USA > California > Santa Cruz County > History of Santa Cruz County, California with Biographical Sketches > Part 23
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years, in 1866, he became proprietor of a ranch of his own, on the Beach road. This consists of one hundred and thirteen and a-half acres which at the time of purchase was barren of all improvements, and all that it has since become has been the work of his own hands. The improvements include a fine family residence and commodious barns suited to the needs of his ranch. Fifteen acres of the ranch is in Bell- flower apples, which yield abundantly and add a neat sum to the annual income.
The marriage of Mr. Thurwachter, October 13, 1862, united him with Miss Catherine Sweeney, a native of Ireland, but a resident of San Francisco at the time of her marriage. Of the children born to them three are living, Margaret Caroline and Ella Teresa at home, and Frances Louise, wife of Henry Schroder, also a resident of Watsonville, and the mother of one child, Catherine. Politically Mr. Thurwachter is a Re- publican.
R. S. TAIT.
The chief of the fire department of Santa Cruz, who also holds the responsible position as manager of the Santa Cruz City Water Company, was born in San Andreas, Calaveras county, this state, in November of 1863, being the son of pi- oneer parents identified with the west from an early period of its occupancy by Americans. From the age of four years he has lived in Santa Cruz, where he received a grammar- school education and afterward learned the trade of plumber. Throughout all of his active life he has been identified with movements for furnishing water to the city. By efficiency and perseverance he worked his way upward until he was appointed manager of the Hihn Water Company and for ten years he filled that responsible position, eventually resigning
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in April of 1905 in order to take the position of City Electri- cian and which he held for four years, and during the year 1909 was appointed by Mayor Drullard to the position of Superintendent of the water works. This municipal move- ment has proved satisfactory to customers. From its reser- voir is supplied the most of the water used in the city. Worthy of note is the fact that the company supplies water free to all of the churches, the public schools and the public library, by which act the interests of the tax-payers are con- sidered.
In early life Mr. Tait acquired a thorough knowledge of electricity and for four years he filled the position of city electrician with the greatest efficiency. However, he is doubt- less most widely known through his long and intimate iden- tification with the volunteer fire department of Santa Cruz, which he joined in 1884 at the age of twenty-one years. When the department was still in its infancy he ran with the old hand-cart to answer alarms of fire. It was while he was serving as foreman (to which position he was appointed in 1894) that Chief Ely reorganized the entire system and con- verted it into a pay department. The present complete or- ganization and excellent equipment may be attributed to his persevering efforts. Realizing the need of adequate protec- tion in case of destructive fires, he has spared no pains to secure the latest improved equipment. The present equip- ment, although a great advance upon that of other years, is not satisfactory to him, and he is urging the advisability of providing an automobile fire equipment. That now in use consists of a combined chemical and hose firewagon, one hose cart with horse, and three hand hose carts. The water pres- sure of eighty-five pounds can be increased to two hundred pounds, if needed. The water reservoir covers seventeen acres and has a capacity of sixty million gallons. After he
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had filled all the other positions in the fire department, Mr. Tait was elected chief in 1899 and ever since then he has re- mained at its head, diligently advancing its interests, en- hancing its usefulness and developing its equipment as the means at hand will permit. The system of alarms consists of twelve boxes and is operated by electricity, being thor- oughly modern in construction. Indeed, the entire plant is modern and complete, to such degree as the available funds will allow, and there is little doubt that future years will witness an increasing interest in the needs of the depart- ment and an increasing desire to institute an equipment sec- ond to none among cities of this size throughout the state.
It has not been possible for Mr. Tait to take an active part in politics, by reason of the multitude of private duties. However, he is a stanch Democrat and never fails to cast a ballot for the party ticket. Fraternally he holds member- ship with the Maccabees, the Foresters of America and the Knights of Columbus. His comfortable home in Santa Cruz is presided over by Mrs. Tait, formerly Miss Margaret Pet- erson, a native of the state. Their family comprises five children, May, Harry, Margaret, Robert and Josephine, to whom have been and are being given the best educational ad- vantages the city of Santa Cruz affords.
