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 36
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Captain Boyes was made a Mason in Minerva Lodge No. 250, F. & A. M. in Hull, England, and has in his possession the only entered apprentice certifi- cate issued in England. He is also a member of the Minerva Chapter, R. A. M., in Hull. Captain Boyes is an English gentleman of the old school, cultured, re- fined, genial, having proved loyal and true to the land of his adoption and is well trained in the exercise of those fine intellectual qualities that are the Eng- lishman's heritage and pride. Through his affiliation with the Episcopal church many of his benevolences are given, although his liberality is such that it con- fines itself to no sect or lodge.
MRS. ANTOINETTE CHARLOTTE BOYES.
Mrs. Antoinette Charlotte Boyes, the wife of Capt. Henry Ernest Boyes, was born at Bangalore, Madras, India, the daughter of Col. George Row- land and Catherine (Armstrong) Edwards. Her father was the son of John Edwards, J. P. D. L., who married Charlotte Martin, daughter of the Rev. George Martin and granddaughter of the Third Duke of Athol, who was head of the Murray family, so she is a direct descendant of the last King of Wales (King Morfa and Prince Llewellyn). She has the old parchment and coat of arms tracing the family back before the time of William the Conqueror. Col. George Rowland Edwards comes of the clans McGregor, Murray and Drum- mond, her mother, Catherine Armstrong, being the eldest daughter of Major General Armstrong, C. B., and the family comes from the clans Campbell and Armstrong Dalziel of which the Marquis of Tweedale was the head, who trace their family tree back to the Druids. Colonel Edwards was born at Ness Strange in 1810 and was a boy of sixteen years when he went to India and entered in the second Madras Light Cavalry, serving thirty-six years in India and rose to
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the rank of Colonel and was through the Indian mutiny, doing splendid work in that country. Among other things he was the founder of schools among the Thugs, one of the most murderous tribes in India. He was present at the coronation of Queen Victoria. He succeeded to the estate of Ness Strange in Shropshire, and in 1850 he was the originator of "Three acres and a cow," be- lieving that in small holdings there was more success and proved the truth of it by leasing to tenants in small plots, showing the success that could be obtained. He read a paper on the subject before the House of Commons that received very favorable comment. Colonel Edwards died in 1894, aged eighty-four years, his wife's decease occurring in 1908, at the age of eighty years.
Mrs. Boyes, who is the eldest of twelve children, spent much of her life in India, where her education was under the training of a governess. Since the death of her parents and her four brothers she has succeeded to the Ness Strange estate of one thousand acres in Shropshire, where she is following her father's ideas in leasing it in small holdings, with much satisfaction to her tenants. She was first married at Ness Strange in 1870 to Captain John Macredie Mure, of the Thirty-fourth Regiment and served in the Afghan war of 1877 and 1878 on the staff of Samuel Browne, K. C. B., and died from the results of the campaign in February 1879. During the Afghan war Mrs. Boyes was in Peshawer ten miles distant and after the death of Captain Mure returned to England spending her time traveling on the continent until her marriage to Captain Boyes, December 15, 1883, at the home of her aunt, Lady Edwards.
While in India she spent some time hunting the native birds and having them mounted, having several hundred different specimens in her collection, undoubtedly one of the largest private collections of its kind in the United States. Since coming to Sonoma county she has been very active in aiding the captain in every way and planning the upbuilding and improving of Boyes' Hot Springs. Their efforts were united and they succeeded in making it the most attractive Hot mineral spring resort in California, after which they in- corporated a company and turned the management over to others, retiring from active work in order to improve their home "El Mirador" (The Lookout), well named, as it overlooks the beautiful Sonoma valley. This home, designed by herself, is of English architecture. In the valley she has regained her health and while she will, of course, spend a great deal of time at her English estate, Ness Strange, she will never forget her loved home and surroundings, El Mir- ador, in the Sonoma valley. Captain and Mrs. Boyes, in their magnificent home, take keen delight in making their surroundings beautiful and have spared neither pains nor expense in making it one of the most attractive places in So- noma county.
Mrs. Boyes is a woman of rare attainments and ability, highly cultured and refined, her extensive travel adding to the charm of her conversation, and al- though of noble birth is unassuming, having the love and esteem of people in all walks of life in whose friendship she shows no partiality.
