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 74

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 74

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The marriage of Massey Thomas and Phoebe Bane was one of the pleasant social events of that section and period, the bride having been a daughter of Baldwin and Nancy (Reynolds) Bane, and one of the belles of Bracken County, in Kentucky, where she was born December 12, 1821. She could remember the stories handed down in her family of her grandfather, who shouldered a musket in the Continental Army, and she could also recall many interesting anecdotes about famous folks of by-gone days, for her maternal grandmother was a sister of Daniel Webster, the famous statesman and orator, and she was a niece Thomas Reynolds, who was born in Kentucky in 1796, removed to Missouri, and died in 1844, in the same year in which he concluded his four-year term as Governor of Missouri, his untimely demise pre- venting his reelection as a popular official. At the beginning of her teens, Mrs. Thomas was taken to Missouri by an older sister, and they located in Lewis County in the fall of 1833; and later the family re- moved to Pike County, Mo., where Mr. Bane died. The following are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas: James Baldwin Thomas, who attended the San Jose schools and then went to Cambridge, Mass., and lacked but one year of graduating from college when he was stricken with pneumonia and died, in 1859; Mary Susan, Mrs. W. O. Barker, now deceased; Thomas Reynolds, was a grain-dealer in Gilroy several years before his death. John and William, twin-brothers, were born on October 8, 1843; the latter died in 1880, and John lives in Hol- lister. Benjamin F. Thomas, who was born in 1846, rose to distinction as a legal practitioner at Santa Barbara and he died there in 1922. Louise E. died in early childhood. Massey, born on December 10, 1851, now lives on part of the home ranch, in the old ranch house; and Clayton R. was born on Jan- uary 25, 1854, and remained with his parents; while Charles E., born three years later, died on the home place. Mrs. Thomas died May 22, 1892. Originally a stanch Whig, Mr. Thomas later espoused the cause of the Democratic party seeking State sovereignty, and with his equally Christian wife, he became an ardent worker in and a real pillar of the Christian Church, helping both to found and to build up the branch in Gilroy. All in all, Massey Thomas, rep- resenting, with his accomplished wife, some of the finest blood and traditions of American history. was himself influential and helpful to an exceptional de- gree in his day in hurrying on the great Pacific commonwealth to her destiny, and he merited and enjoyed the esteem and confidence of his fellow- men to a high degree. He died at his home south of Gilroy in 1900, aged eighty-seven years.

Massey Thomas

435

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

MRS. ELIZABETH McCRACKEN .- A Cali- fornia pioneer of exceptional interest, her long, fruit- ful years of industry and sacrifice entitling her to the esteem and gratitude of both those contemporary with her and those who will come after and share the benefits of her toil and good works, Mrs. Elizabeth McCracken was born in Indiana on July 2, 1836, the daughter of William and Rosana (Pyle) Whiteman, and the granddaughter of Edward J. Pyle, who was a lad when the American Revolution broke forth, and who fought with the Continental Army. He came to California with the Pyle-White- man party in 1846, and although he was an old man. he was very active and supple, hale and hearty to the time of his death.

William Whiteman was a native of Ohio; who came to Indiana in the great Westward movement when a young man, and married there. When Elizabeth was four years old, her parents moved to Missouri, where they acquired two farms about three miles west of the site of St. Joseph; and there Mr. White- man built two homes, a frame house and a brick house, then among the best residences in that vicin- ity, and he lived with his family upon one of his farms until he came to California. The Pyle family also moved to Missouri.

In the spring of 1846 the Pyle-Whiteman party crossed the Missouri River well supplied with pro- visions, for Edward Pyle is said to have been such a splendid provider that his party never wanted for food. He had a unique way of packing some of his provisions; on the floor of one of the wagons he packed a layer of bacon, and then placed a solid row of boards on top; and after that he added another layer of bacon, and then more boards. He had plenty of bacon and flour, and he drove several head of cattle with oxen. He killed three head of cattle en route for beef, and arrived in California still having twelve head.

The Pyle party came ahead of the Donner party, by the same route, and had an interesting, indirect association with the latter. When the American soldiers recovered from the Indians the cattle stolen from the Donner party, they handed them over to the Pyles; and when the advance guard of the Don- ner party rode up to take possession of the cattle, the Donner party were only three days' journey to the rear. Not many persons were included in the Pyle party. Edward Pyle, the grandfather, had two wagons; William Whiteman had two wagons; John Laird had one wagon; and Tom Pyle had one wagon, and this small number was due to the policy pursued of not having too large an amount of stock for which feed had to be provided. Hence, the party was made up of about twenty-five persons in all. William Whiteman agreed to give John Laird one of the cows in payment for his help along the way, and this promise was kept. The Pyles experienced but little trouble from the Indians. In the mountains, the Donner party decided to take the Cut-off, or make a short cut, while the Pyles continued to stick to the old route; and it was through this unfortunate decision by the Donner party that they were snow bound, while the others arrived safely and on time at their destination.

