History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 154

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

USA > California > Santa Clara County > History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches > Part 154

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

In Los Gatos, Mr. Cushing married Miss Dora Hensley, one of California's native daughters from Porterville, a daughter of William and Phoebe Hen- sley, pioneers of Tulare County. William Hensley came to California across the plains with an ox- team, and subsequently he crossed the plains twice. He has passed away, but his widow is still living, hale and hearty, at Los Gatos. Mr. and Mrs. Cush- ing are the parents of two children: Ben is associ- ated with his father in business, and Pearl is the wife of John Panighetti of Los Gatos. There is one grandchild, Allen Carlos Panighetti. Mr. Cush- ing gives his political allegiance to the Republican party. He has led an active and useful life, employ- ing every opportunity to advance, and is accounted one of the public-spirited men of his community.

SAN JOSE MERCURY HERALD .- The history of the San Jose Mercury Herald starts on June 20, 1851, with the publication of the Weekly Visitor, which in August, 1852, was changed to the Register. In 1853, F. B. Murdock procured control of the weekly, changed its name to the San Jose Telegraph, and as such it continued to appear until 1860, when it was merged into the Telegraph and Mercury, acquired by William N. Slocum, who soon dropped the word Telegraph, and called it the San Jose Weekly Mer- cury, and the Mercury it has been ever since. In the spring of the following year, 1861, J. J. Owen ac-

quired control of the paper, and from then until 1884, when it was purchased by the late Charles M. Shortridge, the history of the paper and the name of J. J. Owen are inseparably linked. Dreamer, vis- ionary, poet, "forty years ahead of his time," as he was declared to be, the influence wielded by him, through the columns of the Weekly Mercury from 1861 to 1871, and the Daily Mercury for the thirteen years following, in the growth and upbuilding of San Jose and Santa Clara County, can truthfully be said to be without parallel.

For three months after November 5, 1861-the date of its first appearance-the Daily Mercury was dis- tributed, but on February 2, 1862, under an editorial headed Our Brief Candle, Owen advised his readers that publication would be suspended. Nine years later, in August of 1869, under the co-management of J. J. Conmy, the Daily Mercury again made its ap- pearance. In March of 1871, Cottle again became Owen's partner. The two purchased the Guide and the Independent, merged their three newspaper prop- erties into a daily, and the San Jose Daily Mercury for the third time resumed publication. From that time publication has been continuous.

Of outstanding importance in the first issue of the Daily Mercury (1861) is J. J. Owen's declaration of the policy of the paper, a simple, straightforward ex- pression of a journalistic ideal of the highest order that more than anything else explains the survival of the Mercury through long years of struggle and disappointment. "We do not expect to please all," Owen wrote. "Our minds are differently consti- tuted, and we cannot all see alike. Upon questions of public policy we shall express our views fearlessly, advocating only what we believe to be right, regard- less of consequences." The first Daily Mercury lived but three months, but the declaration of policy enun- ciated in the first issue has lived to this day.

Much could be written of the gifted men who have at different times been members of the staff of the Mercury. Of those none has gone farther in jour- nalism than John McNaught, who did some of the best work of his career in the column known as "Random Notes." At one time secretary to Joseph Pulitzer, he later became a director in the Pulitzer School of Journalism and chief editorial writer for the New York World. Others who have since made names for themselves in various professions are H. S. Foote, to whom the county is indebted for an earlier history; Judge John E. Richards, who was chief editorial writer for six years and contributor of special articles; Madge Morris Waggoner, one of our most graceful California poets; Eugene T. Saw- yer; W. C. Morrow; Walter R. Rutherford; John T. Wallace; Dr. E. A. Clark; Ernest Simpson; John, Charles and Guy Milnes: . Charles N. Kirkbride, Charles South, Clifford J. Owen; Charles P. Owen; Gerald Beaumont; James Fellom; Ralph Coykendall; Judge David Belden, and many, many more.

