History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 98

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

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In San Jose, on February 2, 1893, Mr. Richter married Miss Katie Reder, who was born, reared, and educated in his native city and came to Cali- fornia shortly before her marriage. They have be- come the parents of six children: Johanna, who is filling a clerical position in San Jose; Olga, Mrs. Gus Spatzwood, a graduate of the San Jose Normal when nineteen and until her marriage taught in Mendocino County, where she now lives in Potter Valley; August Victor, who is in the employ of the Standard Oil Company, graduated from Heald's Busi- ness College at seventeen; Martha, who also is em- ployed as a clerk; Ernest, a high school student; and Emma, who died in infancy. Mr. Richter is a stanch Republican in his political views and an active worker in the ranks of the party. He became the organizer of the Third Ward Independent Club, starting with an enrollment of nine, while it now has 180 members, and he is regarded as one of the leaders of the party in this district. He is also well known in fraternal circles of San Jose, belonging to the Loyal Order of Moose, the Germania Society, the Foresters of America, and the Chamber of Commerce. He has led an active and useful life, employing every opportunity to advance, and his present success is entirely at- tributable to his own efforts. He is a man of high personal standing, of marked business integrity and ability, and his sterling worth has won for him the respect and esteem of a large circle of friends.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

GEORGE F. SMITH .- In this day of change and rapid development it is given to few to have lived for more than half a century on the same property, as has George F. Smith, and to have seen the won- derful transformation wrought in the Santa Clara Valley, from a mustard field to a garden spot and the city of San Jose from a straggling village to its present status as a commercial center. And not as a mere onlooker has Mr. Smith seen this change ac- complished, but in all of it he has taken an active part, a true upbuilder, whose influence has ever been on the side of permanent development. His parents, Francis and Rebecca (Crites) Smith, represented elsewhere in this volume, were among California's highly honored pioneers, the father, a native of Ohio, coming via the Isthmus of Panama in 1853, and the mother coming by the same route in 1857. Francis Smith was the first manufacturer of sheet iron pipe in California, used extensively in hydraulic mining and for irrigation, and he built up an important busi- ncss as a manufacturer of pipe and water and oil tanks, his factory, located in San Francisco, then be- ing one of the largest in the world. Mrs. Rebecca Crites Smith was a woman of exceptional culture and widely traveled, and with her husband, held a high place in the community.

The eldest of the family, George F. Smith was born at the old mining town of San Juan, in Nevada Coun- ty, Cal., June 27, 1861, where the family resided until 1869, when they removed to San Francisco. Two years later they came to the ranch on Bascom Av- enue, near San Jose, and this has ever since been Mr. Smith's home, now fifty-one years. After com- pleting the local schools, he entered the College of the Pacific, where he studied for three years, among his classmates being Judge John H. Richards, Judge Gosbey and Judge Glendenning. When twenty years old he left college to assume the management of the ranch, but later completed a course at Heald's Busi- ness College in San Francisco.

On June 28, 1882, at Agnew, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Bell Agnew, who was born at Oskaloosa, Jowa, the daughter of Abraham and Sarah Jane (Barber) Agnew. The father, a native of Ohio, emigrated to Iowa at an early day, and in 1846 crossed the plains to Oregon over the Lewis and Clark trail as captain of a train. A man of prowess, he led several expeditions each year over this trail to Oregon, finally settling at Oskaloosa, Iowa. In 1873 he brought his family to Santa Clara County, Cal .. and purchased the Peebles ranch, part of this property now being the site of the town of Agnew, which was named in his honor. He passed away in 1900, and his wife, who was a member of a prominent old New Jersey family, died in 1905. They were the parents of three children: Hugh, deceased; Lizzie Bell, who became Mrs. Smith, and Jessie B., of San Diego. Mrs. Smith was fourteen years of age when the family came to California and she continued her education at the College of the Pacific, where she took up the study of art, in which she was exceptionally talented, many of her paintings now adorning the walls of the Smith home. Four children of the seven born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith are now living: Frank, a mining engineer, has just returned from the interior of Korea, after an absence of nine years; George D. is mana- ger of the Dana Farm; Isabelle and Effie preside

over the home, whose artistic furnishings and beau- tiful decorations had been planned and carried out by Mrs. Smith, whose devotion to her home and fain- ily made her the center of the happy, harmonious circle. Cultured and lovable in every way, her death, on February 7, 1922, left an irreplacable void.

