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 119

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1190

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 119

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JOSEPH BERETTA.

Among those of Swiss birth who gave as well as received benefits by their residence in California was the late Joseph Beretta, who was a prosperous dairy- man and rancher in the vicinity of Petaluma at the time of his death. He was born in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, in 1881, and had acquired some know- ledge of dairying and farming on the paternal homestead before he set out for the new world in 1894. This venture was almost forced upon him, as the family was large and it was only by the hardest and most painstaking economy that the little Swiss farm produced sufficient to supply the needs of the growing family.

The parents, Cesare and Virginia (Cozza) Beretta, were both, natives of Switzerland, born in 1841 and 1849, respectively. They became the parents of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, as follows: Bartholomew, Batista, Michael, Joseph, Bartolomeo, Giovanno, Cesare, Nancy, Lonisa, Etta and Maria. A number of the children are married and have families of their own. Batista has four children, Faust, Mabel, Alice and Sophia.

The marriage of Joseph Beretta occurred in San Francisco in 1905, uniting him with Olivia Bolla, by whom two children were born, a son and daughter, Joseph, Jr., and Isolena. Mrs. Beretta is the daughter of Peter and Isolena Fillippini, who were natives of Canton Ticino, Switzerland, but who were mar- ried after coming to California. They became farmers in Marin county, and died in Petaluma. There were three children in their family, as follows : Elvetzio, of Lakeville; Olympio, of Two Rock; and Mrs. Beretta. There was also a half- sister, Eda, Mrs. Gilo Quanchi, who died December .13, 1910. The Beretta fam- ily have a pleasant home on the ranch near Petaluma, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres which is leased. Here Mr. Beretta maintained a dairy of twenty- five cows, besides which he raised chickens on a large scale, having at one time fifteen hundred chickens of the White Leghorn variety. On the ranch there are also three horscs of good breed. Mr. Beretta came from a long line of agricul-

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turists and his success was therefore only the natural outcome when ability is allowed to have expression. He died on his ranch May 8, 1911, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery. With his family he was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church and in his political leanings he was a Republican.

G. GEUGLIMA.

One of the well-known and respected dairymen of Sonoma county is the gentleman whose name heads this article. He was born in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and there reared to young manhood and educated in the schools common to that section. He was early trained to the work on a farm and grew up to know what hard work meant. Having some friends who had preceded him to this country he eagerly sought news of the chances for young men in the Golden West and soon decided to cast in his lot with those who had gone to the United States and the Pacific Coast in particular. Arriving in New York he at once crossed the continent and began work in the dairy busi- ness. After he had accustomed himself to conditions in the west and had saved some money from his earnings he began the dairy business for himself in Sonoma county.

From a small beginning he gradually increased his herd of cows and in 1910 had leased one thousand acres for grazing purposes upon which the one hundred and twenty-five cows he has find plenty of feed. Besides the milch cows he has about fifty head of young stock on the ranch. From the cows is produced about one hundred pounds of butter daily for four months of the year. This product is shipped to San Francisco and is marketed at a good figure. Mr. Geuglima has studied the dairy business and devotes all of his time to making the undertaking a success. He is one of the enterprising Swiss of the county and in the country of his adoption is a loyal citizen. His ranch is in the vicinity of Duncans Mill and represents the spirit of progress for which the Italian-Swiss of the Pacific Coast are noted. He has never married. All matters of public interest find in him a warm supporter and he is well known in his locality.

JOSEPH GARZOLI.

One of the native-born sons of Switzerland who has made a success of life in Marin county, by indefatigable labors, reaping a degree of success im- possible in the country of his birth, is Joseph Garzoli, who was born in Can- ton Ticino, Switzerland, in 1875, and who was there reared to a full knowledge of the business for which his countrymen are noted the world over, namely dairying.

