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 75

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

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tard, no cultivation at all, and he had to do some very hard pioneering work to first get his crops put in. During the years 1865-66-67-68, when he couldn't make the ranch pay, he would walk from his ranch six miles to Gilroy, to work at his trade and back each night, receiving $3.50 per day.

EMORY GRIGSBY SINGLETARY .- Among the most promising young business men of San Jose, who was making a success of the career his ambition had marked out for him, was the late Emory Grigsby Singletary, a cultured, scholarly young man; a native son, born in San Jose on September 3, 1882, he was the son of the late Emory C. Singletary and his wife, Florence Grigsby Singletary, also represented in this work. One of twin brothers, our subject was reared in San Jose, attending the public schools, Belmont Academy and Stanford University, taking a course in mining engineering, after which for some years he was employed by Palmer, McBride & Quayle as con- struction engineer. While at Stanford University he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.

In San Jose, May 24, 1909, Mr. Singletary was united in marriage with Miss Margaret E. McGeoghe- gan. Mr. Singletary continued with Palmer, McBride & Quayle until the death of his father in 1911, when with his brother he returned to San Jose to take charge of the large estate, rapidly becoming prominent in financial circles and with a promising career before him. On December 1, 1918, he was stricken with the influenza and in spite of his rugged constitution and great strength he could not withstand the severe at- tack of this disease, but was taken away December 10. Mrs. Singletary was also a victim of the in- fluenza and for a time her life was despaired of, but she recovered to mourn the loss of her husband and to care for the two bright boys that blessed their union, Emory Curtis and John Grigsby. He was a Knight Templar and a Shriner and was buried with Masonic honors.

Mr. Singletary was an acknowledged leader among the younger generation of business men of Santa Clara County, as well as in civic and social life, and his death was a severe blow to the community which held him in high regard, and an irreplacable loss to his immediate family. The memory of his life, which was one of integrity and honesty of purpose, winning for him the respect of all who came in contact with him, is a great comfort and consolation to Mrs. Sin- gletary, who was very proud of his ability and rise in the business world.

Since her husband's death, Mrs. Singletary has con- tinued to reside at her comfortable home at 50 Fre- mont Street, which Mr. Singletary built a short time before his death, her life interest being centered in her young sons, who were so early deprived of a father's care and counsel. A woman of culture and rare amiability, she is greatly interested, as was her husband, in the general progress and welfare of the community. A native daughter, she was born in San Francisco, coming to San Jose when she was a child; here she received her education in Notre Dame Col- lege and the San Jose public schools, soon after which occurred her marriage, which proved a very happy one. Her father, John T. MeGeoghegan, a pioneer resident of San Francisco, was very prominent in financial circles, both in that city and San Jose. For a number of years he served on the school board in San Francisco, as well as holding other offices of trust

I m maze

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and honor, and was a man whose integrity was un- questioned and who could always be depended upon to do his full duty with capableness and ability. Ifis marriage occurred in San Francisco in 1873, and united him with Miss Margaret Smith, whose family were also prominent pioneers of California. She was a very beautiful and accomplished woman and de- cidedly popular in the social life of San Jose. Both Mr. and Mrs. McGeoghegan have passed away, leav- ing a family of seven children.

GEORGE C. SINGLETARY .- Born and reared in San Jose, since reaching the years of his manhood George C. Singletary has taken his place among the forceful citizens of this city, and proving himself a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family. His father, Emory C. Singletary, was one of Santa Clara County's prominent pioneer citizens, who led a busy and useful life.

The descendant of one of the early colonial fam- ilies of New England, Emory C. Singletary was born May 16, 1824, at Holden, Mass., and on both sides of the house he was closely connected with families of distinction. He grew to manhood on the ances- tral homestead in Massachusetts, and migrating in 1840 to the Far West, as it was then considered, finally located in Walworth County, Wis., where he engaged in farming and stock raising, subsequently became an extensive cattle dealer throughout Mis- souri, Illinois and Wisconsin. On these travels he became acquainted with many of the prominent men of the state and it was among his treasured mem- ories that he had the privilege of knowing the great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln.

