History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 170

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

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Mr. and Mrs. Morrell engaged in farming and im- proved the Morrell ranch, now one of the best fruit ranches in the district. Some years ago they retired to San Jose and there Mrs. Morrell died in February, 1922, at the age of seventy-six years, while her hus- band survives her aged eighty-seven years old. Their family comprised five children: Lizzie, Mrs. H. D. Norton, of Grants Pass, Ore .; H. C., Jr., and J. B., of San Jose; Minnie, Mrs. W. W. Thompson, of San Francisco, and Albert E., who received his education in the local school and at Los Angeles. From a youth he learned horticulture under his father on the home place. In 1908, with his brother J. B., he leased the Morrell ranch until 1911, when he bought his brother's interest and the partnership was dissolved, and he continues to lease the 3000 acre ranch and cares for the 150 acres of orchards on the place, devoted to

Mr and Mrs J. W. Forward

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

prunes, plums and pears, being considered among the finest in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

In San Jose Mr. Morrell was united in marriage with Edith Hammon, who was born in Oregon but reared in California, this union having been blessed with three children, Dorothy Claire, Edwin Albert and Shirley Mildred. Mr. Morrell is keenly inter- ested in the county where he has spent his entire life, and he has become a well-informed horticulturist. Fraternally he is a member of San Jose Lodge No. 522, B. P. O. Elks, in which he is a popular member.

JAMES W. FORWARD .- An alert and far-see- ing dairyman who is striking into new paths in the interest of the patronizing public, is James W. For- ward, whose ideal dairy ranch is on the Brokaw Road, northwest of San Jose. He was born near Spokane, Wash., on January 29, 1884, the son of J. A. Forward, a native of Montreal, Can., and a car- penter and builder. He married Miss Edna Walker, a native of Bloomfield, Cal., and a member of the Walker family who were early pioneers at that place, being a daughter of Alonzo and Elizabeth (Peters) Walker. J. A. Forward took up a homestead in Washington, and later came to Santa Rosa; but he remained there for only a short time and then moved back to Washington. In 1891 he came to San Jose; and here James W. Forward attended first the gram- mar and then, for two years, the high school long such a credit to the city.

When he started out for himself, James W. For- ward worked for one year in the mills of the Santa Clara Valley Mill & Lumber Company, and after that he learned the carpenter's trade under the direc- tion of his father. Later, he took up a course in drafting and from that he passed on to architecture, which he used in connection with contracting, in which he engaged in for eight years. Next he went to British Columbia and acquired a tract of land, but after three years he returned to San Jose, where he again engaged in contracting; but in 1914 he bought twenty acres of land on the Brokaw Road, north- west of San Jose, and thereon he has since built his home. He planted the land to alfalfa and started a dairy. He commenced in a small way, and at pre- sent he has forty cows, to which he will add from time to time. He sells all the milk direct to the con- sumer, and under his unique method of handling the milking, he has evolved the highest-test milk in the vicinity of San Jose. The cows are milked with machinery, and after passing through a pipe line, the milk is cooled to a very low temperature and deposited in a large tank from which it is bottled, the milk at no time coming in contact with the per- son handling it. The machine and pipe line are taken apart every day and washed and sterilized. Mr. Forward has two feeding pens, each with a feeding capacity for thirty cows; these pens face each other, so that all the cattle can be fed from the same car- rier. Mr. Forward has a separate milking pen where the cows are taken to be milked, and this pen has a capacity for thirty cows. All that is necessary to increase the capacity of his plant is the addition of another set of feeding pens; the one milking pen will suffice for as many cows as he cares to handle. He also has special cooling rooms and milk rooms.

At San Jose, on June 27, 1909, Mr. Forward was married to Miss Leola Lyth, the daughter of Frank and Prudence Lyth who came out to California from Nebraska when she was three years old. Mr. Lyth was a contracting builder. Miss Lyth went to the grammar and the high school, and the San Jose Normal; she then taught school for a short time previous to being married. Two children have been born to this union, Frances and Robert.

