History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 143

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

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A native son of California, Martin Murphy was born April 3, 1873, in San Jose. His early education began in San Jose; later taking a course at George- town University in Washington, D. C., where he graduated with the A. B. degree with the class of 1895. After completing his course, he returned to San Jose and became clerk under Judge Wallace of the Justice Court, and remained in this capacity until 1916, when he succeeded to the same position under Judge Sontheimer, Judge Wallace's successor.

Mr. Murphy has been married twice. One daugh- ter, Ruth, resides with her maternal grandmother, Mrs. M. D. Phelps, in San Jose. His second mar- riage occurred in San Jose in 1912 and united him with Miss Helene Gratapaglia, a native daughter of San Jose. They are the parents of one child: Barney D., attending St. John's Military Academy, located in Los Angeles, Cal. Fraternally he is an active mem- ber of the Eagles, and is serving the local lodge, No. 8, as vice-president. Politically he is a consistent Democrat, as were his paternal ancestors for several generations before him. In his public and private capacities Mr. Murphy has won the respect and good will of his associates, and many years of activity for the public good have established his name among the high-minded, dependable and successful men of Santa Clara County.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

PALO ALTO PUBLIC LIBRARY .- A city may well be judged both by the intelligence of the aver- age citizen within its confines and the various agen- cies which it contains for the promotion of intellectu- al life and activity; and Palo Alto owes much of its fame as one of the most desirable of all residential centers to the fact that it is well-equipped in educa- tional institutions. Prominent among such, and one of which Palo Alto is especially proud, is the well- planned, well-stocked, and well-managed Public Lib- rary, conveniently located and safely housed in a structure worthy of the purpose to which it has been dedicated. One of the most interesting of the his- toric buildings of Palo Alto is the one now occupied by Ralph Dodson's Music Store and Miss Herrick's Art Store, formerly by the Easterday Co., and before that for years by D. A. Curry, the pioneer furniture dealer and founder of Camp Curry in Yosemite Val- ley. This was erected by Major Norris and C. L. Crabtree and was named by them, on account of their co-partnership, Nortree Hall. There in 1893 was started a reading room under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A., although it must have taken consider- able courage to start such an enterprise before the little village was even incorporated. As might have been expected, the public did not rush to support the venture, and as the Y. M. C. A. found that it could not maintain the establishment, it was glad to give way to the Woman's Club, an organization developed about that time from a small Mothers' Club. The ladies had conceived the idea of starting a Free Lib- rary, and had formed the nucleus of one with a mis- cellaneous collection of about 200 books obtained by means of a book social held on March 21, 1896. The day previous Prof. A. B. Show had addressed the Club on "The Need and Value of Town Libraries," an address especially interesting today on account of the vision of the professor, who foresaw in large measure the Palo Alto of the Twentieth Century. The Woman's Club favored the idea of uniting its library project with the abandoned reading room, but, fearing financial responsibility, contented itself with passing resolutions promising moral support.

On the corner now occupied by the Stanford Bank stood a two-story building, long since demolished, where the free reading room was formally opened on February 13, 1897. A subscription list, including payments made to the Y. M. C. A. fund, had yielded some $200, of which sum about $150 was used for rent and the remainder for light, fuel, janitor service and incidentals. Such were the "magnificent distan- ces" of the scattered young town that soliciting was no light task, the unpaved streets and muddy cross- ings testing the ardor and faith of the library en- thusiasts; but the workers went bravely on, spending much valuable time and bringing into requisition the whole available force of the club in gathering maga- zines and newspapers. Some donated magazines, after reading them, others subscribed for periodicals; the Times and the Live Oak gave their exchanges, all of which had to be collected and arranged. Re- sults of the first year's work showed the crying need of such a place, but when the New Year opened, the committee was loath to continue the task unless more money and more helpers were forthcoming, guaranteeing something more than a mere existence.

