History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 198

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

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Grandfather William Britton was of English de- scent, the ancestors being owners of valuable property that is now a part of the business section of London, England, an estate that has never been settled. The ancestors on both the Carper and Britton sides served in the War of the Revolution. Frederick Carper was a blacksmith and removed with his family to Seneca County, Ohio. He served in the Civil War, enlist- ing in 1861 in Company K, Forty-ninth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, and afterwards served in the Forty- seventh Ohio, and was with Sherman in his Georgia campaign and on the March to the Sea, serving until the close of the war, when he removed with his family to Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa, where he followed his trade. His wife passed away there and later he came to the Coast, and died in Oregon.

The eighth in a family of nine children, Samuel Carper attended the public schools and lived at home until he was a young man, and besides farming, learned the carpenter's trade. In Clark County, Mo., August 11, 1878, he was married to Miss Sadie E. Cobb, a native of Montgomery Co., that state, a daughter of Isaac and Martha (Hamblin) Cobb, the latter being a direct descendant of Daniel Boone. On the Cobb side Mrs. Carper is a distant relative of William Jennings Bryan. Her paternal grandfather served in the War of 1812 and she also had ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War. Isaac Cobb was captain in the Confederate army during the Civil War, while her uncle, Col. Alvin L. Cobb, served under General Price.

Mr. and Mrs. Carper resided in Missouri until 1883, when they removed to the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, where he worked at his trade and on farms, as well as riding the range after cattle. Next they returned to Missouri, where he was employed for two years, after which they removed to Taylor County, Iowa, where he engaged in farming and carpentering at Athelston, being occupied there until 1897, when he came to California and located in San Jose. Since then he has always followed the building business and has contracted with various individuals to build a number of handsome houses. For some years they resided in East San Jose, but in 1902 they build their present residence on Josefa Street.

Five children of Mr. and Mrs. Carper are living: Myrtle is Mrs. E. E. Foss of San Jose; she has one child living, Irma Foss, a valued employe of the San Jose postoffice, and a stepson, Wayne R. Waddell, who is like a grandson to Mr. and Mrs. Carper. He enlisted in the U. S. army for four years in Septem- ber, 1918, trained at the Presidio, and is serving in the Motor Transport department; being good at calcu- lating he has served a portion of the time in the com- missary department. Samuel F. Carper resides at 47 Wabash Avenue, San Jose, and is among the best car- penters in the city; he is also an artist of no mean 5

ability and has some fine specimens in oil of his own painting; Effie J. is musical, having studied voice cul- ture; she is now Mrs. William James of San Jose and they have three children, Raymond, Wilma and Estella. Mabel is Mrs. H. T. Forsythe of San Jose and she has a son, Leonard Drake, by her first mar- riage. Dottie, a graduate in voice at the College of the Pacific, is the wife of J. A. Tyson, a rancher at Los Gatos and they have one child, Dorothy Nadine.

About ten years ago Mrs. Carper took up the propa- gation of the dahlia and she has since put out many hundreds of bulbs of all varieties. She is an ardent student of this flower and is a member of the Dahlia Association of California and the Flower Growers Club of San Jose. She raises all of her dahlias at their city home and experience shows that she has an ex- cellent location for this fascinating industry, and she finds a ready sale for all the cut flowers and bulbs. By propagation she has been enabled to raise some very beautiful varieties, which she has named and reg- istered. Her Sammie Boy, Royal, Henry W. Mc- Comas and Sunmaid have all won prizes.

While at Athelston, lowa, Mr. Carper was always active in the civic affairs of the community and for three terms served as mayor of Athelston; he was also constable for a couple of terms and after that for two years was deputy sheriff. Since coming to San Jose he lias had many opportunities to engage in civic work, but has preferred to give all his time to his building business, and so to help influence the build- ing of the future. He is a member of San Jose Local 316, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. He is a strong Republican and Mrs. Carper is an active member of the Baptist Church.

WALTER I. YOUNG .- An enterprising business man of Los Gatos is Walter I. Young, born at So- quel, Santa Cruz County, March 27, 1877, of a pio- neer family. His father, W. A. Young, a native of Kentucky, came out to Missouri and in 1853, crossed the plains with his parents in an ox-team train. During the migration, Grandfather Young, who was a physician, was at the head of the party and locat- ing at the Mountain House, Butte County, he prac- ticed medicine and mined until his death. W. A. Young was married in Butte County, to Elizabeth Emily Ruggles, who was born in Missouri. Her father, Elisha P. Ruggles, was also born in Missouri, and brought his family across the plains in 1853, the journey being accomplished in true pioneer style. He also brought a herd of cattle and located in Santa Clara County, where he acquired a ranch of 2000 acres which he later traded for the Mountain House in Butte County, thinking at the time he had made a good trade. After ten years he disposed of the Mountain House and engaged in farming at Nelson, Butte County, until his death. He was a thirty- second degree Scottish Rite Mason.

