USA > California > Sonoma County > History of Sonoma County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county, who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present time > Part 102
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In December, 1907, Mr. Wood married Madeline Roat, a native of Iowa and a resident of Santa Rosa, the daughter of Isaac and Sarah Roat. To Mr. and Mrs. Wood one child, James Roat Wood, was born April 14, 1909. Mr. Wood is a member of Santa Rosa Lodge No. 53, I. O. O. F., of the Encamp- ment of the Rebekahs, Santa Rosa, and the Woodmen of the World, of which he is past council commander of Fulton Lodge No. 428. Politically he is a Republican and a hearty supporter of his party in public and in private. Mrs. Wood holds membership in the Eastern Star of Windsor. Cal., and the Re- bekahs of Santa Rosa. A descendant of pioneers in this western world, Mr. Wood has given evidence that he possesses many of those qualities of in- domitable energy and enterprising skill that characterised the men and women who came to this country when it was unsettled and wild. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have a host of friends who honor and respect them and wish them every success in the "unfoldment of life."
H. H. MOKE.
In the line of his profession, undertaker and embalmer, there is no name better known in Santa Rosa than that of H. H. Moke, who is an experienced and licensed practitioner, as is also MIrs. Moke, and as a member of the firm takes charge of the women's and children's cases. The history of the busi- ness now carried on by Mr. Moke dates back to the year 1875, when M. S. Davis opened the first undertaking establishment in Santa Rosa, conducting it alone until December 31, 1904. when H. H. Moke bought out Mr. Davis.
H. H. Moke was born in San Francisco May 7, 1871, and since the age of thirteen years has been a resident of Santa Rosa. His primary education was received in the grammar schools, and later he attended and graduated from the high school also. In 1884. while but a lad in years, he entered the employ of M. S. Davis, who was the leading undertaker in Santa Rosa, and after he had mastered the details of the business thoroughly and had received his cer- tificate as a graduated embalmer, he still continued in the employ of Mr. Davis.
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In 1904, upon his employer's wishing to retire from the business, Mr. Moke purchased the business on December 31, 1904, and since that time has con- ducted the business with entire satisfaction and has installed modern methods to facilitate the work he is called upon to do.
Mr. Moke has been twice married, his first marriage occurring in 1892 and uniting him with Miss Lottie J. Reid, the daughter of Joseph B. Reid, one of the early settlers of Sonoma county. A deep bereavement befell Mr. Moke in the spring of 1906, when both his wife and daughter, the latter ten years of age, were killed in the carthquake which made that year memorable in the history of California. On July 17. 1907, Mr. Moke married his present wife, Mrs. Naomi E. Davis. In fraternal circles Mr. Moke is well known, being a member of the Masons, in which he has attained the degree of Knights Templar : a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World. As a citizen, Mr. Moke is found ready to forward any movement that has for its object the advancement of his home county or city.
VERNON DOWNS.
One of the many worthy citizens and capable and progressive agricul- turists of Sonoma county is Vernon Downs, whose rauch of three hundred and seventy-three acres on Rural Route No. 6 from Santa Rosa is admirably located for the cultivation of grain and fruits, and the land not so used is devoted to stock-raising. This has been the continuous home of Mr. Downs for the past forty-one years, and notwithstanding the fact that he is now in his eighty-sixth year, he still superintends the management of his property and is as interested in the affairs of his home community and of the affairs of the world at large as he was half a century ago.