When for some weeks the fate of the venture had hung in the balance, more women became interested and it was decided to go on. A uniform subscrip- 41

tion rate of twenty-five cents a month was estab- lished. The list of subscribers and donations is still on file and shows that some gave as much as a dollar a month; some gave ten cents-what they could -. while only a few names have "No" after their sig- natures. Ten public-spirited citizens each gave one dollar and made possible the purchase of 100 volumes of fiction from an abandoned library in San Fran- cisco. A second book social was given which added 105 volumes, and with 300 books in the library the institution was formally adopted by the Woman's Club on February 16, 1898. The first librarian was Mrs. A. L. Corbert, who was on duty from 9 to 12 and from 2 to 5, for which service she was paid $15 per month. Operettas and other entertainments, and a lecture by Dr. Jordan, who was from the first keenly interested, began to swell the funds. Even after the town was contributing officially to the main- tenance of the work, various kinds of entertainments were given to raise funds; teas, a Christmas Fair, a Mrs. Jarley's Wax Works, an evening given by the Young Ladies' Cycling Club, and a Thanksgiving Business Men's football game.

All members of the club worked hard to assure the success of the library, but particular mention should be made of Mrs. E. L. Campbell, the first president, whose energy, perseverance and wisdom prevailed on the Club to sponsor the project. Mrs. Julia R. Gilbert seems to have been given charge of the library committee of the Club almost at the start, assisted by Mrs. Culver, Mrs. Emerson, Miss Ford and Mrs. George Parkinson. Mrs. Gilbert was later made a trustee under town control and appointed to the new board under the charter, effective in 1909. She remained a member until her death in 1916, thus completing twenty years of most efficient service.

In December 1898 the library was moved to a room on Emerson street, now occupied by Crandall's Homeware Store, and in the following January Miss Anne Hadden was appointed librarian at a salary of $15 and the free use of a rear room. The latter was later given up and the salary raised to $30. In Oc- tober, 1899, the town voted to appropriate $20 per month to the Library, and this was continued for nearly three years, although the Woman's Club con- tinued in control and made up the amount necessary for running expenses with subscriptions, entertain- ments and other activities. In January, 1902, the town's appropriation was raised to $50 per month By October, 1902, the Woman's Club had received and expended $4258 and was spending about $1200 per year. With 2300 books on the shelves it was felt that the institution was large enough to be taken over by the town officially. This was done by the adop- tion of an ordinance establishing a public library and levying a tax of one mill for its support, this yielding an income of $1076. The first board, which took of- fice on October 15, 1902, was composed of J. S. Lakin, Mrs. Mary Roberts Smith, Mrs. Dane Cool- idge. Mrs. A. F. Wallace, A. S. Ferguson, and B. F. Hall. Miss Elizabeth Hadden was appointed as- sistant librarian, to serve without pay.

By the early part of 1903 the growth of the lib- rary showed that a new building was a necessity and an appeal was made to Andrew Carnegie. This was presented in person to Mr. Carnegie's secretary by J. F. Parkinson, and shortly after Mr. Parkinson's return from New York word came that $10,000 would be given on the usual terms, that a site should he

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

provided and an amount equal to at least 10 per cent of the gift appropriated annually. The Board of Trade undertook to secure the lot and raise the amount necessary to purchase it. A committee con- sisting of Prof. Fernando Sanford, George R. Parkin- son, and C. S. Downing, was appointed to handle the matter, and through their efforts the site at the corner of Hamilton avenue and Bryant street was selected from among half a dozen or more offered. The purchase price, $2170, was met by private sub- seription and appropriation from the treasury of the organization. $100 was also donated by the Board of Trade for a corner stone. On November 10, 1903, the corner stone was laid, with Prof. A. B. Show as master of ceremonies. Mrs. Gilbert read a historical paper, an address was made by Prof. Nathan Abbott of the Stanford law department, and President Jor- dan told of the visit of Andrew Carnegie twelve years before, when he suggested that Palo Alto would some day be ready to receive his donation for a lib- rary. But as that was in the days of the box car depot, Mr. Carnegie thought it scarcely likely that he would be called upon. The new library was opened with a public reception on November 1, 1904. With a building and fixtures representing a cost of $10,939.48, the town was at last possessed of a real library and one that it was felt would be sufficient for the needs of the community for many years to come. Miss Frances D. Patterson had been added to the staff in 1903, and in 1908 a third assistant, Miss Ethel P. Gale, was appointed. Miss Anne Hadden, who had been librarian since her appointment in 1899, resigned in September, 1913, to take charge of the Monterey County Library, and Miss Patterson was appointed to the chief position.

