History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 163

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

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Elijah Saleeby attended the public schools and the high schools in Mt. Lebanon and then entered the American College of Pharmacy in Beirut, graduating at the age of twenty-two years with the degree of Ph. M. During the year 1901 he went to Egypt and took a position, where he worked for a period of two years, and then came to New York in 1903. He did graduate work in New York College of Pharmacy and spent four years in New York City as a pharma- cist, after which he voyaged to the Philippine Is- lands, became the chief pharmacist in the U. S. Civil Hospital for a short time, and then was the chief pharmacist of the Philippine General Hospital for two years. He then left the government work and opened a drug store at Zamboanga, in the Philip- pines, which he condneted for eight years, and dis- posing of this business he became the manager of the Martini Drug Company at Manila, P. I .. at which place he stayed for one year. The year 1919 marks the returning of Mr. Saleeby to the United States, at which time he made an extended trip; starting from San Francisco, he traveled via Los Angeles, Denver and Washington, D. C., to Penn- sylvania, visiting his wife's people, who lived at Altoona, Pa., and also visited his friends in New York, and returned to California, this time settling in San Jose. He arrived during the month of July, 1919, and in August of the same year he purchased the University Drug Company of San Jose, which he has since conducted with gratifying success.

Mr. Saleeby's marriage, which occurred on De- cember 27, 1917, in Manila, P. I., united him with Miss Laura Teeter, who is a native of Pennsylvania, having been born near Altoona, the daughter of An-

drew and Katherine Teeter, and they are the parents of one son, Charles. Mr. Saleeby is a very public- spirited man and is interested in the progressive de- velopment of the country; is very popular in the San Jose Progressive Business Men's Clubs and is an active member of the San Jose Chamber of Com- merce. He is also a Mason, having taken the thirty- second Scottish Rite degrees, and is a member of Nile Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at Seattle, Wash .. and he is also a member of the Sciots and Eastern Star and of the Alameda and Santa Clara County Pharmaceutical Associations. In national politics his inclinations favor Republican principles.

ORA P. MILLS .- In each community are found mien of business enterprise whose particular line of work has made them real builders of the prosperity of the county, and among them is Ora P. Mills, well known in business circles as a pump and irrigation expert. A native of California, he was born in Yolo County, at Cache Creek, in March, 1862, a son of E. and Millie Mills. In the early '50s his father crossed the plains to California and engaged in the cattle business on an extensive scale. Subsequently he purchased 640 acres near Vallejo, Cal., upon which he continued to reside until the sixties, when he left that locality owing to Indian troubles, and re- turned to Yolo County. In 1873 he removed to San Jose, and soon afterwards removed to Santa Maria Valley where he resumed his operations in the cattle business, winning a substantial measure of success in the conduet of his interests along that line.

After completing his grammar school course, Ora P. Mills yielded to the fascinations of circus life and ran away from home, concealing himself in one of the show wagons after the evening performance. He was not discovered until they had proceeded some distance from San Jose and the foreman of the canvas men at first threatened to send him back home, but speedily changed his mind when Ora dis- played his skill as a tight rope walker in walking up one of the guy ropes on the tent. He was but thirteen years old at the time he joined the circus,

which was known as the Montgomery Queen Cireus, and during that season they exhibited at Gilroy, Salinas, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Paula and Los Angeles, going up the San Joaquin Valley to Sacramento. Subsequently Mr. Mills tonred the entire Middle West with the eirens, leav- ing the outfit at St. Louis, Mo., to accept a more attractive salary offered by the manager of the Fore- pangh Show. He was an expert performer and was the first performer to walk the tight rope from pole to pole without a balance rod. For six years in all he remained in the business and then having had his fill of eireus life, returning to his home in San Jose, which he had visited twice during that interval.

