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 59
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There are four members of the Schieck family now living. Frederick, who is unmarried, owns valuable mining interests in Placer county and also has large landed tracts now leased to tenants. David married Jessie Williams, a native of the state of New York ; they have two sons, Ralph and David. As a raiser of grapes and manufacturer of wine he has been particularly successful. The youngest brother, Hermann, is also interested as a partner in the wine industry, but makes his home at Penn Grove and has devoted his time largely to the art of music. The only daughter in the parental family is Agnes, Mrs. Henry Brockmann, wife of a prosperous farmer and wine-maker. The three children in the Brockmann family are Henry M., Agnes and Wilhelmina. The older daughter, Agnes, inherits her grandmother's skill in nursing and has graduated in the profession, which she now follows. The younger daughter, Wilhelmina, has engaged in teaching school since her graduation from the San Francisco Normal School in 1910.
Upon establishing domestic ties Professor Schieck was united in marriage with Miss Alice Eva Severance, their wedding occurring in the First Congre- gational Church of San Francisco on Sunday, September 21, 1905. Two chil- dren, Eva Josephine and Donald, bless the union. Mrs. Schieck is a pianist and orchestral leader of recognized ability and has filled many engagements through- out the state, in concerts and assemblies where the finest of talent was demanded. For some time she has been the organist of Harmony Chapter, Order of Eastern Star No. 124, at San Francisco, with which she holds membership. Professor and Mrs. Schieck are interested in the same art and their happiest hours are passed in its study. While specializing in the profession, they have not limited their activities to its pursuit, but have proved broad-minded citizens, liberal con- tributors to educational and religious enterprises, and the possessors of a culture both rare and resourceful.
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The history of the Severance family indicates that they have been identified with America for a number of generations. William Wallace Severance, who was born in Maine, March 4, 1835, came to California in 1858 and settled at Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras county, where he was an honored pioneer. Later he removed to Penryn, Placer county, where his daughter, Alice Eva, was born and where he long held a position of prominence as a business man and progressive citizen. The blue lodge of Masonry in that town numbered him among its leading members and he also was associated with the Royal Arch Chapter in the same order. His wife, Matilda Ordell, was born at Chicago, Ill., in 1846, and removed to California in girlhood, settling at Rich Gulch, Calaveras county, in 1860, at which time she was married. Four children were born of the union, of whom Frederick Ellsworth and Mrs. Schieck are living. The son, a resident of San Diego, is prominent socially and fraternally and was a charter member of Red Star Lodge, K. of P., of San Diego, also actively asso- ciated with other organizations. In politics Professor Schieck adheres to Repub- lican principles, in this respect following the example of his father, who after becoming an American citizen always voted the Republican ticket. Much of his time is devoted to instruction on the violin and cornet and in the general principles of music, and his wife also is a successful teacher of the art, besides which they fill engagements for orchestral work in other parts of the state. By their devotion to music, their close study of its principles and their recognized talent they have risen to a high rank in the state and are known to music-lovers throughout much of the west.
The Schieck homestead comprises seventy acres owned by the Professor and his brother David and all of the tracts excepting thirty acres are in grapes, thus forming a vineyard from which grapes are harvested and manufactured into wine. The products of other vineyards also are purchased and brought to the winery for manufacture into wine. Concerning the old family homestead we quote the following description : "Graham Canon contains many charming homes. The scenery is wild, grand and romantic; a restful quiet pervades the whole landscape. But nowhere are the skies more blue, the hills more purple, the sunshine brighter and nowhere do the perfumed breezes blow more softly than over the home of the Schieck brothers in this charming valley. Born and bred in this beautiful spot. presided over by a warm-hearted, practical, busy mother, who, with the long years of residence in this glorious country, had forgotten none of her sturdy German training in early life, kept the home shining and bright, a welcome that awaited all guests with a cordial, open-handed kindness and wide-open door. Hermann Schieck is a fine musician, with cultivated tastes and skilful hand (how could it be otherwise-drawing inspiration from such sources and surroundings), the sunshine and warmth and beauty, where every- thing is blooming, also the grand symphony concert of countless wild birds of many varieties which swell the heart and make one feel that they must take part in this harmony of praise.
