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 41
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THOMAS BLOOM MCNAMARA.
The present county surveyor of Sonoma county, T. B. McNamara, was born in Helena, Mont., February 6, 1882, the son of James Joseph and Mar- garet (Bloom) McNamara, the former born in Dungiven, Ireland, and his wife was a native of Curneyville, Pa. She passed away in California in 1889, after a long and useful life. James J. McNamara accompanied his uncles Michael and Nicholas to California when a boy and was reared and educated in Crescent City, Del Norte county. He was studying law there when the Civil war broke out, and being very loyal to his adopted country he enlisted in the First Oregon Volunteer Cavalry and served on the frontier against the Indians for a period of three years, during which time he was wounded in two different battles. After the war he went to Helena, Mont., where he engaged
Ofranz Blackburn
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in the stock business, his ranch being located near that city. In 1886 he re- turned to California and bought a ranch in Green valley, Sonoma county, and for many years was engaged in horticulture. He is now city editor of the Produce News of Kansas City, where he resides.
The third eldest of a family of five children, three of whom are now living. Thomas B. McNamara was brought to California when a lad of four years and his education was received in the public schools of Sonoma county and in the high school of Santa Rosa. At the age of twenty years he entered the office of the county surveyor Mr. Smyth and served for five years, four of which he was assistant county surveyor. Upon the election of George Winkler to that office in 1906 he was retained as chief deputy, and in 1900, when Mr. Winkler was compelled to go to Old Mexico on account of ill health, Mr. McNamara made his campaign and as a result Mr. Winkler was returned to the office with the second largest majority on the ticket. This is doubtless the most unique campaign ever made in a fight for county office as Mr. McNamara took the stump and spoke over the entire county. After the death of Mr. Winkler, July 23, 1911, the board of supervisors (on July 31), appointed Mr. McNamara county surveyor to fill the vacancy.
Mr. McNamara was married in San Francisco in 1903 to. Miss Ida Mae Bither, a native daughter of San Joaquin county. They have two children, James Joseph and Thomas Bloom. In national politics Mr. McNamara is a Republican. Since he has been an employe of the office to which he has since succeeded he has attended to all the duties that have been intrusted to him with an earnestness of purpose and a strict attention to detail that has made of him an invaluable assistant and his unanimous appointment by the board of supervisors was a gratification to all who have had business or social dealings with him.
FRANK L. BLACKBURN.
Among the native-born citizens of Sonoma county conspicuous for their ability, integrity and worth is Frank I .. Blackburn, the present coroner and public administrator of the county, and the proprietor of a large undertaking business in Petaluma. In pursuing his successful career Mr. Blackburn has not departed from any of the ways or traditions of the typical western man, as he has known no other home than the golden west. In this respect his experience differs from that of his father, the late Charles Blackburn, who in 1843 left his home in England and came to the United States, first settling in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Nine years later, in 1852, he came to California, and between that year and the date of his death, November 27, 1896, was enacted a career that was as useful as it was long. Possessing the ability and personal requisites of the ideal funeral director and recognizing in Petaluma the need of his services, he established the principal enterprise of this kind in the town, and from the first the business had a steady growth, patronage not being confined to the town and immediate surroundings, but coming from all parts of the county. For further facts relative to his long and interesting career the reader is referred to his sketch on another page of this work.
The youngest of the children born to his parents, Charles and Jemima Jane (Richardson) Blackburn, Frank L. Blackburn was born in Petaluma
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in July, 1869. He attended the public schools of his home town, and after acquiring a good practical knowledge of the essentials of education he pre- pared for business life by learning the undertaking business, thus following in the footsteps of his father and elder brother in the choice of a life calling. To perfect himself in his chosen vocation he went to San Francisco and studied with the William H. Porter Company and also with Halstead & Co. With the practical knowledge and experience which he thus gained he returned to Petaluma and applied his knowledge in his father's undertaking business, continuing thus associated for three years. The breaking out of the Spanish-American war at this time was destined to make a change in his career, enlarging his experi- ence professionally, as well as affording an opportunity for sight-seeing and travel. Enlisting his services in the army transport service, he was given the position of embalmer in the government service between San Francisco and the far east, and during the incumbency of this position made three trips to the Philippines, Japan and China.