HENRY C. HOGG .- Among the prominent citi- zens of Santa Clara, who was well known and loved by all, Henry C. Hogg still lives in the hearts and memories of his family and numerous friends. He was born in Letcher County, Ky., January 29, 1836. His father, Hiram Hogg, was a native of Culpepper County, Va., and removed with his parents in 1802. when two years old, to Kentucky; there he married Miss Levina Polly, a native of Kentucky, and reared a family of eleven children. Mrs. Hogg passed away in 1846. Hiram Hogg afterward married Miss Polly Roark, and they were the parents of seven children. He passed away in 1863 and his wife in 1884. Henry C. Hogg, the youngest living son of the first family, made his home with his parents until he was nineteen years of age. He was educated principally in Lee County, Va. At the age of twenty-one he studied law and was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Perry County until September, 1861. He volunteered his services in defense of the Union and enlisted in Company D, Nineteenth Kentucky Infantry, as a private. On February 5, 1863, he was commissioned first lieutenant and March 10, of the same year, re- ceived his commission as captain. He was at Cum- berland Gap in 1862, and in December went to Vicks- burg with General Sherman, and remained there until after the surrender of the city. From Vicksburg his regiment was sent to New Orleans, where he served under General Banks until he was mustered out, January 28, 1865. He then located at Booneville, Ky., opened a law office, and also engaged in general merchandise. Living there until 1885, when he sold out and came to California. He had made a previous visit to the state in 1884, and purchased a ranch near Saratoga on the road leading from Saratoga to Moun- tain View, consisting of some forty acres of highly improved orchard.

The marriage of Captain Hogg occurred in Boone- ville, Ky., April 16, 1867, and united him with Miss Martha A. Marion, a native of Booneville, Owsley County, Ky., a daughter of Matthew and Rebecca (Kelley) Marion, who moved from Virginia to Ken- tucky in 1850. Grandfather Marion was a cousin of General Marion of Revolutionary fame. Her father was a farmer at Booneville, Ky., and they came to California in 1888 and resided at their ranch near Saratoga. The father died twenty years ago after that the mother made her home with Mrs. Hogg, pass- ing away 1915, at eighty-six years of age. Captain and Mrs. Hogg were the parents of five children: Charles H., resides in San Francisco, and is an attorney; Cora E., is now Mrs. Arthur L. Johnson, and resides in Providence, R. I .; Raymond C., is a rancher in Sara- toga; Carry V., is the wife of H. F. Stout of Saratoga; and Elton M., is in business in Honolulu. Captain Hogg was prominent as a Republican and fraternally was a member of the Masons and G. A. R. Finding

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no Methodist Church in the district in which he lo- cated, Mr. and Mrs. Hogg set about to establish one and were always prominent in the affairs of this or- ganization; both were trustees and Mrs. Hogg is still on the official board, an active member of the Eastern Star and the Woman's Relief Corps, and superintends the home place, taking an active part in the progres- sive movements of the community. Captain Hogg died February 5, 1912, a highly esteemed man, and was buried with Masonic honors.

HERBERT WILLIAM REGNART .- A native son of Santa Clara County, Herbert William Reg- nart was born on Regnart Avenue, near Cupertino, January 26, 1877, a son of William and Agnes (Gre- gory) Regnart, natives of England, who located in California over fifty years ago, along with his brother. After following mining for a short time they located in Santa Clara County, where Mr. Reg- nart became a successful orchardist. He first set out an orchard on Regnart Avenne, which was named for the family, and also with the aid of his son Herbert cleared and improved an eighty acre orchard in Regnart Gulch, 21/2 miles from Cupertino. His wife died in 1881, and he was married a second time to Margaret Watts, who was born in Scotland.

By his first marriage he had two children: Jessie, the wife of Robert Regnart, and Herbert W .; and by his second three children: Virginia, the wife of John Montgomery; Douglas, and Marjorie, all of Cupertino. William Regnart passed away in 1917, a truly worthy upbuilder who had done his share in contributing to the prosperity of the country.

Herbert William Regnart grew up in the environ- ment of his birth place, obtaining a good education in the Lincoln public school. From a lad he was kept busy assisting his father, and from the time he was twelve years old he made a hand in clearing and breaking the land, getting it ready for the crops as well as helping in setting ont the vineyard and orchards. The former died from the prevailing grape disease and the forty acres was set out to orchard. He owns forty acres of the eighty acres he helped to improve and has also purchased their original twenty acre orchard place which his father at one time disposed of. The two orchards are devoted principally to prunes, to the cultivation of which he is bringing into use the most scientific methods of care and the latest modern machinery for the cultiva- tion of the soil. Mr. Regnart's success has not been accomplished without expending much energy and thought in his chosen line of work for he has applied himself closely to his task and by incessant labor and forceful application has accomplished his ambition. He has had his ups and downs having sold prunes as low as $25.00 a ton, but also as high as $250.00 a ton. He is an enthusiastic member of the California Prune and Apricot Growers' Association, and also of the Fruit Growers of California, Inc.