In 1863, Emory C. Singletary started across the plains in a party of nineteen men, driving 200 head of cattle. After several skirmishes with the Indians, they arrived via Beckwith Pass, in Colusa County, in October of that year. Here Mr. Singletary pur- chased land and embarked in farming and stock raising and at that time was one of the largest and best-known cattle dealers in the state, and also one of the largest landowners, holding title to over 35,000 acres. In 1873, having sold 7,700 acres of his land, he removed to Santa Clara Valley, and his health becoming impaired, he settled in San Jose. In 1874 he helped to organize the First National Bank of San Jose and was its vice-president, and was a leader in financial circles here throughout his life. For a number of years he was a director of the State Agricultural Society, of which he was a life member; also one of the organizers of the Yuba County Fair.

The first marriage of Mr. Singletary, in Walworth, Wis., united him with Miss Caroline A. Wilson, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Alexander Wilson, a pioneer farmer of Wisconsin. She passed away in Colusa County, Cal., January 11, 1877. Mr. Single- tary's second marriage united him with Miss Flor- ence Grigsby, who was born near Potosi, Grant County, Wis., a daughter of William E. Grigsby, who is still living, hale and hearty at the age of 102, at Aberdeen, S. D., his family fully as distinguished as the Singletarys'. After finishing her education in Wisconsin, Mrs. Singletary came to the Pacific Coast, and taught school, first at Portland, Ore .. and later in Santa Clara County. She then entered the San Jose Normal School, and after her gradua- tion there she resumed teaching in this institution until her marriage. Mrs. Singletary is a sister of the late Col. Melvin Grigsby, colonel of the cele-

brated Cowboy Regiment in the Spanish-American War, and who was a noted lawyer and politician of Sioux Falls, S. D., and one of her nephews, who has made his mark in the world, is Hon. George Grigsby ot San Francisco, who was formerly attorney-general of Alaska. A woman of great executive ability, Mrs. Singletary is a natural leader in all forward movements and has always been a social favorite in San Jose, her home at 1245 Alameda being the center of much hospitality. Mrs. Singletary is a member of Isabella Chapter, D. A. R., and is an active mem- ber of the Episcopal Church of San Jose. Her mother was Rhoda Thomas, a granddaughter of Massey Thomas, who fought in the Revolutionary War, serving in Captain John Gillson's Company, Sixth Virginia Regiment, which was under the com- mand of Col. John Green.

George C. Singletary, with his twin brother, Emory Grigsby Singletary, was born on September 3, 1882, at San Jose. There the brothers grew up, attending the public school, also Belmont Academy, and lastly Stanford University, pursuing the course in mining engineering, but before graduating, George entered the employ of the Alta Mining and Smelting Com- pany in Arizona. After one year there he engaged as construction engineer for the firm of Palmer, McBride and Quayle, general contractors and rail- road builders. When their father, Emory C. Single- tary, passed away in 1910, George and Emory, both of whom were employed by Palmer, McBride and Quayle, returned to San Jose and formed a partner- ship known as Singletary Brothers, and assumed the management of his large estate, at once becoming prominent in the financial circles of their native city. George C. was president of the San Jose Abstract Company, and in 1919 he helped to organize the Growers Bank and is its vice-president, and he is also vice-president of the Lewis Company, dealers in bonds, mortgages, loans and insurance.

In December, 1918, Emory Grigsby Singletary passed away. A leader among San Jose's progres- sive young men, his passing was a blow to the entire community, but most of all to his brother, for not only had they been inseparable during their boyhood days, but they had been in the closest association during all their years in business. Since his death, George C. Singletary has been the active manager of the partnership of Singletary Bros., Mrs. Mar- garet Singletary retaining her husband's interest.

George Singletary's marriage, which occurred in San Jose Nov. 24, 1910, united him with Miss Elsie Byron, a daughter of Daniel J. and Mary (Collins) Byron. Mr. Byron was born in San Francisco and was a prominent contractor of San Jose and San Francisco, erecting many of the business blocks in both cities. He is now retired and lives at San Jose. Mr. and Mrs. Singletary are the parents of one son, Byron Curtiss Singletary, and the family residence is at 1249 Alameda. A man of clear insight, integ- rity and executive force, Mr. Singletary is highly re- garded, and in financial circles is one of San Jose's most successful men. Prominent in Masonic circles, he is a member of Friendship Lodge No. 210, F. & A. M., the Consistory in San Jose, and of the Shrine in San Francisco, being affiliated with Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Politically he gives his influence and vote to the candidates of the Republi- can party, and is a member of the Country Club and the Progressive Business Men's Club.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

MRS. SARAH A. FOSS .- Surrounded by a large circle of friends, by whom she is greatly loved for her rare qualities of mind and heart, Mrs. Sarah A. Foss maintains the Foss home at 444 Lakehouse Avenue, San Jose, which has been her home for more than a quarter of a century. A native daughter, whose father and husband were both honored pioneers of the state, her life has been interwoven with the events and affairs of the county's history. Her father, John Snyder, was one of the county's largest and most successful ranchers and he occupied a prominent place in its affairs for many years.