After the death of the father in 1896 the undertaking business which he had established was continued by his eldest son, John S., and it was with the latter that Frank L. Blackburn became associated after the close of his gov- ernment service and his return to Petaluma. The association proved profit- able and amicable and was severed only by the death of the elder brother in 1903. Since that time the business has been maintained by Frank L. Black- burn alone, his long and varied experience in the business amply qualifying him to continue the name and good work of his predecessors. In 1902 Mr. Blackburn was elected on the Republican ticket to the office of coroner and public administrator of Sonoma county, and so satisfactory were his services during his first term, that in 1906 and 1910 he was re-elected his own suc- cessor and is still the encumbent of this important office.
In 1904 Mr. Blackburn was united in marriage with Miss Caroline I. Williams, a native of Petaluma and the daughter of Surgeon-General C. H. Williams of the United States Army, who stood high in army circles. Fra- ternally Mr. Blackburn is a well-known Odd Fellow, belonging to the order in all of its varied branches, besides which he belongs to the Elks, Red Men. Fraternal Order of Eagles, and by right of his birth in the state, belongs to the Native Sons of the Golden West. Mr. Blackburn is held in the highest esteem by those associated with him in whatever capacity, his business sagacity, high personal honor and tact and good fellowship endearing him to a host of friends.
CLAYTON WINKLER.
From the time of his arrival in California until his demise it was the privi- lege of Mr. Winkler to witness over half a century of progress. The era of gold-mining which he found here has been replaced by an epoch of commercial activity and agricultural and horticultural prosperity. Fertile valleys bask in the sunshine of spring and glow with the golden flush of summer's harvests. Cities have arisen where once the sheep and cattle roamed over ranges unmo-
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lested. On every hand may be seen evidences of the fruition of the pioneers, who builded wisely and well for future generations.
Honored among the pioneers now gone to their last rest is the name of Clayton Winkler, a pioneer of 1849 on the coast. Born in Estelle county, Ky., January 12, 1831, he was a son of David and Sarah (Asbell) Winkler, both also natives of that state. The paternal grandfather, Jacob Winkler, was a native of Germany, and it was he who established the name in this country, locating in Kentucky. The early youth of Clayton Winkler was passed in his native state, and during his boyhood he removed with his parents to Missouri, in the vicinity of St. Joseph. There soon afterward, when he was only nine years of age, he was orphaned by the death of both parents, after which he made his home with his brother-in-law, L. A. Reynolds, in LaPorte, Ind., who gave him every advantage for an education which he bestowed upon his own children. This included district and high school advantages, to which were later added the privileges of a course in an academy at South Bend.
At the time of the breaking out of the gold fever in California Clayton Winkler was a young man of eighteen years, full of ambition and eager to take advantage of the opportunity which crossed his path. It was in the spring of that year, therefore, that he began the long journey across the plains, driving an ox-team. The party were fortunate in escaping any disasters until the Hum- boldt was reached, the Indians there stampeding and stealing their cattle. They were fortunate in recovering the greater part of the cattle without a fight, and on the remainder of the march they used greater precaution. The party arrived in Sacramento October 16, 1849, and without loss of time Mr. Winkler made his way to the mines of Eldorado county, continuing there until 1851. It was the year just mentioned that marked his advent in Sonoma county, and the fol- lowing year he showed his satisfaction with the country by the purchase of two hundred and eighty acres of land in Green valley. General farming en- gaged his attention until 1854, and for the two years following he made a spe- cialty of raising potatoes. His thirst for mining had evidently not been satiated during the first years of his residence in the state, for in the years 1862 and 1863 we find him again interested in the search for the hidden treasure, this time in Nevada. The venture proved a succession of gains and losses that about evenly balanced each other, and he finally determined to give up the undertaking altogether.