"One must be born with music in the soul, but to bring it to its highest state of perfection requires culture, application and practice. Mr. Schieck real- izes this. He has given long hours of study and thought, with constant train- ing from skilled musicians who have made a life study and success of music,
Thomas , B . Joy.
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until now he leads in this divine science of music and harmony. David, the elder brother, gives more time to the raising of grapes. The willing yield of the soil shows in the heavily laden fruit trees and the big clusters of purple grapes ripening in the full flood of tempered sunshine which later is crushed into mellow wine and shipped all over the world. Both brothers are interested in this in- dustry and each year the shipments grow larger. During the season of harvest- ing and crushing the grapes the little hamlet of cottages scattered through the grounds are occupied by busy, contented, happy workmen, until their product of California's bottled sunshine goes out to the outside world to cheer, sustain and heal. Both brothers are men of capacity, presence, integrity and persever- ance, cheerful and social, typical native sons of this land of heaven's peculiar grace."
T. B. JOY.
T. B. Joy is well known in western Sonoma county in lumbering and dairying.
ERICK P. NISSON.
The ocean-girt kingdom of Denmark was the childhood home of Erick P. Nisson, who there became familiar with a language and customs widely differ- ent from those with which he has become more accustomed in his later years. Born April 3, 1850, he is the son of Erick and Magdelina ( Nickolson) Nisson, both natives of Denmark, born respectively in 1810 and 1818. In the old coun- try the father followed his trade of dyer, and thereby secured a fairly good income with which to maintain his family. However, the attractions of the new world found him an immigrant on these shores in 1866, and from that time until labor was no longer possible he followed ranching in Sonoma county, Cal. A large family blessed the marriage of this worthy couple, but of the number only six are now living. The eldest son, Nicholas, was at one time a midship- man on the battleship Pensacola : he was married and made his home in Peta- luma until death.
Erick P. Nisson was the youngest son born to his parents, and with the other children received his education in the schools near the family home in Denmark. Although the father had come to the United States in 1866, it was not until three years later that Erick P. followed the father and other members of the family hither. He was then nineteen years of age, a strong, robust youth, ready to undertake anything that would give him a start in the new land that was henceforth to be his home. Joining his father in Sonoma county, he too became interested in ranching, settling on a ranch which lies on the line dividing Sonoma and Marin counties. Here he has built up a splendid dairy and ranch enterprise, in addition to raising chickens on a large scale, and taken all in all, he has one of the most thrifty ranches, both in appearance and in reality, that one will see in the country round about. The ranch is on Rural Route No. 4 from Petaluma, and comprises two hundred and ninety-two acres, well located for the purposes to which the land is devoted. Besides carrying on general
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farming, the owner is also interested in dairying, and each year finds him increas- ing the size of his herd. At present he has forty head of fine Durham cattle, and also a bull of the same breed, besides eight head of horses. A no less im- portant feature of the ranch is the raising of chickens, of which he has two thousand of the Leghorn breed. A small orchard supplies the family with a variety of fruit, and the land not otherwise in use is used as pasture and hay land. Everything about the ranch indicates that Mr. Nisson understands thor- oughly the work that he has undertaken, and his associates and neighbors are watching his progress with interest.
In Santa Rosa Erick P. Nisson was united in marriage with Miss Claudina Moltzan, who was born in Denmark in 1857, the daughter of Claus Moltzan, a cooper by trade, who in 1878 immigrated to this country with his wife and family. Coming direct to California, he settled on a ranch located on the divid- ing line between Sonoma and Marin counties. Six children were born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Moltzan (the latter of whom was before her mar- riage Miss Catherine Jessen ) three sons and three daughters, Christ, Charles, Axel. Loretta, Claudina and Hannah. Eight children have been born to Mr. Nissor and his wife. as follows: Christian, Henry, Lena, Mary, Clara, Anna. Loretta and Elinor. Two of the daughters are married and established in homes of their own. Lena, the wife of Theodore Anderson and the mother of two children, Erick and Clyde; and Anna, who married William Linebaugh, of Marin county, and has two children, Willma Rose and Ross A.
