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 112
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119
PETER GARZOLI.
All parts of the world have benefited in a more or less degree from the citizenship of sons of the republic of Switzerland, but it is doubtful if any locality has benefited thereby more than has California. Here they find a salu- brious climate not unlike that with which they were familiar in their native land, but added to this they here find a breadth of opportunity out of all proportion to that offered by their native country. It is therefore easy to understand why so many of the natives of this little republic have made this their adopted home land, and their contentment with conditions and mutual co-operation and help- fulness have all contributed to the upbuilding of the localities in which they settled, both agriculturally and socially.
Peter Garzoli was born in the village of Maggia, Canton Ticino, Switzerland, August 8, 1846, and was therefore about sixteen years of age when he bade fare- well to home and friends and went to Havre, France, there to embark on as vessel bound for America. The vessel cast anchor in the harbor of Quebec, Canada, and from there he went to New York City, re-embarking in the latter city for the Pacific coast by way of Panama, and landing in San Francisco June 29, 1863. A couple of days later he arrived in Petaluma, and as indicative of his satisfaction with this locality as a home and as a place in which to make a satis- factory livelihood it may be said that he has made his home here ever since. He is the owner of five hundred and forty acres of good farming land, of which fifty acres are under cultivation, the remainder of which forms pasturage for sixty cows and young dairy stock, besides four horses and twelve head of hogs. In addition to his dairy and farming interests he also has a flourishing poultry
1051
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
yard, which at the present time contains one thousand chickens of the best breed.
As a life companion Mr. Garzoli chose Miss Celesta Quanchi, who was born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, in 1862. Eleven children blessed their marriage, Jeremiah, Henry, Marino, Charles, Clelia, Belinda, Lena. Olympia, Clara. Louisa and Emma. Clelia is now Mrs. E. Genazzi. Belinda is Mrs. E. Mattei, of Two Rock. Clara is the wife of Americo Casarotti, a rancher in this vicinity. In his political preferences Mr. Garzoli is a Republican, and he and his wife and their children find religious consolation in the teachings of the Roman Catholic faith.
ACHILLE FILIPPINI.
Representatives of the Swiss race who have inimigrated to California and established permanent homes in this section of the country drift into the dairying industry by reason of their familiarity with the work and their natural adapta- tion to the same. In the list of Swiss dairy workers residing in Sonoma county mention belongs to A. Filippini, who since crossing the ocean from his native land and settling in California in the year 1881 has made Sonoma county his home, meanwhile by persistent industry working his way from the bottom to independence. Ranching has been his occupation throughout all the years of his residence in the county, and dairying has been his specialty. At this writing he operates one thousand acres of leased land not far distant from Petaluma. On the ranch he now has one hundred and twenty-three head of cows and calves, also twelve head of horses and fifty hogs, the entire herd of stock repre- senting a considerable valuation from a money standpoint. The land is in pas- ture to some extent, but a considerable portion in meadow furnishes large crops of hay for the stock and the various farm products also are raised. Thrift is noticeable in the management by the proprietor, and economy has been observed through all the details of the work of the house and the farm.
In tracing the personal history of the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch we find that his ancestors resided in Switzerland as far back as the records can be traced. His father, Jacimo, a contractor and builder, born in 1829, married Victora Martinoia, who like himself spent her entire life within the boundaries of her native Switzerland. Their family comprised eleven chil- dren, namely : Achille, Edvardo, Clet, Dines, Isiline, Irsilia, Orillia, Victoria. Daria, Stefanina and Clorinda. The eldest daughter, Isiline, married Peter Ballo, and two sons and one daughter were born of their union, namely: Olympia, Elvis and Olivia, Mrs. Joseph Beretta, the last-named having two children, Joseplı, Jr., and Isiline. Olympia is married, but has no children ; Elvis married Eloise Garzoli and has two children, Elvis, Jr., and Rosie.
