History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 164

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

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

HAROLD L. FATE .- A native son of California, Harold L. Fate is now identified with the Associated Oil Company of San Jose and is an alert young business man who is making the most of his time, talents and opportunities. He was born in Santa Cruz, Cal., February 28, 1896, a son of Lewis and Mary Fate. His father was a native of Ohio and as a child was taken by his parents to Danville, Ill., where his youthful days were spent. In 1890 he made his way to the Pacific Coast, first establishing his home in San Francisco, and later removing to Santa Cruz, where he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. In 1899 he came to San Jose as an employe of that road and resided here until 1903, when he went to Salinas. where he remained until 1907, during which period he continued with the railroad. In the latter year he returned to San Jose where he has since lived.

In the public schools of San Jose and Salinas, Harold L. Fate acquired his education and on start- ing out in the business world he obtained employ- ment with the firm of Popp & Hogan, job printers, for whom he worked as pressman for fifteen months. He then secured a position with the S. H. Chase Lumber Company of San Jose, with whom he re- mained for a little over two years, and then was wood turner for the Hubbard & Carmichael Company of this city for seven years. He next became con- nected with the Associated Oil Company, but at the end of twelve months left that firm and returned to the Chase Lumber Company, with whom he con- tinued for a year and a half. Leaving San Jose, he went to Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, and there was occupied in planing mill work for about eight months. Upon returning to California he resumed his former connection with the Associated Oil Company and has since continued in their service, proving a faithful and efficient employe.

Mr. Fate is independent in his political views, cast- ing his ballot in favor of the candidate whom he deems best fitted for office, regardless of party ties. He is a member of the Pastime Social Club, of which he has been treasurer and a trustee and is now president. He is also connected wth the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Eagles and the Good Fellows Lodge of San Jose, being a past exalted director of the last named organization.

DAVID HAROLD CRAMER, Ph. B .- The vicin- ity of Campbell and the surrounding country are fortunate indeed to have as an able and conscientious man to care for the educational welfare of the children of the citizens of that locality as is found in Prof. David Harold Cramer, an eminent and ex- perienced teacher who is now the principal of the Campbell Union high school. Professor Cramer is a native of Bloomdale, Ohio, and was born No- vember 12, 1881. He is the son of David L. and Alice S. (Lesher) Cramer. both natives of Penn- sylvania. David L. Cramer is a carpenter and he and his wife are now residents of Fostoria, Ohio.

David H. Cramer received his education at Bloom- dale grammar school, Fostoria high school and Wooster College, all in the state of Ohio. He was graduated from Wooster College in 1906 with the degree Ph. B. and for the next two years he was science teacher at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, high

school and the following two years he served as principal of the same school. In the spring of 1910 he came to California, and that fall he took a grad- uate course in the University of California, major- ing in mathematics. Then going to Globe, Ariz., he was employed in the offices of the Old Dominion Copper Mining Company for a while, coming to Campbell in the fall of 1912. He became the vice- principal of the Campbell high school and continued in that position for a period of eight years, when he was elected as principal. The Campbell Union high school has had a good growth having now about 170 students and eleven teachers.

Professor Cramer's marriage, which took place at Lake Geneva, Wis., united him with Miss Flor- ence Davidson, who was born in Nevada, and reared in Wisconsin, the daughter of Ebenezer and Elea- nor (Stevens) Davidson. Mr. and Mrs. Cramer are the parents of two children: Harold D. and Hugh G. Mr. Cramer is a Knights Templar Mason. Politic- ally, he is a stanch Republican, and in religious faith, he and his family are active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Campbell.

ARTHUR T. BRITTON .- An experienced and enterprising business man whose success represents the Twentieth Century spirit, is Arthur T. Britton, the owner and manager of the busy automobile- machine and repair shop at South First Street, San Jose, noted for its modern equipment and its ability to turn out work of almost any kind within that field of industry. A native son, he was born at San Diego in 1880, the son of William and Laura A. (Inman) Britton, who came early to California, were married at San Jose and lived here for some years, and then removed to San Diego. Mr. Britton had come across the plains in 1854, while Mrs. Britton came by the Isthmus. Arthur attended the usual grammar schools, but profited most, later on in life, in the great school of practical experience.

He learned the blacksmith trade and came to San Jose in 1910, when he worked at his trade in the employ of others for two years. Then he opened what was the beginning of his present undertaking. equipped the shop in every respect for first-class work, so that now he is able to keep busy a score or more of skilled workmen. He manufactures the W. & B. cylinder grinder, and Britton's auxiliary air valve for motorcycles, and ships his products all over the United States.