W. A. Young attended the Santa Clara College, then studied medicine for two years, when he en- gaged in mining in Butte County, and there he mar- ried, but never resumed the study of medicine. He also mined in Nevada for a time after which he came to Santa Cruz County, where he engaged in manufacturing lumber for some time. He then pur- chased a ranch at Redwood Lodge which he im- proved to orchard and vineyard, residing there until his death in 1897, his widow surviving him until 1917, passing away in San Jose. This worthy pioneer couple

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were the parents of six children, five of whom are living. Walter I., the youngest, received his school- ing in the Highland district, which was supplemented with a course at the Salt Lake Business College, where he was graduated in 1894. After spending some time at sawmilling, he entered the employ of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company and ten years were spent in various places over their system.

Walter 1. Young was married at Campbell, Santa Clara County, May 21, 1913, to Miss Iris Maude Seroy, who was born in Cabery, Ill., a daughter of Joseph E. and Elizabeth (Wroot) Seroy, born in Kankakee and Somonauk, 111., respectively. Grand- father Seroy was born in Canada and Great-grand- father Seroy in France, while her Great-grandfather Wroot came from England to Illinois. Joseph E. Seroy brought his family to Bakersfield, Cal., in 1892, where he was in the real estate and oil business, later taking up his residence in Oakland, where he now resides and in that city he was bereaved of his wife in 1917. Mrs. Young is the second oldest of their family of five children and is a graduate of the Berkeley high school. While stationed at Stockton for the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Mr. Young resigned in September. 1918, and began auto truck- ing, hauling fruit from the Santa Cruz Mountains to Los Gatos and San Jose and during the season he hauled rice and grain in Butte County. In the spring of 1920 he purchased the transfer business of George G. Curtis, in Los Gatos and continued the business as well as the handling and transporting of fruit and grain to the warehouses and markets. Young's Transfer office and headquarters being lo- cated across the railroad from the depot in Los Gatos, a most central place for his growing trade. Mr. and Mrs. Young have two children, Rob- ert and Carmelita. Mrs. Young is a member of the Rebekah Lodge at Durham, the Eastern Star in Los Gatos as well as the local Civic Center, Young Mat- ron's Club and the Sew and So Club. Mr. Young is a member of the Odd Fellow's Lodge in Soquel.

COL. CARL J. YOUNG .- One of the most inter- esting men in the Santa Cruz region, the proprietor of Idlewild Inn, is Col. Carl J. Young, who was born in Cecil County, Md., in 1850, descended from a prominent old Southern family. His father, Ed- ward Young, served as a captain in the Civil War, after which he became a business man in Wilming- ton, Del. He married Margaret Gray, who was of Scotch descent. Carl J. Young was reared on the Eastern shore in Maryland and at Wilmington, Del., completing his education at Hyatt's Military School in Wilmington. In 1869 he came to Elko, Nev., en- gaging in mining, locating many mines. He opened the Merger mines, a part of the Tonopah Extension, and was among the pioneer miners in Goldfield, Manhattan and Tonopah. In fact, it is impossible in this brief space to discuss his prominence and activity in mining, as well as Nevada politics. Serv- ing as colonel on the staff of Governor Dickerson, he has since then borne the title of colonel. He has been in and out of California for many years and had a mining and real estate office in San Francisco for a number of years.

Colonel Young was married in Nevada to Miss Etta M. Heffernan, a native of Massachusetts. In 1921 he purchased Idlewild Inn, above Alma, and with the assistance of his estimable wife is rapidly

making of it a popular family resort. It is a large, modern hotel with many cottages set in the midst of ten acres of ground, watered by Moody Gulch, where redwood, oak, madrone and other native trees ahound, making a most beautiful setting for a year around resort. Colonel Young is also engaged as real estate dealer and has charge of the selling of building lots in the Idlewild Inn tract. A man who is well traveled and well informed on climate, Colonel Young finds that the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County has the most ideal climate in the world. Thus he is well pleased that he cast in his lot in this beautiful and healthful region.