The second daughter in the Filippini family was Irsilia, Mrs. Peter Balbo, the mother of a daughter, Eda, who is the wife of Jilio Quanch. Victoria, the fourth daughter, is the wife of Charles Russell, of Oregon. Clorinda, the youngest daughter, married Reziero Traversi, and has three daughters, Stella, Dora and Jennie. The marriage of Achille Filippini united him with Irene Morelli. Both are natives of Switzerland, his birth having occurred in 1867, while she was
1052
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
born in 1878. They are the parents of four children, Henry, Robert, James and Evaline. Mrs. Filippini is the daughter of Miachel Morelli, born in Switzerland in 1830 and an emigrant to California in 1863, afterward, however, returning to his native land for a temporary sojourn. By the union of Mr. Morelli and Sorenia Mattie the following-named children were born: Amado, Aquilino, Ovidio, Marino, Leopoldo, Olivia, Irene (Mrs. Filippini), Amalba, Florida and Jocondo. The eldest son, Amado Morelli, married Irene Rispini and has two sons. Camillo and Milton. Aquilino married Eugena Leoni and has five chil- dren, Miachel, Romeo, Lillie, Adeline and Mabel. Florida is the wife of A. Fregario and the mother of a daughter, Armeda.
The members of the Morelli and Filippini families are stanch in devoted allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church, and Mr. Filippini has been a generous contributor to its maintenance and missionary enterprises. In politics he gives his support to Republican principles, but has not been active in partisan affairs, nor has he ever sought political honors. When the work of the ranch permits a temporary respite he finds his chief pleasure in hunting, and many a fine speci- men of game has fallen beneath his unerring markmanship, but his intervals of leisure being few. he may usually be found on his ranch, carefully and intelli- gently discharging the duties connected with the care of the stock and of the land.
AUGUSTINE AGUIDA.
When one considers the difficulties attending the immigrant to American shores, their unfamiliarity with language, soil and environment, the success at- tained by many of their class is little less than remarkable. Working with un- diminished ardor from day to day and from year to year, Augustine Aguida has eventually acquired a standing among the successful men of Sonoma county, and as he is still a young man, the possibilities for his further advancement are unlimited.
It is doubtful if Mr. Aguida has many of his own countrymen among his friends and acquaintances, for comparatively speaking not many Portuguese have transferred their home to this western country. He was born in the city of Lisbon, Portugal, in 1870, the son of Lorian and Delphine (Young) Aguida, who were born and passed their entire lives in that country, the father passing away at the age of fifty years and the mother when sixty years old. One of the representatives of the family in this country is Augustine Aguida, who set out alone from his native land at the age of seventeen years, in 1887, and after a safe voyage finally reached his destination, California. He first went to San Luis Obispo county, then to Marin county, but subsequently, about 1900, came to Sonoma county and has since made his home in the vicinity of Lakeville, where in September, 1908, he purchased a fine ranch of one hundred and twenty-three acres. Here he conducts a dairy of nineteen cows, which he will increase as readily as the young stock which he is now raising become available. He also has three head of horses, and is engaged in raising hogs for the market.
Politically Mr. Aguida is a believer in Republican principles, and he finds religious consolation in the Roman Catholic Church, this being the faith in which
1053
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
he was reared and to which he has always adhered. While it is true that not many of Mr. Aguida's countrymen have found homes in the United States, he nevertheless has four brothers in California, one at Lakeville, one at Tomales and two at Sebastopol. Besides the brothers mentioned there is also one daughter of the parental family in California, Mary, Mrs. Bello, who is a resident of Lake- ville.
E. DE BERNARDI.
No more public-spirited man has transferred his allegiance to the Pacific coast or more enthusiastically entered into the diversified interests here repre- sented than Mr. De Bernardi, the genial proprietor of the hotel bearing his name in Santa Rosa.