For the fifteen years following 1884, it was Charles M. Shortridge, brother of Senator Samuel M. Short- ridge, who guided the destiny of the Mercury. Serv- ing first as an errand boy, he continued with the paper for seven years, leaving it to enter the real estate business. At the age of twenty-eight, aided by business men who had faith in his ability as a journalist, he purchased the San Jose "Times." This

F. A bushing

985

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

was in 1883. The following year he acquired a con- trolling interest in the stock of the Mercury. He consolidated the two papers into the Times-Mercury, and in 1885, after an unsuccessful attempt by W. A. Taylor to purchase the paper, it became again the Mercury, still under the ownership of Shortridge. Although worth considerably less than $10,000 at the time he acquired it, Shortridge so daringly and ten- aciously pushed the paper forward, aided by a rap- idły growing community, that late in the '90s he was able to dispose of it for $100,000 to an associa- tion of San Jose business men headed by Clarence Wooster and W. H. Wright. Alfred Holman, now editor and owner of the San Francisco Argonaut, was taken into the association, soon acquired a con- trolling interest, and published the paper until its purchase in 1901 by E. A. and J. O. Hayes, the pres- ent owners. About Christmas time of the preceding year, the Herald, an afternoon paper, then "on the rocks" so high and dry that it had not issued a paper for several weeks, had been acquired by the new Mercury owners, who continued to publish both the Morning Mercury and the Evening Herald until November 1, 1913, when the Herald made its last appearance, being merged with the Mercury into the San Jose Mercury Herald.

The acquisition of the Mercury by E. A. and J. O. Hayes may rightly be said to mark the new order of things in the local journalistic field. The day of the eight-page morning daily for Santa Clara County was gone forever. A new press was purchased, new equipment was added to the mechanical department, an engraving department was installed, new features were added to the paper, and under the managing editorship of E. K. Johnston the San Jose Mercury Herald soon became the equal of the newspapers of which other and larger cities had long boasted. To- day, after sixty-one years of publication, reaching over 16,000 subscribers daily, the San Jose Mercury Herald stands a living and ever-growing monument to those pioneers who, through its columns, did so much for the upbuilding of the Santa Clara Valley. It continues a fitting tribute, not only to the efforts of those who brought it into being and guided it through the years, but to the principles with which it was imbued and for which it has always consist- ently stood. From the date of its inception the Mer- cury Herald has been loyally Republican.

THE STANFORD BANK .- This well known fin- ancial institution was incorporated December 30, 1904, under the title Mayfield Bank and Trust Co. Among the incorporators of the firm werc George R. Parkinson, J. J. Morris and Joseph Hutchinson of Palo Alto, and Alexander Pcers, Joseph P. Ponce and Leonard Distel of Mayfield, all local pioneers. The bank was first located in the Bracchi Building, on Mayfield's main street. It remained there until 1908, when it moved into its new modern bank building at the corner of the State highway and Lincoln avenue, Mayfield. This is now known as the May- field branch of The Stanford Bank. The building is one of the most up-to-date, country bank buildings in the state. In 1911 the name was changed to The Mayfield Bank. From January, 1909, to June, 1918, the officers were Edward C. Ellet, president, and his son, Charles Ellet, cashier. In 1918, Edward C. Ellet

retired, and Charles Ellet, who is still the cashier of The Stanford Bank, seeing the great growth and de- velopment in the City of Palo Alto, completely reorganized the old Mayfield Bank. This was done by increasing the capital, changing the name to The Stanford Bank, and changing the principal place of business from Mayfield to Palo Alto. The old May- field Bank was retained as a branch of the new and enlarged institution. When organizing the Stan- ford Bank, in 1918, Charles Ellet sent for and was joined by his brother, Alfred W. Ellet, then deputy bank commissioner of the state of Kansas, who has since served as vice-president.

The Stanford Bank is planning soon to increase its capitalization. The present capitalization is $50,- 000. This bank has already passed the half-million mark in assets and is growing very fast. The officers and directors are as follows. Officers-Dr. Carl G. Wilson, president; A. W. Ellet, vice-president; Charles Ellet, cashier and treasurer; C. C. Baugh- man, assistant cashier.

Directors-Dr. Carl G. Wilson, Elmer J. Worth, Dr. W. H. Ketchum, Royal T. Heath, Dr. R. G. Reynolds, Charles Ellet and A. W. Ellet. The names of employes include also Owen J. Jones, head teller ; W. H. Rowe, second teller; Miss Marie La Brant and Miss Maree Collins in Palo Alto and C. C. Baughman and Miss Mary McGinty in Mayfield.

A total investment of $33,000 is represented in the remodeling of the building and purchase and instal- lation of equipment for The Stanford Bank at the new location, corner of University Avenue and High Street, where the bank will transact business here- after. The bank occupies a space 25x100 feet, the larger frontage being on High Street. The building conforms in both the lines of architecture and buff sandstone material used, to the plan of the Stanford University buildings and is said to be the first bank to employ the Romanesque lines in its building and interior decorations.