It was natural that an emigrant from the great dairying country of Swit- zerland should seek employment in the dairy business in California, and we find that Mr. Garzoli, after coming here in 1892, did not long delay in finding work on a dairy farm in Marin county. During the five years that he labored in the employ of others he was careful of his earnings, having ever in mind the ambition to some day become proprietor of a dairy ranch of his own. He is

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now in the enjoyment of this realization, for with his cousin, Belardo Garzoli, he leases a splendid tract of dairying land near Petaluma consisting of six hundred and ninety-six acres, known as the Garzoli ranch. Sixty fine milch cows constitute their dairy herd, besides which they have one thousand White Leghorn chickens, forty hogs and ten head of high-grade horses. Though young in years they have had considerable practical experience in all lines of agriculture, and in the application of this knowledge and experience they are making a name and place for themselves that men much their senior in years night envy.

A marriage ceremony performed in Tomales, Marin county, in 1905, united the destinies of Joseph Garzoli and Flora Dado, and they have three children. two sons and a daughter, Clayton, Leo and Matilda, the eldest child having been born April 17, 1906.

FILIPPO GAUDENZIO CASAROTTI.

The tide of immigration which bore so many of the industrious and capable sons of Switzerland to the west, brought Filippo G. Casarotti to Sonoma county in 1884. He was then a young man poor in pocket, but rich in hope and deter- mination to make a success of his life in this country as hundreds of his country- men had done before him. It is therefore with commendable pride that he views the broad acres which are his and contrasts his present prosperous condition with his condition a little over a quarter of a century ago, when he landed as an immigrant on the shores of this country.

Generation after generation of the Casarotti family had lived and died in Switzerland, accepting uncomplainingly the conditions by which they were sur- rounded. It was therefore regarded as a wild adventure when Filippo G. Cas- arotti broke the traditions of long standing by leaving the land of his forefathers to found a home in the United States. This he did in 1884, when he was seven- teen years old, his birth having occurred in 1867. He was induced to take the step owing to the fact that so many of his countrymen had preceded him here and made a success of their undertakings, and confidence in his ability to do what others had succeeded in doing spurred him on when trials or disappoint- ments came his way. Working as a farm hand in the employ of others gave him valuable experience and taught him many things in regard to agricultural life in this country which he was able to put to practice to his advantage later on. For eleven years he was engaged in dairying on the Tomasini ranch in the Chelino valley, and after selling his stock and outfit at the end of this time, returned to Canton Ticino, Switzerland, with his family, spending the years 1902 and 1903 in his native land. After his return to California he was on the Murphy ranch, also in the Chelino valley, for five years, and since 1910 he has been located on the fine ranch which he now leases. This consists of three hundred and thirty- three acres not far from Petaluma, upon which he makes a specialty of dairying and raising chickens. Fifty-three cows of excellent breed constitute his dairy, while his poultry yard contains nine hundred laying hens, besides which he has three head of fine horses. Taken altogether, Mr. Casarotti has one of the most thrifty appearing and prosperous ranches in this section of country and he is regarded by all who know him as an upright, substantial citizen, one whose

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activities are not confined to the accomplishment of personal interests only, but include his fellowmen, the community in which he lives and the county.

The parents of Mr. Casarotti were Filippo and Margareta (Genazzini) Casarotti, both natives of Switzerland, born respectively in 1832 and 1827, and the latter was first married to Mr. Piesenti. Five children were born of the mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Casarotti, Filippo G. being the only son. The daughters were Giacomina, Piesenti, Maria S. and Matilda. Maria S. makes her home in Italy, the wife of G. Fobelli and the mother of five children, Adolpho, Joseph, Clalia, Alvenia and Margaret.

