History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 112

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

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SALMA DARLING .- A successful orchardist who has resided in Santa Clara County for more than a quarter of a century, Salma Darling, is now living retired from active cares at 122 North Thir- teenth Street, in the enjoyment of a competence gained through many well-spent years. He was born in Wheelock, Caledonia County, Vt., on June 5, 1847, the son of Ezra French Darling, whose parents were David and Mary (Bickford) Darling; grandparents, Moses and Judith (French) Darling;

and great-grandparents, John and Hannah (Morse) Darling. John Darling served with the New Eng- land militia at the capture of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island, on June 17, 1745, and Moses Darling was a pensioned veteran of the Revolutionary War, who had the great honor of being at the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was at first a private soldier in Captain Isaac Baldwin's Company and later he was promoted to be sergeant-major. Mary Bickford was the daughter of Eli Bickford, also a veteran of the Revolutionary War who served in the navy. He was taken prisoner, sent to England, and there confined. After a while he attempted to escape, by swimming to a foreign ship anchored two miles off shore; but he was overtaken by his pursuers and recaptured. He died at Danville, Vt., in 1854, at the age of 101.

Ezra F. Darling, the father of our subject, mar- ried Miss Lorinda S. Hill, the daughter of Eben and Nancy (Pillsbury) Hill, and the granddaughter of Capt. Caleb Pillsbury. The latter had been commis- sioned by King George, but at the outbreak of the Revolution, he and his entire company of 100 men left the king's service without ceremony, and swore to stand by the Continental Congress. Mr. and Mrs. Darling, in 1854, moved with their family to Derby, Orleans County, Vt., and there Mr. Darling became so actively interested in local political affairs that he was elected to the State Legislature. He died at Derby in 1898, at the age of seventy-six.

Salma Darling grew up on his father's farm and attended both the common public schools and the academy. When about twenty-one, he left home, removed to Illinois, and at Rock Island entered the office of a civil engineer. In 1870 he was engaged by the Rockford, Rock Island and St. Louis Rail- way, as instrument man for the Beardstown Divi- sion, and when that work had been completed, he was employed to make railway surveys in Vermont and Illinois. In 1876 he removed to Texas, and entered the engineering department of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway, under Maj. James Converse, the chief engineer, and he gave the company and that gifted man such satisfaction that he remained with him for seven years as assist- ant and resident engineer on lines and construction from Lafayette, La., to Devil's River, Texas.

On September 18, 1882, Mr. Darling was married at St. Paul, Minn., to Miss Clara E. Chamberlin, the ceremony taking place at the residence of her brother. In October the young people went to Eagle Pass, Texas, where Mr. Darling was engaged as resident engineer on the Mexican International Rail- way, south to Leona, Mexico, and including the low- water bridge and the masonry for the permanent bridge over the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass.

In 1883 Mr. Darling was transferred to mainten- ance of way on the main line east of San Antonio, with headquarters at Houston, Texas. In 1885 Mr. and Mrs. Darling became convinced that a cooler climate was advisable, and while urged to take a leave of absence only, they decided to make the change permanent. The next year, therefore, they came out to San Jose, Cal., and on Plummer Avenue they erected an orchard home. In 1914 they removed to their present attractive residence, at 122 North Thirteenth Street in San Jose. Mrs. Darling's mother, Eliza J. (Cropper) Chamberlin, was born in Maryland; her father, Jeremiah Chamberlin, was o native of Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin

Thor OConnell Julia E. OConnell

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were among the old pioneers of Rock Island, Ill., where Mr. Chamberlin was engaged in farming, the lumber business, and other enterprises, and where he held many positions of public trust in county af- fairs. They came to San Jose in 1888, and lived here the greater part of the intervening time, alternately residing at Carmel. Mr. Chamberlin died in 1892, at the age of seventy-four years and eleven months, while Mrs. Chamberlin passed away in 1909, at the age of eighty-four.