There have been various changes in both staff and trustees since the opening of the new building. With the growth of the city the demands upon the staff have become more and more exacting, but it has not been found possible to increase the number of employees, even with an additional amount granted in taxes, the money, as far as possible, having been put into increases of salaries of those already em- ployed, until these salaries are now more nearly ap- proaching what is felt to be a fair return for trained employees. But the most serious problem has been to provide more room. Various methods were at- tempted to solve the problem, a second and a third appeal being made to the Carnegie fund without suc- eess, and two bond elections being held for building and ground for an addition, both lacking the neces- sary two-thirds vote. By 1921 even the public began to realize that the library must be enlarged if it was to keep pace with the demands upon it and with the growth of the community dependent upon the library, a population far exceeding the political boundaries of the city proper. A campaign was started by the Civic League under the direction of Mrs. Theodore Hoover which resulted through private subscriptions and the holding of a May Day Fete in the raising of enough money to purchase the lot adjoining the building for an addition and leave a balance for the purchase of furniture and necessary equipment for the new building. On November 15, 1921, bonds to the amount of $40,000 for an addition to the Library were carried by a large majority, the vote being the largest ever cast at a bond election. This addition will be completed by October 1, 1922, and will make a building of which Palo Alto may well be proud.

PACIFIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY .- Prominent among the important industrial concerns to which Santa Clara County is indebted for much of the rapid, yet sound and permanent development which has of late made this section one of the most progressive of all the counties of the Golden Gate, is the Pacific Manufacturing Company, for the past thirty-five years under the able management of its president, James H. Pierce. His father, the late James P. Pierce, had been president before him, and ever since the latter's death James H. has had the reins well in hand. Associated with him are J. G. Kennedy, manager of the San Francisco office; Her- hert J. Quinn, manager of the Los Angeles branch, and R. T. Pierce, secretary and treasurer, another de- pendable official with a record of thirty-five years of service. The directors are: James H. Pierce, J. G. Kennedy, R. T. Pierce, J. L. Pierce (son of R. T. Pierce), of San Jose, L L. Morse and F. A. Birge of San Francisco, and W. F. Hayward. The concern employs five hundred men, the year around, and has its main office at Santa Clara, and is, without doubt, the most substantial industry in Santa Clara County, and the largest manufacturing concern of its kind in the State of California.

This company, founded with such foresight hy the late James Pieronnett Pierce, and guided so admirably by James Henry Pierce, his son, and those happily associated with him, has a most interesting history, as recently outlined in the Pacific Factory Developer. In 1875, the Pacific Manufacturing Company started with a small planing mill and lumber yard to supply the local needs of the town of Santa Clara, and ever since this progressive company has steadily enlarged its scope of work and field of operations, until now its business covers all of California, the Hawaiian Islands and extends as far east as Utah. The company for many years has been a prominent factor in the build- ing up of San Francisco, particularly so since the great fire in 1906. Many of San Francisco's principal build- ings bear convineing evidence of the quality of the work turned out by the Santa Clara mill. We may mention the St. Francis and Palace hotels, the Hum- boldt and First National banks, and the Southern Pacific and Balfour-Guthrie buildings as testimonials of its handicraft, and several of the many buildings which are now under construction in the Bay Cities.

The company ranks high among the sash and door factories of the state. However, its specialty is fine, hardwood, interior finishings, and the quality of the work it turns out in this line is recognized by different architects throughout California as being unsurpassed. The company maintains a mill and lumber yard at Santa Clara, covering an area of twenty aeres, and a private switch connects with the Southern Pacific Railroad, so as to facilitate the handling of its large output, and for receiving lumber and raw materials. In a recent interview, W. F. Hayward, the popular representative of the Santa Clara office, said that his company had been doing a capacity business for some time past, which necessitated the employment of he- tween 500 and 600 people. During the war the Pacific Manufacturing Company made a specialty of airplane parts, and received much praise from the Government on the quality of the finished work. Pioneers in their line, the Pacific Manufacturing Company are always in a position to render excellent service, and all work turned out by them is known only as the best.