GEORGE STEPHEN BUCKLEY .- A native son who was a highly esteemed business man of Los Gatos was the late George Stephen Buckley, born at Colfax, Nevada County, June 15, 1878 His father, Mark Buckley, was an Eastern man of Scotch-Irish parentage who crossed the plains in pioneer days. He was a merchant in Colfax until 1888, when he located on a ranch at The Willows, near San Jose, where he died. George Buckley's mother was Elsie Kirkwood, a native of New Zealand of Scotch par- ents. She died in San Jose. George Stephens was the youngest of their ten children, and made his home in Santa Clara County from ten years of age. After graduating from the San Jose high school, he entered the Affiliated Colleges in San Francisco where he was graduated in 1900 with the degree of Ph. G. He first followed his profession in San Jose, then in San Francisco, where he was a pharmacist with Mc- Donald's Pharmacy.

In that city Mr. Buckley married on January 3, 1901, Miss Clara Agnes Campbell, who was born in Marysville, Yuba County, a daughter of Thomas William and Mary Elizabeth (Sweeney) Campbell, born near Boston, Mass. Thomas W. Campbell was an engineer. Crossing the plains to Marysville, Cal., in pioneer days he followed engineering there, until he died in 1879. Mrs. Campbell, when fourteen years of age, came via the Isthmus of Panama to Marys- ville; she survived her husband until 1921, passing away at the age of seventy-three years at the home of Mrs. Buckley, where she had spent the last four- teen years of her life. Clara Agnes was the youngest child of their family and finished her education at the Marysville high school. After his marriage Mr. Buckley was manager of Kirk's Pharmacy in Grass Valley until 1907, when he came to Saratoga as man- ager of Hogg's Pharmacy for two years until Dr. Hogg sold out, after which Mr. Buckley followed his profession in San Francisco until 1913, when he pur- chased the same old drugstore in Saratoga he had previously managed, and as a proprietor he built up a splendid business. He was square and honest in his dealings, a man of fine and pleasing personality.

Mr. and Mrs. Buckley purchased a homesite of one and one-fourth acres at the head of La Paloma Terrace, where they built a beautiful bungalow resi- dence; but Mr. Buckley was not permitted to enjoy it for he died June 4, 1918, a man sorely missed in his community. He was deputy county clerk for many years, a member of the Retail Drug Clerks' Association in San Francisco and the Saratoga Im- provement Association. Fraternally he belonged to the Odd Fellows and Foresters of America and was an Episcopalian in religion. After his death Mrs. Buckley, having worked in the store with her hus-

M.a. Benjamin

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band, assumed the management of the pharmacy until she disposed of it. She still retains her com- mission as deputy county clerk. She opened the Saratoga branch of the County library in her store and was librarian until she resigned in 1921. She is a member of Saratoga Rebekah Lodge No 334, of the Saratoga Improvement Association and the Foot- hill Study Cluh.

M. A. BENJAMIN .- A career of more than ordi- nary professional and business promise is that of M. A. Benjamin, horticulturist, landscape gardener, tree doctor and consultant, residing in San Jose, Cal., and having his offices with the Prune and Apricot Association, at the corner of Market and San Antonio Streets. He was born at Rockford, [11 .. March 3, 1884, and when he was six months old was taken by his parents, N. H. and Lovinia (Wil- liams) Benjamin to Kansas City, Mo. - There he at- tended the public schools, finishing the grammar and high schools and entered Parkville College. His father, who was a contractor, engaged in build- ing cable street car lines, is now living with his son at the age of seventy-four, the mother having passed away in 1907. They were the parents of five chil- dren, four girls and one boy, of whom the subject of this sketch is the fourth.

Mr. Benjamin has been an enthusiastic devotee of the study of plant life and horticulture ever since a boy, and when eight years old ran away from home and worked in a greenhouse for nothing, so eager was he to learn how the plants grew. The founda- tion of his professional work was laid in Kansas City under the great German expert, Prof. Beltz, but he has never ceased to work and study, and since coming to California eight years ago has pursued correspondence courses from both the University of California and the Agricultural College at Davis, Cal. He has worked, studied and achieved and is counted among the most expert horticulturists in the state. Above all he is preeminently a student, who is willing to pay the price with work and then puts his knowledge into actual use, so that others may profit by his knowledge. At one time, being hard pressed for money, he went to work in the pressroom of the Kansas City Journal, working from midnight until four o'clock in the morning to ob- tain funds with which to pursue his plant study. He carefully cultivates his own orchard of fourteen-acres, located on the Stevens Creek Road and Cypress Avenue, which is planted to prunes and apricots, but does a great amount of work for other orchardists and farmers. He has made a careful and extensive study of plant diseases, their prevention and cure, and has discovered the cause of fire blight in pear trees, die-back in other trees and blight in walnut and olive trees; and has succeeded, after many years of careful work, in finding a remedy for these de- stroying diseases. He has made application for a copyright for his formula and process of treatment for blight. During 1921 he made a trip of ten days into Lake County, visiting pear orchards and adminis- tering his remedy, which has proven a specific against blight. His confidence in the efficacy of his formulas and cultural methods is so great that he has under- taken the operation of orchards in run-down and diseased condition, under agreements to take his pay in increase of crop, and has in every instance suc-

ceeded in bringing every orchard to a healthy condi- tion with marked increase in yield

