History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 22

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

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San Francisco-U. S. Grant, A. J. Bryant, J. H. Smith, W. W. Dodge. A. M. Scott, M. L. McDonald, J. P. Jackson, E. Danforth, M. D. Bornck, H. Brickwedel, John Wise and Henry Pierce.

Lecturers from over the sea who came to San Jose were T. P. O'Connor, Michael Davitt and Timothy Healey, Irish patriots. From the East came Robert G. Ingersoll, Henry Ward Beecher, Theodore Tilton, Col. E. Z. C. Jud- son, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dr. Mary Walker, Anna Howard Shaw, Anna Dickinson Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, Dr. Mary Walker and Oscar Wilde. The lectures of Beecher and Ingersoll were not far apart, but their speaking styles were as far apart as the poles. Beecher was ornate, flowery and serious. He was eloquent in a lofty way and his voice was a volume of musical sound. But he never thrilled an audience as Ingersoll thrilled it. Ingersoll possessed a personal mag- netism more seductive than any speaker who ever visited San Jose. At his first lecture,

given in Music Hall on First Street, the front bench was occupied mainly by ministers of the local Protestant churches, gathered there out of curiosity. Before and after the lecture they called Ingersoll a sophist, one who touched insignificant errors but failed to sound the depths of Christian philosophy as revealed in the pages of the Bible. But that night they were so carried away by the great agnostic's quips and quirks that their laughter, chuckles and unconscious movements broke down the bench upon which they were sitting, thus cre- ating a diversion that greatly amused the lec- turer and caused a laughable commotion in other parts of the hall.

Theodore Tilton was stiff, stilted and self- conscious. He had a fine command of lan- guage, but his mannerisms, his posings and his conceit combined to create an unfavorable impression. He came to San Jose just after the celebrated trial in Brooklyn of the re- nowned Tabernacle preacher, and his notoriety -not his fame as a public speaker-had the effect of drawing to his lecture a very large audience.

Mrs. Stanton produced an altogether differ- ent impression. She was easy, graceful and earnest, spoke without effort and made her points without artifice. Anna Howard Shaw and Anna Dickinson were polished speakers. Miss Dickinson was the more dramatic.

Of the Irish lecturers, Healey and Davitt were serions and impassioned. O'Connor (Tay Pay) was serious and witty by turns, and his talk was therefore more entertaining than, that of his fellow-workers in the Irish cause.

In the '80s the annual encampment of the National Grand Army of the Republic was held in California. After the session San Jose was visited by a large number of delegates, the number including Gens. John A. Logan, C. S. Fairchild, and George Stoneman. At the time Stoneman was Governor of California. Before this event Gen. W. S. Hancock had been in San Jose. Of the warriors, Logan, as a speaker, was eloquent, impressive and force- ful. With his long hair, once raven-black but. now streaked with gray, his flashing black eyes and handsome features, he made a picture that was pleasing to look upon. General Hancock was not an orator. He was over six feet in height, ponderous and heavy, and moved slowly, as if he found it an effort to lift his feet. He spoke haltingly, but made a good impression on account of his transparent hon- esty and unaffected manner.

In later days came Josh Billings, Opie Read, James Whitcomb Riley, Bill Nye, Geo. W. Cable, Geo. Alfred Townsend, Jack London, Joaquin Miller, Mrs. Mary Austen, King Kala- kaua, of the Hawaiian Islands, Gen. John C. Fremont, William J. Bryan, Booker Wash-

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ington, Thomas B. Reed, and several other notables whose names cannot be recalled. Bryan's first visit to San Jose was made in 1897, the year after he was defeated for the presidency by William Mckinley. There was quite a demonstration when he arrived with James G. Maguire, congressman from the San Francisco district. He spoke at the Fair Grounds before a large audience and after- wards held a reception at the Hotel Vendome.

General Fremont visited San Jose a few years before his death. He was the guest of the Santa Clara County Pioneers, and after sightseeing in San Jose the General and his wife were taken to the Big Trees in Santa Cruz County, where an old-fashioned enter- tainment was provided.

