History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 106

Author: Sawyer, Eugene T
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1934

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674

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Wendt, a well known merchant of San Jose. Mr. Slavich has been prominent in all movements for the upbuildings of his adopted city, and gives unstint- ingly of his time and means to every activity. He was one of the number of progressive citizens who organized and named the Slavonic-American Benefit Society of San Jose in 1894, with a charter mem- bership of thirty-eight, and he was president for eleven consecutive years. He was the recipient of two medals presented by the society in appreciation of his untiring energy and efforts in behalf of the work. He is also an active member of the Italian Benevolent Society of San Jose, also a member and president for about twelve years of the Austrian Benevolent Society of San Jose, and was a charter member of the Chamber of Commerce. Politically, he is a stanch Democrat, and has served on the local election board as judge for the past twenty- five years. Since the founding of the San Jose branch of the Bank of Italy, Mr. Slavich has been a member of the board of directors.

Mr. Slavich's life was saddened by the death of his wife on May 26, 1911, a woman of culture and education, a graduate of Notre Dame, speaking flu- ently both Spanish and English. She was mourned by a host of loving friends besides the members of her immediate family. During the year 1893, Mr. Slavich made a tour through France, Germany, Austria, and Italy, spending four months visiting his parents, and renewing the acquaintances of boyhood. After his return to California the residence located at 221 West St. James Street was built, and has since been the center of many happy gatherings.

The second marriage of Mr. Slavich occurred December 6, 1914, uniting him with Miss Marica Gligo, also a native of Jugo-Slavia, and a resident of San Jose since 1914. They are the parents of one daughter, Draga. Mrs. Slavich has two brothers, who are merchants in San Pedro, Cal.

The part which Mr. Slavich has borne in the development of this county is one which every patri- otic and public-spirited citizen feels it an honor to bear, and when appealed to for practical aid in promoting the well being of his community he gives freely of his time and means.

SIVERT HJERLIED SHELLEY, C. E .- A suc- cessful civil engineer whose long years of arduous, progressive service have led to a comfortable retire- ment, is Sivert Hjerlied Shelley, who was born at Dovre, Norway, on December 8, 1835, the son of Ola and Marit Hjerlied, under whose wise and skilful guidance the lad grew to hoyhood. Travelers of one kind or another who stopped at the village of Dovre had a wonderful influence in stimulating the imagina- tion and ambition of Sivert Hjerlied, and it was with a good deal of joyful excitement, as well as some sadness, that at the age of thirteen, he bade his parents goodbye and made off for Christiania, the capital of Norway. There he served an apprentice- ship of four and one-half years to a civil engineer and then he attended the government's navy yard school, earning his own way.

After leaving school he went to Sweden where he was draftsman in the office of a large plant, rolling mill, ship building, bridge work, etc., and after he had demonstrated his ability he was made the super- intendent of the boiler plant. This was located on the canal between Gottenberg and Stockholm. In 1862 he went to England, located near Middles-

brough on the River Tees, became a draftsman and one year after his arrival there he was called upon to take charge of the construction for a firm of ship- owners at Trondjheim, Norway, of a ship at Hull, England. He had never seen any member of this firm, but his reputation had preceded him. After completing this vessel he built two others, these were constructed at the same yard as the liner Lusitania.

Mr. Shelley later was made manager and had entire charge of the engineering department of a large plant of four units and thus established a name for himself as one of the leading construction en- gineers of England. He made the plans and super- intended the construction of a large bridge over the River Tees, near Saltburn, England; and while the great Brooklyn Bridge was under way in New York, he was drawing plans for a prospective bridge over the Firth of Forth, but this never was completed. Mr. Shelley left the construction business and em- barked in the manufacturing and refining of sugar and a product of his plant was a special colored pow- dered sugar; making all of his own machinery used in his plant and superintending the work himself. This returned him handsome profits, when he sold out in 1888. His dyes were pure vegetable and were imported from France. Mr. Shelley invented and had patented several inventions, among them a smoke consumer, an appliance attached to the boiler. The last year of his residence in England our subject, through court procedure, added Shelley to his name.