WILLIAM A. HORTON.
The county assessor of Santa Cruz county is one of the young officials whose life presents an instance of a gradual rise from humble circumstances to a position of trust and responsibility. Not to his humble roof did fate bring the opportunities showered upon many unappreciative lads. It was not even possible for him to attend school regularly,
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for the necessity of self-support was laid upon him at an early age. Notwithstanding this handicap he won his way forward. Self-reliance was developed through force of cir- cumstances. Habits of observation and of careful reading brought to him a fund of knowledge superior to that boasted by many a graduate. Thus a stern and uninviting environ- ment became the foundation by which he rose to honor and trust. A kindly interest in others, the result of his own early struggles, and a genial, companionable temperament, have brought him popularity among acquaintances and prominence in the city of his adoption.
Illinois is the native state of Mr. Horton. He was born in Bureau county, October 3, 1870, and from boyhood earned his own livelihood. At the age of fifteen years he came to California with other members of the family and settled in Stanislaus county, but a year later removed to the city of Santa Cruz. Chance led him into the plumbing business in boyhood and he served an apprenticeship to the trade, but the work was not congenial and he never engaged in it as an occupation. During 1888 he entered the employ of William- son & Garnett, a large grocery company in Santa Cruz, and in their store he remained for fourteen years, mean- while rising from a lowly clerkship to a position of trust as salesman. During 1902 he resigned his position in order to become under-sheriff of the county with Sheriff Trafton and he continued thus for four years. The year 1906 found him a candidate for the office of county assessor. To that important office he was elected on the Democratic ticket by. a majority of nine hundred and eleven. In the city of Santa Cruz, where he is popular with all parties and classes, he polled a very heavy vote. November 8, 1910, he was re- elected under the new primary act, being a candidate on both party tickets, Republicans and Democrats endorsing him.
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The marriage of Mr. Horton took place in 1891 and united him with Miss Susie C. Trimble, a native of California and daughter of a pioneer of the Pajaro valley. Of this union he has two sons, Allen and Stanley. It has been a source of pleasure to him to identify himself with various organiza- tions and in some of these orders he has had the further advantage of insurance protection. Included among the so- cieties of which he is a member may be mentioned the Wood- men and Foresters, the Knights of Columbus and the Mac- cabees. Since his election to office he has devoted his time closely to discharging every duty incumbent upon him. Painstaking care is one of his characteristics as an officer, and combined with that quality he has exhibited the traits of accuracy, promptness and courtesy indispensable to suc- cessful service of the public.
SAMUEL E. MILLER.
The former superintendent of the county hospital of Santa Cruz county was born on one of the islands in the St. Law- rence river, April 5, 1859, and the recollections of his early childhood center around the picturesque environment of that region. Although isolated from the world of commercial and educational activity, he was not deprived of education, but by the study of the text-books of that day he gained the informa- tion necessary for practical contact with business affairs. As a means of livelihood he took up the occupation most in- timately associated with his boyhood, that of steamboating, and for five years he was employed on the river boats, mean- while making many trips to Montreal and other important ports along the St. Lawrence. On discontinuing work on steamboats he settled across the river in New York, where
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for two years he was engaged in a butter and cheese factory at Massena and later he held a clerkship in the Hartford house at Massena Springs.
Coming to California during the year 1883, Mr. Miller set- tled in Santa Cruz, where he secured employment with the Grover Lumber Company. In a short time he became con- nected with Swan's bakery, after which for three years he managed a dairy for Messrs. Baldwin and Wilder. On leaving the dairy he returned to work in the bakery. Later he was employed by the Southern Pacific Company at Tulare. His next venture was as a grocer and for three years he operated a business of his own, after which he engaged in ranching in the mountains. The outdoor labor and mountain air proved effective in restoring his health, which had been injured by the confinement incident to indoor pursuits. When he left the ranch he entered the meat business with Walti & Schillings and for five years he continued in that connection, resigning in 1901 in order to accept the position of super- intendent of the county hospital. After filling this position acceptably for many years he resigned February 1, 1911, and has since been retired from active business, finding all that he cares to do in looking after his investments and real estate. Fraternally he holds membership with the Maccabees, For- esters and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1886 he married Miss Anna Harris, a native of Santa Cruz, and by the union there is a daughter, Loraine A. Miller.
