History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 200

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

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At San Jose, on October 20, 1913, Mr. Herrold was married to Miss Sybil May Paull, the daughter of William and Maud Eva Paull, formerly of Eng- land. Her parents came out to the United States and Montana, and for many years her father was chief of the Butte City fire department, where he was highly respected for his personal worth. Two chil- dren have blessed this union: Robert Roy Herrold and Donald Sanford Herrold. Mr. Herrold is genial, kindly, tactful and generous, and with his gifted wife, whose public spirit is in harmony with his, he takes a keen interest in all that pertains to the de- velopment of the West, and especially of San Jose and Santa Clara County. Mrs. Herrold assisted greatly in war work and turned out several expert students. A large circle of friends and acquaint- ances enjoy the hospitality of their typically Cali- fornia home, all the more interesting because of the scientific devices to be seen there. In national poli- tics Mr. Herrold is a Republican, but he appreciates the value of giving nonpartisan support to the best men and measures proposed for the community in which he lives and thrives.

WILLIAM HENRY MULLEN .- A successful business man of Los Gatos and native son is Wil- liam H. Mullen, who was born near San Bruno, San Mateo County, December 24, 1866. His father, Patrick Mullen, was born in Ireland, came to New York City where he was in the employ of a shipping company, and at that city he was married to Mary E. Gilligan, also a native of Ireland. In 1861 they came via Panama to San Francisco, where Mr. Mul- [en was with a wholesale commission merchant, until lic located on a ranch in San Mateo County and en- gaged in general farming. In 1875 he came to Los Gatos and engaged in teaming, hauling lumber from the mills in the Santa Cruz Mountains to San Jose and to the new Almaden mines for many years, when he retired to a well earned rest. He passed away in 1907 at the age of seventy-eight years, his widow sur-

Vincent Isasca

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viving him until 1912, being eighty-one years at the time of her death. Of their seven children William H. is the third oldest, being reared in Los Gatos from the age of nine years, receiving his education in the public schools. He assisted his father in his teaming until he was eighteen years of age, and then took over the business, running three freight teams. Three years later, however, the railroad came and the business was cut down to such an ex- tent that he sold his outfit. He then apprenticed as a painter, continuing as journeyman for eight years, when he established the present business which has grown satisfactorily, so that he is now the leading painting contractor in his city. Among the resi- dences and business houses he has done are the fol- lowing: Messrs. Case, Balch, and Farwell, Mrs. Knight and Dr. Tevis, The Los Gatos Bank and Lyndon Hotel. His business necessitates his em- ploying five painters.

On March 31, 1891, at San Jose, Mr. Mullen was married to Miss Annie Bray, who was born in San Luis Obispo, a daughter of Fred Bray, who came to San Luis Obispo and later to Los Gatos. Mr. and Mrs. Mullen have one child, William Nelson, a grad- uate of the Law Department of the University of Santa Clara. During the World War he served for two years in the War Risk Department in Washing- ton, D. C., and is now in the Chief of Claim Depart- ment in the State Compensation Fund in San Fran- cisco, Cal. Mr. Mullen is a Democrat in national pol- itics, a member of the Los Gatos Chamber of Com- merce, and fraternally he is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters.

VINCENT ISASCA .- A young man who saw active service overseas during the World War, and is now an enterprising orchardist in the Montebello district, Santa Clara County, is Vincent Isasca, a native of Savigliano, Province of Cuneo, Italy, born May 11, 1898. His father, Vincenzo Isasca, a native of the same place, married Maddalena Gautero, and was engaged in flour milling until he emigrated with his family to California, arriving in San Jose in Jan- uary, 1891. Here he was employed on the ranch of V. Picchetti for about six years, when he purchased the ranch of forty-four acres he and his son are now operating. Their two children are Vincent, the sub- ject of this review, and Teresa, who lives in San Francisco. Vincent Isasca was reared in the Monte- bello district, attending the school of that name. From a boy he assisted his father to clear the ranch and getting it in shape to set out a vineyard. However, the vineyard died and the ranch was used for general farming. When Vincent's school days were over he became interested in horticulture and began setting out orchards of prunes, apricots and peaches, now in full bearing and a source of satisfactory profit.