The Pyles reached Sacramento in September, 1846, just when Fremont was setting out for Southern California, to fight the Indians; and as he took with him every able-bodied man he could persuade to en-

list, he drew upon the Pyle party for some of his recruits. William Whiteman, however, did not go, for he was suffering severely from asthma; and he and Edward Pyle came on to San Jose, where they arrived in October. They purchased land from the Spaniards; but soon afterwards the Americans and Spaniards had to fight the Digger Indians. William Whiteman bought a tract of twelve acres from the Spaniards, and built a frame house, the first in this vicinity; and this piece of land is now directly at the rear of the Hotel Vendome. Mr. Whiteman later purchased 500 acres south of San Jose on the present Monterey road, and farmed that for a couple of years. In 1848, however, the home was locked up and the Whiteman family went to the mines. On the way to Placerville William Whiteman, who had brought the family and their provisions successfully across the San Joaquin River, was drowned in attempting the passage of an ordinary marsh. The party con- tinued to Placerville and took up mining at Webber Creek; and Mrs. Whiteman herself washed out as much as sixteen dollars worth of gold in a single pan. After her return to San Jose in 1849, Mrs. White- man was swindled out of her 50-acre farm; but she was a good manager and soon acquired additional property, and having more than recovered, she pro- vided bountifully for her family. Some idea of what those sturdy pioneers were able to do for those de- pendent upon them may be gathered from the fact that William Whiteman had built a home from logs and timber brought down from the mountains, and that the house was spacious enough to allow for a parlor twenty feet square and a kitchen twelve feet square. Later, Mrs. Whiteman went to Hollister and lived there for many years; and only when she be- came an old lady did she return to San Jose, where she died at Mrs. McCracken's home.

In May, 1850, Elizabeth Whiteman was married to James Monroe Brady, a noted horseman who had brought five race horses to California. In 1851, he took the horses to Los Angeles, and drove them in the races; and he had the record of never losing a race. He returned north in 1852, and Mr. and Mrs. Brady then went to Los Angeles on a steamship, which was a rare thing in the Pacific waters. The fare from San Francisco to Los Angeles was $1,000 for each passenger, and the trip was advertised as possible in a day and a night; but on this occasion, the ship was disabled and for five days was out of sight on the ocean, finally drifting into Santa Barbara, where it was repaired; when it went on its way, and the passengers completed the trip. Mr. Brady was a native of Tennessee, who had moved into Arkansas, and from there had come to California. He died at Los Angeles in 1857, the father of two children- William, who died at the age of four, and Rose, who, after teaching school for years, died aged twenty- eight. Mr. Brady was a prominent Mason, and the Masons took care of her and her babe, and assisted her to settle her husband's estate.

When Mrs. Brady remarried, at San Jose, she chose for her husband Dr. George MeCracken, a native of Ohio, and a graduate of Sterling College, at Columbus. He had come to San Jose in the '50's, and had intended to practise here; but his health re- quired him to discontinue all professional work. He then accepted a position with James A. Clayton, the pioneer real estate dealer of San Jose, and for twenty years he was with this firm. Prior to com-

436

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

ing to San Jose, Dr. McCracken had practised, first in Oregon and then at Ukiah, in Mendocino County. During the last four years of his life, Mrs. Mc- Cracken accompanied her husband in wide travels, in an attempt to prolong his life; but despite all that affection and means might offer, he finally passed away. Five children sprang from this union: DeWitt Clinton, William Henry, Lydia May, Margaret Re- becca, and George. Mrs. McCracken died in 1921.

