History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 50

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

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vember 27, 1918, and it was read by C. L. Witten before Judges Gosbey and Welch, sit- ting en banc. It is as follows :

"Augustus Loring Rhodes was born in 1821 near Utica, Oneida County, New York, where his grandfather, a pioneer, established his home in 1796. Judge Rhodes received his first education at an academy and then graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton in 1841. After completing his college course he trav- eled through some of the southern states as a private tutor. His spare time after leaving college was devoted to the study of the law, which soon became his life occupation. He commenced active practice in the state of In- diana. At Bloomfield, Illinois, he married Elizabeth Cavins, whose father was then a judge in that state.

"In 1854 Judge Rhodes came to California, and from that year to the time of his death, October 23, 1918, a period of sixty-four years, he was continuously a resident of Santa Clara County. In 1856 he opened a law office in San Jose and soon became prominent in pro- fessional and public life.

"In 1859 he was elected district attorney of Santa Clara County, and in 1860 was chosen by the voters to represent Santa Clara and Alameda Counties in the State Senate. In 1863 he was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court and was a member of that tribunal until 1880. After his retirement from the Su- preme Bench he practiced law, with offices in San Francisco, until September 22, 1899, when he was appointed Judge of the Superior Court of Santa Clara County to fill the va- cancy occasioned by the death of Judge A. S. Kittredge. He presided over one of the de- partments until September, 1907, when he voluntarily retired to private life. His retire- ment was not, however, that of a recluse, but meant that more of his time was given to en- joyment of the society of his family and friends.

"In measuring the life of Judge Rhodes it would be difficult to determine whether as lawyer and judge, or as man and friend, he was the greatest, for he combined the ele- ments that went to make him great in all these capacities. It is unnecessary to detail the qualifications which went to make Judge Rhodes an eminent lawyer in his earlier life and in the interim between his respective pe- riods upon the bench; that he was an able lawyer of the highest repute sums up his ca- reer at the bar ; nor is it necessary in order to establish or perpetuate his worth as a judge by a recital of his judicial accomplishments, for that is already set forth in the long line of decisions which in permanent form consti-

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tute a record which requires no words of ours to enlarge.

"It is not out of place, however, to perpetu- ate, by this record, the many charming per- sonal attributes of Judge Rhodes; the well- proportioned frame which to the last carried erect the burden of almost a century of years ; the intellectual countenance which bespoke the strong mentality of the man; the cheery greeting to his friends; the unimpaired mind

and memory with its rich fund of reminis- cences and anecdotes relating to the pioneers of Santa Clara County's bench and bar.

"Judge Rhodes lived far beyond the allotted time of man and it was a long life of useful- ness and honor. As in life he was loved and venerated by us all, so in death will his mem- ory be cherished by the bench and bar of this county."

CHAPTER XXX.

The Banks and Industries of San Jose-An Incident in the Life of E. Mclaughlin-New Corporations Help to Build Up the City-Some of the Leaders of Industry.

The oldest banking institution in San Jose is the Bank of San Jose, now located at the northeast corner of First and Santa Clara Streets. It was opened for business in the Knox Block in March, 1866, by William J. Knox and T. Ellard Beans under the firm name of Knox & Beans and was conducted as a private banking house until January 31, 1868, on which date it was incorporated as a state bank. It was the first bank incorporated in Central California. The first officers were John G. Bray, president ; T. Ellard Beans, cashier and manager ; C. W. Pomeroy, secre- tary. In 1880 John T. Colahan, former city clerk, was appointed assistant cashier. In 1870 Mr. Bray died and T. Ellard Beans be- came president, a position he held until his death in 1905. Henry Philip succeeded Mr. Beans as cashier, acting in that capacity until 1875, when he was succeeded by Clement T. Park. W. V. Dinsmore was Park's successor. He resigned in 1912 and V. J. La Motte took his place. On the death of T. Ellard Beans, his son, William Knox Beans, became presi- dent. In 1871 the Bank of San Jose block, at its present location, was begun. It was com- pleted in 1872. In 1906 the building was dam- aged by the earthquake and in 1907 it was torn down and a new five story, reinforced concrete building was erected on the site. The present officers are William Knox Beans, pres- ident ; Victor J. LaMotte, vice-president and manager ; A. B. Post, cashier. The capital stock is $300,000; surplus and reserve, $358,000.