Mr. Isasca served in the U. S. Army during the World War, entering the service September 20, 1917, being assigned to Company G, Three Hundred and Sixty-third Regiment U. S. Inf., Ninety-first Division. He trained at Camp Lewis until he went overseas with his division; left Philadelphia on the transport City of Cairo July 6, 1918 for France. After train- ing there a month they were ordered to the front. He was a reserve at San Mihiel from September 11 to September 13, 1918; in the Meuse-Argonne offen- sive, September 26, 1918, to October 4, 1918, when he

was in the first line trenches and with his comrades went over the top, breaking the German lines. Next they were sent to the Belgium front in the Ypres- Lys offensive October 31, 1918, when they went over the top twice. They left France for home March 31. 1919; stopping at Camp Merritt, N. Y., they came on to the Presidio, San Francisco, where he was muster- ed out April 21, 1919, and he came home immediately and took up his ranching duties which his parents had looked after during his eighteen months' ab- sence. He is greatly interested in orcharding, having made a study of local conditions pertaining to his calling, so he is able to give his fruit trees excelient care and obtain good results. Mr. Isasca is a Repub- lican in national politics and is a member of Post No. 89, American Legion, in San Jose.

WILLIAM RAYMOND WILSON .- An enter- prising citizen of Santa Clara County is found in William Raymond Wilson, who combines ranching with real estate, and is unusually successful with both lines of work. He was born in Victoria, British Co- lumbia, June 15, 1876, the son of William and Emily (Harris) Wilson, both natives of England, the for- mer born in Yorkshire and the latter in Lancashire. The father came to British Columbia when a young man and engaged in the mercantile business, and was a prosperous business man in Victoria. During the financial panic of 1893, the father's business was com- pletely ruined and he lost all he possessed. The Harris family were pioneers of Victoria, Grandfather Thomas Mainwaring Harris being the first mayor. Mr. and Mrs. William Wilson were the parents of eight children: William, Gilbert, Harold, Lamburn, Ralph, Clifford, Edith and Winifred, our subject being the only one to locate in California. The father passed away August 1, 1920, past seventy years of age: Mrs. Wilson is still living and is past seventy.

William Raymond received his education in the grammar and high schools of Victoria. He was the representative of the Giant Powder Company of San Francisco for the interior of British Columbia, with offices at Rossland, later being transferred to Den- ver, Colo. In 1897 he made his first trip to Cali- fornia. Wishing to locate here, he resigned his position in 1905 and came to Santa Clara County. arriving on the 4th of May, and located in San Jose. He purchased an interest in the real estate business of the firm of Garrison & Crowe, and within a year Mr. Garrison retired from the business and the part- nership became Crowe & Wilson, with offices on South First Street, San Jose For three years this partnership was continued, when Mr. Wilson opened offices in the Porter building; since 1913 Mr. Wilson has been the business agent of the Porter building: he also has charge of the Tiburon Investment Com- pany's properties and the Hewlett apartments, and is interested in different country properties throughout the county; he is a member of the San Jose Realty Board and in 1916 served as its president. He is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, San Jose Country Club, and the Commercial Club.

The marriage of Mr. Wilson occurred in San Jose, July 2, 1902, and united him with Miss Mary Ade- laide Martin, a native of San Jose, the daughter of Charles J. Martin, an early settler and prominent business man, who served as mayor of San Jose and is now deceased. Mrs. Wilson obtained her educa

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tion in the grammar and high schools of San Jose. They are the parents of two children: Charles Har- ris, and Elizabeth Delzell. In his political affilia- tions, Mr. Wilson is a Republican, and he is a mem- ber of Trinity Episcopal Church.

SYLVANUS RAYNOR WADE .- One of the most prominent figures in the business life of the city of Campbell was Sylvanus Raynor Wade, now deceased. He was the pioneer merchant of this place, and hav- ing been engaged in business here for over twenty years, had helped much in its growth from a village to an up-to-date, hustling city, its civic improvements and educational facilities keeping pace with the rapid development of the city in population.

Mr. Wade was born in Sag Harbor, Long Island, N. Y., in 1841, the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Ray- or) Wade, both natives of New York state. At the age of eighteen the lure of travel seized him, and thinking he would like to see more of his country, when the opportunity came to sail with a whaling vessel he lost no time in making ready to embark. They sailed around the Horn, and encountering a storm, they were wrecked off the coast of Mendo- cino County, Cal. Upon finding himself stranded and in a strange town, he immediately began looking for work, and finally found employment tallying in a lumber yard at Casper. He was quick in figuring and became so adept in the business that he soon was advanced to the position of bookkeeper, and rose to superintendent of the mill and store. He was a constant student and became a telegraph operator, and was also an express agent. He was supervisor of Mendocino County and he held that position until he removed to Gualala, a different district; at the latter place he was manager of the store for the Gualala Lumber Company.