The home place on Bascom Avenue, called Dana Farm, consists of seventy-five acres all in prunes and pears, and with the fine, large residence and well- laid out grounds, beautifully kept, it is one of the show places of the county. Mr. Smith also owns 200 acres near Exeter, which he developed from rough hogwallow land, and twenty acres are now in bear- ing navel oranges; he is also the president of the North Paris Land Company of San Mateo County, owning a large ranch near Half Moon Bay, and a director of the Watsonville Water Company, of which the members of the family are the principal owners. A firm believer in cooperation, he is a member of the Klink Citrus Association, the Califor- Dia Prune & Apricot Growers Association, and the California Pear Growers Association. Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics and a member of the Pres- byterian Church of Santa Clara, in which his wife will ever be remembered for her beautiful Christian life. Just, generous and charitable, Mr. Smith has ever given his best efforts to support every progressive movement and he stands among the first citizens of the county that has been his home for so many years.

WILLIAM S. TEMPLETON .- Among the suc- cessful ranchers of the Santa Clara Valley who has used intelligent methods in his agricultural develop- ments, is William S. Templeton, who came to the county in 1912. A native of Illinois, he was born at Dakota, Stephenson County, on October 23, 1878, the son of Walker and Elizabeth (Bragg) Temple- ton, the father of Scotch descent, who was born in Pennsylvania, February 14, 1839, and the mother was born in England, March 23, 1848. Both parents are still living. The father is a Civil War veteran, having served three years in Company D of the Ninety-third Illinois Infantry. He served in the Western Army and later with Sherman in his March-to-the-Sea.

William attended the Dakota grammar school and then took a course in the Interior Academy at Dakota, Ill. After leaving school he worked on a ranch for about a year and a half. He became inter- ested in raising fancy Cornish chickens, when only fifteen years of age, and by careful study and applica- tion, bred many prize fowls. As his business expanded he became one of the foremost breeds and exhibitors of the Cornish breed, and in time developed the now justly celebrated Templeton's Dark Cornish, Victor Strain Cornish fowls, without doubt America's best table fowl. He has never failed to take one or more first prizes wherever he has exhibited his birds, and he has exhibited at the leading poultry shows in Boston, Madison Square Garden, New York City; Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, St. Louis World's Fair, Kansas City, Mo .; Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco. In October, 1912, he came with his family to California and settled in Los Gatos, remaining there but a short time, when he removed to Morgan Hill. Later he ranched near Campbell and was thus engaged for four years, when he pur- chased an eight-acre prune orchard on Los Gatos and Santa Clara roads. His orchard is in full-bear-

Gro. H. Smith

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

ing prune trces, finely cultivated and well irrigated, so that he gets the best results obtainable from his labor. He also continues to breed his strain of Cornish fowls.

On October 18, 1906, in Winneshiek, I11., Mr. Templeton was married to Miss Florence Yarger, a native of that state, born in Rock Run Township, near Rock City, a daughter of William C. and Martha (Mitchell) Yarger. Mrs. Templeton was educated in the schools of Lancaster, Ill., and the Interior Academy at Dakota. They are the parents of two children: Russell Emlen, born at Dakota, Ill., January 4, 1908, and Lawrence Ozro, born near Campbell, Cal., March 22, 1914. Mr. Templeton is a Republican in his political views, and he and his wife are active and consistent members of the Presby- terian church. With a determination to succeed in whatever he undertook, he is being well rewarded for his industry in his success as a horticulturist.

HERBERT R. TRIPP .- A native son of California and a trustworthy government employe. Herbert R. Tripp was born in Watsonville, Cal., February 10, 1863, a son of Dr. Russell B. and Agnes Jane (Stewart) Tripp. The father crossed the plains to California in 1852 and for a time was connected with gold mining in Placer County, after which he removed to Watsonville, where he engaged in the practice of medicine. He next purchased land near Cambria, San Luis Obispo County, where he en- gaged in stockraising and then went to Wilcox, Arizona, where for many years he continued to raise cattle. In 1897 he sold his cattle interests and re- turned to San Jose, making his home with his son, Herbert R. Tripp, until his demise, June 2, 1919, lacking only twenty-two days of his one hundredth birthday. During the Mexican war he was assistant surgeon in the United States Army.