DeWitt Clinton, the first-born, joined the family circle on December 21. 1859, and attended the San Jose public school that stood on St. James' Square- the park there then having a picket fence around it, and when he was a boy, he lived on the ranch just back of the present Hotel Vendome. One of his chores was to take the cows to a twenty-acre pasture north of the town; and many a time, as he well re- calls, James Lick, the miller and capitalist, coming along the road, beckoned to the lad to ride in the carriage with him back to his house. For a while, DeWitt worked at odd jobs, and then for four years he clerked for Durby & Lowe in the Almaden store. He next formed a partnership with his brother-in- law, Mr. Bohlman, and ran a stage from San Jose to Almaden, carrying also the United States mail. and after some years he sold out, went to Colorado and there engaged in the hotel business at Mount Rose. He sold his hotel, returned to San Jose, and for five years worked in the butcher shop at the Al- maden mines; and then for three years he engaged in the livery stable business in San Jose. Selling out, he took a position with Mr. Blanchard in the hay and feed business, and for the last fifteen years he was with F. Mattenberger in the same business, at the same location. A Democrat in his bias as to na- tional affairs, Mr. McCracken is too good a citizen to allow partisan politics to interfere with his "boosting" his home locality. His marriage united him with Miss Ada Bohlman; they have one daughter, Miss Cola McCracken, who graduated from the State Nor- mal School at San Jose, and is one of the teachers at the Gardner School.

E. N. BROWN .- As manager of Palo Alto Stock Farm, at Palo Alto, E. N. Brown has a wide ac- quaintance among dairymen and breeders through- out the state. Mr. Brown was born in Scotland on September 4, 1872. His father, William Brown, was a veterinarian, farmer and stockman. His mother, who was Nellie Nixon, is still enjoying life at the age of ninety-eight. Of the ten children in the Brown family, E. N. is the seventh, and his educa- tion was obtained in the schools of his native land. While yet youthful he came with an older sister and some friends to America and entered the employ of the Wells Fargo Express Company at Tuxedo Park, N. Y., remaining with this company for six years. When the Spanish-American War broke out he entered the transport service, stationed for a time at Bellevue Hospital and later aboard the hos- pital ship, Solace. After the close of the war he came to San Francisco, and in 1900 again became inden- tified with the transport service. Assigned to the transport Logan, for seven years he sailed the Pa- cific Ocean, making twenty trips on this vessel to and from Manila, P. I. For the next twelve years he was superintendent of the South San Francisco Water Company. Following his term as superinten- dent of the water company he went to ranching at

Baden. There he became known as a breeder, dairy- man and poultryman of note and prospered as a re- sult of his operations.

Disposing of his cattle and poultry interests, Mr. Brown came to Palo Alto in December, 1920, as manager of Palo Alto Stock Farm, one of the finest dairy farms in California. This farm, the property of the Leland Stanford Estate, is held under lease by Mr. Herbert Fleischhacker, of San Francisco. The farm contains 5,500 acres and on it was built the historic Stanford residence and the far-famed Stan- ford winery. There the elder Stanford maintained one of the greatest horse breeding establishments of all time, and bred, owned and developed some of the fastest horses in the world. The winery has been converted into a dairy barn and is serving its present purpose admirably. Some of the highest record cows in the world are owned by Palo Alto Stock Farm, among them, Johanna Princess Mooie 2d, former world's champion for 365-day milk pro- duction in the junior three-year-old class with a pro- duction of 1,172 pounds of butter and 25,596 pounds milk, and Kiatta Pontiac Pride, that has just broken the world's record in the junior four-year-old class with a 365-day production of 31,340 pounds of milk. Over twenty cows in the herd have milked over 100 pounds of milk in a day on official test and it is prob- able that this is the greatest milk-producing herd of cows in the world.

In November, 1905, Mr. Brown was married to Elizabeth Fox, a daughter of Charles and Ella Fox, now of Pacific Grove, but formerly of San Jose. They are the parents of three children, Evelyn, Nixon and Betty. Both are prominent in Masonic circles, Mr. Brown being past master of Francis Drake Lodge, No. 376, F. & A. M. of South San Francisco, a noble of Islam Temple, a charter mem- ber of the Masonic Club of San Francisco, and a member of the Sciots, of Palo Alto. He is a member of the Holstein-Friesian Association of America, and a member and director of the California Hol- stein Breeders Association.

FRANKLIN HICHBORN .- Rated as among the leading controversial journalists of the Pacific Slope, most successfully active in reform movements and legislation affecting the welfare of the entire Golden State, Franklin Hichborn has become also a national figure, wielding an influence for political and so- cial betterment effective far beyond the confines of California. He was born at Eureka, Cal., on Oc- tober 7, 1869, the son of John Edwin Hichborn, a descendant of Thomas Hichborn, who landed in Bos- ton about 1640. Thomas Hichborn was the grand- father of Deborah Hichborn, a native of Boston, who was the mother of Paul Revere, of midnight ride fame. Robert Hichborn, Deborah's brother, was Franklin Hichborn's Revolutionary ancestor, his great-great-grandfather He was militant in the Rev- olution, and fought at Bunker Hill. He was a mem- ber of the Boston Committee of Safety, and was commissioned first lieutenant in Jonathan Stoddard's company, Henry Bromfield's regiment, of the Massa- chusetts militia. After the Revolution, Robert Hichborn moved to Maine with his family, and estab- lished the first shipbuilding plant at Stockton Springs, Maine. Franklin Hichborn's ancestors were thus among the first pioneers of Massachusetts and Maine, as his father was one of the early pioneers in Cali-