Filippo G. Casarotti chose as his wife Belinda E. Dado, who was born in Marin county, Cal., in 1879, the daughter of Paul and Carolina (Togni) Dado, both born in Switzerland, the former in the year 1830. A large family of eleven children blessed this marriage, three of whom were sons, Atilio A., Silvio J. and Leo C .; the daughters were Belinda E. (Mrs. Casarotti) Corina C., Del- fina A., Evelyn E., Florinda G., Julia C., Valeria R. and Irene . Atilio mar- ried for his first wife Cladina Bloom, by whom he had one child, Jennie V., and after the death of his first wife, married Olivia Gamboni, by whom he also had one child, Vernon E. Corina C. became the wife of A. Bettinelli and the mother of ten children, Paul G., Lawrence B .. Olympia O., Ervino, Everest M., Henry A., Genevieve, Covina, Irene V. and Alma O. Delfina A. married Alphonzo Garzoli, and has one child, Maria. Evelyn E. is the wife of S. Gambolini and has one child, Raymond S. Florinda G. married Joseph Garzoli and has three children, Clayton, Leo and Matilda. Irene A. is the wife of P. J. Bloom. Mr. Casarotti and his wife have five children, Charles P., Ernest A., Walter Y., Irene J. and Evelyn M. The entire family are communicants of the Catholic Church, and are stanch adherents of the faith which has given consolation to their ancestors for generations. Politically Mr. Casarotti is a Republican, and socially he is identified with the lodge of Druids at Tomales.

JAMES MOSSI.

Many are the sturdy sons of Switzerland who have come to this western commonwealth to take advantage of the chances for progress which their own country could not offer them. Among the Swiss-American citizens who con- tribute so largely to the population of Sonoma county is James Mossi, the pro- prietor of a ranch in the vicinity of Petaluma. Born in Canton Ticino, Swit- zerland, January 6, 1870, he was the descendant of a long line of Swiss ante- cedents who had been contented to till the soil and tend their flocks in the land which had given them birth.

Bv the time James Mossi had attained years of discretion he dared to take chances for his future that his predecessors had not thought of taking, and the year 1887 found him taking passage for the United States. The vessel dropped anchor in the harbor of New York, and from that city he came by rail to California, first to Humboldt county, where he remained for four years, and from there to Sonoma county. In 1894 he returned to Switzerland to assist his father for a time, but his desire to return to California was so strong that in 1896 he again came to the Sunset land. He is now leasing one hundred

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and ninety-three acres on Rural Route No. 3 from Petaluma, his ranch being devoted largely to stock-raising, owning thirty cows, besides calves, young stock and two horses. Chicken-raising is also a feature of his ranch enterprise, but as yet is not carried on to any large extent. This as well as his other branches of agriculture, however, are being enlarged and extended as rapidly as his means will allow, and with the success he has had in the short time comparatively that he has been located upon the ranch a promising outlook awaits him.

For his wife Mr. Mossi chose one of his country-women in Miss Mary Tamagni, who was born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, in 1875. Four children were born into this household, Peter, Milia, Mary (who died when four months old) and Lillie, the two last mentioned being twins. The parents were reared in the faith of the Roman Catholic church, and in this faith, too, they are rear- ing their children. Mr. Mossi favors Republican principles, but nevertheless he is independent in the casting of his ballot, giving more attention to the qualifi- cations of the candidate for the office than for the party he represents. Mr. Mossi is not so absorbed with his duties upon the ranch that he has no time for recreation, and when opportunity allows he indulges in hunting.

EDWIN E. MANN.

From an agricultural standpoint Edwin E. Mann ranks among the sub- stantial and reliable residents of Blucher valley, Sonoma county. He is a son of Henry W. and Mary J. (Small) Mann, the former of whom was born March 24, 1817, in Columbiana county, Ohio. Although reared in a farming community, his tastes did not lie in the direction of agriculture, and after finish- ing his education in the public schools near his boyhood home he took up the study of medicine with Dr. David Silvers in his native county. In order to earn the means with which to complete his professional training he taught school, and in so doing was enabled to take a finishing course in Rush Medical College, in Chicago, from which well-known institution he received his diploma. Returning to Ohio, he practiced his profession first in Uniontown and later in Greensburg, and subsequently, while a resident and practitioner in Fulton county, Ind., he also filled the office of county treasurer for two terms. Through- out his mature years he had been a member and active worker in the Presby- terian Church, and for many years served in the capacity of elder. He passed away in Rochester, Ind., January 20, 1864.

