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 45
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JUDGE ALBERT P. OVERTON.
A native of Missouri, Judge Overton was born in Independence in 1830. His father, Moses Overton, was a native of Alabama and his mother, Mary Turner, was born in Tennessee, in which state they were married, and soon afterwards settled in Missouri, where they remained until they removed to Dallas, Texas, where the father died.
But four years old when his father died, Albert P. Overton was adopted into the family of his uncle, Jesse Overton, of Independence, Mo., with whom he remained until he was twenty years of age. About this time the news of the discovery of gold in California had spread to the middle west and young Overton was fired with the ambition of young manhood to come to the new eldorado. On his twentieth birthday, he started from Dallas, Texas, coming by the southern route, and arrived in San Diego August 1, 1850. Until the following February he was employed in the government service in the Quar- termaster's department. He then came to San Francisco, thence to Sacra- mento, on his way to the mines on Trinity river, where, after three months experience in mining, his mind was dispelled from the charm of gold-digging and he went to El Dorado county. There he built a hotel known as the Duroc house on the road leading from Sacramento to Placerville; this he conducted until August, 1852, at which time he sold out and came to Petaluma, passing over the present site of Santa Rosa, then without a building and only three in Petaluma. The total number of voters in Sonoma county, which included Mendocino also, was only about three hundred.
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Mr. Overton formed a partnership with P. B. Smith in the purchase of a tract of timber two miles west of Petaluma and they hired men to chop it into wood, bought teams and hauled it to Petaluma, and from there it was shipped to San Francisco by schooner. This was all done on credit, as they had no money. After selling their wood and having some money ahead after paying their bills, they purchased a lot in the town for $300. In the winter of 1853-4 they went to the timber, cut and split lumber and erected a building on this lot. To get their finishing lumber sawed they exchanged work with a man who owned a whip saw. The building when finished cost $300, not includ- ing labor and they rented the property for $75 a month. A year later Mr. Overton sold his interest in the wood business and, with two partners, Messrs. Arthur and Wiley, started a general merchandise business in this building, Mr. Overton putting in the building for $3,000 as his share of the capital. All business in those days was done on a credit system; many of their customers were nomadic stock-raisers with no permanent abiding place; Mr. Overton saw disaster staring them in the face and after three months time, sold his interest.
On retiring from business Mr. Overton resumed the study of law, which he had begun in Missouri, and in 1857 was admitted to practice, forming a partnership with J. B. Campbell and opening a law office in Petaluma. In 1860 Mr. Overton was appointed census enumerator, also was deputy assessor for the southern end of the county four years. In 1867 he was elected district attorney and in 1869 succeeded himself in the office. At the expiration of the second term he was elected county judge and served four years. Upon being elected to the office of district attorney Mr. Overton removed to Santa Rosa, where he remained until his death. In 1879 he was selected one of the thirty- two delegates at large to the Constitutional Convention which framed the present constitution. This body comprising one hundred and fifty-two of the ablest men in the state, convened in Sacramento and were in session six months. He was one of the organizers of the Petaluma Savings Bank. In 1873 he organized the Savings Bank of Santa Rosa and served as its president until his death. In 1877 he was elected mayor of Santa Rosa and served one term.
In 1855 A. P. Overton and America Helen Talbot were united in mar- riage. She was the daughter of Coleman Talbot, a Kentuckian, and pioneer settler of 1853 in Bennett Valley, Sonoma county, Cal. Miss Talbot was a school teacher who, being remarkable for her beauty, was called the "Belle of the Redwoods." Mr. and Mrs. Overton became the parents of four chil- dren: Theodore T., a capitalist of Santa Rosa; John P., president of the Savings Bank of Santa Rosa; N. R., deceased; and a daughter Jessie, now Mrs. Levernash of San Francisco. Mrs. A. H. Overton died in 1869. Some years later Mr. Overton married Jennie A. (Olmstead) West, a native of Vermont.
