History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 193

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

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JOHN R. PENNINGTON-It is almost impos- sible to imagine what would be the condition of the country without the development of its great agri- cultural resources, and valuable indeed has been the contribution which John R. Pennington has made toward the cultivation and irrigation of vast areas of arid lands with a hydraulic well-drilling machine which he had perfected. He was born November 29, 1871, in a rural district near Brenham, Texas, a son of Asa Pennington, who migrated with his family from Galesburg, Ill., to Texas in 1849. His paternal great-grandfather, Sir Richard Pennington, a native of Lancashire, England, came from that country and settled near Galesburg, Ill. His paternal grandfather, Elijah Pennington, brought his family to Texas and engaged in stock-raising, and there Asa Pennington, his father, became an extensive cattleman and land- owner, the present townsite of Brenham being located on property formerly owned by him. In the early pioneer days of Brenham, wild horses roamed the prairies and were a pest to the farmers. He became prominent in the cattle business, controlling at one time about 34,000 acres of choice land.

John R. Pennington's education was obtained in the grammar and high schools of Brenham, later at- tending the Agricultural College at Bryan, Texas. and graduating in 1894 from the department of mechanical arts with the degree of M. E. He then entered the office of his uncle, Robert E. Penning- ton, a prominent attorney of Brenham, and spent a year and a half reading law, but was not satisfied to make the practice of law his life's work, so early in 1899 he was employed by the American Cotton Com- pany at Houston, as a buyer of cotton. Very soon he was placed in the position of mechanical superin- tendent of their mills and the "round bale" was per- fected and brought into use, which revolutionized the cotton industry. He then accepted a position as chief engineer for the Gravity Canal Company of Bay City, Tex., a company which constructed immense flumes for the transportation of water for the irriga- tion of the vast areas of uncultivated lands. In 1901 the whole state was aroused by the striking of oil at "Spindle Top," the first gusher in Texas. Mr. Pen- nington was a witness to this event, and for the next few years he was interested in oil and oil lands at Beaumont, Texas, making and losing a fortune sev- eral times over. While a resident of Texas, he

served as a first lieutenant in Company C of the Second Regiment of the Texas National Guard. In 1906 he resigned his position with the Gravity Canal Company and began to develop 300 acres of rice land, and his crop in 1907 amounted to 2480 bags.

The marriage of Mr. Pennington occurred May 14. 1896, at Paris, Texas, and united him with Miss Effie Smith, a daughter of R. L. Smith, a prominent merchant of Paris. Mr. Smith served as councilman for Paris for twenty-one years, was also active and prominent as a member of the Methodist Church, a strong personality and an influence for good in the community in which he resided. He passed away in September, 1912. Mrs. Pennington is a graduate of the Female College in Paris. majoring in music.

During the year of 1908 the family removed to Houston, Texas, and there Mr. Pennington became associated with the Layne & Bowler Pump Com- pany, doing an extensive business throughout Color- ado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Arkansas. Later the family removed to Stuttgart, Arkansas. and in 1914 they came to the Santa Clara Valley, purchasing a residence at 97 Randol Avenue, an ex- clusive residence section of San Jose. Mr. Penning- ton also owns an orchard property of ninety acres near Morgan Hill devoted to the cultivation of prunes and walnuts; and is a member of the Cali- fornia Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Pennington are the parents of five children. On April 9, 1917, Richard L. left his studies at the College of the Pacific to enlist in the Aviation Corps. going to Angel Island, and thence to Kelly Field Ground School for three months. He also received private instruction at Stinson Flying School at San Antonio, Texas. On the first of August, 1917, he reached England and became instructor of flying of the Fifty-sixth Royal Flying Corps, just fifteen miles from London. He witnessed the bombing at night of London by the enemy. At the time of the sign- ing of the armistice he was ready to receive his pro- motion to captaincy, but was discharged before this could take place, on June 26, 1919. In partnership with E. T. Todd, he conducted a flying school at Santa Clara, which they operated for six months. He is married to Miss Emily Gould and they have a daughter-Elizabeth. At present he is interested with his father in the operation of the hydraulic well- drilling machines. Evelyn, now Mrs. Watts, has one son and resides at Burlingame; Thelma is a student at the State Normal school in San Jose; Dorothy at Notre Dame College; Rex is deceased.