After returning to San Jose, Mr. Mills purchased a lot on the corner of Santa Clara and Orchard streets, which he has since owned. Going to Red- wood City, Cal., he worked as a machinist and car repairer for a time at that place and then made his way to Sacramento, where for some years he was employed in the shops of the Southern Pacific and later in the San Jose yards, remaining with that company until the time of the strike. He then pur- chased a ranch of thirty-three acres at Evergreen, which he set to orchard and devoted his time to the

Em Saleby

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raising of prunes, apricots and peaches, but was compelled to give up the place owing to his inability to secure water for irrigation, the efforts of three drilling crews having proved fruitless. He then de- cided to enter the drilling and pump business and has since been active along this line, in which he has become recognized as an authority in the Santa Clara Valley. He handles all kinds of deep-well pumps, including centrifugal, turbine and lift pumps. In 1888 he brought in a well on a ten-acre ranch belonging to his mother's estate and it proved so successful that a number of farmers in the vicinity were able to obtain a supply of water from it. He has made an exhaustive study of irrigation and has been very successful in his horticultural operations. The fruit from his ten-acre farm in The Willows was the finest in size and flavor delivered to the East Side Dryer in which he was a stockholder. He has the credit of being among the first to establish an irrigating system in the valley.

In San Mateo City, Cal., June 10, 1889, Mr. Mills was married to Miss Della F. McElhany, a native of Willitts, Cal., and a daughter of James M. and Mary (Ford) McElhany. The family name was originally Fore, of French origin, and was changed to Ford. Mr. 'McElhany was of Scotch-Irish and Knickerbocker stock and settled in California and became a pioneer rancher of Mendocino County, sub- sequently he engaged in merchandising at Santa Maria. He built the first store, first hall, owned and operated the first newspaper, the Santa Maria Times. Both parents are still living. Mrs. Mills was educated at Healdsburg, Cal., and by her marriage she has become the mother of four children: Eldon Cecil, a resident of San Jose; Mrs. Lulu Maxey, also of San Jose, has three children, Zola, Junior and Kathleen; Delora W. is Mrs. Taylor of Berkeley and has one child, Naomi G .; and Ora P., Jr., who is attending San Jose high school. In his political views Mr. Mills is a stanch Democrat and fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen, being a member of the lodge of that order at San Jose.

MRS. DELIA VOLKERS .- Coming to San Jose a half century ago, Mrs. Delia Volkers has been an interested witness of the growth and development of this section of the state and her reminiscences of the early days are most interesting and instruc- tive. A native of the East, she was born in Rens- selaer County, N. Y., her parents being James and Mary (McGann) Linehan, who were born in County Clare, Ireland. They came separately to the United States and were married in New York State in about 1848 and were engaged in farming in Rens- selaer County. N. Y. In 1870 they came to San Jose, where they established their permanent resi- dence, the father passing away in his eighty-fourth year, while the mother's demise occurred when she was seventy-six years of age. They reared a family of nine children, of whom the subject of this review was the second in order of birth.

Mrs. Volkers attended the public schools of New York until ten years of age. As a child she recalls the Civil War, with its harrowing experiences, and also the death of Lincoln. She came with her parents to California in 1870 the journey being made by way of the Isthmus of Panama. She con- tinued her studies in San Jose, becoming a pupil at

the old Thirteenth Street School and then at Notre Dame College, and continuing at home until April 12, 1883, when she was married at the Santa Clara Mission to August Henry Volkers, a native of Nien- burg, Germany, and a son of William V. and Sophie Volkers, the former a butcher by trade. When a youth of fourteen years he came to the United States, crossing the continent to California on an emigrant railroad train. Previous to his marriage Mr. Volkers worked on various farms and after- ward he removed with his bride to Edenvale, where he was connected with the raising of grain and stock. About 1887 they took up their residence at 448 North Tenth Street, in San Jose, where they continued to make their home for twenty-seven years. Mr. Volkers was made collector for the Com- mercial Bank and remained in the employ of Mr. McLaughlin for several years. After this Mr. Volk- ers became manager of the Auzerais estate, of which he had charge for twenty-five years. When he re- signed they presented him with a silver service as a testimonial of his years of faithful service. He was next made superintendent of the First National Bank Building and was occupying that position at the time of his death, which occurred on September 6, 1916, when he was fifty-two years of age.