Mr. Benjamin is a proficient landscape artist and is prepared to furnish plans and specifications. Dur- ing the Reed administration in 1917 he was ap- pointed and served as the superintendent of parks of San Jose. He has done landscape gardening for many of the most prominent people throughout the county and his expert knowledge of diseases of plants and trees is often sought by the orchardists of the county, his methods of culture and treatment pro- longing the lives of fruit trees and increasing their productiveness. First of all Mr. Benjamin is a stu- dent and loves his work and often goes to the moun- tains to spend a week or so in studying trees and plants, their characteristics, diseases and peculiar- ities of growth and life. He is a writer of note on horticultural subjects and has contributed valuable articles to the magazines and newspapers through- out the United States, and in this way reaches thou- sands of orchardists and agriculturists and imparts knowledge that is invaluable. He has built up a large husiness during his eight years of residence here and employs sixty men, whom he trains in this work. paying them the highest wages.

Mr. Benjamin's marriage occurred in Kansas City. Mo., and united him with Miss Sue Morris, a grand- daughter of Col. McGee, the noted pioneer and town- site man. Col. McGee was a historical character and was one of the fourteen men who purchased the West Port Landing, the original Kansas City; and sur- veyed the site of Kansas City, Mo., with Indians as helpers, carrying the surveyor's chain. They are the parents of one boy, Morris, who is studying botany and such other branches as will fit him to enter the business with his father, being a student in the agri- cultural department of the University of California at Davis, Cal., majoring in horticulture.

JOHN EDWARD ELLIS .- Born near Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, November 9, 1849, John Edward Ellis was the son of William Robert Ellis, a native of Hull, England, a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, as was his father and grandfather before him. His grandfather, Sir William Ellis, was an M. D., and physician to Queen Charlotte and was knighted. The Ellis family is traced back to Kiddal, founded by William Ellis in 1160. William Robert Ellis, the father of our subject, was a barrister. He married Harriette Warner Elliott, a native of London of the old Northumberland family of Elliotts.

John Edward Ellis is the sixth oldest of eleven children and the only one in the United States. He was reared in the south of England and educated under a tutor and at Highgate School, after which he studied two years at Neuwied on the Rhine, Ger- many, and during this time traveled over various countries on the Continent. He then went to sea as an apprentice on the Matoaka, a full rigged ship, to New Zealand. and at Littleton he left the ship by leaving the day before she sailed and hiding until after her departure. The Matoaka was never heard of again, so the vessel and all must have been lost at sea. He went to work with a Scotchman, John McCloud, who was in the cattle business and later became his partner and spent two and one-half suc- cessful years with him; then he went to Australia where he spent six months before returning to England in 1870. After a visit of three months he started back

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to New Zealand in 1870, making his way through the United States to San Francisco to take the steamer to New Zealand. In Kansas City, Mo., he ran across an old friend who induced Mr. Ellis to go into the cattle business with him. So they went in partner- ship at Eureka, but Mr. Ellis later sold his interest and traveled on to California. He liked the climate, and going to Mendocino County he engaged in sheep raising on the Eel River. Here he continued from 1872 until 1875, when he sold his holdings and moved to Ukiah, where he built the first gas works and system in that city. In 1878 Mr. Ellis sold the plant and moved to San Francisco and was in the asphalt and roofing business. While there he took up mining and held a position in an assay office in Nevada County. Then he was with the San Francisco Cop- per Mine at Spenceville, and while there he was mar- ried in Ukiah in 1882 to Miss May Carpenter, who was born in Grass Valley, Cal., a daughter of A. O. Carpenter, a pioneer of Ukiah, a very prominent and popular citizen. Mrs. Ellis was engaged in edu- cational work until her marriage.