In Point Arena, in 1872, Mr. Wade was united in marriage with Martha E. Walton, who was a native of Warsaw, Indiana, born in 1853, the daughter of Louis and Sarah (Blake) Walton, born in West Vir- ginia and Ohio, respectively. Mrs. Wade came with her family by way of the Isthmus in the year of 1860, her father coming here for his health, first lo- cating at Napa, Cal. Louis Walton was a farmer back East and was counted among the most pros- perous, when his health failed him and he had to seek a milder climate. Mrs. Wade was educated in the Napa schools and in a private college. Mr. and Mrs. Wade came to Santa Clara County in the year of 1893, principally on account of the educational ad- vantages, and bought and located on a ranch of five acres a half mile from Campbell. Here they con- tinued to live for the next twenty years, then having built a home in Campbell, they moved there, after selling their tract of land. They became the parents of four children, all of whom are living: Herbert R .. of Alameda; Lila V. married John B. Strong of Campbell; Benjamin lives at Campbell; Florence is the wife of Martial Cottle of Edenvale.

Mr. Wade was a man that took an active part in the life of his town, always trying to improve and make conditions better. He was interested in fruit growing and fruit drying and never missed an op- portunity to encourage farmers in this line of work. He established a branch store of the San Jose Farm- ers' Union in Campbell and was manager of this store until his demise, which occurred in 1913, after he had reached the age of seventy-two; after his death his

son-in-law, Mr. Strong, took up the work of this sturdy old pioneer and is now the manager of this store at Campbell. Mr. Wade helped to organize and was vice-president and director of the Bank of Campbell. He was a helpful factor in many ways in the local affairs, always a leader in matters that tended to promote and increase interest in business and civic life of Campbell. His motto was "Always do well whatever you have to do." He was a strong advocate of temperance, and aided much in keeping Campbell a "dry" town. In national politics he was a Republican and was a thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Mason, and was buried with Masonic honors. Mrs. Wade is a member of the Grange. For years she has been a student of Christian Science and has been a Christian Science practitioner for ten years. She is a member of the Campbell Improvement Club, of which organization her husband was the president at the time of his passing away.

IGINO ALLEGRINI .- Identified with Santa Clara County as proprietor of an up-to-date hostelry, Igino Allegrini has been the owner of the St. Charles Hotel and grill for the last sixteen years, located at 39 North Market Street, San Jose. Mr. Allegrini is a native of Italy, having been born in the province of Lucca on January 11, 1868.

He was educated in the elementary schools and then the Latin school, and then began study for the priesthood, continuing for more than two years when his eyes failed him and he quit studying for two years. He then attended the normal school at Pisa, but before he had completed the course was again obliged to quit on account of his failing eyesight. Then he was in the Seventh Artillery of the Italian army serving thirty-four months when he received atı honorable discharge. He then decided to see some ol the world, so in the year of 1892, he made the voyage to America. Landing in New York City he came on to San Francisco and obtained work of various kinds, and in October of 1892 he came to San Jose. He then spent two years as a rancher in Sacramento, but the floods came and swept every- thing in their wake, ruining him financially, so that he became discouraged in that line of work; in the year of 1895 he again came to San Jose and at first engaged in the vegetable business where he was engaged for eleven years. During this time in 1905 he purchased the St. Charles Hotel and for sixteen years has been proprietor of this modern, and up-to- date hostelry, giving personal attention to the con- fort of his guests and with his pleasing personality, he has made many good friends here and is a leader among his countrymen.

Mr. Allegrini's marriage October 21, 1899 united him with Miss Catherine Baumann and the ceremony was solemnized in San Jose, Cal. Mrs. Allegrini was born in San Francisco and was reared in San Jose from nine years of age and here she attended Notre Dame convent. Mr. and Mrs. Allegrini became the parents of two children: Emma R., a graduate of the San Jose high school and now employed in the county surveyor's office in the court house at San Jose; and Elio. Mr. Allegrini stands high in the Masonic lodge, which order he first joined in Italy, and now belongs to Harmony Lodge No. 26, San Jose. He is also a member of the Druids in which he has passed the chairs and has been delegate to the Grand Grove for fifteen different times. Is a member of the Franco-Italian lodge of I. O. O. F .;

Martha E. Wade

S. C. Wade

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

also a member of the I. O. R. M., the Ridgley Pro- tective Association and Italian Benevolent Society, of which he is past president. He takes a live interest in the affairs of San Jose and is always for projects and movements that make for the betterment of the community and the welfare of the commonwealth.

