USA > California > Santa Cruz County > History of Santa Cruz County, California with Biographical Sketches > Part 15
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pleted) was started, several miles of sewers in the main part of the city were built, plans were formulated and specifica- tions drawn for a new bridge across the San Lorenzo river, and a general advancement was affected along many different lines, all of which proved the energy and progressive spirit of the then incumbent of the office of mayor.
HON. J. B. MAHER.
In point of years of active association with the lumber in- dustry Mr. Maher has the distinction of being the oldest dealer now engaged in the business at Santa Cruz. When he came to California during the year 1884 and settled in the city where he still resides, he turned his attention to the buying and selling of lumber as offering an excellent field of labor in a growing community. Few men had preceded him as lum- bermen in the region and he was a pioneer along the line of his specialty. From the first he was able to earn a fair live- lihood. Encouraged by the start, he decided to continue in the enterprise and devoted his time to building up a larger trade. It soon came to be known that all of his orders were filled with the utmost promptness possible and also that he endeavored to secure the best grades of lumber obtainable. The Casino at the beach was constructed of lumber furnished by him under a contract and many other structures in the city and surrounding country were built of lumber purchased from him, so that this name is associated with many local building enterprises of importance.
On a farm in Columbia county, Wis., where he was born in 1852, J. B. Maher passed the years of boyhood and mean- while acquired the habits of industry and self-reliance that characterize his manhood. Ever since he was sixteen years 6
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of age he has been interested in lumbering, for at that age he went into the woods as an employe of a lumberman. Later he acquired a knowledge of mill-work. For a considerable period he worked in the Wisconsin woods, but in 1875 he started for the west, going first to Idaho. For some years he engaged in freighting in that state, Oregon and Washing- ton. His principal work was the hauling of freight to mining camps, and he drove the first large freight teams from Wood river in the Salmon river district to the mines of Idaho. The wages were excellent, but the work exhausting and the sur- roundings unsatisfactory, so he was led to remove to Cal- ifornia in 1884, since which year he has made Santa Cruz his home.
The Democratic party has received the ballot of Mr. Maher in local and general elections ever since he attained the right of franchise on reaching his majority. On that ticket he was elected a member of the city council of Santa Cruz. In his work as councilman he displayed no partisanship, but ever made manifest a desire to aid the general welfare of the city, and his service of fifteen years in the position reflected credit upon his patriotic spirit and intelligent civic pride. As the Democratic nominee in 1908 he was elected a member of the state assembly, and there, as in the council, he manifested the same devotion to the common welfare characteristic of his private life. Although not an office-seeker, he has excellent ability for service along public lines and the positions he has filled are conspicuous for his faithful work therein. During 1890 he was united in marriage with Miss Zena A. McClosley, member of a Santa Cruz family. Fraternal relations have brought him into membership in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and he had held official chairs in both branches of the Odd Fellows.
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WILLIAM H. VOLCK.
Since the modern era in the history of our commonwealth has witnessed a diminution of interest in mining and an in- crease of activity in horticulture, various new problems have been brought up for solution and numerous specialties have been created for the benefit of the industry so indissolubly identified with modern progress. Among these problems are those connected with the insect pests so fatally destructive to our orchards. During the early period of fruit culture in the Pajaro valley the locality seemed happily immune to pests and it was believed by many that the fogs and cool nights would prevent them from developing to any serious extent. Ultimately, however, the valley was called upon to solve the problems that had fallen to orchardists in all other parts of the state and during 1903 the Orchardist's Association urged the California State University to take up the study of the codling moth. The following year, by an arrangement be- tween the association and the University, Mr. Volck was sent to Watsonville to take up entomological work. In 1906 the counties of Santa Cruz and Monterey authorized an appro- priation sufficient to make the position permanent and since then Mr. Volck has acted as county entomologist. The wis- dom of the act was proved by the solution of the problem connected with the codling moth, the most serious enemy of the apple and pear crop, and in solving this important ques- tion his labors were recognized as being of the greatest value.