T. Ellard Beans, one of the founders of the bank, was born in Salem, Ohio, and his early life was spent in mercantile and banking pur- suits. He came to California in 1849, mined

for a time and then went into mercantile busi- ness in Nevada City. He nearly lost his life in the great fire in that place in 1856. Ten years later he removed to San Jose. His death was generally regretted for he was one of the city's most reliable and competent busi- ness men. His son, William Knox Beans, en- tered the bank in 1878 and was vice-president before he took the higher office so long held by his father.

Bank of Italy

The Bank of Italy, a branch of the main in- stitution in San Francisco occupies the three- story building formerly the home of the San Jose Deposit Bank of Savings, presided over by the late E. Mclaughlin, who founded the bank in 1885. When the Bank of Italy took possession the operating space on the lower floor was greatly enlarged and remodeled. Capital paid in $9,000,000; surplus, $1,500,000; undivided profits, $1,924,959.37. A. P. Gian- nini is president and W. R. Williams is cash- ier. San Jose officers are N. R. Pellerano, vice- president and W. E. Blauer, manager.

It was while the Safe Deposit Bank of Sav- ings was in existence with E. Mclaughlin as president and John E. Auzerais as cashier that it was the scene of one of the most daring robberies ever perpetrated in California. It was over thirty years ago and at that time the banks of the city and state had inside ap- proaches like grocery and dry goods stores. There were no cages, no separate depart- ments with either wooden or steel divisions. The gold was stacked generally at the end of a long counter and could easily be reached or handled by any customer. But the day came when the banks ceased to keep "open house."

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The cages and the steel safeguards came in to prevent any attempt on the part of the evilly inclined to steal the gold. The change was made after the robbery at the Safe De- posit Bank.

The robbery, shrewdly conceived, was the work of three men. One was detailed to en- ter the bank and engage the cashier in con- versation while a second man was to do the actual stealing. The third man was to sta- tion himself on the outside near the door to prevent, if possible, any bank customer from going inside, and if not possible to do this, to give confederates warning that there was dan- ger in the air. A moment for action was to be selected while the bank was free of custom- ers and while the cashier (who was also the teller) was at some distance from the stack of money which reposed on a mahogany tray near the street end of the counter. Luck fa- vored the robbers. With one man on guard at the door, the other two men entered the bank and successfully carried out the pro- gram agreed upon. While no unfriendly eye was upon him and while the cashier's atten- tion was being diverted by robber number one, the second robber quickly seized the tray with the money-$10,000 in gold twen- ties, carefully stacked-concealed it under his overcoat and substituted for the tray of money a tray of gilded dummies. It was the expecta- tion of the lawless trio that the substitution would not be discovered until the cashier had occasion to go to the tray to get gold for a customer.

Having performed the most difficult part of the program, the second robber, with his haul, passed out of the door. Following closely upon his heels went robber number one, his talk with the cashier having abruptly come to an end. Then the last member of the trio left his station at the door and joined his con- federates. It was some time before the rob- bery was discovered. As soon as discovery was made there was a hurry call for the po- lice, but when the officers arrived there was no trace of the robbers. The city was combed but nothing had been left behind to serve as a workable clue. Not one cent of the money was ever recovered.

Garden City Bank and Trust Company

The Garden City Bank and Trust Company, formerly the Garden City National Bank, is located on the lower floor of a seven-story con- crete building on the southwest corner of First and San Fernando Streets. The National Bank was chartered and organized in 1887 with Dr. C. W. Breyfogle as president and Thomas F. Morrison as cashier. In 1893 it ceased to be a national bank and became a

state bank. Until the erection of the new building in 1906, it occupied quarters on the northwest corner of First and San Fernando Streets. S. B. Hunkins became president after the death of Dr. Breyfogle and held office until death claimed him in 1914. Then Thomas S. Montgomery took the presidency. Mr. Mont- gomery is the only one living of the original directors and stockholders. The capital stock is $500,000; surplus, $625,000; deposits, $8,- 005,984.59. The present officers are T. S. Montgomery, president ; Dr. J. J. Miller, John F. Duncan, vice-president; W. G. Alexander. secretary ; C. J. Tripp, cashier. The bank has branches at Campbell. Gilroy, Santa Clara and Saratoga.