The work has been executed under the supervision of Mr. A. F. Roller, manager of the bank planning division of the firm of M. G. West & Company, re- nowned bank architect specialists of San Francisco. The wood work is in cathedral oak. While designed to give every convenience to patrons, officials and employes, the ornamental effects are strikingly beau- tiful and original. Credit for the employment of the style as well as the organization and naming of the bank itself is due Mr. Charles Ellet, who, as cashier, divides his time between the head office in Palo Alto and the Mayfield branch.

The floor of the bank is ornamental tile. The fixtures, including the screen and walls of the lobby, are of San Saba marble to a height of three and one- half feet. The top screen has been executed in ca- thedral oak. Carved standards and rails of the screen are richly decorated in polychrome. On each stand- ard is mounted a globe of the earth, each bearing an inscription pertaining to some specific field in the domain of arts, science, industry and religion.

On June 3, 1922, this bank held its opening. The visitors were entertained by music and refreshments and were shown through the building with its many comforts, conveniences and safeguards, including the safety deposit vault guarded by a door weighing four

986

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

tons, and is fire, drill and acetylene-torch proof. Its present outlook presages a great future growth and stability for its business affairs, in the conduct of which service, efficiency and courteous treatment enter into every transaction.

J. BYRON BLOIS .- An interesting self-made man who is a master of the laundering industry and the director of the most important enterprise in that field in Palo Alto, is J. Byron Blois, manager of the Stanford Laundry, and prominent in Masonic circles. He was born at Glenwood, Cal., on August 1, 1884, the son of a farmer, James Blois, a native of Nova Scotia, where he married Miss Elizabeth Lively, also of that Down East coast country. They migrated to California soon after their marriage, and came to have ten children, eight of whom are still living. From his third month our subject, who was the sixth in the order of birth, grew up on his father's farm near San Jose, and he attended the public school in the Orchard district. He also went to the San Jose Business College, where he took a commercial course, graduating in June, 1900, and then he became assistant bookkeeper in the Red Star Laundry at San Jose. Four years later he entered the laundry proper as a laundry worker in order to learn the operating end of the business, and thus acquired a thorough knowledge of all the ins and outs of the business.

In 1906 he became the outside representative, and had charge of all the territory in Santa Clara County north of the city of Santa Clara, including Sunny- vale, Mountain View, Los Gatos, Mayfield, Stan- ford University and Palo Alto, the business requir- ing four autos to take care of it.

In the meantime, having become well acquainted with J. B. Leaman, Sr., and J. B. Leaman, Jr., he formed a partnership with the latter, and as Blois & Leaman bought out the Stanford Laundry, formerly owned by Fairfield & Schutte; and under the excel- lent management of Mr. Blois, this laundry has come to be strictly up to date. It is excellently lighted, clean and sanitary, and so arranged that all its busi- ness is transacted with safety and dispatch. It has four auto-delivery wagons, and improvements are be- ing made in its outfit right along. Two new flat- work ironers of most up-to-date design have recently been installed, the larger alone costing some $6,000. Three new thoroughly modern washing machines and one extractor have also been put in, and a $5,000 water softener system has been installed. The laundry also has good first-aid facilities. "Quality and Ser- vice" is the motto of the Stanford Laundry, and they have never failed, as practical ideals, to be realized. Mr. Blois is secretary of the Laundry Owners' Club of Santa Clara County, and an active member of the state and national Laundry Owners' Associations. The present firm own the property at the corner of Forest Avenue and Ramona Street and it is especially adapted for laundry usc.

Mr. Blois was married in 1905 to Miss Pearl M. Smith, born in South Dakota, of whom he was he- reaved in April, 1910, the mother of one son, Robert Byron. He was married again at San Jose in Octo- ber, 1911, to Miss Edna May Torbert, of Woodland, where her people are members of the oldest and most estecmed circles. This union has been blessed with three children: Molly Julietta and Edward James, twins, and Betty May. The family reside in their

own home on Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Mr. Blois is a member of the Palo Alto Parlor N. S. G. W. Both husband and wife belong to the Grace Baptist Church at San Jose, and also to the Eastern Star at Palo Alto, in which Mrs. Blois is chaplain. Mr. Blois was made a Mason in San Jose Lodge No. 10 F. & A. M., later admitted to Palo Alto Lodge No. 346, F. & A. M. He is a member of Palo Alto Chap- ter No. 93, R. A. M. and of Palo Alto Command- ery No. 47, K. T., as well as all the bodies of the Scottish Rite at San Jose, Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. San Francisco and the Stanford University Masonic Club. He is a member director in the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club. He organized the Pyramid of Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots in Palo Alto on January 26, 1921, and was made its first Toparch; and on September 16, 1921, he was elected for another year.