P. Nella Royer-

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

R. NELLA ROGERS .- A naturally-gifted, thor- oughly trained, and highly-accomplished musician and instructor in music, who has done much, in de- veloping and raising the standard of her department, to make the College of the Pacific one of the very best educational institutions in all the west, is R. Nella Rogers, the teacher of voice culture, and mu- sical favorite in San Jose, where she is known as a soloist, as well as at Helen Guth Hall, where her pleasing personality makes it a pleasure to reside. She was born near Princeton, Bureau County, Il1., the daughter of Andrew Rogers, a native of Eng- land, a cabinet maker and a furniture dealer at Princeton, Ill., and also a landowner. While in Illinois, he married Miss Mary Ross Whitney, a na- tive of Ohio. Her maternal great-grandfather came from England and settled in Maine where her grand- father, Ephraim Whitney, was born; her grand- father afterwards settled in Ohio where he was mar- ried to Miss Edith Ross, a native of the Buckeye State, a daughter of Squire Wm. Ross, who was mayor of Urichsville, Ohio, for forty years. Miss Ross was very musical and had a splendid voice much appreciated in those days and their children were all talented as musicians. Miss Rogers' mother also possessed a beautiful soprano voice and was in demand for church singing. She spent her last days in Los Angeles. She was the mother of three chil- dren, one of whom is now deceased. Edith E., a sister of our subject, is the wife of J. A. Shank, a dealer in lumber and fuel in Spokane.

As a little girl, Nella Rogers came to Jefferson, lowa, brought there by her mother; for her father had died three months before her birth. She at- tended both the common and high schools at Jeffer- son, and in time matriculated at the Conservatory of Music at Oberlin College, Ohio, where she studied both voice and piano; then she became a 'teacher of voice and piano in the Conservatory of Music of Grand Prairie Seminary at Onarga, Ill. During this period she did concert work throughout the state of Illinois. Meanwhile she made two trips to Europe; the first time she studied at Hanover and then found her way to Weimar, the classic city in which Liszt lived and taught; and there she became a pupil of Frau von Milda. Her second trip she went first to Berlin, where she studied under Georges Gra- ziani; and in Paris she took instruction from Mme. de la Grange. Her mother meantime had married a second time to Mr. Charles Fellows Peck of New London, Conn., had removed to Fremont, Nebr., and on her return from abroad Miss Rogers joined her mother in that city and the two immediately made preparations to come to Los Angeles, Cal., to spend the winter. Dr. Eli McClish, who had been president of Grand Prairie Seminary, while she was a teacher there, had become president of the Uni- versity of the Pacific (now the College of the Pacific) and learning that Miss Rogers was in California tendered her the position of teacher of voice, which she accepted, coming immediately and taking up her work in 1897; since 1899 she has been the head of the department of voice culture. In 1911 she studied with William Shakespeare of London, England, while that celebrated musician was teaching in Los An- geles, and in the summer of 1916, she was a pupil of Dudley Buck in New York; she also studied un- der Kronberg of Boston, and during 1917, 1918 and 1919, she was a student at the MeBurney studios,

in Chicago. How enthusiastically progressive she is may be gathered from the fact that for four consecu- tive years she has gone East for graduate work.

As a soloist with an exceptionally pleasing mezzo- soprano voice, Miss Rogers has been singing in the First Congregational Church in San Jose for the past nine years; and she has frequently contributed to public programs of various kinds, favoring her audiences with her talent. With practical experience in oratorio work in America, and a thorough and broad knowledge of musical conditions in the musi- cal centers of the Old World, as well as in the United States, Miss Rogers has been of inestimable service to many an aspirant, in developing real tal- ent, and in encouraging the ambitious to reach the highest possible goal.

JAMES FRED PAYNE .- Among the worthy pioneers of Santa Clara Valley who did much to in- crease the resources of the county was the late James Fred Payne who was born in Columbia Coun- ty, N. Y., March 20, 1833, a son of William Payne, who was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1799. John Payne, the paternal grandfather, was also a native of Yorkshire and in 1802 brought his family to New York, locating in Columbia County. William Payne farmed in that county until 1837, when he removed to Schoharie County, where he lived until his demise in 1866, aged sixty-five. His wife was in maidenhood Gertrude Crapser, daughter of John Crapser, a native of New York and a soldier in the War of 1812. Gertrude (Crapser) Payne, the mother of our sub- jeet, lived to be eighty-four years old. She was the mother of seven sons and four daughters, who were given the best education possible of attainment in the country schools of New York state and were reared to habits of industry and usefulness. Until 1855 James Fred, the fifth in his father's family, worked on the home farm and then came to California by way of Panama, locating in Tuolumne County, where he resided until 1858. That year he purchased a farm in the foothills in Santa Clara County. Two years later, in 1867, he located on a farm a mile east of Los Gatos, and in 1873 came to the place that became his permanent home and where his widow still resides. He owned 126 acres of land that he devoted to farm- ing and fruit raising and in time had large orchards devoted to prunes and apricots. He was thrifty and he had good substantial buildings as well as good equipment for caring for the fruit, including a large drier. The grounds around his comfortable residence were well laid out and abounded in flowers, shrubs and trees which are still a monument to his energy.