Henry W. Mann had been three times married, his first marriage occur- ring in 1842 and uniting him with Miss Susan Alt, who survived her mar- riage but a short time. His second marriage, December 28, 1844, was with Miss Mary J. Small, who at her death four years later, February 24, 1849, left one son, Edwin E., the subject of this review. Dr. Mann's third marriage was celebrated May 29, 1850, uniting him with Miss Sarah M. Chinn.

The only child of his father's second marriage, Edwin. E. Mann was born in Rochester, Fulton county, Ind., February 9, 1847. His education was ac- quired in the schools of that city, and there he was still a pupil when he decided to lay down his books and do his part in the defense of the north, in the Civil war. He was only seventeen years old when he joined the Twenty-fifth Indiana

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Battery, Light Artillery, in which he served under Captain Storm for one year, during this time participating in the battle at Nashville, Tenn. After the expira- tion of the term of his enlistment he re-enlisted in the Regular Army as a member of the Twenty-first United States Infantry at Louisville, Ky. Under General Crook he was assigned to duty in Arizona in subduing the Indian up- risings, and there as in his former service won commendation from his su- periors for gallant and meritorious service. He was mustered out at Camp Grant, Ariz .. in 1866, and instead of returning to Indiana he came to California and this has been his home ever since. Going to the San Joaquin valley, his first experience in the state was as a hop-grower, in which business he was associated with Jolin Neal for five years. Subsequently he was in the employ of the Oakland and Sacramento Street Railroad Company, with headquarters at Oakland, and still later lived for a time at San Jose, Santa Clara county, and Ferndale, Humboldt county. It was with an experience of some length in all of these various localities that he came to Sonoma county in 1885 and became interested in a hop ranch north of Sebastopol. His next move brought him to Blucher valley, where he now resides on sixty acres of fine land which he rents. The raising of blackberries and fruit forms his specialty, and that he is making a success of the undertaking is best told in the statement that dur- ing the season of 1909 he gathered thirty-eight tons of berries and twenty tons of dried apples.

Mr. Mann's marriage in 1890 united him with Mrs. Elzina M. Sharp, who shares with him the esteen and high regard of many friends and neighbors. Mr. Mann's fitness for the position led to his election to the office of president of the Farmers' alliance of Bloomfield, a body of up-to-date ranchers whose object is mutual helpfulness, both in a business and social sense. After two terms of service he resigned the office.

JOHN WALKER.

General farming and stock-raising had for many years been Mr. Walker's chief occupation, and it was from this that he finally developed the business which he is now so successfully engaged in, the raising of Angora goats. On his ranch near Healdsburg he has twenty-five head of these animals, the raising of which he has studied scientifically, and as a result he has at his command a business that has large and growing possibilities.

John Walker was born in Washington county, Iowa, in 1865. Born and reared in an agricultural community he grew up to a knowledge of farming, and though only fifteen years old when he left home and came to California, his knowledge of agriculture stood him in good stead, and from this has gradually developed the business which is his today. Not far from Healdsburg he owns eighty acres of land well located for the purpose to which he has devoted it, the raising of Angora goats, of which he has twenty-five head at this writing. While the size of his herd might seem small to the uninitiated, it will be a surprise to learn that the owner realizes $1,000 annually from the sale of wool, the shear from each animal amounting to four pounds, with an increase of twenty-five per cent each year. So great has been Mr. Walker's success with this compara-

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tively small undertaking, it is his intention to increase his herd as rapidly as he is able and carry on the business on a large scale. It is a well-known fact that there is no animal more valuable than the goat for clearing land of weeds and shrubs, and this has been no exception in Mr. Walker's experience, the browsing of his herd keeping the land free from all objectionable growths. Every year adds to the value of his property, which he now estimates at $700 an acre.