W. A. T. STRATTON.
In these days of specialization it is to the man who has the ability to step out of the beaten paths and take advantage of the opportunities not yet appro- priated by others to whom success is most promising. Probably no one appre- ciates this truism more fully than does Mr. Stratton, who as a nurseryman in this state for over forty years has had ample opportunity to test its validity. In the early days of his association with the industry he dealt in a variety of shrubs and trees which thrive in this section of country, but experience taught him the advisability of concentrating his efforts and investigation along special lines, and today he is known as the best authority in the state upon the eucalyp- tus tree.
A native of New York state, Mr. Stratton was born in Sullivan county October 15, 1836. In April, 1853, when he was seventeen years old, he came to the Pacific coast country by the Panama route, and not far from the metropolis in which he landed a stranger in a strange land, he succeeded in finding em- ployment. This was in the nursery of Flint & Haile, of Alameda, under whom he learned the business thoroughly, and he was finally competent to undertake a similar business on his own account. This he did in the fall of 1860, when he went to Stockton, and established a large general nursery. He maintained this with success for a number of years, when he disposed of it and came to l'etaluma. his association with the town dating from August, 1864. Six years later. in 1870. he established the nucleus of the large nursery of which he is
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today the proprietor, this being the first undertaking of the kind in the county, and he is therefore the pioneer nurseryman of the county and the country round about, as well as the oldest living nurseryman in California. As a state Cali- fornia has but recently awakened to the fact of the great value of the eucalyptus tree which grows to such perfection upon her soil, and which is taking its place among the prime commercial factors of the state. As a close student of condi- tions and progress Mr. Stratton long since recognized the possibilities of this special tree and for many years has made it the subject of special study and investigation. His nursery is composed entirely of this specie of tree of the best varieties, with which he is constantly experimenting, both as to the varieties themselves, in his endeavor to find those best suited to requirements and condi- tions, as well as the fertilizer best suited to their propagation. As the knowl- edge of the value of the eucalyptus tree has become more general among citizens of the state Mr. Stratton's business has grown in a like ratio, for he is recog- mized as an authority on the subject all over the state and shipments of young trees from his nursery are made to all points of the state.
Mr. Stratton has been twice married, his first wife, who prior to her mar- riage was Miss Hannah M. Stiles, having died January 21, 1907. His present wife to whom he was married September 11, 1909, was formerly Mrs. Eliz- abeth S. B. Williams. Politically Mr. Stratton is a Democrat, and on the ticket of this party he was elected a member of the board of trustees of Petaluma, of which he has served as president. Mr. Stratton takes commendable pride in the military achievements of his father, Jonathan Stratton, who rendered valiant service to this country in the war of 1812 and the Florida war, among other en- gagements taking part in the battle of Lake Erie.
HON. JASPER O'FARRELL.
Mention of the name of Jasper O'Farrell takes one back in the history of California to the time when it was still under Mexican control, and between the date of his arrival in this territory, October 20, 1843, and the date of his death, November 16, 1875, his accomplishments seem incredible. His earth life came to a close in the city which he had loved as one of his children, San Francisco, and of which it may be truly said he was the founder. His name is perpetuated in O'Farrell street in that city.