The descendant of New England ancestors, Vernon Downs was born in Hancock county. Me., May 3, 1825. His parents died when he was a young boy, and thereafter he was reared by a neighboring farmer until he was nineteen years of age. Then, in 1844, he went to Tallahassee, Fla., where he clerked in a merchandise store for a year and a half. He then went to Georgia, and in Decatur county he carried on a store of his own under the name of V. Downs & Co. It was while he was engaged in the business just mentioned that the news of the finding of gold in California first reached his ears. While he was young and impressionable, and apparently waiting for just such an opportunity as this news seemed to offer, it was not adventure alone that prompted him to respond to its call, but rather a deeper desire to find a suitable niche in the world for his abilities, where their application would redound to his credit and bring him sat- isfaction and happiness. It was after weighing the matter carefully that in December of 1849 he set sail for Panama. with California as his ultimate des- tination, and on May 6, 1850, he landed in San Francisco. The attractions of the mines of Placer county drew him to that locality, and for three years his interests were centered there, but with what success the records fail to mention. His first appearance in Sonoma county was at the close of his experience in Placer county, when he came to Santa Rosa and assisted in building the flouring
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
mill at this place. His interest in mining, however, had not been entirely satis- fied, and the year 1863 again found him absorbed in mining, this time in Idaho, where he continued altogether for the following four years. With the close of this experience he again came to Sonoma county, and has made his home here ever since, which makes him one of the county's oldest settlers. In 1868 he purchased and settled upon the ranch which is his home today, in close proximity to Santa Rosa, and which consists of three hundred and seventy-three acres of splendid land. Grain and the various fruits adapted to this soil and climate are raised in abundance, and the remainder of the land is used as pasturage for the large number of stock that he raises and fattens for the market. A leader rather than a follower, his movements as an agriculturist have been watched with interest by those of less daring, and when his efforts proved successful others adopted his plans, to the end that his influence in the upbuilding and improvement of the locality has been an important factor in bringing about present conditions in Sonoma county.
Mr. Downs' first marriage occurred in 1858, uniting him with Miss Eliza- beth Rawles, who passed away the following year. His second marriage oc- curred October 29, 1867, uniting him with Miss Martha Jane Churchman, the daughter of Judge William Churchman, her birth occurring in Washington county, Iowa, December 1, 1845. The six children born of this marriage are as follows: Lillian, Vernon, Carrie, George H., Horace A. and Edith. The young- est of the children, Edith, was born August 1, 1883, and on July 31, 1910, became the wife of William J. A. Gabrelsen, of San Francisco. George Hancock Downs, who served as a soldier in the Spanish-American war, died August 17, 1909. Politically Mr. Downs is a Republican, and although interested in political af- fairs. has not been an office seeker, and aside from minor offices has never con- sented to act in any public capacity. On various occasions he has served as school trustee, and has also held other small offices within the gift of his fellow- citizens, but aside from these his time has been given to his ranch interests.
CHARLES D. STEVENS.
Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Stevens has made his home in California only since the year 1900, he has entered into the spirit of life in the west with a zest and enthusiasm that speaks well for the opportunities of the west, and more particularly of Healdsburg, where he has made his home since coming to the state. A native of New York state, he was born in Washington county, in 1850, and in the vicinity of his birth was reared and educated up to the age of fifteen years. In the meantime, however, all had not been smooth and peace- ful in the breast of the youth on account of parental refusal, when he was a lad of thirteen years, to go into the army. He attempted to carry out his plan by running away, but he was intercepted by his father, brought back home and continued with his parents in the east, until the removal of the family to the middle west in 1865. Being of a mechanical turn of mind, after his school days were over young Charles turned his energies in the direction of marine engineer- ing. a business which he was following in Chicago, Ill., at the time fire dlev-
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astated that city in 1871. The same eagerness to be in the forefront of activity during the war again asserted itself, and throughout the time of devastation he manned a steam fire engine and performed a noble service to save his home city. He continued to make his home with his parents in that city until 1875, when he removed to Colorado and remained there for the following twenty-five years.
The year following his removal to Colorado, in 1876, Charles D. Stevens was united in marriage with Miss Isabella A. Bacon, who was born in Illinois in 1857, the daughter of Lafayette W. and Jeanette A. (Swena) Bacon, natives of Pennsylvania. (A sketch of the life of Lafayette W. Bacon will be found else- where in this volume.) Eight children were born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, but two of the number are deceased. The eldest of those living is Clarence C., born in 1878; he is employed as an engineer in the beet sugar fac- tory at Betteravia, Cal. : he married Miss Abbie J. Shinn, by whom he has two children. Harry F., born in 1880, served in the Spanish-American war from Colorado, entering as a trumpeter, and it was in response to his call to arms that the forces gathered for the battle of Manila : he was mustered out of the service at the end of three years with an excellent record; he is married, and with his wife, formerly Miss Ivy Colby. and their two children, lives in San Francisco, where he is conductor and student teacher in a college for United Railroads. Edward D., born in 1884, served four years in the navy, coming out of the serv- ice at the end of that time as chief electrician, with a splendid record, and he is now following the trade of wireless operator in San Francisco; before her mar- riage his wife was Miss Edna K. McQuown. Nellie A., who was born in 1886, was married to R. W. Simmons in 1906 and is now living in San Francisco, where Mr. Simmons follows his trade of pattern-maker. Irma A., born in 1891, was married in 1910 to O. V. Dickson, now employed in the Sacramento Bee, and in that city the family live. Flora M., born in 1893, was married July 25, 1910, to B. E. Rough, a native of California, and now living in Black Diamond, this state. Frank L .. born in 1883, died in 1903, and Elsie L., born in 1888, died the following year. Much of Mr. Stevens' life before coming to California had been passed as a marine engineer, many of the large battle-ships bearing his handiwork, but since taking up his residence in Healdsburg he has been employed in the Healdsburg Bottling and Ice Company. The family have a pleasant home at No. 231 Lincoln street, property which was bequeathed to Mrs. Stevens by her aunt. Mrs. Nancy Peck, one of the pioneer settlers of the state.