THOMAS. F. MEAGHER.
In Thomas F. Meagher we find a Native Son of the Golden West whose pride in his place of birth is paramount to almost any other honor that might be his, judging by his interest and activity in the circles of that well-known
Both 9 Mill.
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body. Born in Freestone, Sonoma county, November 21, 1861, he is a son of Michael P. and Mary ( Hanlon) Meagher, natives of Waterford and Dublin, Ireland, respectively, the former of whom came to the west in the early '50s and was in San Francisco during the time when law and order were almost unknown quantities. As a member of the vigilant committec he did his part to bring about better conditions by subduing the lawless element that had come to the west at the time of the gold rush. The year 1859 found him in Sonoma county, one of the first to settle in the vicinity of Freestone, where he came with W. O'Farrell and managed a ranch for him. Subsequently he purchased a ranch and engaged in general farming and stock-raising throughout the remainder of his life. His first experience along this line had been gained while superin- tendent of an old-country estate, where all the work was done by Indians. He passed away in 1867, his wife surviving him until 1892.
It was on the old family homestead near Freestone that Thomas F. Meagher was reared to mature years, and in that vicinity he ranched on his own account for some time. Giving this up finally, he went to San Francisco and for a time was in the employ of the street railroad company, later being employed as watchman in the United States mint there. A later position was in the Mare Island navy yard at Vallejo, which he filled for some time, and upon giving it up in 1904 he returned to Sonoma county, and in Sebastopol established the restaurant business of which he is still the proprietor. In addition to this business he also owns a ranch of twelve acres, all of which is set out to a choice grade of fruit, principally to Gravenstein apples, which are now coming into bearing.
Mr. Meagher's ability as a public officer was recognized in April of 1908, when his fellow-citizens elected him a trustee of the town of Sebastopol, a posi- tion which he is still filling to the satisfaction of all concerned. Fraternally he is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (being a member of the lodge at Santa Rosa), the Druids and the Redmen of Sebastopol, and socially be belongs to the Native Sons of the Golden West, in which he is serving as district deputy grand president of District No. 2. His interest and activity in the order date from the time his name was placed on the roll of membership, and in the meantime he has attended all the sessions of the grand parlor.
ROBERT POTTER HILL.
Although the ranch which Mr. Hill now owns and manages came into his possession upon the death of the father in 1897, he lives by no means in a reflected light, for he inherits in large measure his sire's business ability and thrift, as anyone visiting the ranch of one hundred and eighty acres near Eld- ridge would readily acknowledge. Mr. Hill is a native son of the state, born in Sonoma valley March 15, 1856, the son of William McPherson Hill, who was born at Hatboro, Montgomery county, Pa., October 22, 1822. His paternal grandfather was Dr. John Howard Hill, a native of Morris county, N. J., whose father, Humphrey Hill, was of Quaker extraction. Dr. Hill was a graduate of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, and served as a surgeon in a Doyles- town company in the war of 1812. He practiced medicine in Pennsylvania until
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he came to California in 1854 and was elected to the state senate from his dis- trict in 1860. His demise occurred in Philadelphia.
The father of our subject was graduated from the University of Pennsyl- vania in 1840. He served under President Polk as first clerk in the naval office in the custom house in Philadelphia for two years, when he resigned to come to California. January 16, 1849, he started on a sailing vessel via Cape Horn, ar- riving in San Francisco August 3, 1849. He was engaged in business there off and on and went through two fires. In 1851 he had purchased a ranch in So- noma valley and in 1854 he located on the place and engaged in general farming and horticulture and was one of the first to engage in fruit culture in this sec- tion. He purchased adjoining land until he acquired about eighteen hundred acres. In 1890 he sold seventeen hundred and sixty acres to the state for the state home for feeble-minded children, which has now grown to large propor- tions and built up with magnificent buildings and is a grand institution. Aside from being county supervisor in 1860 he served one term in the state senate in 1875. His wife was Annie Potter, born in New Jersey, the daughter of Robert B. Potter, a merchant in Philadelphia. The mother died in San Francisco, and the father died November 17, 1897. Not only was the' Sonoma county ranch the home of Mr. Hill's parents until their deaths, but his paternal grandfather also lived here and took an active part in the upbuilding of the community, and at one time represented his district in the state senate. The father was no less public-spirited and enterprising, and his election as supervisor in 1860 proved to his constituents that they had chosen the right man for the place.