When Mr. Britton married. on September 18, 1908, he took for his wife Mrs. Flora (Kifer) Morton, a native of San Gregorio, San Mateo County, and the daughter of S. H. and Isabelle (Smith) Kifer, and they have had one son, Jack Arthur Britton. Mr. Britton likes to fish, and he is also fond of motor- ing, in fact he and his wife revel in California's out- door attractions. He endeavors to remain inde- pendent in national political affairs, and is thus able to work more freely for what he believes to be the best man and the best measures. During the Span- ish-American War he served in Company B, Eighth California Regular Infantry, and served until he was mustered out with his regiment in 1899. He is a member of Wheaton Camp. Spanish-American War Veterans, and of the Chamber of Commerce.

7 Il Adams

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JOHN HICKS ADAMS .- Among the notable California forty-niners resident in Santa Clara County who have joined the silent majority of that adven- turous host and found homes in yet fairer golden lands than those to which they struggled amid count- less hardships in 1849, John Hicks Adams deserves especial mention in any historical record annalling the affairs of Santa Clara County, since he was a real pioneer in that county. On September 4, 1878, the county and that section of the state was called upon to mourn the taking off of a true and worthy man, one who had been true to his own ideals and convic- tions, and who by his large life work conferred bene- fit upon hundreds of his fellow citizens who of neces- sity shared in what he accomplished toward the ma- terial progress and upbuilding of his community. While on his way from his mine in Arizona to Tuscon he was killed by Mexicans in ambush. He was born at Edwardsville, Ill., June 13, 1820. His father, John Quincy Adams, (named for the presi- dent) who had been a resident of Illinois since 1816, was engaged in wool carding and in the manufacture of woolen goods. In 1822 he commenced raising the castor oil bean, having obtained a few seeds from the East Indies. In 1823 he gave seeds to his neighbors, who put in crops, and their returns ran as high as one dollar per bushel, paid them by Mr. Adams, who had erected a factory that season where he made cas- tor oil to supply the market. This was the beginning of this industry in the state of Illinois.

In 1823, Mrs. John Q. Adams died and the son, John H., our subject, was sent to school at Shurtleff College, in Upper Alton, and remained there two years. In the meantime his father had married a Miss Gordon, then John H. returned home and assisted in his father's factory and store. On the night of April 12, 1838, the castor oil mills, five in number, with 20,000 bushels of beans and fifty barrels of oil, were completely destroyed by fire, there being no in- surance, the loss being something like $45,000. This was a severe loss, but they immediately set about erecting another building and continued their busi- ness. In 1838 John Quincy Adams was elected county sheriff and his son, John Hicks, was appointed a deputy and looked after collection of taxes and court business. During the winter of 1838 a bold jail break was effected by two men and, as Sheriff Adams was absent, John Hicks took full charge of the pursuit and after several days captured the two desperate men and returned them to the jail. On May 16, 1840, the father passed away at Edwards- ville, leaving five children by his first wife and three by his second. John Hicks Adams then went into business with H. K. Eaton, and for the next two years manufactured castor oil; then he and his broth- er, W. R. Adams, carried on the business until low prices forced them to suspend.

In the spring of 1847, John Hicks Adams assisted in raising a company for the Mexican War and was mustered in on May 20, 1847, at Alton, Ill., in Com- pany J, Fifth Illinois Volunteers, and Mr. Adams was commissioned first lieutenant, and at Fort Leav- enworth he received the appointment of regimental quartermaster, taking charge of the government sup- plies, stock and wagons to cross the plains to Santa Fe, 120 wagons in all; later in July Lieutenant Ad- ams was advanced to a captaincy, upon the death of Captain Niles, and took command at 110-mile Creek 46

near the border, and during the march and cam- paign acquitted himself with honor. At the close of the war he returned to Illinois with his regiment and was discharged at Alton on October 12, 1848. During the winter of '48-'49 the news of the discovery of gold in California had reached Illinois and Captain Adams was among the first in his locality to leave. With a six-mule team and light wagon, accompanied by Allen Pomeroy, William Reynolds and Dr. C. M. Lusk, he left St. Joseph, Mo., April 8, 1849. They passed heavily loaded trains, guarded carefully against Indian attacks, were joined by several other parties, and after many hardships and deprivations from lack of water, arrived at Hangtown August 1, 1849. Cap- tain Adams mined and ran pack trains in various camps in Northern California for two years, then went back to Illinois via Panama and arrived at Ed- wardsville, October 12, 1851. In the spring of 1852 he started for California over the plains with his wife and two children, and arrived in Placerville on September 6 of that year. The winter of 1852-53 was spent at Manhattan Creek near Georgetown, where his brother-in-law, Allen Pomeroy had located a claim for him and he was very successful.