Dr. Breyfogle, the founder, was a native of Columbus, Ohio, and a graduate of the Ohio Wesleyan University. The same year he left college he entered the U. S. Army, rose to the rank of captain and was compelled to resign on account of failing eyesight. After a par- tial recovery from his affliction he studied law until his eyes again failed. Homeopathic treat- ment cured him and then he resolved to be- come a homeopathic physician. Entering a medical college, he graduated in 1865 and in 1870 came to San Jose. In May, 1886, he was elected mayor of the city. In 1885 he organ- ized the San Jose Building and Loan Asso- ciation.

Security State and Savings Bank

The Security State Bank and Security Sav- ings Bank occupy cosy rooms in a concrete building on First Street, opposite Post Street. It was organized as a savings bank in July, 1891, with Frank Stock as president, L. G. Nesmith, vice-president, and Paul P. Austin, cashier and manager, in the rooms adjoining the First National Bank. In 1900 W. S. Rich- ards obtained control of the stock and moved the business to East Santa Clara Street, be- tween First and Second Streets. In 1902 the Security State Bank was organized as an ad- junct of the savings institution. In March, 1909, the business was removed to its pres- ent quarters. E. T. Sterling was cashier un- der Richards until his resignation in 1907. He was succeeded by Wilbur J. Edwards. Mr. Richards died in 1915 and Mr. Edwards suc- ceeded to the office of president, and George B. Campbell became cashier. The vice-presi- dents were C. M. Richards and W. A. John- ston. The combined statement of the condition of the two banks, issued June 20, 1920, shows the following: Resources, $4,687,924.59; cap- ital, $100,000; capital, surplus and profits, $492,646.81 ; combined deposits, $4.175,277.78.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

First National Bank

The First National Bank of San Jose was organized July 11, 1874, with a paid up capi- tal of $500,000, with John W. Hinds as presi- dent ; W. L. Tisdale, vice-president, and G. P. Sparks, cashier. On July 6, 1875, the office of assistant cashier was created and L. G. Nes- mith elected to the position. In 1880 W. D. Tisdale became president and L. G. Nesmith cashier. Tisdale was succeeded by George M. Bowman, who held office until 1903. On his death the presidency fell to J. D. Radford. In 1907 he resigned and W. S. Clayton was his successor and is still in office. In 1910 a new. up-to-date finely appointed concrete building of nine stories, the tallest building in San Jose, was erected on the site of the old building on the southwest corner of First and Santa Clara Streets. The capital stock of the bank is $500,000; surplus, $200,000; deposits, $7,108,- 100.83; undivided profits, $171,742.62. The present officers are W. S. Clayton, president ; S. F. Leib, vice-president ; Paul Rudolph, cashier.

The Growers' Bank

The Growers' Bank, a new institution, was organized in May, 1920, and opened for busi- ness in July of that year, in the Rea building, on the northwest corner of Santa Clara and Market Streets. It is purely a county bank, with its stock broadly owned within the dis- trict. The capital stock has been placed at $300,000; surplus, $60,000. The officers are : V. T. McCurdy, president ; S. E. Johnson, vice- president; Fred W. Sinclair, cashier and manager.

The banks have a Clearing House Associa- tion and weekly reports are made. The offic- ers are W. R. Beans, president ; Paul Rudolph, secretary.

The Leading Industries

Chief among the leading industries of San Jose are the canneries and packing houses. They cover thousands of acres of ground and are mainly in the suburbs. Mention of their importance and activities has been made in the chapter covering the fruit industries of the city and county.

San Jose Foundry

Of the other industries-and they are many and are well sustained-the San Jose Foundry is the pioneer. It was first established in 1852 by Pomeroy and Mackenzie on the cor- ner of First and San Antonio Streets, where it remained until 1871, when a larger building was erected by Donald Mackenzie, then the sole proprietor. Here, in addition to a general

moulding and casting business, machines of many kinds were made and repared, the fa- cilities for such work being complete. The iron work for the court house, county jail and other prominent buildings of San Jose was supplied by the San Jose Foundry. After the death of Donald Mackenzie the management passed into the hands of Andrew Mackenzie and was continued until his death in 1918. In 1905 the lot on which the foundry stood was sold and the plant was removed to Vine Street, near Santa Clara Street. The business is now in the hands of the Misses Mackenzie, Frank Cavallaro and Oscar Promis. Cavallaro is the superintendent and O. Promis is the secretary. The lot where the old foundry once stood is now occupied by the Montgomery Hotel and the building of the California Prune and Apri- cot Growers, incorporated.