While Dr. Tripp was engaged in the cattle busi- ness in Arizona the mother resided with her children in San Jose, where they attended the public schools. After completing his public school course Herbert learned the trade of a harness maker, which he followed until 1884, when he was one of the first four mail carriers appointed in the San Jose post- office. For a number of years he continued to fill that position but later he was transferred as a clerk in the office and is now in the registry division.

On December 17, 1885, in San Jose, Mr. Tripp was united in marriage to Miss Lue Butler, who was born in Dewitt. Clinton County, Iowa, November 18, 1865, a daughter of Franklin S. and Mary Jane (Dennis) Butler. Her father was born in Pike County. Ind., February 3, 1837, and was a son of Jonathan S. and Nancy (McNeal) Butler, the former of Scotch descent, while the latter was of English lineage. In 1875, at the age of ten years, Mrs. Tripp came with her parents to California, the party being ten days in making the trip; the family settled in San Jose. On arriving here Franklin Butler re- sumed the carpenter's trade, which he followed until he retired. He was an honored veteran of the Civil war and his military record was a most credit- able one. He enlisted on August 12, 1861, and was mustered into the service at Davenport, Iowa, on the 5th of September, 1861, as a member of the regiment commanded by Col. Frederick Steele. The regiment was ordered to St. Louis, Mo., where it

remained for two weeks, and was then sent to Syra- cuse, that state, where it joined Fremont's forces in the campaign against General Price's Confederate troops. From November, 1861, until March 12, 1862, it was stationed at Sedalia, Mo., and then went to St. Louis, where it embarked for Pittsburg Land- ing, Tenn., taking a gallant part in the subsequent engagement at that point. In the Battle of Shiloh the regiment suffered severe losses and in this en- gagement, which took place on the 6th of April, 1862, Mr. Butler was captured by the Confederates and for two months was confined in a prison at Mobile, Ala. From there he was sent to Macon, Ga .. where he was kept a prisoner for five months, and was then taken to Richmond, Va. There he was paroled and was sent first to Annapolis, Md., and on to St. Louis, where he remained until his regi- ment was reorganized on November 20, 1863. The regiment then joined Grant's forces in the Vicksburg campaign and was afterward assigned to General Tuttle's Division, taking part in the siege of Vicks- burg Landing and the engagement at Jackson, Miss. For a while it was encamped at Vicksburg, being sent from that point to Pocahontas, Tenn., where it was veteranized on January 1, 1864, and in Febru- ary of the same year took part in the raid on Meridian, Miss. Mr. Butler was then granted a fur- lough, afterward rejoining his regiment, which was sent to do provost guard duty at Memphis, Tenn., on the 21st of August, 1864, continuing there during the remainder of the defense of that city against General Forrest. Early in March, 1865, it moved to New Orleans, La., then to Dauphin Isle, whence it joined in the siege of Mobile and the capture of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, being with Colonel Geddes in the assault on Spanish Fort, which was one of the most brilliant performances of the cam- paign. After the fall of Mobile it moved to Mont- gomery, Ala., and thence to Selma Isle, where it was mustered out April 20, 1766. Mr. Butler was made eighth corporal on January 1, 1862; seventh corporal March 1, 1862; sixth corporal December 4. 1862 and second corporal February 10, 1864. He was a member of Sheridan-Dix Post, G. A. R., at San Jose, of which he was past commander. In San Jose he served five years as a lieutenant in the Cali- fornia National Guard.

Mr. and Mrs. Tripp are the parents of two chil- dren: Russell Butler served ten years in the Cali- fornia National Guard, becoming captain of Com- pany M, Fifth Regiment. He resigned his office as city clerk and enlisted for service in the World War, was commissioned a second lieutenant in Sep- tember, 1917, and later a first lieutenant in the Three Hundred Sixty-fourth Infantry, Ninety-first Division, and was sent overseas, participating in its activities in France. He spent four months at the University of Poitiers in the study of international law. On his return to the Presidio he received his discharge in August, 1919. He is now editor of the Stirringrod and also of the Western Confectioner. He and his wife, Mary E. Tripp, have a son, William Russell. Bessie B. Tripp married R. C. McCrone and they reside at San Jose. Herbert M. Tripp is a Republican and is a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows and the Native Sons of the Golden West, while his wife is affiliated with th Eastern Star and the Rebekahs, in which she is a

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

past noble grand. She is also prominently identified with the Women's Relief Corps of San Jose and was department president of California and Nevada in 1914, and presided at the convention held here in 1914. They make their home at 396 South Second Street, where they dispense a cordial hospitality to their many friends.