The Santa Cruz county hospital is one of the best-equipped institutions of its kind in the state, and many of its improve- ments were made under the supervision of Mr. Miller, who gave satisfaction to all in the position of superintendent. A great transformation was wrought in all parts of the insti- tution during his eight or more years of service, and for this work he is deserving of due credit. New buildings and im-
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provements were added to the equipment during the latter part of his incumbency at a cost of $16,000. Noticeable among the improvements is the commodious modern kitchen, where crude oil has replaced wood at a saving of $35 per month. For use in the kitchen Mr. Miller invented an oil burner that proved very successful. The latest invention to be installed in the kitchen, was a Fearless dishwasher. The hospital has its own laundry with a complete equipment for such work. A new woodhouse was built, 40x20 feet in dimensions, and a dining-room was added, seating one hundred persons. A modern operating room was installed in the hospital under the direction of Dr. W. R. Congdon, the county physician. New hospital wards and modern plumbing, with well-equipped bathrooms, were added, making of the hospital one of the most complete and modern in the whole state. The grounds around the hospital are adorned with flowering plants and shrubs that lend a touch of beauty to the scene, while utility also was considered in the large vegetable and fruit garden that furnished ample supplies of their kind to the well-kept table, and the hospital dairy furnished butter and milk in abundance. Altogether, under the superintendence of Mr. Miller the hospital was conducted along utilitarian lines sat- isfactory to the people, helpful to the patients and creditable to the energy and sagacity of the superintendent.
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F. D. PRETTYMAN.
The vice-president and manager of the Watsonville Can- ning Company has been a lifelong resident of the west and traces his lineage to a long line of honored and industrious American ancestors. Many generations remained in the east. The ties that bound them to friends and kindred along the Atlantic coast were too strong to be broken by the lure of the west, and it was not until near the middle of the nineteenth century that the name was transplanted on the Pacific shores. During the year 1847 David D. Prettyman, a stalwart lad of fifteen years, accompanied his parents from his native Dela- ware across the plains to Oregon, where he grew to manhood, took up the active duties of life, and remained for many years, honored by all who knew him. Four years prior to his de- cease he came to California and settled in Oakland, where he spent his remaining days. His widow, who is now seventy- nine years of age and a resident of Los Angeles, was born in Iowa and bore the maiden name of Sarah Ann Riggs. They were the parents of only two children, F. D. and L. C., the lat- ter living in Los Angeles. The former was born in Portland, Ore., April 24, 1857, and received his primary education in the Salem grammar school, after which he studied in the Willamette University.
Various occupations have afforded Mr. Prettyman a live- lihood at different times in his life and various localities, both in Oregon and in California, have benefited by his pro- gressive citizenship. For a time after leaving school he was employed as a clerk in Salem, but at the expiration of three years he resigned the clerkship and turned his attention to the nursery business in Salem. Two years later he gave up that occupation in order to engage in general farming. Next we find him in Idaho, where he followed ranching from 1886
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until 1888, and this brief period represents his sole experi- ence with affairs elsewhere than in Oregon and California. Coming to this state in 1888 he settled in the lower part. of Monterey county and for three years engaged in ranching. Later he was connected with the Southern Pacific Railroad as a baggageman. Meanwhile he made his home at Pajaro. Upon resigning the position in 1892 he came to Watsonville, where he since has made his home. A careful investigation of horticultural interests in this locality convinced Mr. Pretty- man that an opening existed for a business in the packing and shipping of fruit. Accordingly in 1892 he began to buy from the orchardists of the valley and this fruit he shipped to various markets. The quality of the output was so satis- factory that his original customers continued to send orders and others learned of the fruit, so that new customers were constantly being added to the list of patrons. After a few years the proprietor found that cider could be profitably manufactured from apples not sufficiently perfect to ship. The making of cider led him also into the vinegar business in 1900. Five years later the plant was enlarged so that fruit could be canned during seasons when it was not profitable to make shipments of the fresh article. It is worthy of note that the firm canned the first fruit ever preserved on a large scale in Santa Cruz county. From that small beginning a large industry has expanded. During 1907 the cider and vine- gar business was sold to a gentleman from Louisville, Ky., and the principal products are now canned apples and ber- ries. From 1892 until 1902 the business was conducted under the title of Prettyman & Wolf. During the year last named the Prettyman-Wolf Co. was incorporated with Mr. Pretty- man as president, and in 1906 the Watsonville Canning Com- pany was incorporated, with the following officers: George H. Hooke, San Francisco, president; F. D. Prettyman, vice-
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president and manager; and William Hooke, of San Fran- cisco, secretary.