One whose career was one series of sensa- tional adventures and whose reputation dur- ing the '50s and '60s was world-wide, stayed in San Jose for several weeks in 1868. The man was Col. E. Z. C. Judson (Ned Buntline), who was the originator in the United States of the dime novel. He was also the pioneer in the writing of lurid fiction. He was a grad- uate of the Annapolis Naval Academy and was commissioned midshipman for bravery in res- cuing a boat's crew from drowning in New York harbor. While in the navy he fought seven duels. His fellow-middies refused to as- sociate themselves with him because he had been a common sailor. To enforce their re- spect he challenged all of them, thirteen in number, to mortal combat. Only seven agreed to fight, and he worsted them all in quick suc- cession without receiving a scratch himself. One of his opponents was afterwards an ad- miral in the navy. He was an active partici- pant in the Florida (Indian) and Mexican wars, and in the Civil War was the colonel of a regiment of mountaineers. He was a crack shot and in the '70s, in a trial of skill with Buffalo Bill, Texas Jack and a number of In- dian chiefs, he easily proved his superiority.

He began to write fiction in the early '40s. In 1848 he started a paper in New York in order to further the cause of Know-Nothing- ism, of which he was an ardent and reckless supporter. In that same year he was sentenced to one year's confinement in prison as one of the leaders in the Astor House riots when the adherents of Edwin Forrest, the great Ameri- can tragedian, attempted to mob W. C. Mac- ready, the English tragedian, as a reprisal for

insults heaped upon Forrest by Macready's English friends while Forrest was filling a London engagement. He was one of the pio- neers in waging war against the publication and circulation of immoral literature. In 1852, long before Anthony Comstock was in the field, he made complaint against an offending publisher. The place was raided by the police and tons of objectionable literature were seized and burned in City Hall Park.

Ned Buntline's first serial story appeared in 1857, and for over twenty years bear and In- dian stories, war and sea romances, local nov- els-in fact every variety of sensational fiction -- flowed in constant stream from his pen. In 1868 he came to California as a temperance lecturer. He had been a hard drinker, but had reformed. During his stay in San Jose he de- livered one of his lectures under the auspices of the local Good Templar lodge. Of the com- mittee of introduction only one member is now living (1922), the veteran lawyer. J. C. Black, who afterwards served as district attor- ney and was special prosecutor in several nota- ble criminal cases.

After leaving San Jose Buntline started east- ward, but laid over several months in Laramie, Wyo., in order to obtain material for a new series of wild west stories. Here he met Buf- falo Bill, who had just completed a contract to supply buffalo meat for the tracklayers of the Kansas Pacific Railway, and whose repu- tation then was mainly local. The two men became fast friends and a short time after their meeting . Buntline sent the first Buffalo Bill romance to a New York story paper. Other stories quickly followed, and within a year Buffalo Bill became the most talked-of person- age in America. Not content with newspaper exploitation, Buntline wrote a play called "Buffalo Bill, the King of Scouts," and induced Bill to appear in the titular role. The first per- formance was given in a Western city. Other plays starring Buffalo Bill were written, a company was formed, Wild Bill and Texas Jack becoming members, and a tour of the country was made, San Jose being visited in 1877. After parting with Buffalo Bill, Bunt- line resumed his temperance crusade, but still kept up his story-writing. A large portion of the money he earned was spent in improving his country place in Westchester County, New York. He married late in life and died in 1886.

CHAPTER XI.

Santa Clara County During the Civil War-Many Companies Formed- Confederate Sympathizers Take to Robbery-The Fight on the New Almaden Road-Excitement Over the Death of Abraham Lincoln.

Santa Clara County was loyal during the Civil War, which opened in 1861. It furnished both money and men to the Union cause. Many thousands of dollars were contributed and placed at the disposal of the Sanitary Com- mission, and more volunteer soldiers were ten- dered than were required. The majority of the volunteers were either retained in the state or sent to Arizona and New Mexico. There was no draft ever ordered in California to secure her proportion of troops, while there was always a reserve of volunteers, organized under the state laws, more than sufficient for any emergency that might arise. California was far from the center of government, with a long line of exposed seacoast which, in case of foreign complications, was subject to attack. For this reason it was necessary that the great bulk of the population should remain at home for self-protection. Many men went to San Francisco and other cities, not being able to enlist at home on account of the filling of the quota. Some enlisted in the California Bat- talion. Two San Joseans, W. H. Lawrence and George W. Lee, joined the battalion and were prisoners in Andersonville. Mr. Lawrence is still a resident of the city. Mr. Lee removed to Santa Cruz in 1919. Other members from Santa Clara County were Abe Withrow and Warren Wood of Santa Clara, and James Hacket of San Jose.