In August, 1853, Captain Adams removed to Santa Clara County and settled on a farm near Gilroy, and the present Adams district school near Gilroy stands on the land which he donated to the county for that purpose in 1856. Those were wild west days, to be sure, when upon arriving at the schoolhouse in the morning, bear and lion tracks were to be found in front of the door and around the building. In 1860 Captain Adams was elected a member of the coun- ty board of supervisors to represent Gilroy and Al- maden townships. In the fall of 1863 he was elected sheriff of Santa Clara County and removed with his family to San Jose; he held this office for three suc- cessive terms; again reelected in 1871-73 and retired in March, 1876. While in office he acquired a repu- tation as a brave and efficient officer and a shrewd detective, second to none in the state. His connec- tion with the pursuit and capture of Vasquez, the no- torious bandit of California, is well known by old- timers and the praise he received was well deserved. To Captain Adams is due the credit for making the first exploration of Lake Tahoe. One of a company of eight men, he set out from Georgetown on May 1, 1850, in search for gold, and on May 20 he reached this now-famous lake, exploring this region exten- sively prospecting for the yellow treasure.

In December, 1841, Mr. Adams married Miss Ma- tilda Pomeroy, born in Shelby County, Ky., and they were the parents of eight children: John H. died in Illinois in childhood; Mary married James Hanna and lives at Livermore and has one son living; Alice M., widow of John Gordon, resides in San Jose: Sadie married James Reed and both are dead; Wil- liam H. of the Llagas district; Charles C., also on the Llagas; Abraham L. of Los Angeles has one son and one daughter; Nellie M. married George Stark and resides in San Jose and has one daughter living. Mr. Adams organized the Home Guards in Gilroy during the Civil War and was their captain; he also served as president of the South Almaden Quicksilver Mining Company. He was public-spirited in citizen- ship, was trustworthy in business, faithful in friend- ship, and in his home was most devoted to the wel- fare and happiness of his wife and children. Many

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were his good qualities and few his faults. He loved truth and justice and represented a high type of our American manhood.

WILLIAM HUMBOLDT ADAMS .- The life which this narrative chronicles began in a tent at the Sink of the Humboldt in Nevada. on August 12, 1852, while his parents were en route from Illinois to Cali- fornia with ox-teams. He is the oldest living son of Capt. John Hicks and Matilda (Pomeroy) Adams, the former a sturdy pioneer who first came to Cali- fornia in 1849. William Humboldt Adams was reared in Santa Clara County and he attended the Adams district school and later Gates Institute and Business College in San Jose. In 1870 he was a student at the University of the Pacific, and served during 1873-76 as deputy sheriff under his father. In 1876 he went to San Benito County, where he owned a stock ranch, but the dry year broke him up; then he returned to San Jose and engaged in contract teaming until set- tling on his present ranch. In 1896 he removed to the Llagas district, where he had purchased eighty- five acres, twenty of which he set to prunes. When he first settled on the ranch, the land was covered with oak trees and poison oak brush, but he perse- vered until the tillable land was cleared and a fine orchard property was developed.

Mr. Adams' marriage on May 9, 1877, at Emmet, San Benito County, united him with Miss Nellie Ackley, a daughter of Samuel Ackley, a pioneer of San Benito County, and they are the parents of five children: Gertrude I. is the wife of Roy Ackley, an orchardist at Llagas; Harry J. is married and with his wife and two children reside on the Llagas; W. H .. Jr., died at the age of thirty-five, survived by his widow and five children, who reside in San Fran- cisco; Earl S. is married and has two children and re- sides at Gilroy; Ruby M. is the wife of Wesley W. Burden; they have two sons and Mr. Burden is man- ager of the Adams home place. Mr. Adams is an ac- tive member of the California Prune & Apricot As- sociation and politically is a stanch Republican; for eighteen years he has served as trustee of the Llagas school district.

