History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 179

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

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Belle L. Rightes

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Church. Mr. Righter has taught a Bible class for more than forty years. He has not been ill for more than sixty years and will be eighty years old on his next birthday. He has no use for pessimism, for he believes optimism is the mainspring of progress. He has always been independent in his political views, voting for men and measures rather than parties, and wielding his influence for the good of the community.

JUDGE JOHN M. HOESCH .- A public official whose record has been such as to commend him heartily to his fellow-citizens is the Hon. J. M. Hoesch, justice of the peace of Gilroy Township and police judge of Gilroy. He was born near Erie, Penn., on January 5, 1860, the son of Conrad and Barbara (Hiebeck) Hoesch. The father was a native of Germany who preferred to accept the stern hos- pitality of the forests of Pennsylvania to the harsh requirements of military service, with the result that he made his way across the ocean to the Keystone State and was soon tlearing away stumps and trees and establishing a home, humble but comfortable. Mrs. Hoesch proved a devoted wife and mother; but such were the handicaps confronting the parents that from his twelfth year John was compelled to make his own way in the world.

In the spring of 1884, he pushed westward to Sul- phur Springs Valley, in Arizona, and in time he made several trips into Old Mexico. In the fall he arrived in San Francisco and shortly after came down to Gilroy, where he found employment on a grain ranch, working for several seasons driving a header. He had a great desire to learn, and when he was twenty-seven to thirty years old he was at- tending the public school in Gilroy, and, encouraged by his friends, he made rapid progress and in 1886 was the presiding officer in a debating society. In 1889 he passed the teacher's examination, but never took up the profession. For several years he has read law, preparing to practice before the California Bar. For thirty years Mr. Hoesch was connected with the Gilroy fire department, first with the Eureka Hose Company and later with the Vigilant Engine Company, and twenty-two years of that time he was engineer of the department and had charge of all apparatus; five years of that time he was also col- lector for the municipal utilities, and nine years in addition he was superintendent of the water works and plumbing inspector. In national politics he is a Republican, but in local matters he is decidedly non-partisan. During the World War he supported all the allied drives to the best of his ability.

In 1905, at San Francisco, Mr. Hoesch was mar- ried to Miss Minnie L. Schroeder of Amador County, and they have a daughter, Catherine Marian Hoesch. Mr. Hoesch is a member of the Gilroy Lodge of Odd Fellows and is a past noble grand, and for twenty years has been a trustee of his lodge. It was in 1918, when Gilroy was enjoying a veritable boom, that Mr. Hoesch entered the race for the office of justice of the peace of Gilroy Township and he was the successful candidate of the seven aspirants. When he took the oath of office in January, 1919, he suc- ceeded Judge Willey, who had filled that honored office for thirty-six years. The duties of the office keep him busy and his work is characterized by honesty, energy, efficiency and economy at all times. In meting out justice he is impartial, and it is in-

teresting to note that in none of his decisions has he ever been reversed by the higher courts.

ANTHONY GRECO .- An enterprising man of af- fairs, who has attained success in the canning busi- ness and as an orchardist and rancher, is Anthony Greco, of San Jose. He was born in New Orleans, La., on January 6, 1885, and is the son of Fortunato and Josephine Greco, who came to California in 1897 and located in Redwood City, where the father started a salt plant and here he is still engaged in business, now being the owner and president of the Greco Salt Works, and though well along in years, he is very active and personally superintends his business affairs. The mother passed away in 1917.