The Native Sons of the Golden West number Mr. Volck among their members, Riverside having been his native city. His father, Stephen Volck, was born in Germany, but was brought to America at an early age by his parents. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army and was sta- tioned at Washington as a member of the celebrated Lincoln
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Guard. The close of the conflict brought him an honorable discharge and he thereupon turned his attention to civic af- fairs, settling in Pennsylvania, from which state he came to California during the year 1873. After he had settled in the west he married Miss Ella Hunter, member of an old family of Virginia, where she was born. Her death occurred in California and in the southern part of this state Mr. Volck still makes his home.
Born in Riverside September 24, 1879, W. H. Volck was reared principally in Long Beach and received advantages that were exceptionally good, even for the young men of this state. Being a diligent student, he availed himself to the utmost of the opportunities granted him. After his gradua- tion from the Long Beach high school he matriculated in the University of California, where he made a specialty of the scientific study of insects. While all departments of zoology appealed to him as interesting and important, he was par- ticularly impressed with the value of entomology by virtue of his connection with the fruit industry, and he therefore specialized in that branch. During 1902 he was assigned to his first field work. For a time he acted as assistant to the entomologist for the State University in the orange sec- tion. Later he enjoyed a varied experience in other parts of the state.
From the first it was evident that he possessed a peculiar adaptability for his selected task. Quick to comprehend, eager to learn, untiring in experiments, and logical in rea- soning from cause to effect, he conducted his investigations with unwearied patience and sagacious judgment. His laboratory and office are located on Rodriguez street, Wat- sonville, while many of his experiments are made on the ranch of C. S. Rodgers. After certain methods have been given a thorough test and unvarying results have been se-
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cured, he issues bulletins to the orchardists and gives them the benefit of the tested methods. The value of his work cannot be overestimated, for the pests if uncontrolled would in a brief period wipe out the present prosperity of our orchardists, which they have gained through energetic labors with a fertile soil and in a genial climate.
M. O. BOYLE.
The annals of Santa Cruz county record the name of M. O. Boyle as a pioneer of 1858, from which year until that of his demise (1890) he was intimately associated with building and business enterprises of local importance. Born in Ireland in 1805, he was a young man of twenty years when in 1825 he crossed the ocean in a sailing vessel and settled in Massa- chusetts. During youth he had learned the trade of a stone- mason and had acquired singular proficiency in that line. It was not long until he was qualified to take contracts for stone work and he was thus occupied after settling in Worcester, Mass., where he had the contract to build the famous stone arches that are standing to this day. In addition he con- structed the foundations for many of the large mills of that city. From his undertakings in the east he acquired wealth and influence, but being fond of travel and adventure, when he learned of the discovery of gold in California, he deter- mined to make the long voyage to the Pacific coast. As early as 1849 he landed in San Francisco off a vessel from the Isthmus of Panama. Without any delay he went on to the mines of Tuolumne county and began to prospect for gold. Two years passed there busily and with some degree of suc- cess, but at the expiration of that period he was called back east by the death of his wife, who had remained in Worcester
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with their children. After he had settled her estate he came back to California, accompanied by a part of the family, for whom he built a house in Tuolumne county. During the fall of the same year (1852) the other members of the family came to the west.
Leaving the mines in 1858 Mr. Boyle came to Santa Cruz county, of which he was a pioneer. At first he was engaged as inspector and receiver of the Major flouring mills, of Santa Cruz. After he had straightened out the financial af- fairs of the mill he began to engage in contracting, also farmed for a short time. During 1875 he erected the first cement reservoir on the brow of the hill on Logan Heights in Santa Cruz. The reservoir still stands, as substantial as when con- structed. Besides this he superintended the building of the stone jail, which for many years stood as a landmark of pioneer times, but recently was torn down to be replaced by a modern structure. In different parts of Santa Cruz he owned valuable real estate, including one-third interest in the Colt property on the east side. A man of honesty and integrity, he enjoyed the esteem of his large circle of acquaintances and was accounted a citizen of worth. Frequently he was chosen foreman of the grand jury and in that responsible position he proved reliable, impartial and a logical reasoner. From the time of becoming an American citizen he upheld Democratic principles and it was always a matter of pride with him that he had the privilege of casting his ballot for John Tyler as the tenth president of the United States. Both by precept and by example he gave his influence to the cause of prohibi- tion, and for years he maintained an active part in the work- ings of the Sons of Temperance and the Temple of Honor.