IRA H. GRIM .- Although one of the more re- cently established business enterprises of Campbell, the Orchard City Garage has already secured a large share of the public patronage, owing to the enter- prising methods and capable management of its own- er, Ira H. Grim. A native of West Virginia, he was born March 10, 1887, and in the public schools of that state he acquired his education. While in Columbus, Ohio, in 1908, he enlisted in the U. S. Army and spent three years in the Coast Artillery. Coming to California he was stationed first on San Francisco Bay and then on the Mexican border and at the expiration of his enlistment he was honor- ably discharged from service as a corporal. Liking the Pacific Coast region he decided to cast in his lot with Californiaus, and engaged in the automo- bile business at Los Banos. He went from there to San Francisco, being for three years in the em- ploy of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and while residing in that city he was also connected with the Ford Motor Company. In 1914 he went to Rhode Island in the interests of the American Automobile Protective Association and during the World War was a government employe. In 1918 he arrived in Campbell, becoming connected with

the automobile industry, in which he has since con- tinued actively. He established the Orchard City Garage which was located on Dillon Avenue, until the new garage on Campbell Avenne was completed for him and here he carries a full line of automo- bile parts, accessories, and is equipped to do all kinds of repairing, employing three men to aid him in his operations. He is an expert mechanic and owing to the first-class work turned out of his garage it has found favor with automobile owners, his business having already assumed large propor- tions. Enterprising and progressive, he is a mem- ber of the Campbell Improvement Club, the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, California Auto Trades Association, Orchard City Garage, and a charter member of the San Jose Commercial Club.

In Oakland Mr. Grim married Miss Mary Downey, a native of England, and they now have three chil- dren: Robert, Arnold and Betty. He supports the platform and candidates of the Republican party and in public affairs has always taken a deep and help- ful interest. He is a capable and enterprising young business man who is contributing to the commer- cial development of his community.

EUGENE D. WEBSTER .- Born in the town of Sylvester, near Albany, Green County, Wis., June 12, 1846, Eugene D. Webster is a son of Benjamin and Laura A. (Babcock) Webster, both parents na- tives of New York state, of an old New England family who migrated west to Wisconsin during the year of 1844, where they followed farming. In 1862 Benjamin Webster enlisted in the service of his country in the Thirty-first Wisconsin Volunteer In- fantry, but on account of poor health was mustered out a few months later. When Eugene D. Webster was but a young boy of sixteen, he enlisted and en- tered camp at Racine, Wis., later being sent to Ken- tucky in Company I, Thirty-first Wisconsin Volun- teers, and was engaged in forty-two battles and skirmishes. He took part in the battles before At- lanta, and was under General Sherman in his famous March to the Sea; was at the taking of Savannah, Ga .; then in the battles of Goldsborough, Raleigli and Bentonville until Lee's surrender. Later, as one of Sherman's men, he took part in the Grand Review in Washington, and was honorably discharged at Madison, Wis., on July 24, 1865. During the war his parents had removed to Jackson County, Wis., whither he followed. Upon his return to civil life, he engaged in the hotel and livery business and was very successful. He was united in marriage Janu- ary 7, 1877, with Miss Mary Rogerson, a daughter of John and Harriett Rogerson, pioneers of Madison, Dane County, Wis. They are the parents of two sons, Albertus R., and Thornton D., both of San Jose. For many years Mr. Webster followed his chosen line of work in Neillsville, Clark County, Wis., be- coming prominently identified with the affairs of his local community, serving as councilman for a num- ber of years. Having sold his business in Wiscon- sin, Mr Webster came to San Jose, Cal., July 12, 1902. He purchased a ranch west of Santa Clara consisting of forty acres planted to prunes, peaches and walnuts, and was active engaged in horticulture pursuits until 1915, when he sold his ranch and erected a residence on Minnesota Avenue; later this was sold and his present residence was built at 11 South Lincoln Avenue. He is a Republican and is

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a prominent figure in G. A. R. circles, being a past commander of Bacon Post G. A. R. in Neillsville. Fraternally he is a member of the Neillsville Lodge of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of Liberty Lodge No. 299, F. & A. M., Santa Clara, and is a Scottish Rite Mason.

HON. JAMES R. WELCH .- A jurist of state wide reputation, Hon. James R. Welch has been on the State Superior Bench since 1904, in Santa Clara County. He has frequently been called to other counties of the state to sit in important cases and has also sat as Justice pro tem in the Appellate District ( ourt. Santa Clara County being one of the busiest counties in the state in legal matters, Judge Welch, during his occupancy of the bench has disposed of many large cases of statewide interest. He presides over Department One of the Superior Court, and is the senior member of the bench in and for Santa Clara County. He stands amongst the foremost thinkers and jurists of the state.