MICHAEL BROEDEL .- An enterprising, thor- oughly up-to-date manufacturer, who well deserves his phenomenal success, is Michael Broedel of 556 South First Street, San Jose. He was born in New York City on September 11, 1857, the son of John and Catherine ( Baker) Broedel, and came out to California on March 3, 1873, to join his brother, Adam, who had already been ten years in the Golden State. In the fall of 1873 the parents of our subject followed, and for years they lived on the Coast in the quiet enjoyment of Western life. Both of these worthy people are now dead.

Michael Broedel attended the grammar schools of Greenville, Pa., to which place his people had moved when he was a child, and after coming to San Jose, in 1873, he learned the blacksmith's trade under W. H. Hollis, with whom he remained for nine years from April. 1874. Then he started a shop of his own at the New Almaden Mines, and ran it at a fair profit for several years. In 1890 he established a shop in San Jose, where he endeavored, with ever- increasing success, to turn out the best work; and from that has grown his present modern blacksmith and machine shops and woodwork business, where the services of from eighteen to twenty-five skilled mechanies are required to meet the demands of an appreciative public. His equipment is one of the best on the Pacific slope, a fact for which the people of San Jose frequently give thanks, when they find that it is no longer necessary to go to San Francisco for expert service.

Some years ago Mr. Broedel purchased a lot 100x 1371/ feet at 556 South First Street, and in 1906 he built a two-story modern building, where he en- gaged in business. His building and business were burned to the ground in 1918. He immediately re- built, constructing a brick building 100x1371/2 feet. which now houses his big business. Mr. Broedel is also a half owner with Frank Hennessey in the Hen- nessey Trucking Company, operating a fleet of motor trucks in Santa Clara County, in which they are making a success. Naturally Mr. Broedel belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and heartily supports its various programs. He is also a charter member of the San Jose Commercial Club.

On May 31, 1912, at San Jose, Mr. Broedel was married to Miss Sidney West, who was born in Lake County, California. He is a Knight Templar and a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, being a member of all the Masonic bodies in San Jose, and is also a member of the Sciots. By a former marriage Mr. Broedel had two children, William M., who as- sisted Mr. Broedel in his business until his death at the age of twenty-six, and Charles X.

JOHN A. LOVELL .- A most interesting repre- sentative of several of the worthiest pioneer families was the late John A. Lovell, the well-known and highly-respected citizen of Santa Clara, who lived retired at 1091 Harrison Street some time before his demise. He was born in Hopkins County, Ky., on No- vember 18, 1842, the son of Ira Joseph and Ann Laurette (Campbell) Lovell, with whom he erossed the plains in a large train captained by an uncle,

Benjamin Campbell. William Campbell, our subject's grandfather, was one of California's first settlers, and was born in Fayette County, Ky., on November 12, 1793, the son of David Campbell. He grew up on the rugged frontier, with very limited educational advantages, and he came to know the grim reality of life through three wars, in two of which he actively participated. As far back as the War of 1812, he served in a regiment of Kentucky Volun- teers, and he was thus able to bequeath to his de- scendants the sturdiest American virtues. On Sep- tember 24, 1816, he married Miss Sarah McNary, who died within five years; and then, on Septem- ber 24, 1822, he married Miss Agnes Hancock, a native of Kentucky. Mr. Campbell led the quiet life of a farmer of moderate means in Kentucky and Missouri; but finally stirred by the spirit of adven- ture, he and his wife and children made the long journey, almost three years in advance of the gold- seekers of '49. He at once saw the future in Santa Clara County, and settled here, and he became a leader in the development of the Valley, and assisted by his two sons, David and Benjamin, he put up the first sawmill within the county limits for cut- ting the great redwood trees. A natural mechanic, he built his own threshing machine in 1847; and it not only threshed, but it separated the grain from the straw and chaff, and had a capacity of ten to twelve bushels an hour. If not the first separator ever operated in California, it was the first one ever built in the state, and this fact is all the more interesting because he was a typical pioneer who did a man's work in subduing the wilderness. He had a brave, undaunted spirit, and he was always helpfully optimistic as to the destiny of the great common- wealth. His devoted wife, alas, did not live to enter into even his dreams, for she died in the autumn of the year when he removed to California, the mother of seven children. William Campbell passed away peacefully on December 2, 1886, after having made his home for years with his son, Benjamin.