While residing in Texas, Mr. Pennington in 1907 perfected his hydraulic rotary well-drilling machine for drilling oil and water wells, and was actively en- gaged in drilling oil wells. Since coming to Santa Clara County he has made and built improvements to fit the conditions for drilling water wells in the valley and has drilled over 200 wells for irrigating purposes, thus demonstrating his success in obtain- ing water, and has made a specialty of drilling large and deep wells by the use of the hydraulic rotary system. The business has grown so he now uses three different outfits for the drilling of deep wells, each outfit costing about $12,000. Mr. Pennington's work here cannot be overestimated, for on plenty of water for irrigation depends the future success of the horticultural and agricultural interests of the county. Politically Mr. Pennington is a Democrat in his convictions. Fraternally he is affiliated with

flemington

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

the San Jose Lodge No. 522, B. P. O. E; Observa- tory Lodge No. 23, I. O. O. F., and Friendship Lodge No. 210, F. & A. M. He is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and the 100 Per Cent Club of San Jose. He has led an active and useful life, and has the respect of his fellowmen.

JOSEPH CARSON CUNNINGHAM .- A sue- eessful orchardist of Santa Clara, who crossed the plains when only a small boy of nine years and who with his parents settled in Santa Clara County, was the late Joseph Carson Cunningham, who passed away at his home October 27, 1918. He was the son of Joseph Cunningham, a native of Tennessee, while his mother, Mary Jane Goodding, was a native of Missouri. Joseph Cunningham was the fifth genera- tion of the Cunningham family who followed farm- ing for a livelihood. In 1863 he sold his farm and removed to California, settling first in Solano County in 1864 and remained there until 1881, when he re- moved with his family to Santa Clara County. He purchased at that time a ranch containing about thirty-two acres and set it out to orchards of prunes, pcars, apples, apricots, and grapes. Here he and his wife resided until their death.

Joseph Carson Cunningham was born in Missouri, November 2, 1849, and was but a small lad when his parents brought him across the plains to California. He came to San Jose in 1881, and here he was mar- ried to Miss Naney J. Easterday, who was born and reared in San Jose, a daughter of Solomon W. Easterday, one of the early business men of San Jose. After her husband's death, Mrs. Cunningham resided on the farm until she passed away, Febru- ary 21, 1921. Their union was blessed with two children: Vida L. is the wife of Roy E. Graves and they reside in San Jose; Frank L., since his father's death has had charge of and operates the orchards. He is a member of Saratoga Lodge No. 428, I. O. O. F., of which he is a past grand. Joseph C. Cun- ningham took a deep interest in the affairs of the community in which he resided for so many years, and served as school trustee of the Saratoga distriet for nine years. His home place in which he took much pride consists of fifteen acres of the finest soil and the best improvements that years will produce and he made a splendid success as an orchardist. Always enthusiastic over the resources of Santa Clara County, he supported all movements for its advancement and prosperity.

WILLIAM J. THOMPSON .- One of the best known and most successful veterinary surgeons in the Santa Clara Valley is William J. Thompson, a native of Massachusetts, born in Boston, August 19, 1859, the son of W. J. and Caroline (Kingsmill) Thomp- son, both parents having been born and reared in Massachusetts. The father was a manufacturer of eloth, but he passed away early in life, and the mother removed to California with her son, William J., in 1864, and settled in San Jose. Subsequently she was married again, to William S. Brewer, a merchant in Saratoga. She spent her last days there. Of her first marriage, William J. is the only child; while of the second marriage there were three children, two of whom are living. When four years old William eamne to California with his mother via the Isthmus of Panama. He attended school at the Normal Square in San Jose and then was among the first pupils to attend the Hester school. In 1867

he removed with his folks to a ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains, built the first frame house on the summit, and engaged in stock raising, and they also dealt in shakes and shingles and piekets. In 1873 they removed to Saratoga and bought a five-aere place and engaged in the mercantile business, also handling hay, grain and lumber. When twenty he returned to the summit and engaged in the stock business, having a ranch of 1,100 acres. His praeti- cal experience and common sense, coupled with necessity, has made him a capable veterinarian, and is called into consultation frequently and his expert knowledge of the diseases of animals results in com- plete recovery. In 1892 he again located at Saratoga and practiced veterinary medicine. He is the oldest practitioner in this line in this section of the valley. At different times, he has owned a valuable string of race horses and at present has a number of hunt- ing hounds. Among the horses he has owned were Cloverland, Apache, Wecland and Mamie T.