Mr. Payne was married in Mountain View in 1874, being united with Miss Phoebe Mcclellan, a native of Missouri, born near Independence in 1848, in which state her father settled after removing from his native home in Tennessee. The MeClellan family were pioneers of Santa Clara County. Her parents, William and Eveline (Dickey) MeClellan, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively, crossed the plains to California bringing their children in an ox- team train of seventy wagons. After a trip of six months through the Indian country, they arrived safely in the fall of 1849. After teaming for a while, Mr. McClellan purchased a farm near Mountain View and later on bought and owned several places, among them being the old Captain Stevens ranch

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

for whom Stevens Creek was named. On this place Mr. and Mrs. McClellan resided at the time of their death. They had nine children, seven of whom are living. Mrs. Payne was only six months old when her parents started across the plains in 1849, so she is now among the oldest settlers of Santa Clara County. Mr. Payne died January 25, 1915, mourned by his family and many friends. Since his death his widow continues to reside at the old home, the estate comprising about 100 acres, nearly all in fruit trees. Her son, George C., an able horticulturist, has charge of the orchard, thus relieving her of all care. Mr. and Mrs. Payne were the parents of five children: George C., the manager of the Payne ranch; Hurley, is also a horticulturist and resides in Campbell; Ger- trude E. Howard and Louise are at home. In reli- gion Mrs. Payne is a Presbyterian, and politically a Republican. She is now one of the few pioneers of 1849 that are still living and able to narrate accounts of early days in California.

JOSEPHINE MARSHALL FERNALD .- Stand- ing high in musical circles of the state as a teacher of voice and piano, Josephine Marshall Fernald is the efficient director of the Stanford Music School and of the Berkeley School of Music, recently estab- lished at 2168 Shattuck Avenue. She comes from one of the most disinguished families in America, being a direct descendant of Chief Justice John Marshall, and she has all the virility and acumen of her illus- trious progenitor, who in a more clear and forcible way than any other jurist, construed the Constitution of the United States. . Mrs. Fernald's parents were Maj. Lewis Field Marshall and Mary Helen Mar Foree. Her father was born in 1825 and was the son of John Marshall, whose wife was Mildred Field. She was the daughter of Lewis Field, born in 1763, the son of Colonel John Field, born in 1720, whose wife was Ann Rogers Clark. Col. John Field served in the French and Indian War in 1756, and in 1758 as a captain under Forbes in protecting the frontier. In 1760, as colonel of a company, he was ordered to join General Brad- dock at Fort Duquesne during the battle on the Monongahela River. Braddock was mortally wound- ed, General Washington taking his place, and under him Colonel Field served as lieutenant-colonel. In 1764 he was a major in Bagnet's expedition, and in 1865 he was a burgess. In 1774 he enlisted in an independent volunteer company of thirty-five men, reinforced by 100 Virginia Regulars, and joined Col- onel Lewis at Fort Union. He was killed at Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774, during the fight with the French and Indians under Comstock, whom he defeated, for which service his heirs were granted large tracts of land in Kentucky by Lord Fairfax, part of this land now being Bourbon County. Mrs. Fernald is also a descendant of George Rogers Clark, the intrepid explorer of the Northwest, in whose honor the Lewis & Clark Exposition at Portland was held. Another ancestor, Lewis Field Marshall, en- listed in the Revolutionary War in 1779, at the age of sixteen. He was captured in June, 1779, by Little Turtle, the Indian Chief, and was for some time held a prisoner at Montreal and Quebec. Capt. William Marshall, father of John Marshall, born in 1730, was a captain of Virginia Militia in 1776. On September

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 143

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