WILLIAM D. JONES.
Legion were the caravans that wended their tedious way over the lonely plains and across the trackless deserts during the years that followed the dis- covery of gold in California. Not the smallest or least important among them was the emigrant train commanded by Captain Sewell, who led a large company safely into the land of destiny and brought the journey to an uneventful con- clusion at the expiration of six :months of constant travel. Among the travelers was William D. Jones, who was born in Kentucky in 1842 and who at the time of the expedition was a boy of ten years. Always ready to assist in the care of
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
the wagons or the oxen, on more than one occasion he proved himself the pos- sessor of patience in hardship and heroism in danger. Arriving in California during the autumn of 1852, he came with the family to Sonoma county in 1853, and here passed the remainder of his useful existence, earning a livelihood through the careful tilling of the soil. To the end of his life he retained a vivid recollec- tion of the trip across the plains, and often referred to it during advanced years, dwelling especially upon the contrast between modes of travel then and now.
The founder of the family in California was Robert W. Jones, a native of Kentucky, born in 1782, and deceased in Mendocino county, Cal., when about one hundred years of age. By his marriage to Margaret March, who was born in Kentucky in 1816, he became the father of five children, William, Eli, Mary. Elizabeth and Susan. Eli, a resident of Potter Valley, Mendocino county, is mar- ried and has three children, Walter, Leroy and Lena. Leroy married Agnes Berryhill and they have two children, Leroy and Agnes. Lena, Mrs. Charles Whittaker, of Potter Valley, has one son, Charles. Mary, the eldest daughter of Robert W. Jones, became the wife of George Pickle, and nine children were born of their union, namely: William, Jesse, George, Frank, Margaret, Mattie, Della, Ellen and Josie. The first-named son, William, married Lulu Jackson, by whom he has five children, Samuel, Robert, Ella, Bessie and Georgia. Jesse, who chose as his wife Miss Julia Jackson, resides at Potter Valley, and has four children. Henry, Cecil, Laura and an infant unnamed. Mattie Pickle married Fisher Day. of Potter Valley, and they have six children, Grover, Marion, Ralph, Ruth, Stella and an infant unnamed. Della Pickle became the wfe of Warner Neil, of Potter Valley, and they have five children, George, Francis, Ora, Edith and Ruth. Ellen Pickle married Edward Shelton, of Rock Tree Valley, and they have three chil- dren, the two elder being Harold and Marion.
Elizabeth, daughter of Robert W. Jones, became the wife of John Pickle. Their twelve children were named as follows: Wiley, George, John, Frederick, Hattie, Nannie, Mamie, Elizabeth, Effie, Susan, Dovey and Mabel. Wiley mar- ried Emma Maze, and they with their three children reside at Potter Valley. George is married and has two children, Ray and Jennie. Hattie, Mrs. Barnard Berger, of Coalinga, Fresno county, has three children, Hattie, Frank and Anna. Nannie is married and has four children, Johnson, Minnie, Mary and Lulu. Mamie, Mrs. Jerome Worth, of Coalinga, Cal., has two children. Elizabeth, Mrs. Edward Banker, is the mother of two children. Effie married Frank Banker and has three children. Susan is the wife of Samuel Spears, of Ukiah, this state, and they have two children, Innis and Ruby. Dovey married James Guinu and has three children, Wilbur, Dorothy and Erma. Mabel, Mrs. Frank McKee, resides at Potter Valley and has one child, Blanche. Susan, the youngest daughter of Robert W. Jones, became the wife of D. Taylor and settled at Upper- lake, Lake county, Cal. Their family comprised eight children, Leonard, Jessie, George, Charles, Ernest, Josephine, Ellen and Alice.