To Mr. and Mrs. Volkers were born eight chil- dren. Fred, a gas and steam fitter by trade, resides at Vallejo, Cal .; he married Miss Eva McIntyre, of Castroville, this state. Alice, who resides at home, is bookkeeper for the Normandin-Campen Company: Mary, also at home, is bookkeeper for the Mission Motor Company; Leo, who is a rancher at Marysville, married Anna Sullivan of San Jose, and they have two children, Thelma and John Ray- mond; Aileen is the wife of A. J. Crabb, an automo- bile merchant of Milpitas, Cal., and they have be- come the parents of three children, Madeline, Helena and Raymond Alexander; William Keith, who is connected with the Standard Oil Company at San Jose, married Violet Martella. On May 1, 1918, he entered the U. S. service and was first sent to the Santa Clara training school, under command of Colonel Donovan, going from there to Camp Fre- mont, where he remained for six weeks, and on to Camp Taylor, Ky. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and was stationed at Camp Jackson, S. C., being attached to the field artillery. There he re- ceived his discharge about December 15, 1919, reach- ing San Jose just before Christmas of that year. Raymond and George died in infancy.

Mr. Volkers was a stanch Republican in his po- litical views and Mrs. Volkers is also an adherent of that party. Fraternally he was identified with the Woodmen of the World at San Jose and he was also affiliated with the United Workmen of America during the existence of that order. He was a great lover of flowers and trees, with which he beautified his home, in which he took great pride. Mr. and Mrs. Volkers were members of the Second Ward Improvement Club that built the pergolas at the Grant School and planted trees on Empire Street from Fourth to Seventeenth streets, a great im- provement for this section. Mr. Volkers found his greatest happiness at his own fireside and was a de- voted husband and father, and he left behind him a memory that is cherished by all with whom he was associated. For the past five years Mrs. Volkers has resided at No. 129 North Thirteenth Street.

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where she has an attractive little home. Like her late husband she is very fond of flowers and trees and takes great pleasure in seeing things grow and it is her delight to care for her flowers and shrubbery.

CHARLES M. LORIGAN-An enviable record of duty and service is the story of the life of the late Charles M. Lorigan, who was born in New South Wales, Australia, on January 14, 1861. His father was B. W. Lorigan, a native of Ireland, who went to Australia, was married there, and removed with his family to California in 1862, in which year he settled in Santa Clara. He has been a successful diamond miner in Australia, but was cheated out of what should have been abundant riches by fraudu- lent dealers.

Charles spent his boyhood in Santa Clara and at- tended the University at that place; and in 1882 he was duly graduated with honors. Five years later he entered the law offices of S. F. Leib; and in 1889, upon successfully passing the examinations of the Supreme Court, he was admitted to practice at the Bar in California. He then formed a partnership with Mr. Leib, and until Mr. Lorigan's death, they maintained the most cordial and helpful relations. He was twenty-five years in active service in probate and office work, enjoyed a large clientele, and not only was very highly esteemed for his knowledge of the law, but had the confidence of all who had come to know him as practitioner.

On November 3, 1903, Mr. Lorigan was united in marriage with Miss Eugenia E. Bohlmann, a daugh- ter of Frank Bohlmann, one of the well-known pio- neers of California, and a native of San Jose; and they were blessed with the birth of one child, Lor- raine M. Lorigan, now a student at Notre Dame. Mr. Lorigan did not enjoy the most robust constitu- tion, and his inability to partake of the more stren- uous life was amply compensated for by the com- forts and joys of his beautiful home, made so attrac- tive through his devoted and charming wife and daughter. He passed away, to the heart-felt regret of a wide circle, on September 24, 1920, at his resi- dence at 235 South Tenth Street. The funeral took place from St. Patrick's Church, which was filled by mourning friends, members of the Bar Association, leaders in many corporations, churchmen and church- women, and people from throughout the state; on which occasion a solemn requiem mass was cele- brated by the Rev. Father Collins, pastor, as cele- brant, the Rev. T. J. Murphy, S. J., president of the University of Santa Clara, as deacon, the Rev. J. Collins. S. J., as sub-deacon, and the Rev. William M. Boland, S. J., as master of ceremonies. A large number of the Sisters of the various Catholic orders of the county were present, including many from the O'Connor Sanitarium, in which the deceased was keenly interested; and he was laid to rest in the fam- ily plot in Oak Hill Cemetery by six nephews --- Frank Lorigan, Jr., of San Francisco, and Sidney K. Lorigan, Charles K. Lorigan, B. W. Lorigan, E. L. Nicholson, and G. A. Nicholson, all of San Jose. In delivering a splendid eulogy to the life and character of the deceased, the Rev. Father Collins said:

"Mr. Lorigan's public and private life was his own eulogy. Blessed by God with a good mind and an intrepid spirit, he stood before the public as an ex- ample of the perfect Christian gentleman. To him all men were cqual, and neither wealth, nor power, nor

promise could sway him in a just judgment, nor was anyone so poor and lowly to be beneath his rever- ence and service. As a Catholic, he was a perfect example of Christianity. He measured all his judg- ments and actions as if conscious of the ever-present, all-seeing eye of God. He was proud of the dignity of being a true Christian, and his daily life was an example of it."