Beginning his life history in Harrison, County, Ind .. on February 11, 1828, John Snyder was a son of Joseph K. and Sarah ( Fleming) Snyder, the former born in Philadelphia and the latter in France. The name was originally Flamande and was changed to Fleming in this country for convenience. Grandmother Sarah Flamande and her orphan sister Louise, who be- came Mrs. Henry Bowen, came, when young ladies, to Philadelphia with Stephen Girard, and they made their home with his family until they married. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Snyder settled in Indiana in 1821 and in 1839 they removed to what is now Tipton, Cedar, County, Iowa. In 1849, when John Snyder was twenty-one, with his father and brother-in-law, Moses Bunker, he joined a small party starting across the plains, consisting of two wagons with ox teams. One more wagon joined them at the Missouri River and the small party crossed the plains alone, suffering many hardships and privations en route. They tar- ried for a time at Redding Springs, now Shasta, on reaching California, and then went on to the present location of Chico. Joseph K. Snyder and Mr. Bunker soon returned to Iowa, and John Snyder remained and engaged in mining. While thus employed in Trinity County, the camp provisions ran low and Mr. Snyder was one of those chosen to go to Humboldt Bay to replenish their supplies, and he was also a member of a party to make a trail to the Salmon River from Trinity County, at the time of the dis- covery of the Scott River. At a later period Mr. Sny- der made another trip to the Scott River and took considerable gold out of Scott Bar, going from there to Sacramento. Between the years of 1850-55, he spent some time in the vicinity of San Jose, and in the redwood country, and in 1855 he came here to settle permanently.

It was in 1855 that Mr. Snyder was married to Miss Martha Kifer, born in Mt. Sterling, Ky., who came across the plains with her parents, John and Lucy ( Martin) Kifer, in 1853, the family settling near Mountain View, where Mr. Kifer became a large landowner and a prominent farmer, and Kifer Road was named in his honor. Mr. Snyder farmed near Santa Clara until 1859, when he bought a farm at Mountain View and continued there until 1865. Mean- while, however, he had bought the great ranch on Permanente Creek in 1861, which was the family home for so many years. It originally consisted of 1,160 acres and his grain crop of 1862 was the first raised in this section. His success encouraged others, and this section became famous as a grain country. He also planted a prune orchard and a vineyard and was the owner of a large tract of land in Monterey County. Mr. Snyder passed away in 1901, aged sev- enty-three, and Mrs. Snyder survived him until Jan-

uary 12, 1918, passing away at the age of eighty-one, having lived in the one house for fifty-six years.

The eldest of the family of five children of this worthy couple. Sarah Ann Snyder, now Mrs. Wm. F. Foss, of this review, was born on the Kifer Road near Santa Clara and spent her girlhood days on the great ranch of her father on Permanente Creek, at- tending the public school of that vicinity. At her parents' home May 22, 1884, she was married to William F. Foss, who was born at Biddeford, York County, Maine, February 11, 1849. In June, 1857, he came with his parents to California via the Isthmus of Panama, and for a year they lived in Nevada County, going from there to New York Flat near Brownsville, Yuba County, where they remained un- til 1870. William F. Foss attended the Normal School at San Francisco, obtaining a certificate to teach and for a time taught in Yuba and Butte counties. Later he entered the San Jose State Normal School when it was first opened in San Jose, from which he was graduated in 1873, and for fifteen years was engaged in teaching in different counties of California, for eight years of this time he was principal of Mountain View School. He then engaged in the real estate business, a partner in the firm of Foss & Hicks of San Jose, and in this field he continued successfully for many years, passing away on April 30, 1918, aged sixty-nine, an upright, exemplary citizen, standing high in the esteem of the community. He was a prominent Mason, and was also well known in the ranks of the Knights of Pythias.

Mr. and Mrs. Foss were blessed by the birth of a daughter, Wilma, who is now the wife of Martin Rogers, the son of W. J. Rogers, the wealthy lumber- man of San Francisco. They make their home at the Foss residence at 444 Lakehouse Avenue, which Wil- liam F. Foss erected in 1893, and which has been the family home since January 1, 1894. Blessed with an abundance of this world's goods. Mrs. Foss presides over her home with grace and dignity, dispensing the old time Californian hospitality. Cultured and refined, with her kind and generous spirit she radiates an atmosphere of peace and harmony far beyond its bounds. She was reared in the Episcopal faith, but for some years has been a student and adherent of Christian Science.