The establishment of domestic ties by William D. Jones united him in mar- riage with Mrs. Laura (Berryhill) Adams, who was born in Linn county, Iowa, in 1852, and who was his faithful companion and capable helpmate until he passed away, August 13, 1910. She was the daughter of Joseph T. and Jane (Butler) Berryhill, natives of Ohio, who subsequently settled in Iowa, and still later in
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Dade county, Mo., where the mother died. Later the father came to Califor- nia and now resides in Potter valley, at the age of eighty-eight years. Five chil- dren were born of Mr. Jones' first marriage, Robert, William, Hattie, Hester and Edna. The first-named, Robert, married Sarah Ryan and resides in Rio Grande ; their children are Albert, Ernest, William and Myrtle. Hattie married George Berryhill, of Fort Bragg, Mendocino county, and is the mother of seven chil- dren, Rhoda, Pearl, May, Myrtle, Ruth, Hazel and Gladys. Hester Jones is the wife of E. A. Preston, of Garden Grove, Orange county, and they have four children, Elmer, Mont, Alvin and Delbert. Edna Jones, now the wife of Bert Hayes, make her home at Garden Grove, and has two children, Leta and Wilford. By his second marriage Mr. Jones had two children, Cecelia, the wife of Car! Nozler, of Healdsburg, and Clarence, at home. Mrs. Jones' first marriage united her with Matt Adanis, of Missouri, by whom she had three children. The eldest, Joseph Adams, married Clara Spencer, by whom he has three children, Harold. Trilby and Alvin; they reside in Potter Valley. Viola Adams, who became the wife of George Pickel, of Potter Valley, died in 1910, leaving three children, Herbert, Littie and Earl. Alice Adams became the wife of Richard Corvel, of Fort Bragg, and they have two children, Meta and Laura.
The old homestead in Sonoma county, where for so many years Mr. Jones lived and labored, is now owned by his widow, who has shared with him the good-will of neighbors and the regard of a large circle of acquaintances. She maintains her membership in the Baptist Church, and for a long period he served as a deacon in the congregation, always contributing generously to religious movements, and giving his sympathy to all uplifting enterprises. His sons have been active in local lodge work in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, but his inclinations did not lead him toward fraternal organizations. His was a busy existence, and a modest degree of success rewarded his exertions, but greater than his pride in material prosperity was his devotion to his children, his sac- rifices for their good and his earnest hope of their well-being. Through his own labors he cleared ten acres out of his homestead of forty acres; the balance of the estate contains valuable redwood and oak timber. The place stands as a land- mark of his industry, a memorial to his pioneer labors. With it are associated memories of his quiet perseverance, his long years of toil and his unselfish inter- est in the welfare of the community and the county. In the local annals his name is worthy of a position of honor and of permanence as that of a resolute, patriotic and brave pioneer. In October, 1910, after the death of her husband and daughter, Mrs. Jones took up her residence in Healdsburg, where she now lives.
SAMUEL S. MITCHELL.
Favored alike in soil and climate, the township of Mendocino has attracted as permanent residents many of the most enterprising and resourceful farmers of Sonoma county, included among whom may be mentioned the name of Samuel S. Mitchell, the owner of a valuable property lying in proximity to the city of Healdsburg. The ranch which he owns and occupies comprises four hundred and twenty acres of land, a large proportion of which is in meadow and pasture.
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
thus affording ample facilities for the care of his large number of stock. Some cattle and sixty-five head of blooded Angora goats have been income-producers for the owner, who also has on the farm three head of horses, used in the culti- vation of the land. One of the valuable features of the farm is a redwood and fir grove of forty acres. Neat buildings occupy a desirable site on the tract and contain the conveniences needed for their various uses. Of recent years fruit- growing has sprung into popularity in this township and a new orchard has been planted here, so that in years to come horticulture will probably be an important adjunct to the annual revenue.
The early life of Samuel S. Mitchell was passed in Oxford, Ohio, where he was born in 1848 and where he received such advantages as the locality and period afforded. The lure of the west drew him onward toward the Pacific coast regions, and at the age of twenty-two years he settled in California, where since he has made his home. For a considerable period he resided in Lake county, and during that time he filled the office of school trustee for thirteen years, be- sides serving the people in other local positions of trust.