Robert P. Hill was educated in the district school near the home ranch in Sonoma county, and received later advantages in the schools of Oakland. With the close of his school days he returned to the farm and thereafter was asso- ciated with his father in its management until 1890, when it was sold, the father then retiring from business. In the year just mentioned Mr. Hill was appointed manager of the farm of the state home and at once assumed charge of the large farm, which occupied his time for five years. He was then appointed steward, and served efficiently in this position for two years. In February, 1898, he began farming the place of fifty-six acres near Eldridge which he now occupies. Since then he has added to it until he now has one hundred and eighty acres, which he devotes to general farming and horticulture. The ranch is beautifully located on an elevation which commands a magnificent view of the surrounding country, and its proximity to two railroads obviates the necessity of hauling produce long distances to market. The ranch is devoted entirely to the raising of grapes and fruit, the former being disposed of to the winery.
Mr. Hill was married in 1897 to Miss Kate Donohue, a native of Mercer county, Pa., that also being the birthplace of her parents, Timothy J. and Rose A. (Conneely) Donohue. The father brought his family to California and lo- cated in San Rafael, where he was engaged in the lumber and planing mill business. He passed away there, but his widow still lives in that town. Mrs. Hill's education was obtained in San Rafael and she is a woman in every way fitted to be a companion and helpmeet to her husband. She is actively interested in social affairs in her community and in 1906-07 served as state president of the California federation of women's clubs. In his choice of politics Mr. Hill has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him, being
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a stanch Democrat. Every measure of an upbuilding character receives the hearty support and co-operation of Mr. Hill, this being especially true of school matters. He is at present serving as trustee of the high school of Sonoma, and for the past six years has been clerk of the board. Fraternally and socially he is well and favorably known throughout this community, being an active member of Temple Lodge No. 14, F. & A. M. of Sonoma, is a charter member of the Glen Ellen Grange, a charter member of the Glen Ellen Parlor, N. S. G. W., and a member of the Woodmen of the World. It is to such citizens as Mr. and Mrs. Hill that the upbuilding of California is due. There is not a public measure started that is for the improvement of the county but receives their hearty sup- port. using their time and means to enhance the different public enterprises and all societies for social improvement.
LOSSON ROSS.
The roll-call of pioneer settlers in California shows that the ranks are being gradually depleted, a fact which was brought forcibly to mind when it was announced that Losson Ross had passed away July 20, 1908. His death closed a career of distinct usefulness in the community in which he had lived for fifty-four years, no one being more highly esteemed or respected in the vicinity of Forestville than was he.
The Ross family originated in the south, William Ross, the father, being a native of Tennessee, but when he was quite a young child he was taken by his parents to Indiana, and it was there that he was educated and grew to manhood years on his father's farm. Not only did he become proficient in agriculture, but he also equipped himself in three other lines, gun-making, blacksmithing and carriage-making, and in Harrison county, Ind., he established a wagon- shop that he maintained until the year 1849. He then removed to Iowa and continued work at his trade in Bonaparte for the following five years. In the meantime two of his sons, Losson and James L., had come to California, and in 1855 he joined them in Placerville, where he continued for two years, at the end of that time coming to Analy township, Sonoma county, and locating on a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres that his two sons mentioned had purchased and deeded to him. This was his home for about twenty years, or until his death in 1876, when seventy-two years old. His first vote was cast for a whig candidate, and he continued to cast his ballot for the candidates of this party until the formation of the Republican party, which he supported as enthusias- tically as he had its predecessor. Personally he was a man of high principles, and throughout his mature years he had been a member and active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He had a hearty co-laborer and sympathizer in his wife, who before her marriage was Sarah Kay, a native of Virginia, and who died in Analy township at the age of eighty-four years. In her religious affiliation she was a member of the Adventist Church. A family of nine chil- dren was born to William Ross and his wife, eight becoming citizens of Cali- fornia, but of these only three are now living, as follows: James L., a rancher in Analy township; Jesse, a rancher in San Benito county: and W. T., who owns a ranch in Sonoma county.