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WINFIELD SCOTT RODGERS.
The struggles and hardships incident to frontier existence formed the daily portion of the boyhood of Winfield S. Rodgers, a native Californian, born at Placerville, October 28, 1853. Around his memories of childhood there cluster thoughts of eager prospectors gathering from all parts of the world; recollections of the crudities and lawlessness of the mining camps, with their swarming thousands of excited miners; and serious, saddening reminiscences of a devoted mother, toiling all day and far into the night, in order that she might give proper care to her beloved family. The death of that dear mother, in the autumn of 1868, was the heaviest bereavement of his boyhood and cut asunder forever the ties that bound him the closest to the parental home. He was the youngest of fourteen children and had few of the advantages that come to the present generation. On the other hand, he was obliged to earn his own support while yet young, However, he was not wholly deprived of ad- vantages, for the mother made every sacrifice in order that the sons and daughters might attend school. After the fam- ily moved to the Sacramento valley in 1858 he was sent to the public school at Walnut Grove and there secured a knowl- edge of the three R's. During 1866 the family removed to San Mateo county and settled at Lahonda, where the mother died.
When in his seventeenth year, in 1870 Mr. Rodgers came to Boulder Creek, Santa Cruz county, but later returned to the Sacramento valley and secured employment on a ranch. From there he went to San Mateo county in 1871 and during the summer months worked with the crew of a threshing machine. Returning to Boulder Creek in the fall of 1872, he became a resident of Santa Cruz county, where later he took
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up a raw tract of land from the government. Patient devo- tion to the improvement of the land brought its ultimate re- ward in an increased valuation, which was further enhanced by the growth of the county, and he now has the satisfaction of owning a valuable tract of land. His marriage took place January 25, 1877, and united him with Miss Cleo E. Wood, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Wood, of Boulder Creek. This estimable lady died January 17, 1889, leaving, besides her husband, seven children to mourn the demise of a de- voted, sacrificing mother. The children are, named in the order of their birth, as follows: Elwin D., of Albuquerque, N. Mex .; Jesse, who died December 30, 1907; Myrtle, the wife of Charles Kreesmayer, of San Francisco; Seymour W., a resident of Santa Cruz; Dalton C., who died in the fall of 1889, at the age of four and a half years ; Winfield S., Jr., of Boulder Creek; and Olin, who died in infancy. After the death of the mother of these children Mr. Rodgers was mar- ried again, April 18, 1892, to Miss Fannie E. Brimblecom, the daughter of Capt. Samuel E. and Sarah (Ware) Brimble- com, pioneers of Boulder Creek, locating here in 1869. In 1890 Mr. Rodgers moved from the ranch into town and has since made it his home. In 1897 he sold his ranch. In 1896 he and his brother, C. C. Rodgers, started the Mountain Echo, a newspaper which W. S. Rodgers has conducted to the present time.
During 1888 Mr. Rodgers was elected county supervisor by a large majority and filled the office for one term, mean- while giving his support to such enterprises as he believed to be conducive to the general welfare. In April, 1905, he was appointed city recorder of Boulder Creek, an office which he has held continuously ever since. He is very actively identified with a number of fraternal organizations, being a member of Boulder Creek Lodge No. 152, I. O. O. F., in which
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he has held all of the chairs; Santa Cruz Encampment, I. O. O. F., and Lodge No. 251, Rebekahs, of Idlewild Lodge; Court Wildwood No. 633, I. O. F., in which he has also held all of the chairs, besides serving as financial and recording secre- tary for many years; Boulder Creek Lodge No. 323, A. O. U. W., of which he has been financier since its organization in 1898; and Santa Cruz Parlor No. 90, N. S. G. W.