Of those who enlisted in San Jose, there is record of the following :

San Jose Volunteers, afterwards Company C, First Regiment, Infantry. Organized in San Jose, June 21, 1861, as follows: H. A. Gorley, captain ; John Martin, first lieutenant ; D. C. Vestal, second lieutenant : S. C. Thomas, third lieutenant: M. Pulaski, first sergeant; J. H. Murphy, second sergeant; Edgar Pomeroy, third sergeant; T. J. Cuiston, third sergeant ; John Mulholland, first corporal ; W. M. Owen, second corporal: David Downer, third cor- poral ; Randolph Leavenworth, fourth corporal. The celebration of the Fourth of July in that year was marred by a painful accident where- by Gorley, Martin and Ed Morton were injured while firing a national salute. The company was reorganized as veterans at Las Cruces, N. M., November 29, 1864. During the war there were many desperate engagements with Indians. Lieutenant Vestal, with his com-

pany, assisted in the capture of the notorious Showalter and his band. The company, while in the desert, marched over 2,000 miles.

Second Regiment, Infantry-Organized No- vember 29, 1861. The Santa Clara County men in this regiment were generally credited to Mayfield. T. C. Winchell was adjutant ; Mont- gomery Maze (afterwards a searcher of rec- ords in San Jose), was second lieutenant of Company A and C. P. Fairfield was first lieu- tenant of Company I.

Third Regiment, Infantry-Organized in 1861. Served in Utah and Colorado. J. C. Merrill was captain of Company B. There were Santa Clara County men in Companies D, E and G. William J. Colahan, deceased, was in Company G.

Eighth Regiment, Infantry-Company C was organized in San Jose in 1864. After be- ing mustered in, the regiment was stationed at Fort Point, California.

First Battalion of Mountaineers-Organized in 1862. Served in the mountain campaigns against the hostile Indians in California and Nevada. George W. Owsley was captain of Company B.

First Cavalry Regiment-Company E organ- ized in August, 1861. Served in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Engaged against the Kiowa, Comanche, Navajo and Apache In- dians. There were also Santa Clara men in Companies I and L of this regiment.

First Battalion of Native Cavalry-Company A was organized in 1863 by Captain J. R. Pico. Served in California and Arizona. The bat- talion was composed mainly of native Cali- fornians.

In addition to the foregoing troops, the fol- lowing organizations were held for state service :

First Regiment, Cavalry-Company E: H. M. Leonard, captain ; E. Vandyne, first lieuten- ant; D. J. Burnett, second lieutenant; H. C. Morrell, Jr., third lieutenant. Sixty men in the company, all armed.

Company I, Burnett Light Horse Guard-J. R. Hall, captain ; P. Henry, first lieutenant ; J. Chrisman, senior second lieutenant ; A. J. Fow- ler, junior second lieutenant. Fifty men in the company, all armed.

Company K, New Almaden Cavalry-L. F. Parker, captain ; J. P. Dudley, first lieutenant ;

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H. H. Curtis, senior second lieutenant; A. F. Foster, junior second lieutenant. Forty men in the company, all armed.

National Light Artillery-S. O. Houghton, captain ; C. T. Henley, first lieutenant : Jacob Weigant, junior first lieutenant: N. B. Ed- wards, senior second lieutenant ; Edward Ladd, junior second lieutenant.

Fifth Regiment, Infantry-A. Jones Jackson, colonel; A. B. Rowley, lieutenant-colonel ; J. Porter, major ; J. O. Wanzer, adjutant ; Chas. N. Senter, regimental quartermaster ; A. J. Cory, surgeon.

Company A, Union Guard-Chas. P. Crit- tenden, captain ; E. J. Morton, first lieutenant ; George Evans, senior second lieutenant; N. Klein, junior second lieutenant. Sixty men, armed with rifles.

Company B, San Jose Zouaves-A. W. White, captain ; M. Campbell, first lieutenant ; F. B. Fuller, senior second lieutenant ; W. T. Adel, junior second lieutenant. Eighty men, armed with rifle muskets.

Company C, Alviso Rifles-Thatcher F. Barnes, captain; John Root, first lieutenant; Edward W. Williams, senior second lieuten- ant; Charles E. Morrison, junior second lieu- tenant. Sixty men, armed with rifle muskets.

Company E, Gilroy Guards-John H. Ad- ams, captain ; William O. Barker, first lieuten- ant; William Van Gundy, junior second lieu- tenant. Forty men, armed with rifle muskets.

Company H, Santa Clara Guard-William H. Swope, first lieutenant; W. H. Menton, senior second lieutenant; A. F. Harlow, junior second lieutenant. Sixty men, armed with rifle muskets.

Johnson Guard, unattached-John M. Mur- phy, captain; N. B. Edwards, first lieutenant ; J. F. Faulkner, senior second lieutenant ; P. W. Riordan, junior second lieutenant. Fifty men, armed with muskets.