Mr. and Mrs. Darling's son, Harry C. Darling, was born at Moline, in Rock Island County, Ill., on November 25, 1885, and was taken by his parents to California when he was a year old. He attended the Willow Glen Grammar School and the University of the Pacific Academy, where he followed a year's course in civil engineering, continuing in the same subject for three years at the State University. In 1911 he was assistant engineer for a power company in the Sierras, and the next year he entered the service of the Engineer Department of the California State Highway. In 1917, when the World War was in full swing, he left his work as resident engineer and enlisted in the Engineering Corps of the U. S. Army. In September he was sent to the Engineer Officers' Training Camp at Vancouver, Wash., and after graduation, in November, he was temporarily with the One Hundred Ninth Engineers at Deming, N. M. In December, 1917, he was or- dered to France as first lieutenant of the engineers, unassigned. He reached France early in January, where he expected to be sent to the front; but instead he was assigned to the Gas Service, later the Chemi- cal Warfare Service. After a short training at inter- mediate and advanced stations, he was ordered to St. Nazaire, Base Section No. 1, as port officer for the C. W. S., at the ports of St. Nazaire and Nantes. He was given a second lieutenant, sergeant and a detachment, and he was responsible for the safe handling, storing and forwarding of all C. W. S. material, including all high explosives received at these ports. Late in December, 1918, he embarked at Bordeaux for the United States; and on January 11, 1919, he was discharged at the C. W. S. head- quarters, Lakehurst, N. J., and reaching home, soon resumed his work on the State Highway.

In August, 1919, Harry Darling was married to Miss Edna Mary Rogers, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry K. Rogers, old residents of San Jose; and on December 9, 1920, their daughter, Barbara Janice, was born. Salma Darling is an honored member of the Sons of the American Revolution; and Harry also belongs to the California and the National sections of that some order, and to the American Legion and the American Association of Engineers. Thus the Darling family have well es- tablished themselves in Santa Clara County.

HUGH A. DE LACY .- A thoroughly efficient and popular public official is Hugh A. De Lacy, the undersheriff of Santa Clara County, a familiar and welcome figure around the historic Court House, a splendid example of fidelity, manning his post every day, although seventy-five years old. As the founder of the "Evening News," and therefore a veteran newspaper man, Mr. De Lacy has himself been a part of the interesting past of Santa Clara County; so that, blessed with a wonderful memory, he is fre- quently a valuable source of information to lawyers and judges alike. He arrived in California in No-

vember, 1862, when he was seventeen years old, hav- ing come from New Orleans, where he was born on September 23, 1845, the son of Stephen De Lacy, who settled at New Almaden in 1860, and he con- tinued a resident of Santa Clara County until he died. He had married Miss Ann Cribben; and as the mother of our subject she accompanied the latter on his trip from New Orleans to California in 1862. Mr. De Lacy was employed by the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Company, and so it came about that Hugh De Lacy was engaged to run a stationary engine there. He had profited by the excellent courses of instruction in the New Orleans public schools, and he found it easy to make a success of anything he attempted in his new field.

The history of the De Lacy family is full of in- terest, and it is not surprising that father and son have inherited such strong and helpful traits. Both of our subject's parents were born in Ireland, for during the reign of Henry II of England, Hugh De Lacy, the Norman, went over to Ireland and took possession of the country. Our Hugh De Lacy, when hardly seventeen, became a Confederate sol- dier, and in March, 1862, he joined the Orleans Guards Battalion, Company C., Third Louisiana Brigade, and fought at Shiloh, one of the 350 strong, of whom only seventy came out uninjured. It is known in history as the Hornets' Nest, and it was during the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, the first day of the engagement, that General Albert Sidney Johnston was killed. After a service of four months, Mr. De Lacy was discharged under the "Conscrip- tion Act," as he was then under eighteen.

As an engineer and a carpenter he helped to build the first high school and the first Normal school in San Jose. In 1870 he became a deputy sheriff under Sheriff N. R. Harris; two years later he was elected a constable, and served in that office for four years; then he was on the police force for seven years, and became a police detective. He had a strong leaning toward newspaper work, however, and so in 1883 established the "Evening News" of San Jose. This he conducted until 1890, when he disposed of his interest to Charles W. Williams. In 1892 he was elected chief of police and introduced the patrol system. In 1895 he went on the "Mercury" as advertising solicitor and collector, and in 1899 he became its business manager, continuing until 1901, when he resigned and went into the country; and at Coyote, Santa Clara County, he devoted him- self to cultivating prunes in the Owen orchard.