DR. ALFRED ROYCE TOMKIN .- For many years a leading and influential citizen of San Jose, his activity in business affairs and his co-operation in public interests kept Dr. Alfred Royce Tomkin in the foremost rank of those to whom the city owes its development. His life was characterized by up- right, honorable principles, and it also exemplified the truth of the Emersonian philosophy that "The way to win a friend is to be one." His genial kindly manner won him the regard and good will of all with whom he came in contact, and thus his death was uniformly mourned throughout San Jose and the surrounding district. Dr. Tomkin was born in With- am, Essex County, England, June 7, 1826, a son of Dr. Thomas M. Tomkin, a graduate of the College of ·Physicians and Surgeons, in London, England. Dur- ing his lifetime he practiced medicine, and instituted a private insane asylum, besides being much engaged in medical literature, writing for the Lancet and other medical journals. He passed away in 1858. The mother of our subject was a Miss Eleanor Royce, a native of Essex County. She passed away in 1868.

Alfred Royce Tomkin attended the Merchant Tai- lors' School, then in Suffolk Street, London, for seven or eight years, passing the usual examinations. On March 13, 1849, he embarked on the St. George, and sailed around the Horn to California, the trip occu- pying seven months, one of which was spent in Val- paraiso. He reached San Francisco on October 13, and, storing the goods he had brought with him, like all newcomers at that time, started immediately for the mines. After digging a little gold at Mud Springs, he was taken sick, and returned to San Francisco. only to find that his goods had been destroyed by fire, leaving him absolutely without means. He later received a remittance from England and opened a drug store in Santa Clara in 1854. He remained there sixteen years, and then removed to San Jose, where he resided until his death. In 1887 he was elected coroner and public administrator of Santa Clara County and reelected to the office, which office he held at the time of his death, July 25, 1891, about the close of his second term.

In 1858 he was united in marriage to Miss Martha F. Forbes, the eldest daughter of James Alexander Forbes, who came to this country from Edinburgh, Scotland, in an early day, and was British consul dur- ing the Mexican occupancy of California, before it was ceded to the United States. Mrs. Tomkin

& Byron Block

989

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

passed away in 1875. They were the parents of seven children: Alfred Forbes Tomkin of San Jose; Charles Tomkin of San Francisco; Mrs. Eleanor Cunningham of Saratoga; Thomas P. Tomkin of San Jose; Mrs. Anna M. Maynard of San Jose; Mrs. Martha Dassell, died at Morgan Hill in 1921; and Mrs. Clara B. Tur- ner, died in San Francisco. While Dr. Tomkin estab- lished a good business it was not his success alone that won for him the respect and friendship of his fellowmen, but his high character and his exemplifica- tion of honorable, manly principles.

BENJAMIN FRANK WESTON .- A native of Maine, Benjamin Frank Weston was descended from a long line of New England ancestors, his grand- father, Joseph Weston, having come from Massa- cheusetts to Madison, Maine, as its first settler. On his mother's side, the lineage goes back to Stephen Hopkins, who came to Plymouth, Mass., on the Mayflower in 1620. The second son of Col. William Weston, he was born at North Anson, Maine, December 3, 1849. Prior to the Civil War, with the movement of the logging and lumber business to the Great Lakes, he accompanied his parents to Mil- waukee, Wis. He was educated in the public schools and at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., be- ing a member of the Phi Kappa Psi. With his father and older brother he was successfully en- gaged in lumbering and banking in Michigan and also had large lumber interests in Wisconsin.

At the time of his marriage in 1883 Mr. Weston came to California and for many years made his home in Oakland and Berkeley. He was a man of wide business interests, owning valuable pine lands in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, and was a director of the North Coast Steamship Company. In 1886 he bought the orchard property now known as Weston Place, near Santa Clara, which under his supervision became the most valuable Bartlett pear orchard of its size in the state. He was a prominent Knights Templar Mason in Muskegon, Mich., and at the time of his death, September 1, 1916, he was a member of Oakland Commandery, K. T. He was survived by his wife, Abbie M. (Bunker) Weston, and three children, William Bunker Weston, Samuel Hopkins Weston and Helen Gould Weston. A man of unblemished reputation, Mr. Weston was just and generous, standing high in the community.