Mr. Winkler then returned to his ranch in Sonoma county and took up its cultivation and improvement with a new zest. It was following this, in 1866, that his marriage with Miss Martha Brain occurred. She was a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Powell) Brain, both natives of England, but early immi- grants to Sonoma county, Cal. Among the improvements which Mr. Winkler placed upon his property were numerous substantial buildings, besides which he planted orchards until he was the owner of one of the finest orchards to be found anywhere in this section of country, his ranch lying nine miles west of Santa Rosa. Altogether he had seventy-five acres devoted to orchard, peaches and apples being his specialty, and in the raising of these fruits he was a recognized authority throughout the county. Besides the fruits of which he made a specialty he also raised a variety of other fruits and grapes for family 11sc, and the land not used for fruit raising was devoted to hay, grain and stock.
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Probably no resident of Green valley was more enthusiastic about its future than was Mr. Winkler, who was firm in the belief that it had no equal as a fruit center in the state. He lived to see his prophecy in this respect fulfilled, and to have the satisfaction of feeling that he had been a factor in bringing it about. Not only was his influence effectual along agricultural lines, but it was also strongly felt in all avenues of activity, both religious and secular. He was a member of the Methodist Church, a believer in maintaining good schools and churches, as was evidenced in his liberal contributions, without regard to denomination. As an evidence of his generosity it may be said that he donated an acre and a half of land upon which the Congregational Church of Green valley was erected. He was indefatigable in his efforts to provide good school privileges for the young, and much of the progress which was made in school matters was brought about during the many years which he served as school trustee. Politically he was a Republican, but he never was an aspirant for office, and fraternally he was a member of Lafayette Lodge No. 126, F. & A. M., of Sebastopol. Mr. Winkler passed away November 18, 1901, leaving besides his widow nine children to mourn the loss of a kind father. Named in the order of their birth they are as follows: Sarah J., Arthur S., George H. (the late surveyor of Sonoma county), Hattie L., Oliver M., Edward C., Sam- uel Ernest, Walter S. and Florence E.
MARK L. McDONALD, JR.
Although comparatively a young man, Mark L. McDonald, Jr., of Santa Rosa, has a business record which men many years his senior might be proud to possess. As president and manager of the M. L. McDonald, Jr., & Co. fruit- packing enterprise he owes much to his gifts of perseverance and resource, as well as to splendid business judgment.
Through his paternal grandparents, James and Martha (Peters) McDon- ald, Mark L. McDonald, Jr., is a descendant of southern ancestors, and his father, Mark L. McDonald, was also a native of the south. It was while his parents, Mark L. and Ralphine (North) McDonald, were making their home in San Francisco that their eldest son, Mark L., was born June 6, 1868. His first training was in private schools in San Francisco, after which he attended Litton Springs College and Princeton university, graduating from the latter in the class of 1890. In the meantime his parents removed to Santa Rosa, and thither he returned at the close of his college career. No time elapsed between his college and business experience, for upon his return to Santa Rosa he became an employe in the Santa Rosa Water Company, with which his father was asso- ciated, and which had under way the establishment of the first water system in the city. Mr. McDonald remained with the company for about a year and a half, when he resigned to take charge of the mechanical division of the Bureau of Awards of the World's Columbian Exposition of Chicago in 1893. He dis- charged the duties of the position with dignity and ability and at the close of the Fair he went to Washington and terminated the affairs of the department, awarding medals and attending to other duties in the settlement of his depart- ment in one of the most stupendous undertakings in the nineteenth century.
family
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Returning to Santa Rosa, Mr. McDonald resumed interests in his home town, and has resided here continuously ever since. He is now president of the Santa Rosa Water Works, besides which he is president and manager of M. L. McDonald, Jr., & Co., packers of dried fruit. His interest in educational matters and his ability to serve in the capacity of president of the board of education of this city led to his election to this position June 2, 1908, a position which he has since filled with great credit to himself and to the entire satisfac- tion of those who placed him at the head of this important department.
In his marriage, which occurred December 16, 1896, Mr. McDonald was united with Miss Isabelle Juilliard, the daughter of Charles F. and Sarah A. (Chilton) Juilliard, and three children, Mark L. III, Juilliard and Marcia Ann, have been born to them.
JOHN D'ARCY CONNOLLY.