Nicholas Bowden, on behalf of the Bar Associa- tion, also delivered a eulogy before the Superior Court of Santa Clara County on Friday, October 8, 1920, in which he said:

"The life and character of Charles M. Lorigan de- serve more than passing notice. For thirty years, and until the beginning of his last fatal illness some months ago, he was a conspicuous and familiar figure in the courts and in this community. Early in his career as a lawyer, he made warm and lasting friend- ships, and quickly secured the confidence and respect of client and citizen. To these friends, and to this confidence, he was ever and always true and loyal. He was an alumnus of the University of Santa Clara. His Alma Mater endowed him with a liberal and Christian education. It was a rich endowment. It was the foundation of his professional success and a sure and safe guide in all the relations of life. Hand- icapped by physical affliction, Charles M. Lorigan radiated sunshine and happiness. His affliction walked with him through life. It was with him in his com- ings and goings. It stood beside him at his hearth- stone. He knew that most of the activities and pleas- ures of youth and manhood were forever denied him, and this fact was graciously accepted without a murmur, never a complaint. Two other of Charles M. Lorigan's distinguishing characteristics were his open-hearted candor and his unimpeachable integ- rity. No whisper of suspicion was ever breathed against his name. The record of his life is the record of duty and service."

DAVID WIGHT .- A pharmacist of wide experi- ence, whose close application to work during many years enabled him to retire in comfort is David Wight, a native son, who was born in Vallejo, on February 5, 1860, the son of David Wight, an hon- ored pioneer who passed away in San Jose on May 25, 1919. He was reared and schooled in Glasgow. Scotland, the city of his birth, and he became an engineer, coming to California as first assistant en- gineer of the steamer Fremont around Cape Horn to San Francisco in 1851, following his trade after he came to California for about three years on the Pacific Mail Steamer. He married Miss Nicholas Douglas, who was also born in Scotland, and she passed away on June 18, 1920, at her home on Wil- lows Street. They had six children, all of whom are still living, and among them our subject was the fourth. David Wight became well-known as an en- gineer in the Bay City, and in 1854 he removed to Vallejo, and assisted in the great work of construct- ing the Navy Yard. Indeed, to him belonged the distinction of having driven the first pile needed in that pretentious work. At the conclusion of his serv- ice, he returned to San Francisco and there founded the California Iron Works. The year 1870 brought severe reverses to the family, and they then removed to San Jose. David Wight, Sr., took charge of the iron foundry, owned by John and Donald Mc- Kenzie, and located at the corner of First and

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San Antonio streets, San Jose; and he also in- vested in a small home-place in The Willows. Later, he became manager for Joseph Enright, who was engaged in the manufacture of straw-burning thresh- ing engines. Mr. Wight lived to the ripe old age of eighty-nine.

David Wight, Jr., had the advantages of the pub- lic schools of San Jose. In 1876, at the age of six- teen, he entered the employ of Rhodes & Lewis, pharmacists on South First Street, San Jose, and began the study of pharmacy; he then entered the California College of Pharmacy, and was graduated by the University of California in 1882. After serv- ing as a pharmacist in various cities in California he became the manager for Grenell & Beaumont, con- tinuing in that capacity for five years, and there he was one of the organizers of the McKenney Drug Company and established a pharmacy on South First Street. He was vice-president and director and continued to give his services as pharmacist to the business until they sold out to the Wolfe Drug Company in 1898. Since he quit his profession he is engaged as horticulturist. In San Jose in 1886 Mr. Wight married Miss Susie E. Cottle, the only sur- viving daughter of the late Ira Cottle, the pioneer and orchardist, who came to California in 1854. Mr. Wight is a member of Fraternity Lodge No. 399, F. & A. M., and is a member of San Jose Consistory of Scottish Rite, is a member of the O. E. S .; he is also a member of the Odd Fellows and the Re- bekahs; and Mrs. Wight belongs to the Eastern Star and the Rebekahs. Mr. and Mrs. Wight have built for themselves a beautiful residence on a fine por- tion of the Ira Cottle estate, which they retained, while they disposed of the rest of the choice prune orchard at the corner of Minnesota and Lincoln avenues in the Willow district, and out of this has been created the handsome Lincoln Park.