A native of Italy, E. De Bernardi was born in Genoa in 1864, the son of James and Mary (Molimari) De Bernardi, the former born in Switzerland in 1827, and the latter born in Italy in 1849. The mother passed away in Decem- ber, 1875, but the father is still living, making his home in Santa Rosa, Cal., at the advanced age of eighty-four years. Besides the subject of this sketch there are living three sons and three daughters, that were born to this worthy couple. All of the children were given splendid educational advantages, but none of them closed his school record with more glowing colors than did Mr. De Ber- nardi of this review. His preliminary training was received in the excellent schools of Genoa, after which he continued his studies in one of the well-known colleges in that city, from which he graduated at the age of fifteen years, master of four languages. After the death of the mother the father found his assets in bad condition, and it became necessary for the son to undertake his own support. It is no exaggeration to say that his recently acquired education was his chief stock in trade when he came to the United States in 1879, soon after his gradua- tion from college. Through some of his countrymen who had preceded him to this country he had heard of the wonderful opportunities for young men on this side of the Atlantic, and he lost no time in seeking our shores after the close of his school and college days. Marin county, Cal., was the scene of his early career, and tells of his youthful efforts as a ranch hand in that vicinity for several vears, after which he became proprietor of a ranch on his own account. Alto- gether his experiences in that county covered a period of seventeen years, his identification with Sonoma county dating from the end of this time, in 1896. This date also marks a change in the line of business which he had followed for so many years, for after locating in Petaluma he established himself in the hotel business and continued it there successfully for six years. With the idea of branch- ing out in the same line of endeavor on a larger scale he came to Santa Rosa at the end of that time, first opening a hotel in leased quarters, but in 1907 erecting the De Bernardi block, one of the substantial structures in Santa Rosa, part of the ground floor of which is arranged for commercial use, while the balance is equipped for hotel purposes. This well-known hostelry and its cheery pro- prietor holds a place in the minds of the traveling public that is truly enviable. and withal it is well deserved.
1054
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
In his marriage Mr. De Bernardi chose one of his countrywomen in Miss Rosa Biaggini, who was born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, in August, 1872. She came to America in 1889, and on June 13, 1890, she became the wife of Mr. De Bernardi. Five children were born of this union, as follows: Inez Marie, born September 26, 1891; Theodore James, in 1892; Alice Elizabeth, in 1894; Matilda Celestine, in June, 1896; and Evariste, in 1900. Mr. De Bernardi has indeed had a true helpmate in his wife, and for all that he is and has today he willingly gives her credit. At the time of their marriage he had little in the way of comforts to offer, but their unity of purpose in a desire to get ahead in the world has resulted in their present prosperity. The De Bernardi block was built in 1907, costing $20,000, and with other property which Mr. De Bernardi owns it is conservatively estimated that he is worth $25,000, all of which has been accumulated in a comparatively short time, for he came to California prac- tically empty-handed. It is worthy of note, however, that the asset with which he came to this country is now returning a good income to him as court inter- preter, a position made possible by his knowledge of five languages, and one that he has held for the past eight years. Politically he is a progressive. Sonoma county and Santa Rosa have a stanch ally in Mr. De Bernardi, who allows no opportunity to pass without doing all in his power to make known the superior advantages of both over any other part of the country known to him, and as a substantial evidence of his verbal endorsement continual proofs may be seen in the practical help which he gives to every project that is inaugurated for the good of town, county, state or nation.
CASIMIRO SIMI.
There is much in the California environment to win and hold the affection of the people from Italy, the two localities not being greatly unlike, either in climate or in the occupation followed by their inhabitants. These resemblances were noted by Mr. Simi when he came to California in 1890 from Italy, where he was born, in Tuscany, in 1867, and where up to the time of his immigration to the United States in 1888 he had lived and labored among his kindred. At the same time he noted the many differences between the two countries, difference in language, in mode of thought, in habits and customs of the peoples, in methods of conducting agricultural operations, and in the use in this country of modern machinery and devices as yet unknown or little used in the older country.
Casimiro Simi was a young man of twenty-one years when, in 1888, he set out from his native Italy with the United States as his destination. The vessel on which the voyage was made landed with its load of human freight in the harbor of Boston, Mass., and in the east Mr. Simi continued for the following two years, during which time he performed such labor as he was able to secure, and at the same time familiarizing himself with the language and customs of his adopted home. The year 1890 found him making his way to the Pacific coast, Sonoma county, Cal., being his destination, and here he has remained ever since, contented with his surroundings and happy in the thought that he yielded to the leading of the hand of fortune and came to make his home in this land of the free.
1055
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
Near the town of Windsor, which is his postoffice, he has a ranch of forty-one acres of excellent land, of which thirty-two acres are in vineyard, and the re- mainder forming pasture land for the stock which he raises. Altogether this is one of the finest tracts of land in Sonoma county, and gradually Mr. Simi is placing more of the land under cultivation to the vine, in the cultivation of which he became familiar in his native Italy. Mr. Simi enters heartily into the affairs of the town and county in which he has taken up his abode and no one is more in sympathy with uplifting measures in behalf of the community than he. In his political views he is a Democrat, and he finds his church home with those of the Catholic faith.