Personally Mr. Rodgers is a man of unostentatious de- meanor, but beneath a quiet exterior is hidden a strong, forceful individuality and much force of character. Accomo- dating in his relations with neighbors, courteous to strang- ers, generous to the needy and helpful in community enter- prises, he furnishes another example of the type of pro- gressive ranchers who have promoted the development of Santa Cruz county. In religion he and his wife hold member- ship in the Unitarian Church of Santa Cruz.
CHARLES SMITH.
A residence in the west extending over a period of many years has given Mr. Smith a broad knowledge of the resources of the region, as well as a patriotic and affectionate regard for our commonwealth. None have been more loyal to the wel- fare of California than those who have witnessed its growth, contributed to its progress and aided its development through a long period of activity. This in brief may be said to de- scribe Mr. Smith's association with the state, which dates from the year 1860. A native of the east, he was born in Saratoga county, N. Y., March 20, 1839, and up to the time of attaining his majority his life was associated with the vicinity of his birth. A combination of circumstances con- spired at this time, however, to change the whole course of
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his life. The ill-health of a brother-in-law made his removal to a more salubrious climate than prevailed in the east neces- sary and Mr. Smith was selected to accompany him to Cal- ifornia. Going direct to Santa Clara county, they were lo- cated in San Jose for some time, or until 1864, when Mr. Smith came to Watsonville for the second time, having been here in February, 1861, when he was held by rain for seven days. Later he returned to San Jose for a short time, but the fall of the year 1865 found him in Santa Cruz county once more and here he has been content to pass the remainder of his life.
What was known as the old Judge Peckham ranch near Watsonville was the scene of Mr. Smith's first undertaking in the west, making his home on the property for three years, and thereafter he had charge of the Bockius ranch for one year. The latter property was a large tract of choice land and was a fair representative of the large ranches that prevailed in that day, being held intact from one generation to another. Being favorably impressed with this section as a desirable place to live Mr. Smith prevailed upon Mr. Peckham to sub- divide his property and at once purchased forty-two acres of it. This was the first of the ranches to be subdivided and was the beginning of a new era in the history of agriculture in the state. Mr. Smith then subdivided his ranch into small farms, selling one-half of the tract to his brother-in-law pre- viously mentioned, and later selling ten acres of the remainder to Thomas Leon. After making his home on the remainder of the tract for twelve years he disposed of it, and coming to Watsonville, built a home for his family. With this city as his headquarters, he had charge of various farms in the vicinity until 1875, when he went to Hollister and bought a tract of one hundred and twelve acres, carrying this on for two years. Having contracted rheumatism, in the meantime, however, he had to give up the enterprise and after renting
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his ranch to a tenant he returned to Watsonville. Three miles from town he purchased a ranch of eighty-six acres which he set out to fruit trees, this being the first orchard of any size in the valley at the time, 1878. Six years later he had a thriving orchard of twenty acres, the fruit from which he himself retailed from a cart, and five years later he sold the ranch and orchard in order to enlarge his business out- look. This he found in the Stony Ford ranch of five hundred and ninety-four acres, upon which in addition to carrying on general ranching he also set out an orchard of ten thousand trees. This is still his field of activity, although in the mean- time, 1893, he moved upon the property which he now occupies, having erected thereon a fine residence suited to the needs of his family.
In the spring of 1866 Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Jane Wilcox, of Watsonville, and eight children, six sons and two daughters, have been born of their marriage. The eldest of the children, Charles F., lives on the home ranch with his wife and three children; Walter Scott, who also lives on the ranch, is married and has four children; Florence, un- married, also makes her home on the ranch; Albert Eugene is a carpenter by trade and makes his home in Watsonville; Clar- ence Howard is an employe of the Ford store in the same place; Helen Grace is the wife of F. Rodgers of Watsonville; Harry Ellsworth is interested with his brothers in maintain- ing the home ranch, as is also the youngest of the family, Henry Augustus. Mr. Smith is proud in the possession of fourteen grand-children.