Mr. Shelley was married at Middlesbrough, Eng- land, September 12, 1867, to Miss Elizabeth Sharp, daughter of Isaac Sharp a well known missionary and inspector of missions. It was while he was traveling ahout the world on a religious visit in 1891 that he visited the Santa Clara Valley and stopped a short time with his daughter. He died in 1897, past ninety years of age, at his home at Stratford-on- Avon. Seven children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Shelley, five of them now living:

Harold II. is a rancher in this county; Elsie H. is the wife of Professor H. Heath, Ph. D., of Stanford University, and they live at Palo Alto; Ida H. main- tains a music studio and is a well known teacher of music in Sacramento; Helen H. is a doctor of os- teopathy in San Jose; and Oswald H. is a civil engi- neer, now living in San Francisco. There are also six grandchildren.

Mr. Shelley had made up his mind to come to the United States and in 1887 his wife and some mem- bers of the family left England to join their eldest son, who had come to the Santa Clara Valley in 1886. As soon as Mr. Shelley could conclude his business engagements he, too, came to join his fam- ily. He had invested in ten acres of land here before he made the journey, and after he came he made further investments in various ranch enterprises in the Santa Clara Valley, at the same time that he had enlisted his sons in the ventures and undertak- ings. At the age of eighty-six, he is still hale and hearty in body and mind-a good student, a deep reader, a profound thinker. His public-spiritedness, as well as his experience of life in various countries have prompted him, very naturally, to favor educa- tional advancement in the Santa Clara Valley, and he has thus been able to do much toward that kind of permanent broad-minded development which must mean so much for the future. At present Mr. and Mrs. Shelley make their home at 137 North Thir- teenth Street, San Jose.

Etta J. Cox.

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At San Jose, Mr. Shelley received his paper certi- fying to his citizenship in the United States, and since that time he has done what he could to stimu- late American patriotism. He votes with the Repub- icans, is a live wire in the local Chamber of Com- merce, and belongs to and supports the programs of the State Grange of California.

LA FAYETTE COX .- Long years of active and successful ranching in Santa Clara County, have won for LaFayette Cox the reputation of being a scientific horticulturist and an up-to-date farmer and he ar- dently champions all measures having for their aim the betterment of horticultural interests in Santa Clara Valley. He was born on his father's old home- stead near Saratoga, September 29, 1869, the son of William and Dicey (Baggs) Cox, pioneers of Santa Clara County represented elsewhere in this history.

La Fayette Cox is the youngest of a family of nine children and enjoyed the privileges of the pub- lic schools in the Moreland district and has always lived in Santa Clara Valley. After completing the grammar school he took a course in the Garden City Commercial College of which H. B. Worcester was the proprietor, the school being located over the Farmers Union on the corner of San Pedro and Santa Clara streets. There he was graduated on May 10, 1886. Budd Cox, as he is familiarly known by his many friends-a name that has clung to him since his childhood-was early set to work on the farm aiding his father and learned habits of indus- try and thrift as well as close application to his tasks. Thus as a boy he learned to drive the big teams in the grain fields. His father began setting out or- chards in 1886 so it fell to the lot of Budd to assist setting out all these orchards on the old William Cox ranch, the one on his present place being set out in 1891. They raised the nursery stock to set out the orchards and from the time Mr. Cox was eight years of age he learned to bud and graft and to care for the trees. He is intensely interested in his work and has made a close study of the science of horticulture and is an authority in this line of endeavor. He now owns forty-three acres a part of his father's old ranch which was originally purchased in the early fifties. and is devoted to prunes and apricots.

In Campbell, August 4, 1900, Mr. Cox was married to Miss Etta Trailor, who was born at Kelseyville, Lake County, in 1880 a daughter of Eli and Nancy ( Marvin) Trailor, both natives of Illinois who mi- grated to California in 1870 and located in Lake County, where they resided until their death, the father passing away at the age of sixty-eight and the mother at sixty-six years. This worthy couple were the parents of eleven children six of whom are living as follows: Mrs. Laura Lukens of Oakland; Henry, Joshua M. and Clifford A., all of Lake County; Mrs. Rose Bulen of San Leandro; Mrs. Etta Cox, the youngest, received her education in the schools of Kelseyville and Vacaville, California, until her par- ents moved to Campbell, Santa Clara County, and it was here she met La Fayette Cox, the acquaintance resulting in their marriage.

By close application to his work and the use of mod- ern machinery and up to date methods Mr. Cox keeps his orchards in the finest shape thus insuring good crops of high class fruit. He has always had the as- sistance of his capable wife to whom he gives no small amount of credit for his success and the

achievement of his ambition. He lives by the Golden Rule and is highly esteemed and appreciated by all who know him.