Mr. Simi was married in 1894 to Lizzie Fazzie, a native of Italy, but a resi- dent of Santa Rosa at the time of her marriage. Seven children have been born to them, George, Sam, William, Paris, Elvira, Florence and Linda, all of whom are at home.
Mr. Simi's father, Samuel Simi, was born in Italy in 1825, was there reared and educated and passed his entire life, contented in the surroundings in which Fate had placed him. He married a native daughter of Italy in Miss Consanda, a union that was blessed with eight children, as follows: Amareli V., Virgisno, Isepisdo, Creno, Nalatina, Trine, Sussi and Casimiro. Of this large family of children Casimiro Simi is the only one who came to the United States to make his home
PETER ZAMARONI.
Still another of the sons of Switzerland contributing to the citizenship of California is Peter Zamaroni, who is engaged in dairying in Marin county. He was born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, in 1845, and in sight of the hills and valleys which make Switzerland the beautiful spot that it is, he continued to make his home until attaining his majority.
Among the immigrants who landed on our shores in the year 1866 was Peter Zamaroni, a young man full of enthusiasm and determination to make a success of the venture which he had made in departing from the land of his forefathers to begin life anew in the midst of strange conditions. Nearly forty- five years have come and gone in the meantime, and he has at no time expressed a desire to return to his native land for a permanent residence. Many of his countrymen had preceded him to Sonoma county and it was this circumstance no doubt which attracted him to this part of the west also. Here he leases three hundred and fifty acres of fine land, twenty-five acres of which is under cultiva- tion, and the remainder in pasture land for his fifty head of cows and young stock and four head of horses. In his native land he had become proficient in farming and dairying, so that in coming to this country he had only to adapt himself and his knowledge to conditions as he found them here and continue the work for which he was so well fitted. He is one of the most enterprising and up- to-date ranchers in this vicinity, and the ranch not only has the appearance of thrift, but the returns at the end of the year prove that appearances have not been deceiving.
1056
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
Mr. Zamaroni's marriage united him with Miss Ramilda Mattei, who is also a native of Switzerland, born in the year 1864. Seven children, three sons and four daughters, have been born of this marriage, as follows: Emeilo, Pereino, Waldo, Egedia, Emma, Jessie and Lillian. The parents are training their children in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, the same in which they themselves were trained, and to which they have adhered all of their lives. Politically Mr. Zamaroni is a Republican.
SEBASTIAN RIEBLI.
Since his arrival in Sonoma county nearly forty years ago Mr. Riebli has witnessed the steady progress of the country in agricultural development and also along other lines of activity. Pleased with the land and satisfied with his success, he has no reason to regret leaving his native Switzerland for the new world, in the hope of bettering his condition. He was born in the canton of Obwallanden in 1837, was reared to a knowledge of agriculture as conducted in his native land, and had made an honest endeavor to be content with the condi- tions by which he was surrounded before deciding to begin life anew in the United States. He was thirty-four years old when, in 1871, he landed as an im- migrant on our shores, and from the eastern port of landing he went direct to Ohio. In that state and Alabama, whither he later went, he passed about two years before completing the journey across the continent. It was therefore in 1874 that he set out from the south with California as his destination, and in the more than thirty-five years that he has resided here he has had no cause to regret that Fate directed him to this western section of country. In other sec- tions which he had visited he investigated the agricultural possibilities, but it was not until reaching California that he found the combination of conditions that he sought. In Vallejo township, Sonoma county, in the vicinity of Penn Grove, he has a ranch of five hundred acres which he leases, and in the care and management of which he is realizing his expectations in regard to the agricul- tural possibilities of this section, which he believes to have no equal in any other part of the country. Here he is carrying on an industry with which he has been familiar from childhood, dairying, seventy cows contributing to its maintenance, besides which he has ten head of young stock which will soon add to the size of his dairy herd. In addition to the stock mentioned he has seven head of horses of good breed and ten hogs which he is fattening for the market. Alto- gether Mr. Riebli has a fine ranch property under his control, and the care with which he looks after details shows conclusively that he thoroughly under- stands the importance which small matters bear to the ultimate success of an enterprise, be that what it may.