Anthony Greco received his early training in the public schools of New Orleans, later entering St. Stanislaus College at Bay St. Louis, Miss., receiving a good all-round training. In 1900 he came to Red- wood City, Cal., and in 1909 located in San Jose, where he engaged in the canning business as vice- president of the Greco Canning Company. He served in that capacity for four years, or until the company was reorganized. He then engaged in business under the firm name of the Anthony Greco Cannery. The plant was located on Park Avenue in Santa Clara for one season, packing $105,000 worth of tomato paste only. The plant was entirely too small to handle the increasing volume of business, so in 1918 Mr. Greco bought the plant located at Eighth and Jack- son streets, San Jose, where he carried on a very large volume of business and employed 160 first- class workmen. He shipped goods all over the United States and even to Europe, in which field he was very successful, thus spreading the fame of Santa Clara County. The business was incorporated, after they settled in San Jose, under the name of the Alba Canning Company, with Mr. Greco as president, with an every-day increase in their business, the outcome of good conscientious service, consideration and the quality of their goods, which gained prestige over some of the older brands of canned goods. In 1920 the Alba Canning Company sold out and in 1921 Mr. Greco bought 337 acres of land, known as the Sweigert Ranch, on the Sweigert Road, eight miles from San Jose; sixty acres of this land is in orchard and the balance in grain, and it is the intention to set a considerable acreage to grapes in the near future. The property has been greatly improved since Mr. Greco has taken charge and bids fair to surpass the majority of orchards in the entire valley. Mr. Greco's residence is situated on a beautiful eminence about 750 feet above sea level, from which a magnifi- cent view of the whole valley can be obtained. This property is located in what is know as the thermal belt, where frost and its damaging results have never been known, thus making the property valuable from the standpoint of the orchardist and early vegetable growing. Numerous springs are scattered over the ranch, which furnish sub-irrigation to growing crops and from which water is secured for domestic pur- poses, as well as for the 150 head of stock on the place. A visit to the Alba Ranch is one of the pleasant memories of those who make the journey.

In New Orleans, on December 6, 1916, Mr. Greco was married to Miss Edna Cabirac, a native of New Orleans of French descent, and they are the parents of three children, Anthony, Jr., Alba and Adelaide.

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Mr. and Mrs. Greco have made many friends in San Jose since taking up their residence here. Mr. Greco is a live member of the Chamber of Commerce of San Jose. He belongs to the Catholic Church and in national politics he is a stanch Republican.

GEORGE H. ANDERSON .- Among the men who have done much to advance the fruit interests of the Santa Clara Valley, likewise a native son of the Golden State, is George H. Anderson, of San Jose. He was born in Fairfield, Solano County, on August 17, 1863, a son of the late J. Z. Anderson and his good wife, who was in maidenhood Miss Sarah Sloan. The elder Anderson was among the early pioneers of Santa Clara County and helped to develop the fruit industry in pioneer times. He died in 1916 and was followed to the grave by his widow in 1920. A sketch of their lives appears on another page of this history.

George H. Anderson attended the grammar and high schools of Santa Clara County, supplementing his education by attending a business college. When a lad he began to learn the details of the fruit in- dustry from working with his father, who operated when the industry was in the experimental stage, and this training has stood him in good stead in later years for he is an anthority on fruit, from preparing the land to marketing the product. He owns some valuable interests in San Benito County and controls other orchard interests in Santa Clara County, be- sides he has been engaged in the buying, packing and shipping of fruits for several years.

Mr. Anderson has been twice married; his first wife was Miss Susie Brown, daughter of the pioneer family of that name, and she passed away on July 16, 1912, leaving three children: Howard Anderson. is an employe of the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco; J. Z. and Elizabeth are attending the public schools in San Jose. The second marriage united Mr. Anderson with Mrs. Clara Simpson of Santa Cruz, a lady well qualified to cooperate with her worthy husband in all his undertakings. The family home is located at 661 North First Street, San Jose. Mr. Anderson's interests have been identified witlı Santa Clara County for many years and he has taken an active part in all movements for the development of its varied resources, at the same time doing his part to advance civic reform under the banner of the Republican party, being elected a member of the State Assembly in 1901. He is an Elk and a member of the Saratoga, Olympic and the Commercial Clubs and of the Chamber of Commerce. He is an en- thusiastic sportsman and was a member of the five- man team of trap-shooters that held the champion- ship for Santa Clara County for several years; as an expert shot he has many trophies to show for his marksmanship. An agreeable, courteous gentleman, Mr. Anderson has won and maintained friends where- ever he is known and these friends rejoice at his fin- ancial success and high standing in his community.

FRED B. SMITH .- An enterprising, industrious horticulturist who is successful in his efforts to help advance the best interests in his community is Fred B. Smith, who was born in Yorkshire, England, in January, 1879, the son of John and Eliza (Bilton) Smith, both natives of England. The father made the first trip to America alone and then returned for his family and brought them back when Fred was only eleven years of age, locating at Saratoga, where they have been residing ever since.

Fred B. Smith attended the public schools of his district and received a fairly good education. His marriage united him with Miss Lucy Shorrocks, who was born in Minnesota, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Shorrocks. She attended the San Jose State Normal and taught for the three years fol- lowing her graduation. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of three children, Doris E., Clifford F., and Kathleen Mae. John Smith is the owner of thirty- three acres of land and Fred Smith has the fourteen acres adjoining his father, and they are closely asso- ciated in the operation of their farms. The acreage is planted to prunes, apricots and cherries, and the trees are bearing splendidly. Politically, Mr. Smith is a stanch Republican. Fraternally, he is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge, and in religious faith, he and his family are active workers in the Congrega- tional Church of Saratoga.