He enjoys hunting and has a number of fine ant- lers, trophies of many pleasant hunting trips to the mountains, a sport he thoroughly enjoys. In nation- al politics Mr. Cox is a Democrat. An enterprising and progressive rancher, he holds an enviable po- sition among his fellow-citizens as an unusually suc- cessful farmer and horticulturist.

EDWARD M. WEAVER .- A resident of Santa Clara County since 1875, Edward M. Weaver, who has been very active in all that tends to promote the general welfare of his adopted county and particu- larly of the city of San Jose. His birth occurred on a farm near Willimantic, Windham County, Conn., on September 21, 1842, his parents being Joseph E. and Almina (Dunham) Weaver, both natives of Connecticut. The father was a millwright by occu- pation, who migrated to the Pacific Coast in 1874, where he followed his trade at the Lick Mills at Alviso, and at Saratoga, also at Guadalupe mine. The paternal antecedents were prominently identified with the settling of Connecticut. Their family con- sisted of six children, the mother passing away carly in life. Edward was reared on a farm, receiving his education in the public schools of his native county until he was twelve, and after that attended only through the winter months and assisted his father during the summer. On September 15, 1861, he enlisted at Hartford in Company D. Eighth Con- necticut Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Ward. The company went to Long Island, later going to Annapolis, at which place they entered Burnside's Expedition. Many skirmishes and battles were fought, among them being Roanoke Island, Battle of Newbern, Fort Mason, South Mountain, Antietam, Walthall Junction, Swift Creek, Drury Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Harrison and Richmond. During the battle of Antietam Mr. Weaver received severe wounds, one ball passing through his side, another entering his arm at the elbow and coming out near the wrist, another one hitting the little finger of the left hand. After he was wounded he was in danger of capture, but being a good runner, escaped, though many of his com- rades were sent to Libby Prison. On account of his term of enlistment having expired he was discharged 'December 23, 1863, but veteraned and reenlisted in the same company, receiving his second discharge December 12, 1865, reaching his home in Connecticut after serving four years and three months.

The marriage of Mr. Weaver with Miss Emma A. Robinson occurred May 12, 1869, and they became the parents of three children: John E. is married and has five living children and resides on a sixty-acre property on the McLaughlin Road adjacent to San Jose; Clarence M., who served as an employee of the government in the San Jose post office for thirteen years, is now deceased, he is survived by one son, Claude W., who is married and resides in San Fran- cisco, where he is in the employ of the Pacific Tele- phone and Telegraph Company; Angeline W. Snow, the daughter, is the wife of Prof. I. W. Snow, super- intendent of the Los Gatos schools. She is a gradu- ate of the San Jose high school in the class of 1905; of Stanford University, class of 1909, and of the San Jose Normal, class of 1910, and followed the

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profession of teaching for nine years at Morgan Hill, Los Gatos and Campbell, until her marriage in 1920. Mrs. Weaver is the daughter of John and Angeline (Hamilton) Robinson, whose paternal an- cestors were among the early colonists who settled in America. Her father was a stonemason and a successful contractor. He was born in Massachu- setts, was taken to Connecticut when six weeks old and there he and his wife, who was born in Portage County, Ohio, passed away.

In 1875 Mr. Weaver and family removed to the Pacific Coast, settling on a twenty-acre ranch in The Willows, a beautiful rural district near San Jose and where they still reside on four acres of the original property. They are among the pioncer fruit growers of the Santa Clara Valley. The principal crop of his orchard is cherries and apricots. On the place is a mammoth fig tree planted forty years ago. that has grown to be fifty feet high, with a spread of sixty feet in circumference, bearing large, luscious figs in abundance. Mr. Weaver is affiliated with Sheridan-Dix Post No. 7, G. A. R., of San Jose, Department of California and Nevada. Fraternally he is a Mason, being actively identified while residing in Connecticut, but now demitted. In all public mat- ters Mr. Weaver has always taken an active and liberal part and he has come to be recognized as one of the prominent and trust-worthy citizens of the community, his straightforward honesty having won for him many friends. In all of his business inter- ests he has manifested good executive ability and his labors have brought to him a good return.