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Losson Ross was born July 22, 1828, in New Albany, near Corydon, Har- rison county, Ind., and as a boy he attended the district school near his birth- place. When not in school he found occupation in his father's wagon-shop, and under his father he learned the wagon and carriage-maker's trade. After spend- ing a year in Louisiana he removed with his parents to Bonaparte, Iowa, remain- ing there until April 5, 1850, when with his brother, James L., he set out on the overland journey with ox-teams. The Carson river was reached after a tire- some journey of six months, during which experience he and his wife walked all of the way, with the single exception of one day, when he was ill. When the brothers reached their destination their financial outlook was not the brightest, the sum total of their wealth being $1, each one having fifty cents. Their hon- est appearance was undoubtedly the means of their obtaining credit with which to make the first payment on a claim to a man who was ill and wanted to sell out in order to return home. This he was enabled to do with the $15 which they paid him for the claim. Their efforts as miners were very satisfactory until the rainy season overtook them, after which they went to a camp at Dia- mond Springs. Some time later Losson Ross became superintendent of an en- terprise to convey water from the Consumne river to the dry diggings, and at the same time advancing some of his personal means to assist the enterprise. After a trial of two and a-half years the enterprise failed, and Mr. Ross lost not only his wages, but also the money he had invested in the scheme. Still having faith in the enterprise, however, when a new company was formed he entered its employ as agent and continued in this capacity until 1854. Subse- quently, removing to Coon Hollow, Eldorado county, he carried on a lucrative business as general merchant until 1857.
It was in the year just mentioned that Mr. Ross disposed of his store, and with his brother, James L., came to Sonoma county and purchased six hundred acres in Analy township, each owning one-half of it. At first Losson Ross followed general farming and stock-raising, a line of endeavor in which he was especially successful, but in more recent years he made a specialty of raising fruit and hops, having fifty acres in prunes, pears, peaches and apples of the best varieties, while thirty-eight acres were in hops. On a fifty-acre tract ad- joining the homestead which he owned he also raised large crops, having thirty acres in hops and two acres in prunes. In the management and care of his ranch Mr. Ross applied the principle that what was worth doing at all was worth doing well, and nothing about the ranch would ever suggest that he at any time deviated from this. Labor-saving devices were installed as soon as their need became recognized, ånd among the buildings on the ranch he installed a large up-to-date drier. His stock included the best grade of Mcclellan and Morgan horses, and his large dairy was supplied from Holstein, Durham and Jersey cattle.
In Harrison county, Ind., Losson Ross was first married to Miss Martha Inman, who died a victim of cholera the following year. In Eldorado county, September 4. 1853, he married Miss Sidney Meeks, born in Beaver county, Pa., May 15, 1833, the daughter of Robert and Sophronia (Baker) Meeks, who came to California in 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Ross became the parents of seven children. William D. leases fifty acres of the old homestead, where he lives with his wife, formerly Hattie Lee, of Forestville: Frank, farming near Santa
ettephere 6 House
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Rosa, married Miss Annie M. Ayers; Kemp L. owns and manages a ranch in Analy township; Irvine D., living on the home place, chose as his wife Ida, the daughter of D. P. Gardner, of Santa Rosa; George A., who has charge of the home ranch, married Miss Lena L. Bach, and they with their three children, Mervyn F., Edwin and Leonard B., live on the old homestead; Benjamin F. is a rancher in Sonoma county; and Anna E., the wife of Elmer Davis, lives in Clarion county, Pa. Unlike his father in his political belief, Mr. Ross was a Democrat, and an active worker in its ranks, although he was in no sense an office-seeker. He was also well known in fraternal circles, being the last sur- vivor of the nine charter members of Lafayette Lodge No. 126, F. & A. M., the lodge having been organized in Sebastopol in 1857. In the work of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Ross was a member, he was actively interested, and in the office of steward he served efficiently for many years.
STEPHEN CURTIS MORSE.
The middle west has contributed its quota of energetic, forceful men, whose wise management of the fertile lands of Sonoma county brought them com- fortable financial returns, as well as enrollment among a noble pioneer band. Among those who came to California from that section of country and lived to enjoy a merited prosperity was Stephen Curtis Morse, who passed away on his ranch near Sebastopol, October 19, 1907.