During the entire period of his residence in Watsonville Mr. Prettyman has been warmly interested in movements for the advancement of the city. Since 1902 he has acted as a member of the Republican county central committee and at this writing he is also a member of the city council, having been elected to the position in 1907 for a term of four years. In fraternal relations he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. Dur- ing 1886 he was united in marriage with Miss Etta Smith, of Salem, Ore., whose father was one of the Illinois pioneers of Oregon. In religious connections Mr. and Mrs. Prettyman hold membership in the Episcopal and Christian churches respectively.
J. D. CHACE.
In the pioneer days of the state of California J. D. Chace came to the Pacific coast to take up life under new and untried conditions. That his efforts for the welfare of his adopted state were prolific of results is evidenced by the place given him in the annals of Santa Cruz county, where he was known for years as one of the prominent factors in the development of natural resources. He was born in Hamden, Delaware county, N. Y., March 29, 1830, and was reared in the east, re- maining there until he was twenty years of age. Gold had been discovered in California in the meantime and a com- mendable ambition to participate in the benefits to be de- rived therefrom brought him to the west in the year 1850. The voyage to the Isthmus was made on the steamer Ohio, and on the Pacific side on the steamer Republic, from which
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he debarked at San Francisco August 25, 1850. His first mining experience was near Auburn, and from there he went to the mines of Calaveras county, and altogether he followed this with varying success for three years.
Following his mining experiences, from 1853 until the early '60s, Mr. Chace was variously occupied in San Fran- cisco, after which he came to Santa Cruz county and became associated in the lumber business with George Liddell, the pioneer in this industry in the county, and after Mr. Lid- dell's retirement from business Mr. Chace continued the busi- ness alone for a number of years. Finally he too withdrew from the business and locating in Santa Cruz engaged in the butcher business, becoming one of the pioneer market men of the town. Besides the Washington market in Santa Cruz, he also maintained branch stores in Felton and Soquel. All of the meat handled in his markets was supplied from his own large cattle ranch of four hundred and eighty-five acres near Santa Cruz. His success in business was truly enviable, but was the natural outcome of the combination of qualities that make for success, indomitable perseverance, care of detail and the application of high moral and business principles in all of his transactions. Popular as he was in business circles, he was even more so in the public life of his community, and the two terms in which he served as mayor of Santa Cruz, from 1881 to 1884, mark a period of the city's greatest prog- ress and usefulness.
Mr. Chace's marriage in 1859 united him with Miss Eliza- beth Liddell, who was born in England, the daughter of one of the state's early pioneers, George Liddell. Born of this marriage are the following children: John R., who is a prominent business man in San Jose; Elliott G., a resident of San Juan; Harriet E., Mrs. Cotton; Minnie L., the wife of Fred Hihn, of Santa Cruz; Jennie, the wife of J. W. Lewis,
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of San Francisco; Charles H., a resident of San Jose; George, deceased; Herbert, of San Jose; and Mabel, the wife of S. F. Groves. Fraternally Mr. Chace was identified with a num- ber of orders, among them the Masons, Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, and such was his interest in them that he frequently attended meetings pertaining to their progress and welfare held in the east. Personally he was a man of large sympathy and great tenderness, and possessed in large measure the happy faculty of making and retaining friends in whatever position he was placed. This was nowhere more noticeable than during his incumbency as mayor, perfect har- mony being the rule rather than the exception in the council during the two terms that he filled that position. One of the most important accomplishments of his administration was the opening of the Cliff road, which has been of incalculable benefit to the country round about.