A native of Ireland, Jasper O'Farrell was born in County Wexford in the year 1817. His education was acquired in Dublin, where he received special instruction in civil engineering, and it was upon the completion of his studies he set out from his native land, going to London, where to took a vessel bound for Chili, South America. For a time he was engaged in surveying there, but finally embarked on a vessel that brought him to California, reaching San Fran- cisco October 20, 1843. Coming to Sonoma county a few years afterward, he located on a grant of land which he called Analy, thus perpetuating the name of the hereditary seat of the O'Farrells in County Longford, Ireland. The ability of the young man as an expert surveyor and engineer was not allowed to lie idle long, and in the maps and measurements which he made for the Mexican
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authorities the most implicit confidence was placed. As early as 1839 a survey of the city of San Francisco was begun by Juan Voiget, and nine years later, in 1848, Jasper O'Farrell, W. M. Eddy and J. J. Hoff continued the work of this pioneer by extending the survey of the city. Before the work was begun it was arranged that as payment Mr. O'Farrell and his co-laborers were to receive one ounce of gold, equal to $16, for every fifty varas surveyed. However, Mr. O'Farrell and his colleagues never received pay for their work, for when it was completed it was discovered that there was not money enough in the treasury to pay for it, and enough town lots could not be sold to cancel the debt. Not only did Mr. O'Farrell gain renown in the line of his profession, being made the first surveyor and engineer of San Francisco, but he also took an active part in politics. In 1858 he was elected to the state senate to represent Sonoma county, making a splendid record as a legislator, and in 1862 he received the Democratic nomination for lieutenant-governor of California, but was defeated by a small majority. At the hands of Gov. Henry H. Haight he received the appointment as a member of the state board of harbor commissioners, an office in which he gave commendable service.
In surveying and laying out the business streets of San Francisco Mr. O'Farrell met with considerable opposition on the part of some of the citizens in regard to the width of the streets, this being especially true of Market street, and but for his persistency this would not be known as it is today, as the ideal business street of America. Besides his accomplishments as a surveyor in San Francisco, he also laid out the towns of Vallejo, Benicia and Martinez, and also surveyed around Petaluma and San Rafael, and laid out many of the large ranches in Sonoma county. The mining excitement of the year 1849 was not to pass Mr. O'Farrell without leaving its impression, and his experiences in Oro- ville are recorded with such early pioneers as the Floods, O'Briens and Rol- sons.
Generous and kindly to a fault, had Mr. O'Farrell been cast in a different mold he might have been one of the wealthiest men in the state of California. The ground on which the famous Palace Hotel in San Francisco now stands was at one time owned by him in company with John Sullivan and D. T. Mur- phy, and donated by them to the Sisters of Charity to be used as a site for an orphan asylum. The property was finally sold by the sisters to the Palace Hotel Company. Mr. O'Farrell was a close friend of the Catholic priests throughout the surrounding country, and in the early days his home in Free- stone, Sonoma county, was the gathering place for the church fathers. The Catholic Church at Bodega stands as a gift from Mr. O'Farrell, he donating the land and also the lumber for its construction. Having a quick, receptive mind. Mr. O'Farrell readily acquired a knowledge of the Spanish language, and he was frequently called upon to translate important documents into Eng- lish. One of the prized mementoes of the family is a letter from Gen. M. G. Vallejo, in which he asks Mr. O'Farrell to translate some important documents for him, thus showing the high opinion in which his work of this character was held.
In Somona county, Cal., in 1849, Jasper O'Farrell was united in marriage with Miss Mary McChristian, and of the eight children born to them, five are
Frances Mc. Martin
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now living, Cathal, Louis, Minnie L. (now Mrs. D. L. Leahy, of Sebastopol), Gerald and Eleanor. The eldest of the family, Cathal, is now in charge of the property at Freestone upon which his father settled in the latter '40s, at which time he obtained two grants of land containing about sixteen thousand acres, reaching from Valley Ford and Bodega to Freestone, on which wild animals roamed and Indians built their camp fires. He named it Analy. Changes liave since taken place with this valuable piece of land, the ranch now including only six hundred and forty acres, and it is used for general agriculture and dairying. Thirty-five years have come and gone since Jasper O'Farrell was taken from the scenes of earth, and few if any of those associated with him in his pioneer efforts are now living, but the good that he accomplished lives after him and will con- tinue to endure until time is no more.
MRS. FRANCES McG. MARTIN.
A woman of superior ability and characteristics, Mrs. Martin has made a record in two professions, either one of which might have crowned with success the efforts of one less ambitions than she. The history of her life and accom- plishments is interesting and instructive, showing to what heights one may attain who is inspired by right motives and endowed with a mentality broad and deep.