En. Brown

437

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

fornia. John Edwin Hichborn, his father, married Frances Hunt and came around the Horn in 1852, when he was seven months on the way, landing at San Francisco in the fall of that year. Later he went to Humboldt County, where he built the first wharf on the Eureka waterfront, and established the first produce business in the country.

Franklin Hichborn attended both Santa Clara Col- lege and Stanford University, studying at the latter institution during 1892-94. Santa Clara College eventually, in 1903, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. From 1894-97, he was the publisher of the San Jose Letter; in 1897-98 he was the city editor of the Fresno Expositor; in 1899 he edited the Winnemucca, Nevada, Silver State; for a year, beginning with 1900, he published the San Jose Spectator; from 1902 to 1904 he edited the San Jose Herald; from 1904 to 1906 he was news editor of the Sacramento Union; and from 1906 to 1919 he was active as both a writer and a lecturer on political and economic subjects, while from 1915 to 1917 he published the Legislative Bulletin at Sacramento.

As a lineal descendant of some of the best Amer- ican families, Franklin Hichborn's voice and pen have ever been at the service of justice, truth and right, and he has conducted several state-wide publicity campaigns of great value in their salutary effect on public morals. One, in 1912, defeated the attempt. under initiative provisions and the state constitution, to restore race-track gambling in California. In 1913, his historic work, "The System, as Uncovered by the San Francisco Graft Prosecution," did a great deal toward cleaning up San Francisco. In 1914 he brought about the ratification of the "redlight" abatement act, and as late as 1920 he published an effective brochure on "Red Morals," in which he discussed the social evil in Europe and America. He has become one of the most conscientious and ablest advocates of na- tional prohibition and defenders of the eighteenth amendment, and his power to handle this difficult theme against other able and differing advocates is shown in his reply to Father Jerome Sixtus Ricard, the famous astronomer and director of Santa Clara Observatory, who, in the San Jose Mercury-Herald, attacked the amendment and the proposition of pro- hibition and pleaded for the American's rights to personal liberty.

Other publications of Mr. Hichborn are the "Stories of the California Legislature"-4 volumes, 1909, 1911, 1913, 1915, "The Social Evil in California as a Polit- ical Problem," and "The Parochial School vs. The Melting Pot," and just what value these fruits of the California reformer have, may easily be seen from a number of critical reviews from sources worthy of national consideration. Francis J. Heney, who con- ducted the San Francisco graft prosecution, said: "I have read 'The System' with deep interest. It is the only accurate and complete account of the San Francisco graft prosecutions which has ever been published in any form. Mr. Hichborn has performed a most important public service. The perpetuity of republican institutions depends upon the masses be- ing able to secure correct information, and to thus acquire a correct understanding of the underlying causes of corruption and of bad government in our cities, states, and nation. "The System' will make plain to every intelligent reader just what these

underlying causes of corruption and bad government are. It ought to be read by every person in the state above the age of twelve years. It is a clear, logical, sane, and fair history of one of the most im- portant periods in the life of San Francisco." So, too, Harper's Weekly praised Mr. Hichborn's search- light inquires into California legislative proceedings, when it said: "To Franklin Hichborn, more than to any other journalist, is due the sweeping tide of polit- ical reform in California. The stern facts, marshalled in his "Stories of the California Legislature" for three successive sessions have been fatal to those con- demned by them. In the preface to his latest book, 'The System,' he says: 'It is my purpose-as far as it lies in my power-to keep the cover off.' In that phrase lies the temper of his service. Dispassionate as a recording angel, keen as a detective hero, he does not need to muckrake but is content to let the logic of his facts bring their own unsparing con- clusions. While the traditional 'machine' of his gen- eration was still dominant in California, he saw that it was not so important to know what was done as how it was done; so he merely turned the clock around, took out the back and showed the voter how the machine worked. In other words, for the last six years he has devoted himself to telling, without fear or malice, the record of every man in the Legis- lature, on every important measure; to tracing the influences of special privilege through lobby and hall; to laying bare the hidden and interwoven roots which produce corruption." And Collier's Weekly, equally famous as a national periodical, added: "Roosevelt's speech, in which he made famous the phrase, 'the strenuous life,' was delivered at Chicago in 1899. Reading it, we find the exhortation: 'Read the Congressional Record.' And then follow several paragraphs of an emphatic call to search the votes, roll-calls, and other official records of Congress, and to base approval or disapproval of public men upon these records. Exactly this sort of searching of the records is one of the things that has led to the political revolution of the past decade. Among the more potent agents of this political revolution are the men who have gone into official records which were obscure and complex, and made them simple and available to the general public. Conspicuous among the men who have done this is Mr. Franklin Hichborn, who, at the end of each session of the California Legislature, compiles a book in which he analyzes the record of every member, and the history of all the important bills. Every voter in California should read it. Voters elsewhere should know about it, and try to secure a like institution in their own states."