As far back as we have any record of the Morse family its members were identified with Illinois, and it was while his parents were living in Cook county that Stephen C. was born, March 23, 1856. The father was a farmer, and from his earliest years Stephen C. was made familiar with the duties of farm life. He received a fair education in the schools near the home farm, and as soon as his school days were over the father and son became associated in the management of the farm, and the association then formed continued in all their undertakings thereafter until death separated them. Selling out their farm in- terests in Illinois in 1882, the family came to California the same year, the end of their journey bringing them to Sacramento. Their stay in that city was of short duration, for the fall of that year found them in Sonoma county and on a ranch which they purchased in the vicinity of Sebastopol father and son con- tinned their efforts together until the death of the latter. The ranch which they purchased consisted of one hundred and thirty-eight acres, well suited both in location and in quality of soil to the raising of apples and peaches, and it was to these fruits that they devoted the entire acreage. The property had for- merly been in vineyard and was known as the old Maguire ranch.
As in their business relations, so in their church and social interests father and son were united, both being members of and deacons in the Baptist Church, and in promoting the various interests for which this organization stood, no one was more untiring in their efforts than they. They were also members of the Sebastopol grange, in which, as in every other cause to which they lent their name, they were vigorous and interested workers.
In 1893 Stephen C. Morse was united in marriage with Miss Frances E. Weeks, who like her husband was a native of Illinois, born in Joliet. She is
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the daughter of Horace and Mary (Munson) Weeks, of Joliet, Ill. The father was an attorney-at-law, was Master in Chancery and for seventeen years was Secretary of the Home and Loan Association of Joliet. Her maternal grand- father was Sylvester Munson, a native of Connecticut, who located in Will county, Ill., in 1834, while his wife, Sarah A. Lanfear, a native of New York state, came to Will county in 1832. Mrs. Weeks is residing in Sebastopol. After a happy married life of fourteen years their home was saddened by the death of Mr. Morse, in October of 1907, leaving a void in the home and taking an active and valued worker from the church and social organizations with which he had been associated for so many years. After his death his widow continued the management of the ranch successfully until the spring of 1910, when she sold the place, although she still makes her home in Sebastopol. She was a co-worker with her husband in all of his activities for the good of his fellowman, and since his death has continued her contributions of time and means for their furtherance. She is also a member of the Eastern Star and an active worker in the order.
JAMES HUME KNOWLES.
Among the men who gave the strength of their best years toward the development of the resources of Sonoma county, few are more kindly remem- bered than James Hume Knowles, who for a period of nearly fifty years gave the vigor of his manhood toward developing the latent resources of the Pacific slope. A native of England, he was born near Manchester in the year 1831, and in young manhood he came to the United States, landing in New York City. The news of the finding of gold in California found him apparently expecting and waiting for just such an opportunity as this seemed to offer, and he at once made ready to set sail for the land of opportunity. After his passage was paid for he had just twenty cents in his pocket, but this condition of his finances did not disturb his peace of mind, but rather served as a spur to his already hopeful and daring disposition. The voyage was made around Cape Horn on the clipper ship North America, in 1852, and in due season it reached its des- tination, San Francisco. He immediately sought work, and was fortunate in the search, remaining there variously occupied for some time.
Whatever he could save from his small earnings Mr. Knowles laid by for future use, and when he finally came to Sonoma county in 1854 he had quite a nest-egg with which to make a start in the world. Settling in Petaluma, he en- tered enthusiastically into the activities of the growing town, in recognition of which his fellow-citizens made him marshal of the town, a position which he filled acceptably for about fourteen years. He might have filled the position indefinitely had he so desired, but in order to devote his time more closely to private interests he resigned the position at the end of the time mentioned, and going to Cazadero, purchased a ranch of eleven hundred and twenty-five acres, upon which he lived for the following nine years. It was then that he came to Bloomfield and purchased the ranch upon which he was living at the time of his death, in 1895. Not every man in a community by any means is fitted to be a leader of his fellows, but Mr. Knowles possessed the requisite qualities in ample measure, and in a becoming and self-forgetful way he put
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