The Bean Spray Company

John Bean, the inventor of the Bean Spray Pump, began his work in the early '50s and enjoyed the distinction of being the inventor and patentee of the first double-acting force pump for well purposes.

On account of ill health Mr. Bean moved to California in 1883. He bought an orchard and soon found that it was infested with scale. Only little squirt gun pumps were then on the market, so he put his ingenious mind at work and soon had built the first high-pressure spray pump with air pressure ever made. This pump was ex- hibited in the California fairs of 1884 and cre- ated such a demand that Mr. Bean formed a company and started a factory. D. C. Crum- mey, son-in-law of Mr. Bean, has been presi- dent of the company since 1888. Mr. Bean's fertile mind continued its work of inventing and perfecting spray pumps and spray noz- zles until his death in 1908. Members of the third generation of the family are now actively engaged in the business and they, together with several of the trained experts who now form a part of the larger organization, have actively continued the work. The first factory was located in Los Gatos. It was moved to San Jose in 1903 and in 1908 there was built on Julian Street the largest exclusive spray pump factory in the world. Since that year several important additions have been made. In 1909 the company established a factory in Berea, Ohio, with branch offices at Cleveland. The business grew rapidly and in 1914 the Berea factory was discontinued and a new and up-to-date factory was built at Lansing, Mich- igan. The outfits of the company can be pur- chased anywhere in America. In San Jose, where the largest plant is located, the com- pany not only makes everything for spraying, from hand spray pumps, power sprayer, light

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weight nozzles and accessories, high-pressure spray hose and spray guns, but also a deep well turbine pump for which the claim is made that there is an absence of all valve and priming troubles, that there are sanitary pre- cautions and that it is adaptable to direct con- nection with vertical motors. J. D. Crummey is general manager of the company.

The company started a new industry in 1922 in the manufacture of single cylinder en- gines, this representing an expenditure of $100,000. It is the first factory of its kind to be established west of the Mississippi.

Anderson-Barngrover Manufacturing Company

Twenty-five years ago W. C. Anderson started in business as a manufacturer of can- ning machinery. About the same time the Cunningham factory was established. A few years afterwards the Anderson Prune Dip- ping Company was organized. The Cunning- ham factory consolidated with Barngrover and the Enterprise Foundry under the firm name of Barngrover, Hull & Cunningham. An- derson and the B. H. & C. Company were riv- als for a few years and then came together as one company under the name of the Anderson- Barngrover Manufacturing Company. The first factory was on Santa Clara Street, but for over ten years it has been located on Jul- ian Street, near the Guadalupe River. The buildings cover five acres of ground close to the tracks of the Southern Pacific Railroad and with patented devices it turns out a line of high-grade automatic canning machinery which inclues exhaust boxes, graders, peelers, washers, slicers, canning tables, scalders, washers, blanchers, syrupers and fillers for fruit ; sorters, pan and bucket tables, peeling tables, pulpers, finishers and fillers for toma- toes, cap markers, fish canning machinery, green prune dipping and grading machinery. grape scalders and dippers, continuous agitat- ing cookers, and many other useful and labor- saving devices. The plant is one of the larg- est of the kind in the world. Most of the larg- er plants and practically all the smaller plants on the Pacific Coast have been equipped by the Anderson-Barngrover Company. The largest and finest fruit canning plant in Aus- tralia, owned and operated by the Govern- ment, is equipped throughout with the com- pany's line of machinery. The business has been developed solely by local men, and ship- ments to all parts of the world are made. Three plants in Australia were supplied dur- ing 1919. Three hundred men are employed and the sales for 1919-20 amounted to over $2,000,000. The officers are W. C. Anderson, president ; F. L. Burrell, vice-president and 18

manager ; B. D. Hull, secretary, E. B. Weaver, treasurer. Directors-W. C. Anderson, F. L. Burrell, F. E. Weaver, G. H. Lyle, H. C. Minker, T. C. Barnett.