At Fresno, on December 31, 1897, Mr. Hichborn was married to Miss Mabel Houlton, of Santa Clara, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Greenleaf Houlton, and granddaughter of the founder of Houlton, Maine. Five children have blessed this union. The eldest bears, very appropriately, the historic name of Paul Revere, while the next in the order of birth is Deborah, who in 1920 married David T. Rayner. The others are Drusilla, Mabel, and Frances. A Progressive Republican, Mr. Hichborn is a member of the San Francisco Press Club and the National Economic League. He resides with his family at 1091 Fremont Street, Santa Clara.

438

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

SPENCER MORROW MAZE .- One of the early pioneers of Santa Clara County, who furnished a splendid example of the self-made man, and whose career is worthy of note, is Spencer Morrow Maze, who passed away May 11, 1916, at his home in Gil- roy, highly respected by all who knew him. A Kentuckian by birth, he was born July 16, 1830, in Henry County. The parents of Spencer Maze were John and Sarah (Morrow) Maze, both also natives of Kentucky, the former born January 16, 1788, and the latter, July 17, 1792. They were married November 29, 1808, and were the parents of nine children: Enoch, Elizabeth, Polly, Patsy, Sarah, Chesley, Eliza, Spencer M., and Pleasant, all of whom are now de- ceased. In 1834 the family moved to Illinois, locat- ing in Macoupin County, where the father bought up government land in large sections and continued his occupation of farming. After having located in 1lli- nois, John Maze returned to Kentucky to settle up his affairs and while there died, September 6, 1835. His widow remained on the farm in Illinois for eight years, and died May 24, 1843, when Spencer M. was but thirteen years of age.

Left an orphan thus early in life, Spencer first took up his residence with his brother Enoch, who soon removed to Carlton, where two years later Enoch died. Spencer then became an apprentice to learn the wagonmaker's trade and applied himself for three years, receiving ten cents a day and board for his services. At the end of three years he had thoroughly mastered the details of that business and in March, 1849, he set out across the plains behind mule teams. without a relative in the party, but being in company with Colonel Fry and James Ralston and Mr. Sharon, who afterwards built the Palace Hotel in San Fran- cisco. Upon arriving in Sacramento, August 3, 1849, he, in company with Colonel Fry, went to the gold mines in the American River Valley, spending his first winter at Georgetown. His work in the mines proved unsuccessful and within two years he gave it up altogether. Going to Santa Clara County in 1851. Mr. Maze first located in the vicinity of Alviso and engaged in farming for a year and a half; going next to Saratoga, he took up his trade of wagon maker and blacksmith for five years and was successful in his undertaking. In August, 1858, he first came to the Gilroy district, and two years later purchased what was known as the Maze home ranch of 200 acres, which he operated for almost thirty years as a dairy farm. In 1886, Mr. Maze retired from active duties of life and moved to Gilroy, where he spent the remainder of his days, a worthy citizen of the locality. While residing in Saratoga, in May, 1855, he married Miss Amanda Gruwell, a native of Iowa, where she was born in January, 1837, a daughter of Labon Gruwell, who crossed the plains in 1852, bring- ing his family. Mr. and Mrs. Maze were the parents of five children: Edward Record; Ella Pearl, became the wife of Dr. J. R. Reily and she died aged about forty years; there were two boys who died in infancy; and Miss France Spencer Maze, of Gilroy. Mr. Maze was a Republican in politics and was a patriotic citi- zen, as shown by the fact that from 1861 to 1865 he served as a member of the Home Guards, first as a private, then promoted to be captain. After locating on his ranch in the south end of Santa Clara County, Mr. Maze found the place covered with wild mus-

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 74

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