Benjamin Campbell, John A. Lovell's uncle, has passed into history as the first permanent settler of the Hamilton district. He was born in Muhlenburg County, Ky., on October 16, 1826, and since the years of his young manhood, he was identified with developments in California, fortunate in a favoring association in business with his father. On reaching California, father and son found the country in the turmoil which terminated in its conquest, not by force or numbers, but by American valor, and they both soon took a very active part. In the spring of 1851, Mr. Campbell purchased a site for his home, on what was later Campbell Avenue, near Camp- bell Station, in the Hamilton district; and as his original purchase was a squatter's right, he was forced to defend himself in litigation extending through eighteen years. Finally, he bought a quit- claim of those who contended for it under Mexi- can grants, and later obtained from the U. S. Gov- ernment a patent of 160 acres. As the years went by, he became much interested in horticulture; Campbell Station was built on his land, and was followed by the establishing of the Campbell post office, when he was made postmaster. In 1851 Mr. Campbell returned East to Saline County, Mo., and on Christmas day he was married to Miss Mary L. Rucker. The next year he came back to Cali-

m. Braedel.

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HISTORY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY

fornia, bringing his wife, and they established them- selves permanently here, becoming active and prom- inent in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Ira J. Lovell, the father of our subject, was born in Logan County, Ky., on November 6, 1811, the son of Michael Lovell, who spent his early boyhood on the Chesapeake Bay, some sixty miles from Bal- timore. Like his father, Ira became a tiller of the soil; so that it was rather natural, perhaps, that he should push westward, with his wife and seven children, in 1852, braving the hardships of an ox- team journey across the plains and mountains to the Golden State. The party was six months on the way, suffered much from sickness and experi- enced various troubles during the latter part of the trip; but on the first of October they arrived in the Santa Clara Valley, and became pioneers of Redwood township. After a year at Santa Clara, Ira Lovell located in the autumn of 1853 upon the homestead, in what is now the Moreland district, where he continued to reside. The land was cov- ered with oak and chaparral, and he soon obtained a good title to the 231 acres, although it was part of a Mexican grant. Much earlier, in 1835, in fact, in Kentucky, which was her native State, Mr. Lovell was married to Miss Ann L. Campbell, the daugh- ter of William Campbell, just referred to. Orig- inally a Henry Clay Whig, Ira Lovell became a supporter of the Democratic party; and he also was active in good works under the banners of the Methodist Church, South, his good wife sharing the pleasure of such religious and sociological endeavors. William Campbell was one of the surveyors who laid out the city of Santa Clara, and he and Mr. and Mrs. Ira Lovell, the parents of our subject, are all buried at Santa Clara.

Nine children were born to the worthy couple; the eldest son, William Lovell, became a lawyer, and was three times district attorney of Santa Clara County. Mary is the widow of William Beanchamp and resides in San Jose. James became a minister of the Methodist Church, South, and died at Lom- poc. John A. is the subject of our review. Theo- dore, when seven years old, was drowned near Visalia while driving cattle across a stream. Joseph W. became a rancher and died. Maggie, who also crossed the plains, married L. T. Cook, who lives retired at San Jose. Hugh was born in Kentucky, married and had one son, Farley Lovell, who re- sides in Southern California; but he himself is now deceased. Ella has become the wife of George L. Beaver, the retired capitalist and father of a son and two daughters, and they reside at Palo Alto.

John A. Lovell attended the public schools in Kentucky and later he went to school near Campbell; and as he grew up, he helped to farm the grain. In 1872 he was married to Miss Eda Jackson, a native of Santa Clara and the daughter of A. J. and Amanda (Senter) Jackson, the former the well- known provost-marshal in California during the Civil War. He was a native of New York State, and came out to California in pioneer days; and he built his home here over thirty years ago; and for twelve years he served as constable, marshal and deputy sheriff. Two children blessed this union: Bertha became Mrs. F. A. Alderman and is now a widow, with a son, Alton, fourteen years old; and Alice is the wife of Arthur Langford, and resides at San

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History of Santa Clara County California with biographical sketches, Part 98

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