The marriage of Mr. Regnart was celebrated in San Jose, March 7, 1908, when he was united with Anna Mary Gagliasso, who was born in the Monte- bello district, Santa Clara County, a daughter of Charles and Margherita (Lora) Gagliasso, natives of Piedmonte, Italy, who were early settlers of Santa Clara County, where Mr. Gagliasso was fore- man for Dr. Peroni in the improvement and setting

out of the Peroni vineyards, after which he pur- chased 160 acres and improved vineyards and or- chards on Table Mountain, and later bought and im- proved the Trout Farm. He died in 1911, survived by his widow and eight children of whom Anna is the second oldest. Mr. and Mrs. Regnart have five children: Margaret, Hazel, Eva, Alice, and Herbert William, Jr. Mr. Regnart gives no small degree of credit to his accomplished wife who has assisted and encouraged him in every way to accomplish his ambi- tion. He is a member of the Woodman of the World and politically is a Republican. Enterprising, liberal and progressive, Mr. and Mrs. Regnart are well and favorably known and much esteemed in their community.

JAMES HANSEN .- A rancher whose splendid success has been attained through his years of indus- try, a self-made man in the true sense of the word, is James Hansen, who is located about four miles east of Milpitas, on the Calaveras Valley Road. He was born in Denmark, September 23, 1865, the son of Frederick and Maria Hansen, the eldest of their three children, the others being Mary C. and Johannes Christian; the latter fought all through the World War in the German Army but was never wounded; he now lives in Schleswig-Holstein. The father served in the Danish Army during the wars of 1864 and 1870, and he, too, came through without any injury. Mrs. Hansen passed away in May, 1873, when James was not yet eight years old, and after his father's second marriage he remained at home only seven months, starting out at the age of nine to make his own way in the world, and he has done so ever since. He was confirmed in the Lutheran Church when he was fourteen and that ended his school days, as two weeks later, on April 18, 1880, with his few belongings packed in a bundle, he bade good-bye to his grandmother, Maria C. (Ferdinand) Hansen, who had shown him many kindnesses, and started on his voyage across the Atlantic. Landing at Castle Garden, New York, after a two weeks' voyage. two days later he started for California, reaching San Francisco on May 18, 1880, just a month after leaving his home. Here he was met by his uncle, Lawrence Martin Hansen, who had generously sent him the money to make the trip, and the same day he accompanied his uncle to the latter's ranch near Mil- pitas, in the Laguna Valley.

Here he attended school and worked on his uncle's ranch for two years to pay back the $110 his trip had cost. Later he was employed on other ranches in the neighborhood and then he rented his uncle's ranch of sixty-one acres at Milpitas during the years 1888-1890. Afterwards he rented the 500-acre stock ranch owned by his uncle and which was located two miles above Alum Rock Park; here he engaged in stock raising on shares and was so engaged at the time of his uncle's sudden death, in 1890. James Hansen was appointed administrator of the estate, and when the sixty-one acre ranch was sold to pay the indebtedness of the estate, he bought it in, the 500-acre stock ranch going to Lawrence M. Hansen's mother, the grandmother of our subject.

It was on this sixty-one acre ranch that Mr. Han- sen got his first real start. He farmed it to hay and grain and by his good management and industry he began to accumulate a competence, purchasing sev- eral ranches, until he became the owner of 720 acres

Hansen

James

EUPHEMIA B. HANSEN

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

on the Calaveras Valley Road, part of which he has already given to his two sons, both of whom are very capable in all kinds of ranch work, as well as blacksmithing, horseshoeing and machinery repair- ing, Mr. Hansen having always maintained a machine and blacksmith shop on his place. In 1894 he was married to Miss Euphemia Brandt, a sister of Ed- ward and Charles Brandt, and a member of a pio- neer family that settled near Milpitas in 1863, and there she and her brothers were born. She was a beautiful and talented woman, and her death on Feb- ruary 3, 1917, brought the deepest sorrow to her family and a large circle of friends, who will ever remember her as a true wife and loving mother, a kind neighbor and a noble woman. She left three children, the eldest being Lawrence J., who married Miss Lucile Heine, and they have three children- Carol Mercedes, Marie and Catherine Phyllis; he is the owner of a prune orchard on Cypress Avenue, four miles west of San Jose; Edward C., who runs the home place of 720 acres, rendered valuable ser- vices to his country during the World War as an instructor in the government horseshoeing school of the Three Hundred Thirty-second Field Remount, and was stationed at Camp Fremont when the armis- tice was signed; Myrtle Mary, called Mabel, is the wife of Herman J. Dunkel, a prosperous raisin grower near Fresno, and they have a son, Darmon Edward.