In 1909 Mr. De Lacy moved back into San Jose; and after resting some months, in 1910 he became undersheriff under A. B. Langford, but in January, 1914, he withdrew from that charge, and for the next five years busied himself as an agent for insurance and real estate. In 1919 he became the assistant of Sheriff George W. Lyle, and this responsibility he is still discharging, to the satisfaction of everyone.

In 1871 Mr. De Lacy was married to Miss Rebecca Clift, who came here from Cincinnati as a child, and grew up in Santa Clara County. She was a woman of singular gifts and attraction; and after a con- panionship of fifty years, passed to her eternal re- ward on January 26, 1920. One child had blessed the union, a son named Walter Bruce; but the promising lad did when nine years and eight months old. Mr. De Lacy, whose genial temperament has made him companionable and approachable to many,

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

and whose ability as a public speaker is well known, has endeavored these many years to live up to the Golden Rule; with the result that few men have enjoyed a wider circle of friends. He owns a home place of an acre and a half on the Monterey Road, where in 1909 he built a handsome seven-room bungalow, in which he resides with enviable comfort.

JEREMIAH LEITER-A man of unusual intel- lectual ability, and high Christian character, Jeremiah Leiter, at the age of eighty-three, looks backward over the years with a satisfaction born of right liv- ing. While still a young man, he was threatened with pulmonary troubles, and was, on this account, debarred from entering the Civil War. Although re- tired from business cares, he gives much time to religious and educational lines, and takes an active interest in the affairs of the College of the Pacific.

Mr. Leiter comes from Holland ancestry, his fore- bears being two brothers who came to America in pre-Revolutionary days, one settling in Maryland and the other in Pennsylvania. He was born in Sen- eca County, Ohio, December 15, 1838, in the vicinity of Bellevue, a son of John Leiter, who was engaged in farming pursuits in Ohio. The mother, who be- fore her marriage was Miss Sarah Barger, was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio in an early day. They were the parents of nine children, four boys and five girls, of whom Jeremiah Leiter is the second son. During the year of 1845, the family removed to Fulton County, Indiana, and purchased a farm. The Indians were just leaving this part of the county, the farm was covered with a thick growth of trees and here on the farm Jeremiah was reared and learned to grub, clear, cut brush, plow and do every other kind of farm work, thus having a general pio- neer experience in the Hoosier State. When the family settled on this piece of land, not a house was in sight. A shanty was built and the family moved in, and the following summer the first log house in that locality was erected out of tamarack logs, cut and prepared from logs obtained from a nearby tamarack swamp. His summers were spent work- ing on the farm, going to school during the winter months. He afterwards followed the profession of teaching for five winters.

Mr. Leiter was married in 1862 to Mrs. Jane (Phillips) Schaffer, who was born in Virginia. For a number of years Mr. Leiter was engaged in the mercantile business with his brother-in-law, Hick- man Phillips, at Kewanna, Ind., and was thus engaged until 1875, when he was obliged to retire from the business on account of failing health. He removed to California and spent one year here, greatly benefited in health. Returning to Indiana. he again entered the mercantile business, but at the end of the year was again forced to take a vacation, going to Florida for one year; later removing to California, settling in Napa, where he remained for a year, removing to San Jose in 1883, where he has continuously resided. For a number of years he was engaged in the real estate business, and, as in other lines of work, he was successful.

For over sixty years Mr. Leiter has been a con- sistent and active member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and for twenty-nine years was the effi- cient superintendent of the Sunday school of the Methodist Church in Kewanna; for nineteen years he was the teacher of the adult Bible class and has served as a member of the official board for thirty-

seven years. Perhaps his most outstanding activity was in connection with the College of the Pacific, being elected treasurer of that institution twenty-five years ago. Owing to his careful and conservative handling of the funds of the college, a large debt was cancelled, many buildings and general improve- ments have been made, and the endowment increased some $300,000. During 1920 five trustees were re- elected who had served on the board twenty years before, among them being Mr. Leiter. At one time, he was voted a salary of $25 per month, but de- clined it and never drew a single month's salary.