ED. R. GREEN .- An able financier and a man of excellent judgment, Ed. R. Green has firmly estab- lished himself as a leader in the progressive com- munity of Gilroy since coming here in 1912 as the cashier and one of the organizers of the First Na- tional Bank of Gilroy. Mr. Green was born at Mal- den. Bureau County, 111., on October 20, 1874, the son of Timothy F. Green, a prominent farmer who pio- neered in Illinois, Kansas, and Nebraska. In 1880, the family removed from Illinois to Horton, Kans., and there Ed. R. Green finished his education. In 1890, they took up their residence at Audubon, lowa, where he accepted his first position as clerk and delivery boy with a general merchandise store, which he filled to the satisfaction of his employer.

The year 1897 marked Mr. Green's entrance into the banking business, when he became associated with a private banking house at Dow City, Iowa, and he soon rose to the position of cashier, contin- uing there until 1901. He then removed to Overton, Nebr., where he assisted in organizing the Alfalfa State Bank of which he became cashier. Later Mr. Green became affiliated with such men as A. U. Dann, W. T. Auld and N. J. Paul, among the most successful bankers of Nebraska, in the purchase of the Alfalfa State Bank and the organization of the First National Bank of Overton, Mr. Green be- coming cashier. This association was of much value to Mr. Green, in the broadening understanding and conception of the world of finance. He remained at Overton until the fall of 1911, when he came to Gil- roy, Cal., through the solicitation of J. S. Adair.

In April, 1912, the First National Bank of Gilroy opened its doors, with Mr. Green as cashier, and having a capital stock of $25,000. By 1915 so suc- cessful had the organization become that it was nec- essary to increase the capital stock to $75,000, the officers at this time being H. S. Hersman, president; C. C. Lester, vice-president; E. R. Green, cashier ; in the following twenty-eight months the business showed an increase of 578 per cent. The building which houses this successful banking house was de- signed by William Binder of San Jose and was erected by William Radtke, at a cost of $40,000, a $15,000 addition being erected early in 1920 to accommodate its growth. In 1918 a merger was consummated with the Garden City Bank & Trust Company of San Jose by which the Gilroy Bank became a branch of the par- ent bank, a move that was productive of much in- creased business, the deposits growing from a half

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million to over a million dollars in a few months. The advisory board consists of E. R. Green, chairman; H. C. Hagen, Welburn Maycock, A. W. Brown, Cecil Carlyle and A. W. Chesbro, Mr. Green being manager of the bank and responsible for the direction of its financial policy.

At Denison, Iowa, Mr. Green was married to Miss Emma Downes, the daughter of Mrs. Lucy Downes, who passed away at Gilroy in September, 1920. A capable, talented woman, Mrs. Green has taken an active interest in the social and civic life of Gilroy and served as treasurer of the Woman's Civic Club soon after it was founded and is a member of the P. E. O. Society. Prominent in Masonic circles, Mr. Green is a member of Keith Lodge No. 187 of Gil- roy, and Howard Chapter, R. A. M., and of San Jose Commandery K. T. He is a member of the Pres- byterian Church at Gilroy. A leader in all commun- ity enterprises, he gives his support to the Republi- can party in political affairs.

DUNCAN P. McLACHLAN .- A member of a noted family of engineers, well known in Scotland, Duncan P. Mclachlan has for the past eight years been connected with the municipal public utilities of Palo Alto as mechanical engineer, and for four years he has been superintendent at the city's electric light plant, water works, pumping plant, incinerator and swimming pool, all the power machinery being housed in the fine water works plant on Newell Road. All are municipally owned, Palo Alto having made an out- standing success in the ownership of its public utilities. Mr. McLachlan was born in Dumbarton- shire, Scotland, October 25, 1886, the son of George and Marian (Lockhard) McLachlan, both natives of the land of the heather, but residents of Palo Alto for a number of years. The father is a stone cutter, and superintended the stone cutting and erection of nearly all the work in the Stanford University quadrangle. He preceded the family here, being joined by them in 1900. The McLachlan family is well known in Scot- land, practically all its members being machinists and engineers of note, with the exception of George Mc- Lachlan, who took up the work of stone cutting and is an expert in this line. His brother, Admiral Mc- Lachlan, was prominent in the transportation service between France and England in the late war.