On October 21, 1919, Mr. Hansen's second mar- riage occurred, when he was united with Mrs. Mary E. (Smith) Papson, who was born near Middletown, Lake County, Cal., a daughter of Nathan and Julia (Stephens) Smith; the former, who was born in Ohio, came as a boy to California with his parents, James Hartford and Elizabeth (Tribby) Smith. Mrs. Hansen was reared near Upper Lake, Lake County, and there she was first married to George W. Pap- son, who was born near Berryessa, Santa Clara County, a son of William and Matilda A. (Freer) Papson, very early settlers of this county. By this marriage she became the mother of five children, four now living: George Raymond, a rancher in Santa Clara County; Verona K .; Ina A., the wife of F. M. Vermillion, has one child, Evelyn; Earl W. Mr. and Mrs. Hansen now make their home on a fruit ranch of thirty-three acres one mile south of Berryessa, on Capitol Avenue, where they have a com- fortable country residence. They are members of St. Mary's Catholic Church, San Jose, and are held in high respect by their many friends. Mr. Hansen has indeed made a wonderful success and he is now en- joying the rewards of his well-spent years.

MRS. GRACE C. MILLER .- Born in Rochester, N. Y., Mrs. Grace C. Miller was in maidenhood Grace Clark, the daughter of James T. Clark, a newspaper man who was foreman of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Later he removed to New York City, where he was with the Evening Post in the same capacity. In 1908 he came to San Jose, where he engaged in the real estate business with James Clay- ton, the firm being James A. Clayton & Company, being thus engaged until his death, 1915. The Clark family are of English descent, Grandfather Thomas Clark coming from England to Rochester, N. Y., where he was a merchant tailor. Mrs. Miller's mother was Mary Bosworth, a native of Batavia, N. Y., whose father, William Bosworth, a Vermonter, be- came a farmer at Batavia. Mary (Bosworth) Clark

traces her lineage back to seven Mayflower ancestors, and is a charter member of the Mayflower Society of California. She resides in Oakland and is now com- piling the Bosworth geneology.

Grace Clark was the third oldest in their family of five children and spent her youth in Rochester. After graduating from the Rochester public schools she completed her education in the Girls' High School, Brooklyn, N. Y. She was married in San Jose to James B. Miller, who was born in Altoona, Pa., a son of John G. Miller, who served in a Pennsylvania regiment through the Civil War, being mustered out as a sergeant. James Miller is a monotypist, and is now in charge of the monotype department of the University of California. Fraternally he is a Mason. On account of her daughter's health, Mrs. Miller came to Los Gatos in 1921, and wishing to occupy herself she leased the old Riddle residence on Bay- view street, at the head of Main street, and converted it into a family hotel, naming it Hillside Villa. In her religious belief Mrs. Miller is a Congregatonalst.

JAMES W. SHEPHERD .- A worthy representa- tive of some of the earliest settlers in Andrew Coun- ty, Mo., James W. Shepherd, the rancher of the Rucker district in the vicinity of Gilroy, was born about twenty-five miles north of St. Joseph, on Feb- ruary 4. 1861, the son of James and Mary Jane (Conner) Shepherd, well-to-do farmers of that sec- tion, who removed to McDonough County, Ill., in 1863, and five years later returned to Missouri. They located this time in Cooper County, and engaged in the raising of mules, horses and stock. Mr. Shep- herd also became an extensive grain-buyer, and op- erated throughout Missouri and Kansas. In 1870, the family removed to California, and located in Calistoga, Napa County, but in 1876, they bought a ranch in Santa Clara County; later they located at San Jose, where Mr. Shepherd died at the age of fifty-six years.

James W. Shepherd attended both the public schools and the Garden City Business College at San Jose, and near that city he entered into grain- farming with his brother, John L. Shepherd, with whom he continued for many years on leased land. In 1895 he removed to the Rucker district from San Jose, and here acquired five acres, where he set out an orchard. This in itself was an interesting pio- neer movement, for he planted his orchard just as quickly as the Catherine Dunne rancho had been subdivided and sold, he being one of the very first to buy property. He was successful from the beginning, and little by little added to his holdings. until now he has some sixty-three acres of peaches and prunes. Until 1908, Mr. Shepherd was the superintendent of the Dunne ranch-an important period, for the trees were then coming into bearing.