In 1864 a company of men, representing the Confederate government, was organized for the purpose of raising money for the Confed- erate cause by robbing stages and banks in California. Several recruits were obtained in Santa Clara County. In May of that year two Wells-Fargo stages were stopped near Placer- ville by this band, then under the command of Ralph Henry, alias Ingraham. He gave a re- ceipt for the several hundred pounds of bul- lion taken from the stages, stating that he was acting for Jefferson Davis. A day or two after the robbery Deputy Sheriff Staples of El Do- rado County came upon the gang in a house in the mountains, and without sufficient assist- ance attempted to arrest them. He was killed in the attempt. A man named Poole was wounded in the fight and captured. The other members of the band escaped. The captive

made a confession, in which he named the members of the gang.

On the night of Thursday, July 14, between nine and ten o'clock, three men called at the house of a Mr. Hill on the New Almaden road. a few miles from San Jose, and asked permis- sion to stay overnight, stating that they were looking for some friends who would pass that way. Mr. Hill directed them to an unoccupied building close by, saying that if they could put up with such poor accommodation they were welcome to the use of it. The three men re- mained in the building all night and all the next day. Thinking that the actions of the men were rather suspicious, Hill came to San Jose and told his story to the officers. Sheriff John H. Adams at once organized a posse, con- sisting of Deputy Sheriffs G. W. Reynolds, Fred Morris and J. M. Brownlee, Marshal Pot- ter, Constable Scott and Citizens Senter, Wiles, Bowman and Gould, and proceeded to the Hill ranch. They arrived at night. The building was surrounded and Sheriff Adams. in a loud voice, commanded the three men to come out and surrender. But the men, who were members of the Ingraham gang, had re- solved to sell their lives dearly. Rushing out, they commenced firing at the officers. During the fusillade John Creal, one of the robbers, received three bullet wounds, either of which would have caused his death. He was brought to San Jose and died an hour after his arrival. Ab. Gillespie, or Glasby, another of the trio, had the handle of his pistol shot away, his clothes were perforated with bullets, but no wound was inflicted. He was soon overpow- ered and handcuffed. John Clendennin, the third robber, after firing twice point-blank at Sheriff Adams, and receiving a settler in re- turn, jumped over a fence and fled in the di- rection of The Willows, where he was found about midnight, in a dying condition, by Un- der Sheriff R. B. Hall and J. R. Lowe, Jr., of another party who had gone in search of the fugitive. He was taken to the county jail and died the next day.

One of the shots from Clendennin's pistol, aimed at Sheriff Adams' heart, struck a watch in the pocket of his vest and then glanced into the body, inflicting a slight wound. Brownlee received two flesh wounds in the leg. Creal fired eight shots before he fell and was at- tempting to use his pistol after he was down, but was prevented from doing so by Deputy Sheriff Reynolds. When found in The Wil- lows, Clendennin had two revolvers and a bag of gold dust on his person. It was believed that the 'object of the three men in stationing themselves on the New Almaden road was to rob the stage as it came along with gold to pay the miners on the hill.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Another member of the Confederate band was John Grant, who, having had difficulty with Captain Ingraham, determined to play the role of a lone highwayman. In July word came that he was in San Juan and would shortly pay a visit to a young woman who lived near Forbes' mill, Los Gatos. Under Sheriff Hall, accompanied by Charles Potter and John Ward, went to Los Gatos and located the house where Grant was staying. He was in bed and the arrest was easily accomplished. As the officers and their prisoner were prepar- ing to leave, Grant, though handcuffed, seized Hall's gun and rushed for the door, Hall after him. Grant tried to use the gun, but the hand- cuffs were in the way and he was seized just as he reached the outer door., At the moment of the rearrest someone of Hall's party fired both barrels of a shotgun at Grant, severely wounding him. He was brought to San Jose and lodged in jail.

It was during war times that the Methodist Church at Berryessa was burned to the ground. The act was attributed to one or more mem- bers of the Dick Baker gang of Confederates, whose operations in aid of the Southern cause were mainly in the line of horse-stealing. The gang was finally scattered, some members go- ing to the Southern States, others to Arizona and Mexico.