Mrs. Leiter was a charming woman of attractive and pleasing personality and joined her husband in his business, social and religious activities. She was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church from the time of their marriage until her death. Unfortunately Mr. Leiter was bereaved of his faithful wife and life companion, who passed away in February, 1917, mourned by her many friends.

In his political affiliations Mr. Leiter is an inde- pendent, always voting for the clean, temperance man. He is an ardent admirer of the beauties and oppor- tunities of Santa Clara County, and gives freely of his time and means in the support of worthy measures looking to the improvement and advancement of the community, which has 'been his home for so many years. He is a highly honored and respected citizen and well deserves the esteem conferred upon him by a large circle of admiring friends and acquaintances.

PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSOCIA- TION .- Forty-eight years ago the publishing work of the Seventh-Day Adventists was started on the Pacific Coast. It was then that their pioneer mis- sionary paper was established-the "Signs of the Times"-the first issue bearing date of June 4, 1874. The type was set in rented rooms in a building at the corner of Twelfth and Broadway, Oakland, Cal. After the type was set and made up into pages, the forms were sent to a near-by printing office, where the presswork was done. The papers were then brought back to the office, where they were wrapped and addressed, and then taken to the post office in a wheelbarrow. From this small beginning the work has continued to grow, until now it is one of the most complete publishing houses west of Chicago, using nearly fifty car loads of paper every year.

During the first twenty-five years of the work of this company, a large amount of commercial print- ing was done, in addition to the regular denomina- tional publications. As the years passed by it became very evident that this commercial work was interfer- ing to a great extent with the denominational busi- ness. At the meeting of the stockholders held in Oakland, April 28, 1902, this matter was carefully considered and a resolution adopted instructing the board of directors to curtail the commercial work, to sell the real estate in Oakland, and to move the plant to some rural place, away from the noise and confu- sion of the city, and where the surroundings would be more congenial to its employees.

In harmony with this resolution, and after thor- ough investigation, it was decided to locate at Moun- tain View, Cal. Five acres of land was donated by the citizens, and a fine large brick factory erected, about 175 feet square, and in the year 1904 the whole plant was moved from Oakland to Mountain View. It was a tremendous undertaking, and the move

Cher & Mers. J. Leiter

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

was made at great expense. Just as the plant at Mountain View was getting in good running order, the great earthquake of April 18, 1906, came. The brick walls on two sides of the factory were thrown down, but the roof was left intact and the machinery unharmed. Temporary walls were erected, so that within a few hours business was being carried on about the same as usual.

On July 20, 1906, the entire plant, including build- ing, machinery, books, etc., was destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of about $200,000. On September 10, 1906, a meeting of the stockholders was held, and by an unanimous vote, it was decided to rebuild the factory on the old foundations, at once. At a meet- ing of the board of directors held soon after the fire, the following resolution was adopted:

"Whereas, Giving the last threefold message to the world demands the best energies and the undivided attention of God's people, more espe- cially of those engaged in its organized work; and

"Whereas, This office was established for the purpose of giving this message to the world; and

"Whereas, Whatever may have been expedient in the past, the time now demands that all the facilities of the office, and the talents, energies, and ability of its employees, he devoted solely to the work for which the institution was estab- lished; therefore, be it

"Resolved, That henceforth commercial work shall be eliminated from the office of the Pacific Press, and that by commercial work shall be understood all work outside the regular organ- ized work of the message, and such work as shall not be approved by the Publishing Committee of the institution."

As the years have passed, this resolution has been strictly adhered to. Not one job of commercial printing has been taken into the office of the Pacific Press since the fire, and the institution has had greater prosperity than ever before in all its history. The well-equipped factory embraces the following: Three modern linotype machines, five cylinder presses, three job presses, a complete electrotype foundry, a splendidly equipped book bindery, with three book sewing machines, three folding machines, two embossing presses, a well-equipped photo- engraving department. All machines are run by electric motors. The field assigned to the Pacific Press Publishing Association for the sale of sub- scription books includes the territory west of the Mississippi River, except the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico and Texas. The total popu- lation of the above-named territory is about $20,000,000. The volume of business in 1920 amounted to $1,500,000. The plant employs some 200 men and women. The following periodicals are published : the "Signs of the Times," a weekly paper with a circulation of 50,000; the weekly children's paper called "Our Little Friend," with a circulation of 30,000 copies; and the Sabbath School Lesson Quar- terly, with a circulation of 100,000. Besides these periodicals, thousands of books, tracts and pamphlets are published every year.