In California Mr. Walker formed domestic ties by his marriage with Miss Elizabeth Griffin, who was born in Sonoma county, and has never known any other home. No children have been born of this marriage.

ALLEN PETERSON.

The fact that he is a resident of town does not deter Mr. Peterson from devoting his attention to the various branches of agriculture adapted to the soi! and climate, and he is usually to be found on his farm cultivating the land or pruning his vines or harvesting his crops according to the season of the year. At the same time he enjoys such advantages as are associated with city residence, of which none is more highly appreciated by him than the opportunity to educate his children in the excellent public schools boasted by Santa Rosa, his home town. Here he owns and occupies a comfortable cottage surrounded by a well- kept lawn, the neat appearance of the property indicating the thrift and domes- tic tastes of the owner. The same neatness and orderly spirit are apparent in the appearance of the farm of one hundred and forty-five acres which he owns and operates, and which is devoted to profit-producing crops. Among other products he has had a successful experience with hops, and devotes.twenty-five acres to that annual. In addition he has a vineyard of fifteen acres and sells a large output of grapes at fair prices.

It is natural that Mr. Peterson should display a changeless devotion to Sonoma county, for here he was born July 2, 1861, and here his entire life has been passed and his education received in local schools. The family belongs to the pioneer element of the county, his father, G. Peterson, a native of Mis- souri, having settled here as early as 1852. In the journey across the plains from Missouri he was accompanied by his wife, Anna (Steele) Peterson, who was born and reared in that state, and belonged to an old southern family. They became the parents of nine children, namely : Frank, who is married and has four children ; James, who is married and has one child ; Allen, the subject of this article; Sash, who married Jennie Hunter and has five children ; Ellen, Mrs. Jack Bowden, the mother of one son; Josephine; Sonoma, Mrs. John Rogers, who has one son; Alice, Mrs. T. Huffman, who is the mother of five children; and Lillie, who married Albert Becker and has five children.

The marriage of Allen Peterson united him with Miss Louise Vangrafen, who was born in Peoria, Ill., July 27, 1864. Five children bless the union, viz. : Ruby D., Pearl M., Nellie M., Louisa and Sarah R. The lineage of the Vangrafen family is traced through many generations of German ancestors and the father of Mrs. Peterson, Charles H. Vangrafen, was a native of the old country, having been born in 1823. At an early age he came to America from Germany, and for a considerable period he labored in the central west, having his home first in Illinois

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and later in Indiana, but as early as 1854 he came to California and settled in Sonoma county. In this part of the state he afterward continued to reside until his death. By his marriage to Miss Melvina Davis, who was born in 1833, he had nine children. They were named as follows: William, who married Anna Johnson and had three children; Charles, who chose Miss Ida Peterson as his wife; Chester, who married Eva Kneale and had three children; Emma, who first married George Brewer and afterward became the wife of Charles Free- man, having two children by the former union; Clara, Mrs. Shaw Marsh, who has two children ; Louisa, Mrs. Peterson; Nellie, who died in infancy ; Josephine ; and Nellie (2d), Mrs. Bert Rugby.

SILVA SACCHI.

The childhood days of Mr. Sacchi were passed on the parental homestead in Switzerland, where his birth occurred in 1873, and where he continued to make his home until he was about seventeen years of age. The year 1890 found him taking passage for the United States, and the same year found him in California, where, in Humboldt county, he engaged in agricultural pursuits altogether for the following sixteen years, first in the employ of others, and later interested in enterprises of his own. It was therefore with a large fund of experience at his command that Mr. Sacchi came to Sonoma county in 1906 and located on the ranch which he now owns and occupies near Sears Point. Here he has five hundred acres of land well adapted to the uses to which he puts it, raising hay and grain principally, the latter of which yields twenty-five sacks to the acre, while three tons of hay per acre is an average yield. The raising of horses of high grade is also a feature worthy of note in connection with the ranch.