THE GROWERS BANK .- The city of San Jose is liberally endowed with institutions calculated to advance materially the financial welfare of its in- habitants, and the most recent acquisition to finan- cial circles is the Growers Bank, which held a public reception on the occasion of its opening April 30, 1921, in the handsomely-remodeled and spacious five- story building located at the northwest corner of Santa Clara and Market streets, known as the Grow- ers Bank building. The bank was organized with a capital and surplus of $330,000 and the personnel of its officers presage success in their undertaking. The exterior is of the attractive Napoleon gray marble, which gives promise of what the interior will be. On entering one sees gray marble floors and highly- polished marble walls blended harmoniously with the woodwork, quarter-sawed oak finished in silver gray and trimmed in bronze. That the institution comes into being with the best wishes of bankers of all parts of the state, was indicated from the many outside bankers who paid their respects to the new institution on opening day. Not only were words of greeting received from all the local banks. but twenty-two representatives from banks in other parts of the state, including the Citizens National and the Merchants National of Los Angeles, were also guests of the Growers Bank, and all wished it every success during the long life which is pre- dicted for it. On the right as one enters the door. is the patrons' waiting room, next the offices of the bank's officials, and farther on the commercial de- partment, all equipped in the most artistic and up- to-date fashion. All office furniture is of steel, the hest procurable, and a unique combination of beauty and utility.

At the end of the lobby is the savings department, while back of this department are the bank's two main vaults, one the money vault, and the other the safety deposit vault. They are protected by mas- sive steel doors, each five and one-half tons in weight, equipped with time locks, and so delicately protected that the slightest touch on the combination dial once the door is closed, will set off three bur- glar alarms.

Adjoining the safety vault are four coupon rooms for the convenience of the bank's patrons. In the rear, and to the left, is located the directors' room. finished in mahogany, with a twenty-foot table, con- structed of three solid pieces of mahogany, two and one-half inches in thickness. To the right of the lobby are the foreign and domestic exchange de- partments, and the receiving and paying departments, in the equipping of which no expense has been spared. At the rear end to the right of the building is the stairway which leads to the ladies' rest room on the second floor. This is attractively furnished, and serves both as a reading and rest room. Outside a McClintock clock has been installed at a cost of $1,700 with Westminster chimes sounding the hour and the half hour, which is a delight and convenience to the general public.

Officials of the institution, who were the recipi- ents of many congratulatory messages, are: S. E.

Johnson, president; G. C. Singletary, vice-presi- dent; Sam Martin, vice-president; Fred W. Sinclair. cashier and manager; H. S. Kittredge, secretary- treasurer; J. l. Bujan, assistant cashier, and C. A. Swain, assistant cashier. Over 1,000 new accounts were added to their clientele on opening day, which gives them something like 4,000 accounts.

EVASIO PORTALUPI .- A successful, experi- enced baker whose unremitting industry has enabled him to establish himself, with equal prosperity in other fields is Evasio Portalupi, who was born in Torino, Italy, on June 9, 1885, the son of Joseph Portalupi, a building contractor, who had married Miss Adelaide Rigolone. Mrs. Portalupi died at the birth of her son; and his father passed away when our subject was eighteen years old. Evasio was sent to the grammar schools, and then, to complete his higher education, he attended the College at Torino.

Joseph Portalupi had long had an intimate friend, a building contractor in San Francisco, and his let- ters to the old Italian home district led to Evasio's crossing the briny deep himself. A serions disap- pointment, however, awaited him in San Francisco: arriving in this far-off city on November 25, 1906, he found that the friend in question had been taken ill, and therefore could not continue to do contract work; and consequently the young man was thrown upon his own resources, and had to accept day labor. He worked for a short time with a pick and shovel, and then accepted a position with the United Rail- way Company of San Francisco. He worked there for four months, and then was in the service of the St. Francis Hotel for two years.