He was born February 2, 1860, near Plainview. Macoupin County, Ill., where his father was a well to do farmer, stockraiser and owner and operator of a flour mill. In 1866 his father moved to Missouri where with his family he resided a short time. The family suffered great monetary loss in the financial depression in the '70s, and when a lad of fourteen, young Welch was thrown on his own resources. He set about deliberately and persistently to get an education. He crossed the plains in a prairie schooner in 1877 and located in Boise City, Idaho, where he succeeded in preparing himself to enter the highest public school of the capital city. At the age of twenty years, he became a teacher there in a position next to that of the principal.

In the Indian outbreak in the late '70s he entered service under Capt. Maxon against the depredations of the Indians. This old soldier did not raise his company to stay at home, but went out on the sage brush plains and drove the marauders into the mountains of Montana. Mr. Welch came to San Jose in 1882, and has since resided here. He entered the University of the Pacific in 1882 and graduated in 1887 with the Ph. B. degree. Three years later the degree of A. M. was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater. During a vacation period while he was a student at the university, he graduated at Heald's Business College, and throughout his entire college ecurse, was principal of the commercial department of the university. Upon graduation he took up the study of law alone and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of the state in 1888. The legal records of Santa Clara County would not be com- plete without a reference to the Union Savings Bank, California Cured Fruit Association and the Tarpey- Nicholson 40-year old litigation, as well as many other important cases in which Judge Welch suc- cessfully participated before he went on the bench. During the fifteen years as an attorney, his rise was rapid and sure. He was city attorney of San Jose trom 1894 to 1897, when he resigned to devote his en- tire time to his private practice.

Judge Welch's family consists of a wife and four children-three daughters and one son. He is 2 Mason and an Elk, and also a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He registers as a Republican. In addition to his official duties he takes an active interest in public and civic affairs. He is a fruit

grower and at the present time a member of the voting board of the California Prune and Apricot Crowers Association, and is ardent in the cause of the growers of the state in successfully marketing their fruit cooperatively. He has also espoused the cause of Santa Clara County and the State against the city of Santa Cruz in that city's endeavor to divert the Skyline Boulevard from the Summit Ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains to a canyon route. He has re- cently present arguments before the State Highway Commission in favor of retaining and building the Skyline drive along the crest of the Mountains, as a great scenic trunk line, for the use of the whole state. Before many chambers of commerce, civic and commercial organizations of the state, he has been untiring in his advocacy of this highway and its routing along the skyline of the mountains.

ALVA CURTIS KEESLING .- Among the early settlers of Santa Clara County, no name is more familiar than that of Keesling, and the subject of this sketch, Alva Curtis Keesling, is a worthy rep- resentative of that honored name. He was born near Lake Minnetonka, Hennepin County, Minn., on November 8, 1857, the son of Thomas Bulla and Elizabeth (Hasty) Keesling, who came to Califor- nia in 1873 and settled in The Willows and became one of the most successful fruit growers in the county. The father was born in Preble County, Ohio, in 1824, his father, John Keesling, a native of Wythe County. Va., and his wife, Melinda (Bulla) Keesling, a native of North Carolina, having moved into Ohio in an early day. The family removed to a point near Newcastle, Ind., where the father went to school and worked on his father's farm. The father was commissioned postmaster of Mechanics- burg. Ind., in 1848 by President Tyler and he held that position for eight years, meanwhile conducting a general store and a sawmill, the postoffice being in his store. He heard as a boy many and wonder- ful tales of the great West beyond and resolved to some day cast his fortunes in this land of greater opportunities, so in 1856 he removed with his fam- ily to Minnesota and settled where Minneapolis now stands. At that time there were but few shan- ties on the west side of the river. although on the east side was the town of St. Anthony's Falls. He bought twelve acres of land now in the center of Minneapolis, and remained there for sixteen years, during which time he was employed in a sawmill and at gardening. Having always had a fondness for horticulture, which was unsatisfactory in Minne- sota owing to the intense cold, he made a trip to California, settling in the Santa Clara Valley in 1872. In 1848 he married Miss Elizabeth Hasty, a native of Preble County. Ohio, her parents also re- moving into Indiana during its early settlement. Her parents were Thomas Hasty, a native of Ken- tucky, and Anna Raper, a native of Virginia. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom Alva Curtis is the fifth.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 164

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