At Ukiah, Mendocino county, Cal., in 1882, occurred the marriage of Sam- uel S. Mitchell and Alice Berryhill, who was born in Butler county, Iowa, in the year 1867. Her father, J. T. Berryhill, was born in Greene county, Ohio, June 16. 1823, and during early life was a resident of Indiana, where he was a leading local worker in the blue lodge of Masonry. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Jane Butler, was born September 19, 1826, and died on the 4th of July, 1867, when her youngest child, Alice, was an infant. The eleven older children in the family were named as follows: James, Thomas, George, Frank, Sylvester, Mary, Celia. Laura, Sarah, Josephine and Alice. During the Spanish-American war James and Sylvester enlisted in the army and served with distinction until the expiration of their time. The elder of the two soldiers, James, is married and has two sons, Archie and John Berryhill. Thomas married Elizabeth Knapp and has two children, Otis and Daisy. George married Alice Snuffens and has one son. Frank chose as his wife Miss Sarah Farrence, and by that union there are six children, Joseph, Nellie, Agnes, May, Ethel and Seline. Sylvester mar- ried Lillie Campbell and has two sons, Grover and Eugene. Mary, Mrs. William Hardinger, has one son, William. Celia, wife of Clarence Heath, has five chil- dren, Frank, Volard, David, James and May. Sarah is the wife of George Caf- felt and the mother of four children, William, Inman, Elizabeth and an infant unnamed. During the year 1875 J. T. Berryhill brought his family to California, and here he continued to reside throughout his remaining years, meanwhile serv- ing as a school trustee and in other local offices. Honorable in act, upright in character, earnest in endeavor and patriotic in devotion to commonwealth and country, he added another to the list of the men whose sterling principles laid well and thoroughly the foundations of our state.
There are ten children in the family of Samuel S. Mitchell and wife, namely : Joseph E., Ernest S., Harry T., Elizabeth J., Cecil, Frank V., Claude D., Delmer N. and Clarence and Curtis (twins). The eldest of the family, Joseph E., was united in marriage in 1905 with Miss Ellen Willer, and they have two daughters, Emily
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
A. and Josephine G., who are the joy of their grandparents and a large circle of other relatives. The religious associations of the family are with the Presby- terian Church, and in politics Mr. Mitchell gives stanch allegiance to the Repub- lican party.
MONROE EUGENE GOODENOUGH.
The discovery of gold that lured many an Argonaut to the mines of Cali- fornia was the incentive that brought to the western coast the first member of the Goodenough family ever attracted beyond the sandy plains of the American desert and beyond the shadow of the towering mountain peaks. This traveler to the modern Eldorado was Sylvanus Reed Goodenough, a frontiersman by nature, a traveler by choice and a lover of adventure whether in peace or in war. Born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., in March, 1826, he passed his early days in an uneventful routine strikingly different from the changing exper- iences of mature life. At the age of twenty he removed to Erie, Pa., and there met and married Miss Polly Ann Palmer. born in 1824, a daughter of Ulysses and Martha Palmer, members of a colonial family of honored name and patriotic spirit. Ulysses Palmer was an own cousin of the late Potter Palmer, whose name is indissolubly associated with the early development of the city of Chicago.
From the village of Baraboo, Wis., early in 1852 Sylvanus R. Goodenough started with an expedition for the west and traveled with horses as far as Omaha, Neb. In that city the horses were traded for oxen as being better adapted to the hardships of the plains. When Lonetree, Neb., was reached the two companions of Mr. Goodenough became homesick and returned east, but his determination to reach the objective point remained undaunted. Indians became troublesome. Several skirmishes occurred with the Sioux and Blackfoot Indians. On reaching Muddy creek, a tributary of the Snake river, the travelers found that Indians had built a pontoon bridge and were charging toll. The leader of the band inquired the amount of toll and the answer was so offensive and threatening that the whites decided to go up the creek a mile or more and camp until they were joined by other emigrants. This decision was reached after they realized that the Indians outnumbered them two to one and therefore an encounter was unwise until others joined them. Twenty-four hours later they were able to proceed with a large train of white men equal in number to the savages, who, however, still refused to permit them to cross. A skirmish followed in which eleven Indians were killed and one white man wounded.
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