JOHN LEIBBRANDT.
No name has been more intimately identified with the de- velopment of Santa Cruz as a seashore resort than that of Leibbrandt. Due credit should be given to the members of the family for their activity in promoting the material pros- perity of the city along a line of permanent value. By in- augurating improvements on the water-front they gave an impetus to a movement which resulted in the city attaining a position among the favorite and beautiful coast resorts of the state. Their civic labors extended into other lines and a number of movements indispensable to local progress owe much to their sustaining aid. Side by side with the names of many other patriotic pioneers stand the names of the members of this stalwart family of pioneers, and in the an-
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nals of local history they are worthy of conspicuous mention.
The founder of the name in California was John Leib- brandt, Sr., who came to California in 1857 by way of the Isthmus of Panama and who for years prior to his death in 1895 held a prominent position in the citizenship of Santa Cruz. During young manhood he had married Miss Christina Custer, who was born in the south, descended from ancestors identified from colonial days with the history of America. It is a matter of history that her progenitors were among the first settlers in our country from the old world, and she was one of the original heirs of the spoliation claim. Her father and George Washington were own cousins. Many other rela- tives were prominent in securing independence for the land during the Revolutionary struggle.
When the family came to California in 1857 the father, John, Sr., settled in Trinity county and became interested in mining, meeting with fair success in these ventures. The year 1859 found him a pioneer of Santa Cruz. Shortly after his arrival he bought thirty acres of water-front property, on the site of which now stand the beautiful Casino and bath- house. To him belongs the honor of conceiving the idea of making Santa Cruz a seaside resort. The initial step in that direction was taken in 1868, when be built a swimming tank, bath-house and entertainment hall on his property. From time to time the buildings were enlarged as needed and he continued to manage them until his death. John, Jr., who was born in Fort Wayne, Ind., November 20, 1849, was as- sociated with his father and later with his brother, David, in the management of the seashore resort. The property was sold to the Casino Company in 1905 and since then he has lived practically retired from business responsibilities. When the father died the estate was equally divided among the children, and John, Jr., and David thus acquired large
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mining interests in Trinity county. Trinity street in Santa Cruz was named after their gold mine and Leibbrandt street was named in honor of the family. In 1889 John, Jr., was united in marriage with Miss Clara Horthorn, a native of Ohio, and by this union he has one son, Clyde. In fraternal relations he is identified with the Knights of Pythias.
MRS. NANCY MYRICK.
It has never been conceded even by the most prejudiced that the greater part of the credit for the pioneer develop- ment of California is due to men alone. Indeed, women have ever been the abiding inspiration of the men who came as pioneers to the west and the credit due them for their help- fulness must ever overshadow anything that man has accom- plished. Among the noble and self-sacrificing women who have witnessed the development of California from the days of the mining excitement until the present is Mrs. Nancy Myrick, who came to the west when a child of ten years and has literally grown up with the country.
Near Galena, Jo Daviess county, Ill., Mrs. Myrick was born in 1842 into the home of her parents, Henry and Lucy Minerva (Imus) Ryse, and until she was ten years of age her life was associated with her birthplace. Her father, who was a native of North Carolina, had followed farming for many years after his removal to Illinois, apparently con- tented with his lot until the finding of gold in California created an interest in the far west that made him wish to participate in its advantages. With the household goods and sufficient supplies for the long journey across the plains the family set out from Illinois in the spring of 1852 behind ox- teams and finally, after a long and tiresome trip, landed at
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