Mr. Overton was very instrumental in the bringing of the State House for Feeble-minded Children to Sonoma county, was a member and president of the board of trustees from its organization until his death, in 1898. As a member of the board he was a prime mover in securing the purchase of about seven- teen hundred acres at Eldridge from William McPherson Hill for the nominal sum of $50,000 and now with its improvements and advance in land value is estimated worth almost three-quarters of a million. Mr. Overton was very
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public spirited and helpful in every movement of importance for the advance- ment of Santa Rosa and when he came here he sold his interests in Petaluma and built several of the first brick buildings. Fraternally he was a Mason, holding membership in the lodge at Petaluma. He was very active in securing the right of way and starting the early railroads in the county, now the North- western.
HON. JAMES TEMPLE SINGLEY.
Though twelve years have passed since the death of James T. Singley, time has not tended to efface his memory from the minds of those still living who were associated with him in the early pioneer days in the state. At the time of his death he had been a resident of Petaluma nearly fifty years, during which time he had been an interested witness of many changes in his home city and county, and for whose betterment and upbuilding he worked in a substantial way. A native of the east, he was born in Philadelphia, Pa., April 25, 1817, and made his home in his birthplace until he was about twenty years old. March of 1836 marking the date of his removal to Baltimore, Md. A later removal took him to Norfolk, Va., and it was while there that he enlisted in the United States marine service. His first ocean trip was on the vessel North Carolina, which was bound for Rio Janeiro, and after remaining there for one month, again set sail, rounding Cape Horn and finally reaching Valparaiso, Chile. A stay of six weeks in that port found the ship and its crew again under sail, this time with Callao, Peru, as their destination. After a nine months' service at that place the ship returned to Valparaiso, and it was there that Mr. Singley retired from the service for the purpose of visiting the interior of the country, finally returning and remaining in the city one year before re- suming his sea-faring life.
The year 1842 again found Mr. Singley in the marine service, this time as master of the ship Cabija. He continued in the service only about five years, however, for in 1847 he took up the life of the landsman in Lima, Peru, later removing to Callao, in which latter place he engaged in merchandising until late in the year 1848. The news of the finding of gold in California was the means of his closing out his interests in the latter city and at once starting for the mines. January 1, 1849, was memorable as the day he set sail on the steam- ship California, and February 28 following he was rejoiced to enter the Golden Gate at San Francisco. He lost no unnecessary time in making his way to the mines on the middle fork of the American river, near Michigan bluff, his route there taking him through Sonoma. His mining experiences proved detrimental to his health, and after remaining there six months he was obliged to leave that part of the country. Going to Sutterville he there found employment as clerk in the mercantile establishment of McDougal and Blackburn, and remained in the employ of this firm until the fall of 1849, when he removed to San Fran- cisco.
Mr. Singley made the trip to California alone, having left his wife and children in Peru, but January 25, 1850, they joined him in their new home in San Francisco. For a time they continued in this city, but July, 1850, found
F.M. Collins
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them in Petaluma, Sonoma county, and this has been the home of the family almost continuously since.
Mr. Singley was a man of versatile ability and his willingness to do what- ever lay in his power to assist the struggling village in its upward way found him interested in all departments of activity. In 1857 his fellow-citizens ex- pressed their regard for his ability as a leader in electing him to represent them in the lower house of the state legislature, a position which he filled acceptably for one term. He also served three years as county supervisor, being a meni- ber of the first board, and during one year he served as president of the board. During the early days of his residence here he was elected a member of the board of education of Petaluma, remaining upon it for twenty-five years, during eighteen years of this time serving as president of the board. He was appointed the first station agent at Petaluma for the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Company under the Donahue régime, and as such he had the honor of selling the first railroad ticket in the county.
While in Lima, Peru, South America, Mr. Singley was united in marriage with Miss Jane Villalta, who was born in that city June 24, 1824. The follow- ing children were born of their marriage: Mattie, now the wife of B. F. Cox, of Petaluma ; Mary J., now Mrs. John Field, of Cloverdale; Charles E., of New York City, with Wells-Fargo Express Co .; George W., local freight agent of the N. W. P. R. R. in San Francisco; Katherine, now Mrs. S. B. Blake, of San Luis Obispo; Frank B., city clerk and auditor of Petaluma; and Gertrude, now the wife of Easton Mills, of San Luis Obispo.
Mr. Singley was a Mason of the Knight Templar degree, having served as Master, High Priest and Commander. On March 2, 1898, he passed away deeply mourned by family and friends, for all who knew him loved and honored him. His widow is now residing in Petaluma at the old home, now the oldest settler in the city.