About that time Mr. Portalupi bought ont the Telegraph Hill Grocery at the corner of Grand and Greenwich streets, and for eight years he managed that enterprise so well that it steadily grew, and be- came a profitable investment. On April 13, 1916, he sold out and removed to San Jose, and here he entered the bakery field, and with the aid of his ac- complished and faithful wife, established the New Style French Bakery. This fine business they sold out in 1919, giving way to Petrino & Ferrarris, and then Mr. Portalupi started the Italian Grocery at 130 West Santa Clara Street, a thriving business since moved to the corner of First and St. John streets. He then began to invest in real estate, and he is today an active operator in that important field. When Mr. Portalupi was managing the bakery busi- ness now conducted by his brother-in-law, Mr. Pet- rino, he so developed it that he had wholesale wagons running throughout San Jose and vicinity. while he was shipping bread to such points as Gil- roy and Milpitas, and for three years supplying the county hospital and almshouse.

At San Jose, on April 13, 1916, Mr. Portalupi was married to Miss Mary Petrino, a native of Montiglio. in the Province of Alexandria, Italy, and the dangh- ter of Evasio and Tersilla Petrino. Her father was a successful commission merchant, and she had the advantages of a good home. In 1908 she came to San Francisco and in 1910 to San Jose. One child, a son named Henry, has blessed the union. Mr. Portalupi is a Republican, and a member of the Masons, as well as the Maccabees and the Red Men, of San Jose, and he has been an active officer in all of the lodges.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

CHARLES GENARDINI .- For more than a quarter of a century Charles Genardini has been active as a dairyman of Santa Clara County, and his success has been obtained through close application to busi- ness, coupled with honesty and uprightness of charac- ter. A native of Switzerland, he was born at Gor- dola, in Canton Ticino, June 29, 1865, the son of Joseph and Rosalia (Pata) Genardini, Charles being the fifth child in a family of six. The father was a farmer and orchardist. Charles was educated in the public schools of his native land, and spent his boy- hood on the farm helping his father with the farm work. In 1886, when he was twenty-one, he came to California, settling in San Luis Obispo County. Mr. Genardini was a carpenter by trade and when he came to California he could turn his hand to any kind of work. He started to work in a dairy, but he found the milking of cows very hard and thought he never would learn it, but in three months he had mastered it, so he could hold his own with anyone. He attended strictly to business and in time his em- ployer sold out to him and he continued the business for four years, then started in the dairy business for himself near the town of Morrow, ten miles from San Luis Obispo and continued for four years; then leased a ranch at Chorro and ran it eight years, when he came back to Morrow, where he leased two differ- ent ranches. In time he came to have one of the largest dairies in that region, having 170 milch cows. He was one of the first dairymen to see the practica- bility of the separator and was one of the first to in- stall a steam separator in his dairy and also a power churn, where he manufactured butter. During sev- eral months of the year he made 200 pounds of butter a day, which he shipped and sold in the Los Angeles markets through commission men, obtain- ing a record price. He was said to have the best bunch of cows on the Coast. He saw to it, too, that his men had comfortable quarters and good food and he was known as one of the most reliable and enterprising men in the county. He continued dairy- ing there until 1913, selling out his dairy in San Luis Obispo County and settled in Santa Clara County on a ranch near Lawrence Station, consisting of 160 acres. He rented this place for about five years, then bought forty-four acres on Bascom Avenue devoted to prunes, which he later sold, and pur- chased his present home on the Stevens Creek Road; remodeling the house into a modern bungalow and putting the place in good shape.

Mr. Genardini's marriage occurred in San Luis Obispo in 1889 and united him with Miss Elizabeth Canet, the daughter of Joseph and Valentine Canet. Grandfather Canet came from Spain and settled in California in very early days. Mrs. Genardini was educated in the schools of San Luis Obispo, and was reared on a farm. She and her husband are the parents of five children: Rosalia, deceased; Armenia, accidentally burned to death when two years old; Jo- seph married Miss Jennie Tonini of Morrow and they have three children-Alfred, Helen and Stanley Charles; Mary is Mrs. Fred Tonini and they have three children-Ellis, Carl and Eileen; Dante entered the service of his country in June, 1918, and was one month at Camp Lewis in Company L, Three Hundred Sixty-fourth Infantry of the Ninety-first Division; was transferred to the Signal Corps in New York and went to France as a telephone operator, and

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 200

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