Before her marriage Mrs. Sacchi was Miss Severini Ambrazini, a native of Switzerland, besides whom there were three other children in her parents' fam- ily, as follows: Ferdinand, Victor and Olinda. . No children have been born to Mr. Sacchi and his wife. True to the training of their childhood years, they are stanch adherents of the Roman Catholic faith, attending the church at Sears Point.

DELL STEWART.

Since coming to Sonoma county Mr. Stewart has been connected with its agricultural interests, and has acquired considerable ranching property, his home place being in close proximity to Duncans Mills, which is his postoffice and market town. A native of Wisconsin, born in 1860, he was the eldest of the four children born to Joseph Stewart and his wife, the former born in New York state in 1837. The early married life of the parents was passed in Wis- consin, but some time after the birth of his eldest son, the father brought his family to California, and here, in Sonoma county, he attained a good old age. Farming had been his life occupation, sixty-four years having been passed in this honorable employment both here and in the middle-west, and for a number of years after coming to the west he worked as a night watchman in Healdsburg.

Dell Stewart came to California with his parents, and his whole life has practically been passed in this state. In early life he prepared himself for the future by learning the blacksmith's trade, a trade which he has followed for

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many years, but which he has given up to some extent to devote his attention to the care of his land. This consists of one hundred and sixty acres of timber land near Duncans Mills, from which he is cutting the timber, two million feet of raw timber thus far having been taken from his land.

Mrs. Stewart was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1860. In maidenhood she was Miss Belle Ackenberg, the daughter of John Ackenberg, a native of Ohio, as was also his wife. During the girlhood of their daughter the parents left Ohio and settled in California, and here as in Ohio the father carried on farming for many years. During his later years, however, he followed merchandising in Healdsburg, in this, as in farming, making a success of his undertakings. Two children were born to the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ackenberg, Belle, Mrs. Stewart, and Martha, who is also married. Two children have blessed the mar- riage of Mr. Stewart and his wife, Sidney and Lettie. The son, Sidney, chose as his wife Miss Mabel Brown, and they have two children. The daughter, Kittie, is the wife of Edward Bones, and one son, Beverly, has been born to them.

WILLIAM BARLOW MORDECAI.

One of the youngest and at the same time one of the most enterprising tillers of the soil in Sonoma county is William Barlow Mordecai, well known in the vicinity of Petaluma and Two Rock, where his entire life has been passed. He was born in Petaluma May 9, 1889, the only son born to his parents, Thomas and Eva (Barlow) Mordecai; besides him there was also a daughter, Frances, who is now the wife of Walter Foster, of Petaluma.

When William B. Mordecai was a child of four years his parents removed from town to the ranch which the father leased, lying between Petaluma and Two Rock, and here he was reared, and here also he gained his first knowledge of books in the district school. Subsequently he attended the public school at Petaluma, continuing his studies there until he was nineteen years of age. In the meantime the father had died and the care of the ranch fell upon the mother until the son was able to assume the responsibilities. At the age of nineteen years, when his schooling was completed, he returned to the home ranch and relieved his mother of the cares which she had borne so patiently since the death of her husband, in March, 1904. Mrs. Mordecai now makes her home in Petaluma.

The ranch upon which Mr. Mordecai resides is the property of his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Louisa Barlow, a resident of Berkeley, Cal., and comprises two hundred and sixteen acres of fine land. Mr. Mordecai does not specialize on any one branch of agriculture, finding diversified farming a congenial as well . as a remunerative occupation. Of his varied interests the raising of chickens probably takes the lead, his flock comprising four thousand chickens. Thirty- eight cows contribute to his dairy, besides which he has eight horses and colts. Twenty acres of the land are under cultivation to potatoes, thirty acres are in hay, while ten acres are in apples, including several of the best varieties.

When less than twenty years of age Mr. Mordecai was married, August 5, 1908, to Miss Hannah Gould, a resident of Penn Grove. He is identified with only one organization, the Two Rock Grange, of which he is an enthusiastic member.

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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 119

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1190

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1190