When the news of the assassination of Abra- ham Lincoln reached San Jose there was at first a stillness as if the population had been stricken with mental paralysis. Then excite- ment grew until it reached fever heat. The residents were composed of two elements, the northerners and the majority of the western- ers who upheld the cause of the Union; and the southerners and southwesterners, who sympathized with the cause of the Confeder- acy. Good, honest, substantial men on each side, but divided in opinion by the effect of early environment. Among the Confederate sympathizers were many of San Jose's promi- nent men. In the country districts the same conditions prevailed. While the excitement over the death of Lincoln was at its height some of the southerners were so indiscreet as to publicly express their joy over the death of a man who had been pictured to them as a human gorilla and a negro lover. The Union men were in a majority and whenever an anti-

Union sentiment found utterance the speaker was quietly placed under arrest. Several prom- inent citizens were conveyed to Alcatraz prison, San Francisco Bay, but their term of imprisonment was short, for after partisan bitterness had been partially allayed their re- lease was ordered and they came back to their farms and business.

It was while arrests were being made that a tall countryman passed the Auzerais House shouting, "Hurrah for Jeff." He was promptly seized by indignant Unionists and would have been hustled off to jail if he had not made vig- orons and what seemed to be honest protest. "Why, I'm no reb," he declared. "I didn't mean Jeff Davis when I hurrahed. I meant the milkman-George H. Jefferson. I was having a bit of fun; had been taking a few drinks and wasn't at myself. That's true, boys, as true as preaching." His captors looked at the smiling face, noted the alcoholic condi- tion of the man, and concluded to give him the benefit of the doubt.

A short time before Lincoln's death a num- ber of San Jose young men, born in the South and filled with the desire to do something for the Confederate cause, met in secret and con- cocted a scheme to ride into San Jose some morning after the stores had opened and there were few people about, and rob safes and tills, hoping by this daring operation to secure enough money to take them out of the state and into Confederate territory. The plot had been fully arranged and all was ready for the raid when the news of Lincoln's assassination arrived. In the excitement over the event the scheme was dropped. The story of it was told to the historian years afterwards by one of the plotters, a man who stood high in the esti- mation of his fellow-citizens. He seemed to regard the affair as a joke, though he was glad that the robbery had not been attempted. He died many years ago and not one of his associates is now in the land of the living.

Times have changed since the days of the Civil War. Nowadays veterans of the South- ern Confederacy meet, shake hands and ex- change reminiscences with the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. Not only that, but their sons and grandsons bunk and fight together as Americans. This is as it should be.

CHAPTER XII.

The Fruit Industry of the County-The Largest Prune Producing Section in the State-History of the Development-Introduction of the French Prune-The First Fruit Cannery-The Vineyards and Olive Orchards- When Artesian Water Was First Obtained-Farm Loan Board-Cali- fornia Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc .- Some Interesting Statistics.

Santa Clara County is the banner fruit- producing county of the state. In 1919 there were 98,152 acres planted in fruit trees and 2,850 acres in vines. The total acreage of ce- reals, vegetables and berries was 86,695. The live stock numbers 62,248; value $1,288,175. It is the prune center of America. More prunes are grown in this valley than are produced in the whole United States outside. In 1919 the number of prune trees was 7,652,000. Apricots came next with 665,000, peaches third with 482,000, and cherries fourth with 380,000 trees. In 1919 the orchardists of the county received about $49,000,000 from the products of their trees. This was irrespective of the money made by the canners and packers. The grow- ers might not have obtained high prices had it not been for the efforts of the California Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc., an organiza- tion perfected three years ago for the purpose of creating stable prices and protecting the orchardists of California. In 1919 it operated with 75 per cent of the prune and apricot acre- age of the state. In December of that year a campaign to hold, if not increase, its strength resulted in the securing of about 80 per cent of the acreage. The association occupies a large, handsome and commodious building on the southeast corner of Market and San An- tonio Streets, employs a large force of men and women and does business every month in the year. The officers are: T. S. Mont- gomery, president; W. A. Yerxa, vice-presi- dent ; H. G. Coykendall, general manager; H. C. Dunlap, secretary and treasurer, and J. T. Brooks, manager of Growers' Information But- reau. T. S. Montgomery, H. G. Coykendall, W. G. Alexander, H. C. Dunlap and A. Kam- merer form the executive committee. The di- rectors are W. A. Yerxa, Princeton; H. C. Dunlap, Yountville; Mark L. McDonald, Santa Rosa; G. C. Alexander, Healdsburg; T. S. Montgomery, San Jose; H. G. Coykendall, Cupertino; J. O. Hayes, San Jose; A. Kam- merer, San Jose; Nathan Lester, Santa Clara ; L. E. Mills, Santa Paula; C. G. Hamilton, Hemet, and W. J. Fulgham, Visalia. In 1921 a campaign resulted in giving the association control of over 80 per cent of the state acre-

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 22

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