MILDRED P. HANSON .- Prominent among the best-trained, most successful teachers, whose popu- larity, extending through Santa Clara County, has been clearly due to hard, efficient work coupled with the influence of an attracting personality, is Miss Mildred P. Hanson, who resides at 774 South Eighth Street, San Jose. A native daughter proud of her heritage, she was born at Sonora, in Tuolumne County, Cal., and her father was Jesse Kimball Han- son, a member of an honored New England family of farmer folk. He came out to San Francisco in '49, sailing around Cape Horn to get there, and from San Francisco he hurried into the southern mines of Tuolumne. He was not particularly successful, however, and instead of pinning his faith to the dig- ging for gold, he opened a book store, where he also sold Chinese curios. He also managed the telegraph station at Sonora, for he was an expert operator. He was a well-read man, and found a worthy, in- spiring companion in his wife, who was Miss Annie E. Patrick before her marriage, the member of a family that had migrated in 1760 to South Carolina from French Lorraine, and which eventually became represented in North Carolina, Tennessee and North- crn Alabama. Miss Patrick's father made his way to California for the first time via the Isthmus of Panama, after which he returned to the East by the

same route; then he brought his family across the great plains, and once here he became a member of the State Legislature, and for many years he was sheriff of Tuolumne County. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson removed to Fresno County, where the mother died in 1870; the father continued in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad, whose service he had entered, being stationed at Tehachepi and Tulare. When the private line was built from Goshen to Visalia he became station agent at Visalia. In 1878 he, too, passed away, honored by all who knew him as a progressive, dependable pioneer citizen.

Miss Mildred Hanson was graduated from the San Jose high school in 1883, and eighteen months later received from the State Normal School at San Jose her certificate for teaching. The first school to which she was assigned was in the Elbow Creek dis- trict, where she was in charge of some thirty-five pupils for a year; and then she spent a year and a half in the public schools of San Luis Obispo County. After that, she moved north to Washington, and for a season taught at Waitsburg, getting a good idea of the conditions of life in that locality, and so enlarging her knowledge of Pacific Coast geography. In the fall of 1889, she came to San Jose and entered the Willow Glen School as a primary teacher, be- coming the fourth teacher on the staff for that sea- son; and at the beginning of the school term in 1908 she was appointed principal, and then there were six teachers. Ever alert and untiring in constructive work and desirable legislation, and the building up a fine elementary school, Miss Hanson has kept abreast of the times, and now a new and handsome school edifice is being erected to accommodate the increasing number of pupils there. The coming year Miss Hanson is to continue as the vice-principal of the school, although for some time she has con- templated retiring from active professional duties. For years she has been a member of the executive committee of the Santa Clara County .Teachers' Association, in which her influence has always been wide and helpful to every important interest, and in support of the worthiest movements.

With her sister, Miss Margaret Hanson, who is vice-principal of the Visalia-Jefferson Grammar School, Miss Hanson owns the residence at 74 South Eighth Street, San Jose, which has been their home for some years; another sister is Mrs. C. L. Witten. the wife of Judge Witten of San Jose. History and ancestry, both recalling the fine old days of early California and New England, as well as Southern. are subjects of attraction to these ladies, for their forefathers were among the Kimballs and Hansons who settled in New Hampshire as early as 1640, became prominent professionally, and figured in Colonial history and the building of the nation. These forebears also included Maj. John L. Patrick and his brother, Capt. George W. Patrick, whose reputation for prowess in another part of the United States was equally enviable. They have good reason, there- fore, to be proud of their ancestors, as they are of the great Pacific commonwealth in which they them- selves have had their part in social and educational formations, and Santa Clara and Tulare counties may well be congratulated upon securing such pedagogical talent as that of the Misses Hanson.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 163

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