COLONEL D. H. BRYANT .- Well known, par- ticularly in Santa Clara County, where he has ap- peared on the rostrum of every city, village and ham- let in his various campaigns as a public-spirited citizen, and enjoying an enviable popularity through- out the state as the honored and ever-welcome head of one of the most efficient army and navy political organizations in the world, Col. D. H. Bryant lives in well-earned retirement at his home at 286 West San Carlos Street, San Jose. He was born in Rich- mond, Chittenden County, Vt., on December 29, 1842, the son of Calvin Bryant, who came across the great plains in 1849 with his brother, Rolla Bryant, and for awhile mined at Downieville. Later, he re- moved to Humboldt County and there acquired a large acreage of land upon which he farmed. He lived to be eighty-eight years old, and died in Hum- boldt County. He married Miss Carolina Gardner, a native of Bennington, Vt., of Scotch parentage.

The youngest of a family of four children, our subject had only common school advantages; but being naturally observing and inclined to reflection,

Sarah a. Joost

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he has since then acquired both information and ex- perience, and he has steadily risen to positions where he has not only succeeded himself, but he has been able to be of the greatest service to others. At the outbreak of the Civil War he volunteered in defense of the Union, and so came to get his real schooling in the Army. He enlisted early as a member of Company K, Fifth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, but when the war continued, he asked to be transferred to the regular army. He was therefore made a mem- ber of Company C, Fifth U. S. Cavalry, commanded by Captain Gleason, who in turn was under General Merritt, and he under General George Stoneman. Later he was in William Woods Averell's brigade in Stoneman's famous raids in Virginia, around Rich- mond, and on September 15, 1861, he crossed the famous old chain bridge over the Potomac River, and thus reached Virginia, where he weathered many terrific engagements. On July 21, 1863, while fol- lowing Lee's rear, he received a severe wound in the right forearm, torn almost the entire length by the ball, the occasion being one month to the day after he had carried to the rear an injured comrade; and strange to say, when he was stricken down, he was sent to Lincoln Hospital on Capitol Hill, and with- out knowing it, was placed in a bed next to that same comrade. He suffered eleven days of agony from his wound. with only dirty underclothes to cover his body, and most of the time he was uncon- scious. One day he heard a voice at his side calling, "My God! oh, my God!" and looking up, he saw for the first time, his comrade. He was visited seven times by President Lincoln, and was cared for by the nurses and Sisters of Mercy as best they could in such trying emergencies. Such an experience as this of the two comrades, Colonel Bryant says, still cements the old Grand Army of the Republic in such a solid body. After his wounds had healed, the in- trepid soldier was discharged with honor.

On July 8. 1864, he sailed for California from New York via Panama, and on August 8 he landed in San Francisco. On arriving at the Bay City he worked for his uncle. Solomon Pierce, at Point Reyes in Marin County; the latter owned a part of the old Shafter Ranch, and there maintained two dairies. and he was one of the wealthiest earlier California ranchers. He then went to Sonoma County and clerked in a store at Stewart's Point, on Fisherman's Bay, owned by Andrew Fisk; and the job was suffi- ciently satisfactory to hold him there for fifteen months. Then, with a Matt Eugley, he took a con- tract to cut. haul and deliver logs to Platt's Mill; and for a season they worked about forty men and forty head of horses.

On July 18. 1868. Mr. Bryant was married at Ferndale, in Humboldt County, to Miss Dora Wool- ridge, after which he bought land which he farmed for awhile. He then accepted a position as general manager and superintendent of a large ranch owned by the Hon. Joseph Russ, his brother-in-law, a wealthy and influential Humboldt citizen, who was at one time a candidate for the governship of Cali- fornia. He owned from 18.000 to 20,000 head of cattle, and about 60,000 head of sheep, and he had an enormous acreage of timber land on the Eel River, and some land in Trinity County. He had his local office in Eureka, Cal., while his main office was at 10 California Street, San Francisco. He was a large $5

ineat exporter, and had five large schooners and two saw mills. When his health gave out under the strain of such a responsibility, Mr. Bryant succeeded him in the management of the estates. Mr. Russ finally passed away, at the age of eighty-nine, and the estate was then divided.