F. M. COLLINS.
The present tax collector of Sonoma county is the gentleman whose name heads this article, and who has been the incumbent of this position since 1906, having been re-elected in the fall of 1910. A man of excellent business capac- ity and judgment, well educated and progressive, he is numbered among the substantial citizens of the county, where he has made his home for nearly forty years.
A native of the east, Mr. Collins was born in Watertown, Jefferson county, N. Y., October 28, 1845, the son of a farmer. At the age of twelve years he left home and struck out in the world on his own account, for three years work- ing in a dairy owned by Lieutenant Morgan. Spending another year in that same business, he then returned to the home farm and remained until he was twenty-one years old, assisting his father with the duties of the farm. In Watertown, June 6, 1867, when he was twenty-one years old, he was married to Miss Mary R. Mott. After their marriage the young people went to house- keeping on a farm, where they remained for one year. In the meantime Mr. Collins had decided to learn the trade of miller, and, apprenticing himself to the trade, learned it in all its details, and later followed it for four years in his native
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state. Two years of this time he had charge of a five-stone mill on the Black river, in Jefferson county. It was with this varied experience to his credit that he left the east and came to California in 1872. Coming direct to Sonoma county he located in Petaluma and established a dairy business. Pleased with the locality in which he had elected to make his home he threw his best efforts and energy in any cause that had a beneficial tendency to community or county, and the interest then awakened has never grown less, but on the contrary has increased from year to year.
Recognizing this interest his fellow-citizens were not long in appropriating it to the benefit of the town, and while he was engaged in farming near Peta- luma he was made overseer of the road district, and for ten years was contin- uously kept in that position. His ability for serving the public efficiently was shown when he was made city marshal and tax collector of Petaluma, a posi- tion which he filled acceptably for the period of nineteen years and two weeks. He had given up farming and embarked in the livery business in Petaluma, where he became one of the pioneers in that line. His interest in Republican politics was very active, and it was on that ticket that, in 1906, he became a can- didate for the office of county tax collector, was elected by a good majority and served his constituents well in that important office. That his service had been acceptable was made manifest by his re-election to the same position in November, 1910. Upon being elected to office it necessitated his removal from Petaluma, from the friends he had made during his long residence there, to the county seat, which place has since been his home. Mr. Collins is well known. belonging to the Masons, in which order he has attained to the Knights Templar degree. the Druids, Eagles and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
CHARLES AUGUSTUS BODWELL.
The life of the pioneer settler, filled with unusual and often thrilling ex- periences, will ever form interesting reading to those generations which follow him and who unconsciously accept as commonplaces the privileges and luxuries . of a civilization that but for him would have been unknown. Among the hardy upbuilders of this commonwealth mention belongs to Charles A. Bodwell, who throughout his life has depicted those sterling and persevering traits of char- acter which have come to him as a heritage from a long line of New England ancestors. He was born in Farmington township, Hartford county, Conn., No- vember 24, 1822, one of the four children born to his parents, Augustus and Olive Williams (Buck) Bodwell, the former of native of Simsbury and the latter of Farmington township, Hartford county, Conn. On the paternal side his grandmother Mary (Mather) Bodwell, came of old Plymouth Rock an- cestry, and during her girlhood she made her home with an uncle, Colonel Willis, upon whose land grew the Charter Oak, so notable in the history of this country. The parents passed their entire lives in Connecticut, the father passing away at the age of eighty-four and the death of the mother occurring January 12, 1839.