Mr. and Mrs. George Mclachlan were the parents of six children, five of whom are living, Duncan P. being the third child. He was only two years old when his parents came from Scotland to Toronto, Ontario, where they lived for several years, going from there to Virden, Manitoba, and then to Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where they lived for two years. When Duncan was eleven years old, they removed to De- troit, Mich., and there he worked in various machine shops, among them the power house of the Ameri- can Car & Foundry Company. He became inter- ested in the automobile business in its infancy, being associated with the Oldsmobile plant, and worked for the pioneer automobile manufacturer, Mr. Olds, help- ing turn out the first thirty of forty engines for the first Oldsmobile runabouts ever built.

In 1902 Mr. McLachlan came to Palo Alto and at- tended the preparatory school in Manzanita Hall for three years, and in 1905 he started the first garage in Palo Alto, located on High Street, and here he handled the Pope-Hartford automobiles, this being one of the earliest companies to manufacture cars. This building

was wrecked in the earthquake of 1906, and Mr. Lach- lan suffered a severe financial loss. He then went to Redwood, Cal., and for two years ran an automobile repair shop there, then took charge of three launches and three automobiles for the late W. H. Hanson at his planing mill at Tacoma, Wash., and remaining there for five years. Returning to Palo Alto in 1913, he entered the employ of the city under John F. Bixby Jr., who is still chief city engineer and head of the Board of Public Works of Palo Alto. Mr. McLachlan has helped install every engine in the city's power house, and with his usual capability, he stands high as one of the city's most efficient and trusted employees. In 1907, at Palo Alto, Mr. McLachlan was married to Miss Cornelia Ann Buckhout, a native daughter, born at Chico, Cal., and they are the parents of three chil- dren, Donald, Elizabeth and Margaret. The family home is at 1148 Bryant Street.

C. H. THOMAS .- A civil engineer of unusual ability and high professional standing, C. H. Thomas was selected by the California State Highway Com- missioners to take charge of the rebuilding of the State Highway through the Mayfield district, a task that he is bringing to a successful completion. It has been a very difficult road to build on account of the nature of the subsoil. Mr. Thomas was sent here in July, 1921, and he has built a very strong and durable road, of thick concrete, doubly reinforced by steel bars and steel netting, and it is probably the best road ever built by the State Highway Commissioners, replacing one of the worst pieces of highway on the Peninsula.

Mr. Thomas was born at Toledo, Ohio, April 24, 1884, the son of Robert F. and Anna M. (Crane) Thomas, and both parents are living and make their home at Portland, Oregon, the father, being an auditor for the S. P. & S. Railroad Company. C. H. Thomas grew up at Toledo and graduated from the University of Ohio at Columbus, where he received the C. E. degree in 1902. For two years he was with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company as a civil engineer at Toledo, and in 1904 came to the Pacific Coast, lo- cating first at Portland, Ore., where he entered the employ of the Southern Pacific, working on the con- struction of various roads and structures of this sys- tem in Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, Oregon and Montana. Resigning his position with the South- ern Pacific, Mr. Thomas entered the Government serv- ice and built roads into Rainier National Park in Washington, Crater Lake Park and Yosemite Park. At the latter park he built the El Portal road in 1916, and while there the war broke out and he resigned to enlist, but was rejected on account of the rigid physi- cal requirements in his branch of the service.

In July, 1917, he was employed by the California State Highway Commission in the capacity of civil engineer on road construction and he built the Gar- berville Road in Humboldt County, a difficult job, and coming to San Francisco was assigned to Division 4, in December, 1918. He completed that portion of the Santa Cruz Highway which runs from Summit to Glenwood, and the stretch of road from Novato and Petaluma, and a dozen other pieces of construction.

In Portland, Ore., in 1909, Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Rose Adeline Gaylord of that city, an ac- complished young woman, who has proved herself a true companion. Many times since their marriage, Mr. Thomas' professional duties have taken him to

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inaccessible places, far removed from any town, but Mrs. Thomas has always accompanied him, sharing the hardships of camp life, at times living in tents and depending on the results of the chase for game, not being able to reach any market, where they could supply their needs. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have made many friends during their stay in Palo Alto.

