,000 acres. The Buttonwillow district will swell the total by 200,000 more, and Fresno County and other districts will probably increase the San Joaquin holdings to 700,- 000 acres, and there are nearly 20,000 acres in the region of Gilroy, and other, smaller tracts scattered over the state. The Miller & Lux acreage in the states of Nevada and Oregon will bring the grand total up to nearly 3,000,000 acres. It is a common saying among stockmen that Henry Miller could travel from the Idaho line to the Mexican border and camp on his own land every night; and no other man in America ever has, or ever will again, con- trol such an immense acreage of agricultural lands. It almost staggers belief that this tremendous empire was owned and occupied by one man's interests, and was nearly all under his personal supervision. Henry Miller was almost continually on the move in the years of his health and activity, for he did most of his work in the days before the automobile, al-

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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 63

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