ANTON SCHIRLE & SONS .- A manufacturing firm that has built up a large business and contributed very materially in the building up of San Jose and Santa Clara County is Anton Schirle & Sons, proprie- tors of the Fourth Street Planing Mill, which they opened in 1915. The large and commodious building is located at Fourth and San Fernando streets, equipped with the most modern planing mill machin- ery and electric power, and here they manufacture sash, doors, mouldings and do all kinds of mill work; and handle all grades of lumber, shipping to different

parts of the state The firm is composed of Anton Schirle and his five sons. Anton Schirle was born ncar Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, Germany, on April 1, 1861, the son of Matthew and Catherine Schirle, both of whom passed away some years ago. He was edu- cated in the schools of Germany and came to Amer- ica at the age of twenty-one, first working in Detroit . in the Pullman car shops for four years, going from there to the Pullman car shops at Chicago for a short t.me. then to New York City for three years, working at his trade in large manufacturing establishments. In 1888 he came to California, stopping at Fresno for ten months, and in 1889 went to San Francisco and worked at his trade until 1892, when he came to San Jose. Returning to San Francisco in 1896, he continued there until 1900, when he returned to San Jose. Here he began working in the mill and 1. 1915, with his son, Al M., under the firm name of Anton Shirle & Sons, leased this building and mill and began operating, employing eighteen men. They have made wonderful progress, their business now extending all over the state.

Anton Schirle's marriage in New York City in 1887 united him with Miss Amelia Balle, born in Wur- temberg, Germany, and they became the parents of ten children; the five sons are all experienced planing mill men and with this company. Al. M., saw service

for thirteen months in Company C, One Hundred- tenth U. S. Infantry, training at Camp Lewis. He was sent overseas in June, 1918, and served in France until after the armistice was signed; Louis served overseas in the Motor Transport service, his outfit being located in France and both are members of the American Legion. The firm holds a membership in the Progressive Business Club, the Chamber of Commerce and the Builders' Exchange. In religious faith Mr. Shirle is a member of the Catholic Church and in national politics is a stanch Republican.

ASTLEY D. M. COOPER-With an assured position in the world of art, Astley D. M. Cooper is well known on both sides of the Atlantic as an artist who has graphically portrayed the spirit of the West, and San Jose is proud to claim him as a citizen. A native of Missouri, he was born in St. Louis, Decem- ber 23, 1856, a son of Dr. David M. and Fannie Clark (O'Fallon) Cooper. His father was an eminent sur- geon of St. Louis, being the first resident physician of the St. Louis Hospital. He was born in Bel- fast, Ireland, and when nineteen years of age emi- grated to the United States. He attained high stand- ing in his profession and passed away at the com- paratively early age of forty-six years, at Wilming- ton, N. C. The mother was a daughter of the late Maj. Benjamin O'Fallon and on the maternal side Mr. Cooper is related to George Rogers Clark and William Clark, the former of whom won fame as a commander in the Indian Wars, while the latter be- came noted as an explorer. They were half-brothers of Major O'Fallon, who rendered distinguished ser- vice to his country in his campaign against the In- dians on the western frontier, being the Indian agent, appointed about 1832, west of the Mississippi River, and to him Chief Black Hawk surrendered.

Mr. Cooper, the sole survivor of the family, was reared in St. Louis, Mo., and after completing the work of the grammar and high schools attended the Washington University in that city, subsequently spending two years in the vicinity of Boulder City, Colo. As a boy he displayed marked talent in handl- ing the brush and crayon and early in his career he began studying the wild life of the West, of which he gained an intimate knowledge, so that he has be- come an authoritative chronicler of this phase of American history, preserving the traditions of the now vanished frontier and graphically portraying the story of the red man and his habits. Before he was twenty-one years of age he had painted a number of Indian chiefs and his work began to attract favorable notice in the art world. He had the benefit of the paintings of George Catlin, a friend of his grand- father, Major O'Fallon, and a man thoroughly acquainted with western life. George Catlin was em- ployed by the Major to paint the portraits of all the prominent chiefs of that time, 1832. From this time on Mr. Cooper has devoted his attention to his art and soon after coming to the Pacific Coast he located at San Francisco, Cal. Much sketch work and paint- ing followed and he was soon to become famous through the medium of Frank Leslie's magazine, his most interesting sketches being those depicting the wild life of the West. During General Grant's visit to California Mr. Cooper did some remarkable sketching and portrait work with the General as his subject, the truth and sincerity of his work com- manding for it a wide sale in the United States and in England. He had become recognized as a thorough artist with a sure and direct technique