Mr. Riebli's marriage united him with Miss Catherine Britschgi, who was born in Switzerland in 1847, and their marriage has resulted in the birth of eight children, five sons and three daughters, as follows : Theodore, Robert, Joseph, Arnold, Frederick, Catherine, Bertha and Anna. Robert chose as his wife Frances Kiser and they have four children, Frederick, Robert, Frank and Matilda. Joseph married Lena Miller, but no children have been born to them. Catherine became the wife of Henry Farney, and they have four children, all
1057
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
daughters, Florence, Helen, Lula and Leola. Bertha is the wife of Thomas Lutz and the mother of two children, Herbert and Lillian. Anna is the wife of George Lehaw. Frederick and his wife, formerly Mary Miller, have one son, Carl. Politically Mr. Riebli is a Republican, and with his family attends the Roman Catholic Church at Penn Grove. The duties of the ranch leave him little or no time for pleasure so called, but as he finds real pleasure in his work he does not feel the need of making special excursions for relaxation, as is the case with many.
JOSEPH MASCIORINI.
Innumerable examples of what California has meant to those of foreign birth whose abilities and ambitions have not been met and satisfied in their own coun- tries may be found in Sonoma county, and among the number metion belongs to Joseph Masciorini, who operates a large ranch near Sears Point. As the name might suggest to the reader, he is a native of Switzerland, his birth occurring in the village of Laverterso, Canton Ticino, March 17, 1851. It was not until he had passed his majority that he determined to leave the land of his forefathers and come to the new world, a decision to which he came after earnestly endeavor- ing to be content with the conditions by which he was surrounded in his own country. He started for New York City February 13, 1872, and from that city he came by rail to San Francisco, arriving the following month, March 17. His decision to come to this particular part of the country was no doubt in response to urgent requests on the part of others of his countrymen who had preceded him here and were making such splendid success above what was possible in their native land. Like them he has benefited by the change of location, and while he still is loyal to the land of his birth, it is safe to say that no citizen of Sonoma county is more devotedly attached to his adopted county, state and country than he is.
Not far from Sears Point, Sonoma county, Mr. Masciorini is cultivating a large tract of one thousand acres of land which he leases from the Mecham es- tate. Of this acreage, fifty acres are under cultivation, while the remainder of the land is used as pasturage for the two hundred and fifty cows that constitute his dairy, thirty head of young stock, fourteen head of horses and eight head of hogs. It would probably be difficult to find a native Swiss who was not adept as a dairyman, and in Mr. Masciorini we find one who is abundantly able to main- tain the high reputation along this line for which his countrymen are noted the world over. Each cow in his herd nets him $50 annually, a result which is pos- sible only on account of the special attention which Mr. Masciorini gives to this branch of his ranch industry. In 1907 he purchased two hundred and forty- seven acres of land four miles southeast of Petaluma, on the Lakeville road, and this he improved until it is one of the best equipped places in this section. A large residence and commodious barns have been constructed, and here he en- gages in the raising of grain and hay and also in the poultry business. The North- western Railroad runs along his place and has a station upon it which bears his name, and there is also a landing on Petaluma creek with a suitable wharf which is owned by Mr. Masciorini.
55
1058
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
For a companion in life Mr. Masciorini chose one of his countrywomen in Miss Josephine Bonetti, who was born in Switzerland in 1854, and whose mar- riage to Mr. Masciorini occurred in San Francisco November 21, 1882. Seven children have been born of this marriage, one son and six daughters, as follows: Henry T., who is residing on the Sears Point ranch; Lydia, a stenographer ; Lilly, who graduated as a nurse from St. Mary's Hospital, San Francisco ; Amelia ; Florence ; Alma and Mary. All of the children have been reared to mature years, but as yet none of the number have established homes of their own. In the care and maintenance of the home ranch the father is assisted largely by his son Henry T., who was born on the ranch which is still his home in 1891. Politically Mr. Masciorini is a Republican, and with his family he is a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church, attending the church of that de- nomination at Petaluma. He is identified with but one fraternal order, being a member of the Druids lodge at Sonoma. Although the greater part of Mr. Mas- ciorini's time is taken up with the care of his ranch, he is not unmindful of the need of recreation, and his place at Sears Point was often the stopping place of large parties of hunters from the city.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.