The subject of this sketch, John D'Arcy Connolly, a resident of Occidental, Sonoma county, was born in 1854 near the town of Clifden, County Galway, Ireland, his father's name being Daniel Connolly and his mother's maiden name Mary D'Arcy. Daniel Connolly's connection with the Finian movement of 1867 made his further stay in the old country unsafe, and with John he made his way to the United States. The young man found employment at exceedingly hard work in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, steamboating and railroad-building in the middle west, and though only eighteen years old was foreman of construction gangs on several lines of road. Early in 1875 he joined his widowed sister, Mrs. John Maddocks, near San Rafael, Marin county. He was soon employed as construction foreman on the North Pacific Coast road then building from Sausalito to Cazadero. On the completion of the line we find John D., as he is known, conductor on a Market street (San Fran- cisco) car. One night a stranger, paying his fare, advised John to pocket the money as the company would never miss it. The conductor resented the thievish suggestion and in the altercation that resulted the passenger was ejected from the car with a beautiful black eye and several "swift kicks." Next morning John learned that he had "licked" the chief "spotter" of the road, and for this the superintendent gave the fighting conductor a strong reprimand. This was too much for John's "Irish," and the official and his corporation were consigned to a place of a very high temperature.
In a few days he took charge of the railroad section at Occidental and while in that employment he was married to Miss Georgiana Gilman Blaney. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Jackson Blaney, of that town. Three daugh- ters were born to them: Mary Kathelen (afterwards Mrs. T. O. Munday), now deceased, Clara Leonora (now Mrs. J. H. Wilson of Riverside), and Annie Frances ( Mrs. I. J. Button) of this county. The girls were graduated at the Santa Rosa high school.
In 1884 Mr. Connolly was appointed by Governor George Stoneman to fill a vacancy on the board of supervisors of this county and in this body he served till January, 1889. On the 22d of that month President Cleveland sent his name to the senate for appointment as United States consul to New Zealand. It being near the close of Cleveland's administration, for the usual
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political reason hundreds of his appointments were held up, but through the personal influence of Senator Leland Stanford and Representative Thomas L. Thompson, Mr. Connolly's appointment was extracted from the mass of hold- ups and confirmed.
On his arrival at Auckland, New Zealand, his first official act was to cable a report of the terrible storm at Apia, Samoa, when three United States and three German war ships were blown ashore and most of their crews lost. Mr. Connolly's official career in the Antipodes is an honorable and successful one. Starting in on his new duties, he appreciated the responsibility of the position. All his life his days had been passed in a struggle with adversity. He did not have even a fair common school training, and, as he says, about all he knew was how to tackle a job of hard work. His knowledge of diplomacy and state- craft was exceedingly vague. and he was not asleep to the fact that the British Colonials are far advanced in the science of practical government-so far advanced that even the United States is adopting their methods of handling state questions. Here was a delicate situation for an untrained man, and a place where an injudicious act might place himself and his government in a false position. But his good, common, every-day sense carried him over the difficulty. He settled down to master the details of his official work and as his country's consular representative was a success. To add to his official difficulties, New Zealand was then in the throes of an appalling industrial de- pression, the result of mismanagement by successive Conservative governments. Millions of money had been borrowed in England to be spent largely in non- productive works and political railways. The borrowing-power of the colony was exhausted, and the cessation of public work had thrown thousands of laborers out of employment, throwing many of them into starvation, and they were leaving the country like rats leaving a sinking ship. Business was dead and the bankruptcy courts were working overtime trying to clear their crowded dockets. However, a change of administration and the advent of a Liberal government brought an improvement and a period of reconstruction set in. In progressive movement Consul Connolly took an active part, identifying himself with every forward step taken so far as he dared without compro- mising his position as the representative of another government. He wrote anonymously and lectured academically, and in all was keenly interested in all legislation that was making for the common good. He was high in the coun- cils of the labor government and his advice and assistance were frequently sought. Twice the Liberal and Labor committees visited him at the consulate and wanted him to resign his position and stand for Parliament for the city of Auckland. He was given to understand that in the race he would be unop- posed and would be offered a portfolio in the New Zealand Ministry within three months after his election. But the Irish-American citizen, though taking an intense unofficial interest in English-Colonial affairs, preferred Uncle Sam to Queen Victoria. At the request of the Premier. Mr. Connolly named Auck- land's member for the Upper House-an unusual request. The selection was William Jannings of the Auckland Star, and this proved to be a sensible choice.