Watsonville can claim no more public-spirited citizen than she has in Charles Smith, who has watched her progress in years past and has lived to see many of his hopes in her be- half realized. He has not been an idle witness, however, but on the contrary has taken an active part in bringing about
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present conditions. This is especially true of the sewer sys- tem, which was brought about during his term of service as trustee. He also served as trustee and clerk of the board of Railroad district school, served in the same capacity for four years in the Vega district, and was the moving spirit in having the latter district established. This is a thriving school district which maintains two schools and has seventy pupils in attendance. While living on the ranch in San Benito county he had good roads built to his ranch and on to Gilroy, giving land for that purpose through his ranch and working in- defatigably to bring the matter before the board of super- visors. He has always been favorable to every movement for progression that has been brought forward in whatever locality he has made his home. Fraternally Mr. Smith is an Odd Fel- low, holding membership in Watsonville Lodge No. 90, I. O. O. F.
PETER J. THOMPSON.
Those who are familiar with the stock-raising industry in Santa Cruz county recognize the intimate association there- with of Peter J. Thompson, a native of the Pajaro valley and one of its most successful ranchers. Born in 1857, he was one of eleven children comprising the family of John Thomp- son, who for many years prior to his death engaged in farm- ing and stock-raising and held a high rank among the val- ley's pioneer ranchers. A stanch believer in education, he gave liberally of time, influence and means to the establish- ment of the early schools of the county and impressed upon his children the necessity of study in order that they might be qualified for the responsibilities awaiting them in the world of activity. Other worthy movements besides those connected with the schools received his support. Especially
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was he interested in the introduction into the valley of high- grade stock and by his own efforts in this direction he gave an impetus to the stock industry. His was the task of the pioneer, but it was also his privilege to enjoy the results of his labors and in his later days he was surrounded by the comforts rendered possible by assiduous application to farm pursuits.
After having completed the studies of the district schools Peter J. Thompson began to assist his father in the handling of stock and soon acquired a thorough knowledge of that department of agriculture. At the age of twenty-five years he left home to embark in ranching and stock-raising for him- self and from the first he met with gratifying success. About 1886 he was united in marriage with the widow of P. J. Kelly and their union has been one of happiness and mutual helpfulness. Mr. Kelly, who had owned a ranch in the Pajaro valley, was a nephew of Eugene Kelly, member of the firm of Donohoe, Kelly & Co., bankers of San Francisco, New York City and Savannah, Ga. At his death he left to his widow a valuable ranch, the supervision of which fell to her personal care. Her father, Patrick McAllister, was a wealthy pioneer of the Pajaro valley and she had been reared in comfort, yet from childhood had been taught the inestimable advantage of habits of industry, self-reliance and intelligent application to an honorable occupation. In young girlhood she became the wife of Mr. Kelly, with whom she lived happily until his death in 1882, and four years later she married Mr. Thompson, the friend of her childhood days. Of her first marriage there were four daughters and two sons, and to them she gave the excellent educational ad- vantages rendered possible by the financial standing of the family.
During young manhood Mr. Thompson gained a wide
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reputation for his skill in the management of horses. The Mexican vaqueros could not surpass him in the unerring accuracy with which he threw the lariat and in all California probably no horseman was more expert and accomplished, and of later years he has built up a good business in high- grade cattle, having a reputation throughout the coast coun- try as a successful stockman. The family homestead, situated three miles northeast of Watsonville, is surrounded by an im- mense acreage, a portion of which is rich valley land, unsur- passed by any soil in the entire state. The ranch begins in the center of the fertile plain at the base of the foothills and extends over the low spurs of the Santa Cruz mountains into the adjoining county of Santa Clara. Outside of the val- ley land that is well adapted to grain and fruit, there is a large tract of hill and bench land, affording pasturage for cattle and also to some extent utilized for the raising of grain. The finest breeds of cattle and horses may be found on the ranch. The building up of a herd unsurpassed for quality has been a matter of interest to Mr. Thompson, who has few superiors as a judge of live stock.
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