The marriage of Mr. Thompson united him with Miss Emma C. MeClain, born and reared in Canada. They are the parents of four children: Carrie, now Mrs. Louis Burnett of the Saratoga district; Roscoe is engaged in the butcher business at Sunnyvale; Eva is Mrs. L. H. Wakefield of this vicinity; and William J., Jr., of Saratoga. There are six grand- children. Politically Mr. Thompson votes the Re- publican ticket. He uses his efforts in the upbuilding and development of the locality in which he has lived and labored for so many years and takes great pride in the prosperity of the county and state.

MRS. JULIA E. BURKET .- A splendid example of the capable American woman in business is af- forded by Mrs. Julia E. Burket, the proprietor of the popular Patterson Drug Store at 251 South First Street, San Jose. She was born in Tipton, Iowa, and her parents were John J. and Freda Escher. She attended the grammar and the high school at Tipton, and finished her studies with higher educa- tional courses in the State University at Iowa City. She continued to reside at home until she was married, on May 27, 1884, to John Eberle Burket, a native of Dixon, I41., the son of Peter and Eliza- beth Burket. Mr. Burket was an undertaker at Creston, Iowa, before he was married, and when he and his devoted wife came out to California in 1891, they settled at Paso Robles, and there Mr. Burket established a furniture and undertaking business. At the end of eight years, he sold out and they removed to Watsonville; and in 1905, after having again en- gaged in undertaking business, he passed away.

Mrs. Burket remained in Watsonville until 1912. when she removed to Berkeley for the education of her two children. Eventually Harold Escher was graduated from the University of California with the class of '16 as an engincer and architect, and he is at present with the Wallace & Bush Company of Long Beach. Elizabeth also graduated from the University of California, and later she received her state certificate as an instructor. At present, as a member of the staff of the San Jose high school, she has charge of public health and welfare work.

In 1918 Mrs. Burket removed to San Jose, upon the death of her sister, Mrs. Emma E. Patterson, and became the administratrix of her estate. She re- modeled Mrs. Patterson's home at 22 South Eleventh Street, and now makes that her residence. She

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purchased the Patterson drug store, and later took in Nicholas J. Volino as a partner, who is a native son of San Jose, is a graduate pharmacist, and has charge of the prescription business. Mrs. Burket also owns twenty-two acres of almond orchard, one of the finest in that part of the state, at Paso Robles.

Mr. Burket was a prominent member of both the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, and he marched under the banners of the Republican party; and Mrs. Burket, who shares the political preference of her husband, also belongs to the ladies' auxiliaries of those orders. Mrs. Burket takes a keen interest in public affairs, and is ever ready to do what she can toward the upbuilding as well as the building up of San Jose and Santa Clara County.

URBAN A. KAMMERER-Another worthy rep- resentative of a famous old pioneer family long iden- tified with this favored section of the Golden State is Urban A. Kammerer, of the Coast Electric Serv- ice, the leading experts in the installation of motors, pumping plants, pole lines and house wiring, of 1022 South First Street, San Jose. He was born at the Kammerer home place on King Road, the son of Al- exander and May Katherine (Holland) Kammerer, and was reared on the ranch and sent to the Jackson district school. His grandfather was Peter Kammerer, a native of Germany, and a member of one of the old and honored families there, who had married Miss Marian Hoffman, also a representative of a very well- known German family line; and very soon after the admission of California as a state, he crossed the ocean to America and migrated to the Coast. He fol- lowed mining with varying luck, and in 1855 took up 200 acres of land in Santa Clara County, on the King Road, in the Jackson school district, about two and one-half miles east of San Jose. There he lived hap- pily, enjoying the work of cultivating and improving the place, until 1864, when his life-companion died; then he lingered a year, and he, too, passed away. This left Alexander Kammerer, the father of our sub- ject, a four-year-old orphan; but he found the best of guardians in their next-door neighbor, J. D. White, the farmer, whose family received him as one of their own, brought him up, sent him to school, and taught him to follow agriculture. When he was twenty-one, Alexander inherited half of the family estate, the other half going to his sister, Lena, of Oakland; and once in possession of the ranch, he made it somewhat fam- ous as a place for the cultivation of fruit, and the rais- ing of hay, grain and stock. When Mr. Kammerer was married. on October 17, 1883, he led to the altar May Katherine, the daughter of Simeon and Hannah ( Broadbent) Holland, both of whom had come from England, their native country, to Santa Clara County.