IRVING P. VANDERVOORT .- The son of a pioneer of 1850, Irving P. Vandervoort, secretary and treasurer of the Palo Alto Transfer and Storage Company, has spent all his life in the Golden State. His father, G. J. Vandervoort, was born at Belle- ville, Canada, near Toronto, came to California in the '50s, where he engaged in farming at Sunol and also taught the Centerville school in Alameda County. He was married at Centerville to Miss Eliza Proctor, born in Illinois, and they became the parents of eight children: Mrs. T. M. Fuller of Palo Alto; J. E., Chevrolet agent at Tracy, Cal .; S. M., of the firm of Fuller & Company, grocers at Palo Alto; W. S., rancher and mechanic of Palo Alto; Edward T., of Palo Alto; Irving P., of this review; Mrs. F. S. Allen, of Palo Alto; Mrs. G. F. Brown, of Palo Alto. The father passed away in Palo Alto in 1903, aged sixty- three, and Mrs. Vandervoort still maintains the fam- ily home at 241 Hawthorne Avenue, where she re- sides with her son, Irving.

Born in February 18, 1877, in Alameda County, Irving P. Vandervoort spent his early years on his father's farm there, where wheat and barley were grown on a large scale, and he had a thorough train- ing in ranch life, becoming an excellent horseman. In 1898 he came to Palo Alto and for the next four years was with the firm of Fuller & Company, gro- cers there. He then became interested in the trans- fer business with Charles Mosher, who is now a prom- inent building contractor of 'Los Gatos. Mr. Mosher laid the foundations of the present transfer business as far back as the '90s, using eighteen head of horses on his wagons, drays and trucks. The Palo Alto Transfer & Storage Company, an outgrowth of this business, was incorporated in 1912, with a capitaliza- tion of $20,000, and their offices are located at 111 The Circle, Palo Alto. The officers of the company are H. H. Vandervoort, president; I. P. Vandervoort, secretary and treasurer; Joe Silvey, vice-president. The company put on its first motor truck in 1914 and they now own and operate three Mack trucks of two and a half tons each, and two one-ton Ford trucks. This company specializes in the transfer and storage, packing and shipping of household goods, pianos and baggage, and in addition to their local business, they handle a large volume of moving to and from San Jose, Oakland and Fresno. They have several storage warehouses in Palo Alto, including the large, two-story reinforced concrete warehouse erected in 1919 at 165 Homer Avenue. The Vander- voort family have for many years been devoted mem- bers of the Episcopal Church and Mr. Vandervoort subscribes to the creeds of that denomination. In politics he has always been a stanch Republican.

EDWARD RECORD MAZE .- One of the most successful and painstaking farmers in the Gilroy precinct is Edward Record Maze, a native Califor- nian who was born at Saratoga on February 4, 1856. The father, Spencer M. Maze, was a Kentuckian and is mentioned on another page of this book. Edward attended the public schools of Gilroy and the Mc- Clure Military Academy at Oakland, and all his life he has lived on the home ranch. On July 8, 1886, he was married to Miss Virginia Strange, a daughter of Edward MacGruder Strange, a native of Virginia who came to California and mined for a short time at Murphys Camp. He was a graduate in law of the University of Virginia and practiced a short time in California, passing away in 1887. He was married in California to Emmeline H. Whitney, born in Wis- consin, who came with her parents across the plains in 1851 and located in Calaveras County, where she was married and where her four children were born, namely: Maria S. Reeve, of Gilroy; Edward W., of San Francisco; Virginia S., Mrs. Maze; and Helen Strange Block, of Arizona. Mrs. Strange is still liv- ing, aged eighty-five, making her home in Gilroy.

Mr. and Mrs. Maze are the parents of four chil- dren; Irwin Strange married Miss Adele Henry. a graduate of the University of California, and they reside at Oak Park, Ill .; he graduated from the Davey School of Tree Surgery at Kent, Ohio, and is following that profession, and was at Camp Sherman during the war; Winnifred Bernice, is the wife of J. W. Burchell, and they reside at Walnut Grove, Cal., and have two children, Elton Spencer and Win- nifred B .; Virginia, is the wife of J. W. Parmelee, residing at Gilroy; Spencer M., who served three

990

HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

months in the S. A. T. C. at Berkeley, is a rancher, residing at home. In national politics Mr. Maze is a Republican, and fraternally a member of the Odd Fellows since 1885 and a past grand officer and delegate to the Grand Lodge. His many qualities have placed him among those upon whom a com- munity depends for its substantial support.

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

History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 154

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