Mr. Ellis continued with the Mining Company at Spenceville until they ran out of ore, and then located in Los Gatos in 1885, where he opened a limestone quarry to get out phosphate of lime. He also set out an orchard. In 1886 he built his residence on Cle- land Avenue and Reservoir Road, where he resides with his family. He organized the Los Gatos Lime Company and built a lime kiln, but soon found he could not compete with others, so sold out in 1890. Leaving his family here he engaged in mining in Plumas County for four years when he sold his inter- est. Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have six children, five of whom grew up: Helen, is the wife of N. B. Phillips, a banker in Seattle; William Robert resides in Ala- meda and is with the Hercules Powder Company; Edward E. is engaged in the automobile business and resides in Alameda; Jno. Frank was killed by a powder explosion; May E., formerly called Peggie, is a graduate of the University of California, now traveling in Ecuador, South America. They also are proud of their seven grandchildren. Mr. Ellis has been secretary of Los Gatos Lodge No. 292. F. & A. M., for thirty years, and with his wife is a member of the Order of Eastern Star of which Mrs. Ellis has been matron.

WILLIAM HENRY HALL .- A pioneer of Santa Clara County since 1854, William Henry Hall was born in Lincoln County, Mo., in December, 1849. His father, Andrew J. Hall, was a native of Ken- tucky, where he was reared, coming out to Missouri when a very young man and there he married Delia Cottle, a native of Missouri. He was a farmer, but becoming interested in the California gold fields lie left his wife and two children in Missouri for the time being and came along with two of his wife's brothers. Thomas and William Cottle, to California. Being engaged in mining at Georgetown, he died in 1851, it being a sad blow to his little family in Mis- souri. The two Cottle boys came to Santa Clara County, liked the country and purchased land, after which they returned to Missouri, and it was decided the whole Cottle family would emigrate to California. In 1854 a train was outfitted with Grandfather Ed- ward Cottle, a Vermonter, at the head, bringing a drove of cattle and horses along across the plains. He piloted the train safely through the Indian in-

fested plains to Santa Clara County, where he be- came a large landowner and successful stockman, making a specialty of raising fine horses. His wife died in 1855, but he lived to be seventy-five years old. His daughter, Mrs. Delia Hall, presided over his home until her second marriage to James Mc- Lellan, an early settler and rancher near San Jose. After his death, Mrs. McLellan resided with her daughter, Mrs. Edwards, until her death. The two children of her first marriage are Mrs. Alice Edwards of San Jose and William Henry, our subject, famil- iarly called by his many friends, Budd Hall. By the second marriage there was one child, Edward F. Mclellan, who resides in San Francisco.

Budd Hall was four years old when he crossed the plains in his Grandfather Edward Cottle's train. He attended the public schools of his district and also took a business college course in San Jose. For some years he was in the employ of W. H. Ed- wards, until he purchased a ranch four miles south of San Jose. A few years later he sold it and pur- chased a place eight miles south of town which he operated. When he sold it he purchased a ranch near San Jose, on which he engaged in intensive farming until 1920 when he rented the place and now makes his home in Los Gatos. He also owns 150 acres ten miles south of San Jose devoted to growing secds.

Mr. Hall was married in San Jose October 8, 1873, being united with Miss Mary E. Henning, a native of Santa Clara County. Her father, Jno. P. Hen- ning, a native of Virginia, crossed the plains to California in 1849; he liked the country and returned to Missouri to bring his family out. In 1854 with his wife and three children he piloted an ox-team train across the plains, bringing a herd of cattle. On his arrival he engaged in stockraising. He also ran a sawmill below Alma, and he laid out and named the town of Lexington, choosing the name of his old town in Missouri. He was married in Saline Coun- ty, Mo., to Mary Van Meter, a native of Virginia. who came to Missouri with her father when she was six years of age. The Van Meters became very large land owners in Missouri. John P. Henning was a cabinetmaker by trade and kept his ranch up in the best of shape. He introduced the most modern agricultural machinery and brought in the first header used in the valley. He was a very liberal and progressive man, gave the lumber for the schoolhouse at Alma and also for the Temper- ance Hall in that place, and was helpful in all pro- gressive movements of his day. He died while resid- ing at San Miguel, while his wife died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Hall. Mary E. Henning was the fourth oldest of their family of six children, three of whom are living. After completing the public schools she attended Gates' Academy and, obtaining a certifi- cate, she taught school a year until her marriage to Mr. Hall. Their union resulted in the birth of nine children, seven of whom grew up: Edith, died at the age of twenty-three years; Louis A., is a rancher at Mountain View; Mrs. Myrtle Abadie lives in Oak- land, Cal .; Albert J. Hall, is the inventor of the Hall- Scott motor and head of the Hall-Scott Motor Com- pany of Berkeley; he served in the U. S. Army during the World War, being placed at the head of production of aviation, serving both here and over- seas, and during this time he, with J. T. Vincent, de-

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 198

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