The consul made a report to his government on the "Land, Labor and Tax- ation Laws of New Zealand." which attracted world-wide attention. As only eleven thousand copies of any consular report can be printed, this entire issue
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was exhausted in three weeks after issued. Requests for the report came into the State Department from all over the world and in sheer desperation Secre- tary James G. Blaine requested Mr. Connolly to rewrite the report, embodying within it any and all new features of the topic that might be of interest, and to amplify as the writer elected.
A second report was accordingly prepared and published. It was about this time that Tom L. Johnson, of Ohio, sought his removal that a pronounced Single Taxer might take his place. In a letter of apology which Mr. Johnson afterwards sent him frankly confessing that he regretted the incident, he quotes Mr. Blaine as follows: "Mr. Johnson, Mr. Connolly's frank disavowal of any allegiance to the principles of the Single Tax and vet states the case fully and fairly has more influence with the world than if the article were written by an avowed Single Taxer. Besides, Mr. Connolly ranks amongst the three best consular officers in the service of the United States for accuracy, efficiency and diligence in the performance of their duties and indeed if there be a choice at all it is his. So far as I am concerned as long as I am Secretary of State Mr. Connolly shall not be displaced." Mr. Johnson with characteristic manli- ness wrote him with earnest apologies, quoting the above conversation he had with Mr. Blaine.
Being an enthusiastic Irishman, and a lover of his native land, and being thoroughly familiar with her sad history, he espoused the cause of Home Rule for Ireland with all the ardor and impulsiveness of his nature. He identified himself almost immediately upon arrival at his post with those who were pro- moting the Home Rule cause in New Zealand. He was ever in their councils rendering what assistance he couldi regardless of consequences. He frequently transcended the duties of his office and imperilled his position. At different times he spoke from the same platform with John Dillon, Sir Thomas Esmond, Mr. Deasey, Michael Davitt and others, and was finally reported to Washing- ton and no doubt would have been recalled for his reckless advocacy of Irish liberty were it not for the kindly offices of Mr. Dillon, who called on Mr. Blaine at Washington with a newspaper copy of Connolly's address, which was, fortunately for him, comparatively inoffensive, it being mostly academic in character. But even then Mr. Blaine could scarcely condone this violation of the consular regulations and administered a severe rebuke to the intrepid Home Ruler, which he was careful not to forget in the future.
Being familiar with the curse of Irish absentee landlordism, and New Zea- land being afflicted with the same curse, he submitted a report to his govern- ment on the subject, suggesting that if the New Zealand government were to impose an absentee tax it would cure the evil. The moment the consular report was published the New Zealand government took the matter up and imposed the absentee tax at the next session of the legislature. To show more fully Mr. Connolly's part in Colonial affairs, one day he overheard an absentee- landlord member of Parliament, who did not recognize the American consul, express himself thus : "This man Connolly is a blawsted hanerchist, and 'as through 'is writings and damned-fool speeches raised more 'ell in New Zea- land than all the others put together. 'E 'as the ear of this fool government and can get anything 'e wants. The fellow 'ad ought to be recalled and de- ported. 'E is a menace and a disturbing element."
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Mr. Connolly was an active participant in another forward movement, viz., granting the franchise to women in the Colonies. Then as now the same arguments were used against the proposition. They held that if women were enfranchised, political contact would surely destroy the sanctity of the home, etc. "But these frivolous platitudes," says Mr. Connolly, "did not avail, but common sense and fair play did. It is true that by granting the franchisc to the women it multiplied the electorate, but it is not true that it did have a detrimental effect on the family life of the people. But it is positively true that it did clarify and purify the political atmosphere. There the libertine, the immoral, the grafter, or the pledge-breaker has no place in the public life of New Zea- land. If ever the women of this country secure the same privileges they will surely do what the women of New Zealand have done for that land. They will cleanse it and give it a moral tone such as it has never known as yet."
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