When Mr. Shepherd married in November, 1883, in San Jose, he chose for his bride Miss Flora Lanz, who was born near Alliance, Ohio, and when seven years old accompanied her mother, two brothers and three sisters to California, when they settled at San Jose. Her mother, Mary Lanz, passed away at San Jose in 1895, beloved by all who knew her. Three daughters have honored this union. Mabel has become the wife of B. H. Franklin, the rancher at Rucker, and they have one son, William L .; Alma is Mrs. A. W. Chesbro, and she resides at Gilroy with her husband and two children-Helen and Elizabeth; Maude mar-

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ried W. E. Keltner, and they reside near Manteca. She is a graduate from the art department of the University of the Pacific, and the manual training department of the State Normal at San Jose, and for six years successfully followed teaching in Stanislaus and Santa Clara Counties. Mr. Shepherd, who is a Democrat in matters of national political moment, rendered the Rucker district long and able service as a member of the local school board. He also be- longs to the Fraternal Aid Union and the Redmen and he is a charter member of the California Prune & Apricot Association.

MRS. MARY E. HANSEN .- Representing the third generation of California pioneers, Mrs. Mary E. Hansen can well be proud of her ancestry and the honored part they have played in the progress and advancement of the Golden State. Her maternal grandparents were Robert A. and Mary (Tye) Ste- phens, the father's birthplace being on the English Channel, while Mrs. Stephens was a native of Con- necticut. They were married in New York City and in 1852 came to California by the way of the Isthmus. Robert A. Stephens was a soldier in the U. S. Army and while en route to the Pacific Coast his ship was wrecked but he was among those saved. After arriv- ing in California he was stationed at Fort Redding to guard the immigrants from the depredations of the Indians, and here his wife, who had received a good education in her native state, was engaged by the government to teach the Indians the ways of civili- zation, but notwithstanding all her efforts she met with the same discouragement that many other bene- factors of the race have experienced owing to the Indian's untoward nature.

On February 16, 1863, while Mr. and Mrs. Ste- phens were still stationed at Fort Redding, the first of their nine children was born, a daughter, Julia, who became the mother of Mrs. Mary E. Hansen, our subject. When Julia Stephens was a babe of two years, her parents removed to Santa Clara County, settling at Santa Clara in 1855, and here she was reared and educated. In 1875 she was married to Nathan Smith, at San Jose; he had come to Cal- ifornia as a boy with his parents, James Hartford and Elizabeth (Tribby) Smith, who were pioneer settlers of Lake County, Cal., and shortly after his marriage, Nathan Smith settled in Lake County with his bride and this remained their home until Mr. Smith's death in 1909. Four children were born to them. Frank Smith, a resident of Milpitas; one child died in infancy; Mary, now Mrs. James Hansen of Mil- pitas; William, a farmer in Lake County, died in 1919 and left three children. There are nine grand- children and one great-grandchild. At San Jose, in 1920, Mrs. Smith was married to Douglas Gifford of Lake County, where he is a large ranch owner in Cobb Valley. Mrs. Gifford is also the owner of valuable property in San Jose and San Francisco.

Mary E. Smith was born on the Smith home- stead in Cobb Valley, Lake County, and here her girlhood days were spent until her first marriage which united her with George W. Papson, who was born near Berryessa, Santa Clara County, his par- ents being William and Matilda A. (Freer) Papson, very carly settlers and ranchers of Santa Clara County. Mr. and Mrs. Papson became the parents of five children, four now living as follows: George Raymond, a rancher of Santa Clara County; Ver-

ona K .; Ina A., the wife of F. M. Vermillion, has one child named Evelyn; Earl W. Mr. Papson passed away on October 23, 1915, and on October 21, 1919, Mrs. Papson was united in marriage with James Hansen, a highly-esteemed resident of the Milpitas district, whose sketch also appears in this history. Mr. Hansen has been a resident of this section for more than forty years and has made a splendid suc- cess both as a rancher and as an orchardist. Mr. and Mrs. Hansen now make their home on a fruit ranch of thirty-three acres south of Berryessa on Capitol Avenue, where they have a cozy country resi- dence. Liberal and kind-hearted, and a woman of much capability, Mrs. Hansen has entered heartily into the life of the community and has in every way demonstrated her worthy heritage as the descendant of her honored pioneer forebears.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 170

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