Charles A. Bodwell was reared on the home farm, and the education which he received in the district schools was supplemented by a course in Farmington Academy. With the close of his school days he determined to carry out a plan
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which had been forming in his mind for some time, which was to take up the study of drugs, and in pursuit of this idea he went to Hartford, Conn., and entered the drug store of Lee & Butler, well known in the wholesale and retail drug trade. Ultimately the business was purchased by his brother, Woodbridge Bodwell, who after three years sold the business to another brother, George Bodwell. Charles A. Bodwell continued in the employ of his brother until March, 1849, when he went to St. Louis, Mo., where he joined a party bound for Salt Lake City, under the management of Livingston & Kinkead. The stock of merchandise which they brought with them was the first general assortment of this line that was ever opened up in Salt Lake. From Omaha the party traveled in company with a Mormon train of one hundred wagons for freighting the goods, and after being six months on the way, finally reached their destination. By this time the Mormons were in sad need of supplies, having nothing except what they brought with them when the territory was opened in 1847. The owners of the stock pursuaded Mr. Bodwell to remain in their employ and the following spring he and Mr. Livingston returned east for more goods to replenish their stock. The trip east was made in an army ambulance with $20,000 in gold dust under the seat. The Pawnees tried to stampede them at Oak Grove, but Mr. Bodwell drew a revolver and a moment of hesitation on the part of the Indians gave him the mastery of the situation. Mr. Livingston's duty was the purchas- ing of the goods, while Mr. Bodwell selected and purchased the cattle for the train. The latter were taken from Independence, Mo., to Table Creek, at old Fort Kearney, whither Livingston had brought the merchandise by steamer. At this point the wagon train was made up and put in charge of Trainmaster A. O. Smoot, prominent in Mormon circles and probably the father of Senator Smoot. The leaders of the enterprise preceded the wagon-train and reached Salt Lake City in twenty-four days. Mr. Bodwell remained in Salt Lake City until the spring of 1851, when he went to Fort Hall, from there he went to Thomas Fork, Idaho, east of Soda Springs, and close to the Utah line. There he built a toll- bridge over the Thomas fork, a branch of Bear river, by means of which he hoped to reap an income from the immigrants who were then going westward. Travel that year, however, proved exceptionally light, and after conducting the business for about a year, he gave it up. A better fortune awaited his succes- sors, for the following year they made about $15,000 on the toll of immigrants.
From Thomas fork Mr. Bodwell went to Kansas, settling at a trading post on Grasshopper creek, on the Santa Fe trail, one mile south of Grasshopper Falls, now Valley Falls, Kans., and about forty miles from Leavenworth. During the year that he remained there he carried on a trading business with the Indians, after which he came to California with a herd of cattle belonging to Young & Ross. After he had been in the state about a year, the cattle in the meantime becoming marketable, he removed to San Francisco and disposed of his stock. after which he established himself in the hay and grain business. His identifi- cation with Sonoma dates from the fall of 1856, at which time he purchased four hundred and eighty-five acres of land in partnership with his brother-in- law, J. B. Lewis. Mr. Bodwell made his home on the land until 1864, when he sold his interest to the present owner and with the proceeds purchased the home in which he now resides at Lakeville, Vallejo township. Here his property con- sists of two hundred and fifty-five acres of excellent farming land, which he
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devotes to general farming and stock-raising. In 1879 he built what is known as Bodwell Landing, which is a wharf for steamers and vessels which ply Petaluma creek.
In his marriage, which occurred in 1864, Mr. Bodwell was united with a native New Englander in Miss Charlotte Frances Chadbourne, who was born in Baldwin, Me., October 17, 1836, and who came to California with her brother in the fall of 1861. Two children were born of this marriage, Charles A. Jr., and Charlotte Elizabeth. The son married Miss Beda Sperry, the daughter of Austin Sperry, the founder and president of the Sperry Flour Company ; they have one child, Sperry Augustus, and make their home in San Francisco, where Mr. Bod- well is a civil engineer and surveyor. Charlotte E. Bodwell became the wife of Ross Morgan, of Oakland, Cal. Politically Mr. Bodwell has always espoused Re publican principles. Always interested in measures for the public good, he is ever found in the forefront of projects which tend to upbuild the community in which he lives. During the year 1856 he was a member of the vigilance com- mittee, at the time James King was killed by James P. Casey, and he took an active part in establishing law and order in the city. On May 5, 1875, Mr. Bodwell was appointed postmaster of Lakeville, a position which he has since filled with efficiency. Although nearing the ninetieth milestone in life's journey, Mr. Bodwell is young at heart and as interested in the welfare of his community, state and nation as he was in years past, when an active participant in the affairs of life.
WILLIAM ALBERT DAYTON.