In addition to the main plant at Mountain View, the Pacific Press Publishing Association operates six

branch offices and depositories, as follows: North- western branch at Portland, Ore .; Northern branch at St. Paul, Minn .; International branch at Brouk- field, Ill., twelve miles from Chicago (this branch has a well-equipped factory, printing books and periodicals in twenty-seven different languages, which are sold and distributed in the Orient, Central and South America, Siberia, Russia and many other countries); Central branch at Kansas City, Mo .; Central-American branch at Cristobal, Canal Zone (this branch also has a well-equipped factory, print- ing in Spanish language); Pacific branch at Moun- tain View, Cal., independent from the main plant.

The total investment of the main office and the six branches is nearly $1,000,000.00, and ahout 200 per- sons are employed, most of whom own homes in the vicinity of the factory. Mr. C. H. Jones is the gen- eral manager of this extensive plant which is the principal industrial factor at Mountain View. When running full capacity, one car load of printing paper is used weekly. The best of up-to-date systems and methods in book production are employed. They furnish first aid for employees, a swimming pool, recreation and tennis grounds, an excellent cafeteria (vegetarian) where the best of well-cooked food is served at reasonable prices. Electric power is used mainly, but a Corliss steam engine is kept in re- serve for emergencies. There is an able corps of writers, editors and business auditors. They have excellent artists and are prepared for printing color work and artistic cover designs. After all is said the material part of this great publishing house is the least, and the moral and religious influence in the community cannot be estimated. The Seventh- Day Adventists are great students of the Bible and adhere in keeping the original Sabbath.

C. H. JONES .- The general manager of the Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View. C. H. Jones was born at Warner, N. H., December 12, 1850, the son of Enos and Rozora (Harriman) Jones. The mother was related to the war gov- ernor of New Hampshire, Col. Walter Harriman. Both parents were natives of that state, and eight children were born to them, the subject of this sketch being the fourth child. C. H. Jones obtained his education in the public schools of New Hamp-

shire and then Icarned the printer's trade at the state printing office at Manchester, N. H. During the year of 1867 he removed to Michigan and for eight years worked for the Review and Herald Pub- lishing Association at Battle Creek, which was later removed to Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. By efficient and conscientious effort he was advanced to the position of foreman of the composing room. In 1879 he removed to Oakland, Cal., and for three years served as superintendent of the plant of the Pacific Press Publishing Association, and was then elected manager. The business grew to such pro- portions that it was found necessary to remove to a rural district in order to have room for the con- templated enlarged facilities for taking care of the inmense business of the concern and Mountain View was selected for the establishment of the plant.

Mr. Jones' marriage occurred in Battle Creek. Mich., and united him with Miss Josephine Emerson Lunt, a relative of the noted author, Ralph Waldo Emerson. They are the parents of three children,

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two of whom are living. Dr. William Harriman Jones, a resident of Long Beach, Cal .; Charles Floyd Jones, assistant manager of the book department of the Pacific Press Publishing Association; Evelena passed away in Oakland at the age of thirteen years. Mr. Jones enjoys that distinction which arises from great goodness of heart exercised along helpful and constructive lines, and from that breadth of inind which retains belief in the grace of human nature.

GEORGE J. HAUN .- Among the interesting and highly-esteemed pioneers of Saratoga must be num- bered George J. Haun, a native of this place, then named Toll Gate, where he was born May 5, 1855, a son of William and Levina (Whisman) Haun. William Haun settled in Santa Clara County as early as 1846 and was engaged in farming before settling at Toll Gate in 1853. Mr. Haun built the first and only flour mill in Saratoga, afterwards the name was changed to McCartysville and still later to Saratoga, which he later disposed of to Senator McClay, and jater engaged in the general grocery business. In the very early pioneer days he served as deputy sheriff of Santa Clara County. Both parents have passed away.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 112

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