Mr. Bryant then removed to Santa Clara County, in 1895, and engaged in the raising of fruit; and within a period of five years he owned seven or- chards and fruit-driers, and was rated high among fruit men. In 1895, he bought a home at 286 West San Carlos Avenue, San Jose, and there he has made his home ever since.

In addition to attending to his extensive and in- creasing orchard business, Mr. Bryant has kept in constant touch with men of affairs. He was political advisor to, and investigator for. Governor Gage, and later for Governor Pardee and also the Hon. Geo. C. Perkins; and he still has in his files some two hun- dred letters from Governor Pardec. Through the earnest solicitations of men of the state, Colonel Bryant was appointed agent by Governor Gillette, for the Southern District, to see that the provisions for guarding against the bubonic plague were car- ried out, and so he came to be interested, for years. in public health work. His chief work was to compel the boards of supervisors to do their duty in using the money appropriated for that purpose, and he operated so fearlessly that the most salutary results were obtained. In this campaigning, as well as in the discharge of other public services, Colonel Bryant visited every section of California, from San Fran- cisco south, and so became one of the best-known Californians of this section. The Normal School at San Jose and its great work he interested himself in. and on several occasions has appeared there as the chief speaker.

To Colonel Bryant is to be given, also, the chief credit for the organization of the Army & Navy League, a Republican club of California, of which he was the president and commander for several years. This association is comprised of forty-four clubs, was organized in 1878, and has an active membership of 32,000 men. It was as the popular head of this Army and Navy League that our subject was chris- tened "Colonel," a title he bears with becoming dignity. He belongs to the Pioneers of Santa Clara County and the Grand Army of the Republic. Colonel Bryant has been a valued contributor for a number of years to the local press on important topics of interest to the general public.

Eight children have been born to Colonel and Mrs. Bryant, and all have been fortunate in their lives never to have needed a physician. Frederick Carlos is an orchardist in Washington. Anna is the wife of Robt. P. Clapp, the secretary of the A. L. Jones Motor Company of Denver. Etta is the wife of J. L. Rose, the well-known attorney of Oakland. Lylia is the wife of Irving Linn, an electrician of San Jose. Arthur is in the lumber business in Portland, Ore. Frank, of San Jose, is a successful concrete bridge builder and also road builder, and among other con- tracts built the Alum Rock Highway. Arleigh is in the Philippines; and Ralph is consulting and con- struction engineer in the employ of the Southern Pacific. Colonel Bryant has owned various ranches, and their several locations are not without interest. They have been on Williams Road, Kemble Road,

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Mountain View Road, and Pierce Road; and the last ranch he had-sold about five years ago-was on Fleming Avenue.

ROBERT BLANCH .- A thoroughly progressive, up-to-date and successful rancher, Robert Blanch, of Maybury Road, to the northeast of San Jose, is doubly interesting as the son of the late Charles Blanch, who was born in Gloucestershire, England, on Feb- ruary 20, 1831, and there he grew up as a farmer. He came to the United States in 1851, and for three years farmed in Iowa; and then he went to Minne- sota and kept bravely at farming there for five years, although for two seasons in succession all the crops he raised were eaten away by grasshoppers. As early as 1858 he and his brother, William, (who was one of the first white men to be killed by an Indian in 1859, in San Jose) came across the plains to Cali- fornia, bringing a band of Durham cattle, which were all run off by Indians near Salt Lake, so that when they arrived they had only three oxen. They pitched their tent at San Jose; but in 1861 Robert moved to a ranch about ten miles south of town. In 1868, he established himself as a dairyman in San Luis Obispo County, and soon had reason to repent his venture, for his cattle died from Texas fever. Coming back to Santa Clara County, he farmed for a year, then went to Oregon for a winter, and after that came south again to White Oak Flat, in Burnett township, Santa Clara County, removing at the end of four years to Hoover Valley, where he lived for many years, operating a ranch of 150 acres, where he raised horses and carried on a dairy. He died in 1896 on a leased ranch in the Calaveras Valley. On April 27, 1859, he was married at St. Paul, Minn., to Miss Maria Watkins, also a native of England, and their union was blessed with ten children. The eldest was Edmund H; then came Jessie A; William T; next came John W .; after that came Mary E., and the others were Charles E., Sarah M., and finally Robert, the subject of our sketch. Charlotte and Richard. with Edmund and Jessie, all died in childhood.

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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 75

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