Smith Manufacturing Company

The Smith Manufacturing Company, con- sisting of father and son-J. S. Smith and Chas. O. Smith-the former the president, the latter the manager, was formed in 1902 and has a large plant on Stockton Avenue, near the Alameda. The company makes exclusive- ly fruit machinery for the fruit grower, canner and dried fruit packer. The implements turn- ed out are a combined dipper, grader and auto- matic spreader ; a power cylinder spreader; a combined dipper and spreader ; a combined dip- per, rinser and spreader; steel tanks, dipper basket, field car, transfer car, turn table, dried fruit grader, dried fruit receiving car, stan- dard fruit barrow and box truck. The com- pany does not claim any special dexterity or secret methods, but it does claim that its ma- chinery is made with that care and honesty of purpose which produces a uniform quality un- excelled by other makers.

Sperry Flour Company

The first flour mill in San Jose was erected by R. G. Moody in 1854 on the banks of Coy- ote Creek about the spot where Empire Street ends. Here the propelling power was water, procured from an artesian well. The business was transferred to Third Street, near the cor- ner of Santa Clara Street, in 1858, where steam instead of water was used to drive the machin- ery. The improvements consisted of a mill and warehouse, the latter with a capacity for the storage of 40,000 sacks of flour. The mill fronted on Third Street, the warehouse on Fourth Street. Mr. Moody put in porcelain rollers soon after their introduction to this Coast and manufactured the once celebrated "Lily White Flour." He retired from busi- ness in the early '60s, and was succeeded by his sons, Charles, Volney and David B. Moody. After a few years Volney Moody sold out his interest, removed to Oakland and became a banker.

In 1887 the Moody brothers sold out to the Central Milling Company, which soon took in all the mills in Central California. C. L. Ding- ley was president, and D. B. Moody secretary. For a number of years the company used for manufacturing purposes the mill in San Jose, but the time came when the Santa Clara Val- ley ceased to be the grain center of the state. Grain fields everywhere had been converted into fruit orchards, and fruit culture became the great industry of the valley. In 1892 the Sperry Flour Company absorbed the Cen-

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tral Milling Company and W. G. Alexander was appointed manager. Through his activ- ity and sound business sense the company ex- tended its operations until it had practically covered the entire state. Now its tentacles have reached ont to include Oregon, Washing- ton, Nevada and Utah. Mr. Alexander con- tinued in office for twenty-three years-until he went into business for himself. He was succeeded by his brother, Howard Alexander. who died in 1912. E. B. Devine is the present manager. The main office of the com- pany is in San Francisco. David B. Moody retired from the secretaryship many years ago. He is now one of the directors of the San Jose Keystone Company, of which W. G. Alex- ander is president.

The Globe Mills

The Globe Mills opened in June, 1920, a branch office and warehouse in San Jose to care for their rapidly growing business in San- ta Clara County. The opening of this enter- prise indicates the belief on the part of one of the largest manufacturers on the coast that San Jose is destined to become an important factor in the commercial and industrial devel- opment of California. The Globe Mills is an old California concern with mills and ware- houses in many cities on the coast and in Nevada and Utah. The local branch is under the management of J. W. Hollister, for- merly of San Francisco. A complete line of the Globe Mills products is carried, and sales in San Jose, on the peninsula and on the coast north of and including Santa Cruz, are handled by this officer. A delivery system will be inaugurated operating as far north as Palo Alto.

The American Can Company

The American Can Company, a branch of the great New Jersey Company, has a plant on Martha Street, which takes in an entire block. This company is now employing 450 men and women. Foreseeing difficulty in ob- taining the amount of help they needed should other industries locate in San Jose and give regular employment throughout the year, and also anticipating the continued growth of the canning industry in this section of the state, the company early in 1919 completed plans for enlarging its business.

These plans have been developed so far that warehouse facilities to store 32,000,000 cans and track facilities for loading and unloading 50 freight cars at a time are the result. This storage capacity is now being added to the present plant in a warehouse 200 by 600 feet being built adjoining their original plant of 225 by 500 feet, making a plant covering an en-

tire city black bounded by Martha, Keyes and Fifth Streets, with the Southern Pacific rail- road on the Fourth Street side.

In making these additions to its plant the company intends to start year-round work for its employees. None but adult help will be employed and except in case of emergency all night and overtime work will be done away with. With the greatly increased storage ea- pacity there will be enough room to care for the needs of the company's customers with the constant shipment of those concerns operating throughout the greater portion of the year. The plant was located in San Jose in 1912. In 1919 the company's output was over 10,000,000 cans. John S. Reed is the superintendent.

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 50

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