Though a native of the east, her birth having occurred in Gettysburg, Pa., Mrs. Martin has no recollection of her birthplace, for soon after her birth her parents moved to Illinois and settled near Macomb, McDonough county. It was there that both parents passed away, leaving seven children, the youngest being but two years of age. Thrown suddenly upon her own resources, Frances Grier McGaughey (for she traces her ancestry to the Griers of Pennsylvania who were some of the sturdy pioneer settlers of that commonwealth and of national fame) planned her future course in life, which was to prepare herself for the teacher's profession. At the time she was a student in the Minnesota State Normal, at St. Cloud, her application for a position as teacher during the summer vacation led to her appointment to teach a district school in a remote settlement in that state. Ninety miles by stage over the roughest of roads brought her to her destination; there she found her boarding place was a small shanty protected with a sod roof, while the school house was a log cabin. The young teacher was not dismayed and completed the term with credit to herself and profit to the pupils. Resuming her studies at the State Normal when the next term opened, she was later graduated with honors and subsequently became a teacher in the schools of St. Cloud and Minneapolis.
Miss McGaughey's identification with California dates from the year 1874. Stopping temporarily in Alameda, she made application for a position as teacher there, later in Healdsburg, and being accepted in the latter city as first assist- ant, she made a splendid record. The following year she was made principal of the Healdsburg schools, a position which she filled until her marriage to Edgar Martin in 1876.
Left a widow in 1882 with two small children, when the youngest was four months old Mrs. Martin resumed her duties in the school room, accepting
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a position in a country school near Skaggs Springs, Sonoma county. This was the beginning of an important period in her career. From this position she became principal of the schools in Sonoma, which she held until her election on the Republican ticket in 1886 as superintendent of the schools of Sonoma county, which has more separate school districts than any county in the state. So successful had been her work that she was re-elected in 1890 by a majority of nearly four hundred votes, this too in consideration of the fact that the Democratic candidate for governor had received the largest number of votes in the county. She was the first woman elected to this position in Sonoma county and during her incumbency gave ample evidence of her ability. Gradul- ation from the grammar grades of the public schools of the county was first carried into practice by Mrs. Martin. Formerly pupils were "turned back" by each new teacher, and eventually left school in disgust at not being able to accomplish something definitc. Mrs. Martin worked the matter utp person- ally, from school to school, urging the pupils to remain in school until they had at least completed the grammar course, assuring them that diplomas would be given all who completed the course. Questions were prepared by the county board of education; examinations were held simultaneously all over the county by the respective teachers; the papers were forwarded to the county super- intendent's office, were passed upon by the board of education and regular grammar-grade diplomas were issued to the successful pupils. Those diplomas were signed by the superintendent of schools and the president of the county board of education, and the holders were able to enter high school without examination, and after graduation therefrom they could, and now can, from the accredited high schools, enter the State University without examination. Pupils from the most remote mountain districts have the right-of-way to and through the portals of the highest educational institution in the state.
The first class of graduates from the country schools in 1888 numbered about half a dozen, but now scores and hundred are graduated each year. Many favorable comments were made concerning Mrs. Martin's work, but of all of them none gave her more inspiration than that from Dr. David Starr Jordan. of Stanford University, under date of August 6, 1894: "No other superin- tendent in the state is doing better work than you, and none is working more intelligently and loyally." In 1893 she was a member of the World's Congress of Educators which convened in Chicago and many noted educators from the east were much surprised to find the line was unbroken from the smallest country school in Sonoma county to the State University. Some said: "We have been trying to reach that point for more than twenty years, but have not yet attained its accomplishment." In January, 1895, Mrs. Martin retired from the office in which she had accomplished so much for the benefit of the pupils of the schools.
Mrs. Martin's object in giving up educational work was to fit herself for the legal profession, a field for which she has proven herself equally well fitted as in the educational field. Her studies were conducted in the office of A. B. Ware of Santa Rosa. She was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of the state December 24, 1895, and in February of the following year she opened an office in Santa Rosa. Mrs. Martin prefers probate practice and has the reputation of looking closely after the interests of widows and orphans.
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