Ranching and milling activities have occupied the attention of William Al- bert Dayton throughout all of his mature years, and have formed the foundation of his present substantial prosperity, whereby is accorded a place among the influential and successful. native sons of Sonoma county. To an exceptional de- gree he is conversant with the lumber industry along the coast, and as a member of the Laton Lumber and Investment Company at Markham, this county, he lias identified himself intimately with a well-known concern organized for the development of local realty and lumber interests. The ranch which he owns and which stands near Duncans Mills comprises eight hundred and seventy-six acres of land. Almost all of this vast tract is in meadow, pasture or timber, there being an immense amount of fine lumber in the forests that eventually will net its owner a rich return for his investment. In common with other residents of the county he has taken up the fruit industry during recent years, and on his place there is now to be seen nine acres in apple trees of the choicest varieties suited to the locality.
A lifelong resident of Sonoma county, William Albert Dayton was born August 23, 1859, being a son of Alexander and Catharine Dayton, the latter born in New York state and reared at Nauvoo, in Hancock county, Ill. While Illinois was yet at the edge of the frontier Alexander Dayton was born there in 1833, and from there he came to California in 1856 via the Isthmus of Panama, settling in Sonoma county and taking up the occupation of a rancher, to which he devoted his remaining days. Practically all of his life was passed near the
You 1 Val
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boundaries of civilization. Hence he had few or no advantages, yet he was a man of sturdy common sense, a large store of self-acquired frontier lore and pioneer resourcefulness. In his family there were four children, John Joseph, William Albert, Henry and Anna. The eldest son, by his union with a young lady born in San Francisco, has four children, John Joseph, Jr., Willard Kief, Hazel W. (Mrs. Frank Reigo) and Eveline.
After having started out as a rancher Mr. Dayton was ready to establish a home of his own and he then married Julia Recilia Lundquist, who was born in Sweden July 13, 1869. By this union there are two children, Earl T. and Leslie V. Mrs. Dayton is a daughter of A. and Amelia Lundquist, natives of Sweden, the former born in 1826, and reared in his native land. It was not until 1880 that he brought his wife and children to the United States. Ever since then he has resided in California and now makes his home in Lake county. In the Lundquist family there are nine children, namely : Joel, who is married and has two sons, Andrew and Philip; Levi, who married Ruby Dearborn and has five children, Louis, Dell, Elma, Ida and Juanita ; Henry ; David ; Caleb, who married Irma Cottrell and has six children, Leonard, Albert, Harold, Virgil, Norma and Alice : Reuben ; Eleanor, Mrs. Henry Lindholm, who has five children, Reuben A., Hugo, Lawrence, Hallie A. and Hilda C .; Julia and Victoria. The Dayton family are identified with the Baptist Church and contribute to its maintenance, as well as to philanthropic enterprises calculated to promote the happiness of deserving people. In political affiliations Mr. Dayton has been associated with the Republican party ever since he attained his majority and he has given his ballot and influence wholly to aid in the success of his chosen political organization. The people in the vicinity of Duncans Mills hold him in the highest regard, for by a lifetime spent in the same county he has proved the value of his citizenship. the integrity of his principles and the nobility of his character.
GEN. M. G. VALLEJO.
January 18. 1890, was the date of the death of Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, in Sonoma, and marks the close of one of the most brilliant careers in the history of the commonwealth of California. His hands did much in shaping the destiny of this magnificent state, and the great heart of the man was con- stantly manifested in his benefactions and acts of kindness to those less favored.
Of Spanish origin, the first of the family of whom we have any authentic knowledge is Don Geronimo Vallejo, a native of Spain, who with his wife, be- fore her marriage Dona Antonia Gomez, came as an official of the Spanish gov- ernment and settled in Mexico, there passing the remainder of his days. Among the children of this marriage was Don Ignacio Vicente Ferrer Vallejo, who was born in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, near Guadalajara, in 1748. and died in Mon- terey, Cal., in 1832. He was destined to be a leader among his people, and as judge of the country, was sent by the king up the coast to make a report of the Spanish expeditions to the north. The commission executed satisfactorily, he returned to Monterey, Cal., where he located permanently. In the meantime he became interested in the various missions along the coast and gave invaluable assistance to the missionaries. His marriage united him with the young and beautiful Spanish senorita, Marie Antonia Lugo, between whose ages there was
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