After finishing with elementary and secondary school work, Urban Kammerer attended the State Normal School at San Jose, and when only seven- teen also assumed responsibilities on the home ranch. Then he worked for the Pacific Gas & Electric Com- pany, and became foreman in the department of dis- tribution, and remained with the company, running out of San Jose. He then entered the service of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, and the U. S. Long Distance Telephone Company, spending in their employ, at San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles, most of the intervening years up to 1919. He became well known and well liked, and was alto- gether a popular fellow all the more serviceable to

his employers. After this he began electrical contract- ing for himself, and is now one of the partners in Coast Electric Service, engaged in electrical business in San Jose. The offices of the concern are at 1022 South First Street, and from there the electricians go out, to city or country places, and install the most up-to-date apparatus, requiring a thorough knowledge of electrical science.

While in San Francisco, Mr. Kammerer was mar- ried to Miss Marie Freeman, a native of San Mateo County, and the daughter of Charles M. Freeman, a successful rancher there. The happy couple live at 360 King Road, formerly a portion of the Kam- merer rancho. Mr. Kammerer was made a Mason in San Jose Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M., and is also a member of the Knights of Pythias, and is an inde- pendent Republican.

JOHN H. ALLEN .- Capable and resourceful, John H. Allen through his thrift and application may well be considered successful, having started making his own way when only seventeen. He was born in Richmond, Va., March 20, 1883, the son of Charles H. and Catherine Allen, the father being a Virginia planter. Jolin was one of a family of five children, and when he was five years old his parents came to California, first settling at Oakland and later moving to San Francisco. Here he received his education, attending the grammar and high schools of San Fran- cisco. His father was a locomotive engineer for the Southern Pacific Railway Company until the year 1899, when he met with an accidental death, the mother passing away just six months later, in 1900. John Allen at that time was seventeen years old, and starting out to make his own way, he took up railroad work with the Southern Pacific Railway Company, entering the train service as brakeman, later becoming a fireman, continuing in this line for seven years, spending the greater part of his time in California and on the Coast Division.

Coming to San Francisco in 1906, Mr. Allen took up electrical work and became an electric journey- man, working for the firm of Columbia Electric Works. In 1907 he came to San Jose in the interest of this firm, and here he had charge of all the out- side electrical sign work. He then accepted a posi- tion with the San Jose Water Works and here he remained for fourteen years, in the capacity of elec- tric operator for the city water works. In 1918 he purchased the Lenox Hotel on South First Street and conducted it until May, 1921. On November 1, 1921, he became proprietor of the Anderson Apart- ments at the corner of San Antonio and Second streets. The house is strictly a first-class apartment building with nineteen two-room apartments.

Mr. Allen was married on September 14, 1914, to Miss Hazel Thompson, who was born in San Jose, the daughter of Gilbert and Sadie Thompson. Mr. Thompson is a stationary engineer and at the present time has charge of the heating system of the Y. M. C. A. building of San Jose. Mrs. Allen received her education in the Grant grammar school and then at- tended the San Jose high school, finishing her sopho- more year. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are residents of San Jose, and are still hale and hearty. Mr. Allen is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Chamber of Commerce of San Jose. In national politics, he and Mrs. Allen are stanch ad- herents of the Republican party.

Ha Rammerer

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CHARLES W. RUST .- Among the most interest- ing of residents in Santa Clara County, particularly on account of his enviable record for valuable serv- ices rendered his country in military defense of the nation, may well be numbered Charles W. Rust, the retired Civil War veteran living at 128 South Twen- tieth Street, San Jose. He was born on September 7. 1842, in Jennings County, Ind., where he resided until 1846, the son of Henry Rust, who had married Miss Mary McFarlan. When four years old, he ac- companied his parents to Platte County, Mo., and there, on a half-section of land, his father cut away the timber, cleared a small field, and literally hewed out a home. Owing to the wilderness, however, he decided to return to Indiana with his family until the country should become more settled; but he soon tired of the peaceful Hoosier state, and returned again to Western Missouri. This was in 1848, and he again landed in the wilds with a family of five and seventy-five cents in his pocket. This time, he went to work on a tobacco press; but the labor was distasteful on account of the nauseating fumes of tobacco, and because he was made a slave-driver; and in 1849 he was glad to regain possession of his old farm in Platte County, to which he moved and where he toiled until 1855.