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and the power to present the essence of things and his position in the art world was firmly established. Many of his paintings are hung in the leading gal- leries of Europe as well as the United States and among his most notable work may be mentioned "California and the Golden Era," which won for him widespread recognition as an artist of rare talent. About 1883 Mr. Cooper established his resi- dence in East San Jose, although he has never sev- ered his connections with the art centers of New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. His studio is a beautiful one, being an exact replica of the Egyptian style of architecture, and is visited by admirers of art from all sections of the globe and also by his many friends. For many years his mother made her home with him in East San Jose, passing away at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. Her demise was deeply regretted by all who knew her, for hers was a most beautiful character. He was an early member of the San Francisco Art Association and of the Salmagundi Club of St. Louis.

Mr. Cooper was married in this city to Miss Char- lotte George, who was born in the picturesque Ar- cadia Valley of Missouri and as a girl removed with her parents to the Santa Clara Valley, where she was reared and educated. Holding to high ideals, Mr. Cooper has gained a position of distinction in his profession because he has never been satisfied with the second best, but has ever striven for some- thing above, beyond and better, and his contribution to art is a notable one.

ERNEST C. EATON-A retired rancher, Ernest C. Eaton's withdrawal from active labor is the more notable because of his splendid record of long years of unremitting and successful enterprise, in which he did his duty fully in helping to develop first one and then another section of the country. He was born near Cleveland, Ohio, on January 14, 1853, the son of Horace G. Eaton, a native of Connecticut, who had married Miss Mary E. Cleveland, a native of Mich- igan. They were blessed with four sons, and Ernest C. was the second in the order of birth. The Eatons came to live in Ohio, and in Michigan, where he was pursuing his business, Horace Eaton passed away, at the age of forty.

On coming to Ogle County, Illinois, in 1864, Er- nest finished his elementary schooling, and then, from his twelfth year, he worked to help support his mother. In 1872 the family moved to Lee Coun- ty, Ill., and here he began teaching school, continu- ing during his residence there and after going to Kansas, whither he removed in 1877. There he pur- chased a tract of 320 acres, located near Hutchinson, and engaged in . farming for twenty-four years.

While in Lee County, Ill., Mr. Eaton was married to Miss Viola L. Merrell, the daughter of William Merrell, a native of Connecticut, and his good wife, who was Miss Louise Daniels in her maidenhood. She was born in Steuben County, N. Y., on July 30, 1853, and her father served for nearly three years in the Union Army, during the Civil War, as a mem- ber of Company D, of the One Hundred and Forty- first New York Volunteer Infantry. He was first lieutenant in ranks under General Sherman, was cited for bravery and given charge as a brevet major, was never wounded although he suffered much sick- ness from exposure, and was finally mustered out as a captain. In 1898 he migrated West to California, settled in Merced, where he became active as a

member of the Grand Army of the Republic; and on September 23, 1913, after a life notable as a patriot, he passed away at the fine old age of eighty-four.

On July 12, 1901, Mr. and Mrs. Eaton and family, having sold their splendid farm of 320 acres, removed from Kansas to California, where they settled in the Santa Clara Valley; and not long after, Mr. Eaton invested in twenty acres on the Homestead Road. which proved so profitable that he was led to invest, in time, in several ranches, one after the other of which he sold at a fair profit, recently retiring to live at 779 Bird Avenue, San Jose. For years, he has been one of the stockholders of the San Jose Mutual Loan Association.

Five children were granted Mr. and Mrs. Eaton. Nettie L., the eldest, is the wife of Frank Ritcha, and as the mother of three children resides at Nickerson, Kans. Bertie M. is single. Ralph W., married, is a rancher and has one daughter and re- sides at San Jose. Vera M., also married, dwells near Sunnyvale, and Ethel V., now Mrs. Hardy, lives at home with her parents. The family are mem- bers of the First Presbyterian Church at San Jose, where they are known for their fidelity to the cause of prohibition. In 1906, Mr. Eaton as the candidate tor supervisor from the Second District commanded enviable support, if he did not win the day.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 106

Author: Sawyer, Eugene T Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co. Number of Pages: 1934

Author: Sawyer, Eugene T
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Los Angeles : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 1934