FRANK DI FIORE .- A well-to-do and influential rancher and horticulturist who has done much to ad- vance California agriculture while building a fortune for himself and near of kin, is Frank Di Fiore, a na- tive of the province of Palermo, in Sicily, where he was born of his native land, and round about home worked on farms until, in 1883, he came out to Cal- ifornia and settled near San Jose.

At San Francisco, Mr. Di Fiore was married to Miss Lina Lovotti, native of Buenos Aires, in South America, whose parents later removed to Italy and then continued their migrations until they reached San Francisco. Her father had been a cattleman, who had a transport company between Italy and Ar- gentine Republic, he was a man of affairs, therefore, and something of initiative and executive talent was transmitted to his family.

Frank Di Fiore went to work as a laborer on ranches in the vicinity of San Jose, and later he en- gaged in the growing, buying and selling of fruit. He at first rented a fruit ranch, and then he pur- chased fifty-five acres near Alviso, which he devoted to the growing of prunes. He sold this ranch at a profit, and after that rented twenty acres on King Road. Next he bought fifty-five acres on Cropley and Morrill roads, set out to prunes, cherries, peaches and apricots, and this splendid ranch he still owns --- one of the finest irrigated ranches in Santa Clara County. He also rented a part of the old Shaw ranch on the Berryessa Road, and later bought thirty-three acres of this ranch, all in prunes.

In September, 1911, fire destroyed the old home and the cook-house, and in 1912 Mr. Di Fiore erected a splendid, new dwelling, together with a new kitchen. Since then, in 1920, he has added to his new farm buildings, a modern evaporator, doing the work of evaporating in twenty-four hours. He sunk a well, and installed one of the first Layne & Bowler deep- well turbine pumps for irrigation in Berryessa, since which time the supply of water has been large. Mr. Di Fiore has also purchased the Titus ranch of sixty- seven and a half acres near Saratoga on the Pros- pect Road, devoted to prunes and walnuts, the house on this ranch was fifty-seven years old, and was one of the old landmarks, until it burned down in January, 1922. The eldest son, Domenic A. Di Fiore, lives on this place. Mr. Di Fiore is a trustee of the California Prune & Apricot Association and also a member of the advisory board of San Jose branch of the Bank of Italy. He was bereaved of his faithful life com- panion November 20, 1917. an amiable woman mourned by her family and many friends. Three sons made up the family of Mr. and Mrs. Di Fiore. Domenic A. was graduated from Santa Clara Univer- sity with the Class of '12, when he received the B. S. degree and he married Miss Pennington of San Jose. Carl Frederick is also a graduate of Santa Clara Uni- versity, a member of the class of 1915; and he re- ceived the B. S. degree in civil engineering. Leo- pold Pasqual Di Fiore was given the same degree in this subject, by Santa Clara University in 1920. Carl married a Miss Kartschoke, of San Jose, and they

have one daughter, Dorothy. Leopold was a noted football player at college, and although at present at home, he intends pursuing engineering. Ail three of the sons were in the World War. Domenic enlisted in the aviation section of the U. S. Army, was com- missioned a lieutenant and served overseas for nearly two years. Carl Frederick enlisted in the U. S. En- gineers and was also commissioned a lieutenant. Leopold P. enlisted in the Heavy Artillery and served overseas until after the armistice. So not only Mr. Di Fiore, but the citizens of Santa Clara County are proud of the record of the three boys.

WILLIAM FUNKLER .- Gilroy owes much to her far-sighted, enterprising and optimistic mer- chants, prominent among whom is William Funkler, who came to the Golden State in the late '80s. He was born of German parentage, in the historic king- dom of Wurtemburg, on June 24, 1870, and was reared and educated up to his sixteenth year in his native land. Then, attracted by the greater indi- vidual freedom of America, he crossed the ocean. pushed westward to California, and in March, 1888, located at San Francisco. The next year he re- moved to San Jose and found work at the Fred- ericksburg brewery; and for eighteen years he was employed there, rising in time to be foreman. In 1906 Mr. Funkler removed with his family to Gilroy, and for the following four years, or until the prop- crty was destroyed by fire, he conducted a well- known hotel in the town. Since then he has ac- quired a very desirable ranch, a portion of the famous Miller & Lux estate, one mile to the west of Gilroy, set out as a young orchard. In 1918, he opened a popular store which has become the headquarters for the best of refreshments. In national politics a Re- publican, Mr. Funkler's nonpartisan support of things local has added to his popularity.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 179

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