The year previous, Kansas had become a territory, and Henry Rust determined to try his fortune there; so he became one of the first pioneers of the new El Dorado in Atchison County, crossed the Mis- souri River at Atchison, proceeded southwest some six miles, and found an ideal spot for a home. He laid a pre-emption claim to a quarter-section of land, and erected a log house, into which, in the spring of 1855, he moved his family, using a flat boat to cross the river. There were no signs of civilization there at that time, although one could see for miles over the prairie. His tract included a fine grove of eighty acres of timber land, a good spring of water, and eleven acres of sod land, where he himself had planted corn. Flour was seven dollars per sack of ninety-six pounds, and hard to get.

As a mere boy, Charles assisted his father, and when their springs were frozen over, he helped care for the cattle, cutting holes in the ice on the Missouri River, when the ice was from 18 to 24 inches thick, and at fifteen, he had become a first-class oxen driver. He had never attended school, however, and lie scarcely knew one letter from another, for there were then no schools in that territory. After a while he returned to Indiana with a friend of his grand- father, and they stopped at Weston, Mo., en route, where they took the New Lucy, a southern steamer, to St. Louis. He had then never seen a house larger than a story and a half, or a railroad train; and he found St. Louis a wonderful city, and also the old Planters Hotel, where he and his friend Spencer stayed that night, a wonderful affair. He had never seen an orange, and in St. Louis he purchased his first citrus fruit. At St. Louis he and his friend boarded an omnibus and crossed the Mississippi River on a ferryboat.

He also boarded the first railroad train he had seen and traveled to Terre Haute, Ind., and at Terre Haute they stopped to see friends of Mr. Spencer, and the next day resumed their journey to Vernon, at the end of the railway line. Grandfather Rust. a native of Ohio, had come to Indiana in 1838, when the state was only sparsely settled; and as there were 53

seven stalwart sons, he had plenty of help in clearing his land and building a good home. He also had both a saw and a grist mill; and Henry, the eldest, was chosen miller, and worked where, thirteen years later, our subject found the mill still being operated. In the spring of 1858, however, this old mill was destroyed by flood of the Muscatatuck River.

Charles, when fifteen, attended his first school, at his grandfather's, a private undertaking supported by the patrons, and there he selected only a speller. When informed that he must also have a reader, arith- metic and copy-book, he argued that they were not necessary until he had learned to spell. In four months, however, he had advanced to the third reader, and by 1859 he was able to send the first letter written by himself home to his parents. In 1858, he also walked through deep snow to attend a night school. In the late spring of 1859, he re- turned to his Kansas home after having received all the education considered necessary for a young pioneer of the unsettled West. He traveled from North Vernon on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, to St. Louis, then went by rail to Jefferson City, and then by boat up the Missouri to Atchison, where a surprise or two awaited him. His father had replaced the log house with a frame building of a story and a half, and had also put horses and mules in place of the oxen. Neighbors also had surrounded his father's quarter-section.

After the very dry year, 1860, when farmers left Kansas on account of the drought, the winter of 1860-61 left the soil in fine shape for spring planting, and Charles helped to put in the crops and make hay. The disturbed political affairs of the day also absorbed him, and in May, 1861, he assisted in or- ganizing a company of young men under Colonel May, fifty in number, for home-guard duty. In Sep- tember, 1861, when the Governor of Kansas had au- thorized the formation of the Seventh and Eighth regi- ments of Kansas volunteers, he enlisted, and on September 19 he and his comrades assembled at Atchison and marched to Fort Leavenworth, where they were mustered into the U. S. service, being in Company C. Eighth Kansas Infantry, serving under Captain J. M. Graham, and on October 1 they set out to march to Fort Riley, 125 miles distant.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 193

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