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 75
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William B. Haskell was fortunate in having parents who appreciated the value and importance of an education, and in this respect he was given every opportunity in their power to bestow. At the time his father came west in the early '50s, the family home was in Boston, Mass., and when his mother came west and joined the father two years later, he did not accompany her, but was allowed to remain in Boston until his graduation from the grammar school. He then joined his parents in Petaluma, and here continued his studies by entering the Collegiate Institute, from which institution he graduated two years later. At the age of eighteen years his school and college days were over and he was ready to take up the more serious side of life. His first work was as a hired hand on a dairy ranch, working for one employer by the month for two years. Being economical and judicious in the use of his earnings during this time he accumulated sufficient means to defray his expenses through a course in the Benicia Law school, and in 1866 he was admitted to the bar of California by the supreme court. Instead of establishing himself immediately in his profession, however, he entered his father's mercantile establishment in Petaluma and con- tinued with him in the capacity of clerk for about six years, or until 1872. In that year he went to Winnemucca, Nev., and opened an office for the practice of his profession, and during two years of the time he was there served as deputy district attorney, and for the same length of time was internal revenue collector at that place. Returning to Petaluma in 1875, he became cashier in the Peta-
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luma Savings Bank, a position which he retained until September, 1877, re- signing it in order to establish himself in his profession. Immediately after giving up his position in the bank he opened a law office in Petaluma, and from that time to the present he has been favored with a goodly share of the legal business transacted in this part of the county. Aside from his profession he is connected with some of the important financial institutions of this section, being a director of the Petaluma Savings Bank and holding the same office in the Sonoma County Bank. Although he is not a member of the Episcopal Church, he has been connected with that religious society as secretary for twenty-five years.
Mr. Haskell's marriage in 1866 united him with Miss Kate D. Kelley, who, though a native of Vermont, passed the greater part of her life in California, whither she was brought by her parents in childhood. At her death in 1880 she left one child, Euna G. Haskell. In 1883 Mr. Haskell was married to Mrs. Emma A. Denney, who was also a native of Vermont, and one child was born of this marriage, Ruby E. Haskell. In his political belief Mr. Haskell is a Re- publican, being one of the leaders of that party in the county and state. His first presidential vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln, and in 1879 he stumped the state for George C. Perkins. Fraternal matters also claim a share of Mr. Haskell's thought and interest, his membership in Petaluma Lodge No. 180, F. & A. M., dating from 1867 ; besides which he is a member of Petaluma Chap- ter No. 22, R. A. M .; Mount Olivet Commandery, K. T., which he joined in 1880; and Petaluma Lodge No. 30, I. O. O. F., of which he has been a member also since 1867. Mr. Haskell is a man of keen business intelligence, deeply interested in the welfare of town and county, and holds a place of importance in the community.
CLARENCE C. HALL.
Throughout the Alexander valley district it would be difficult to find a ranch more thrifty in appearance or remunerative in income than the one which Clarence C. Hall owns and occupies, not far from Healdsburg. Here fruits of the various kinds as well as hops vie with each other on the eighty acres under cultivation, of the six hundred and fifty-six acres which comprise the home ranch, besides which Mr. Hall owns thirty-eight hundred acres of mountain land upon which he grazes large flocks of sheep. Mr. Hall's wonderful success as a rancher and sheep raiser is not the result of chance, but is rather the out- come of a careful training under his pioneer father, L. J. Hall, who has been a resident of Sonoma county since 1854 and the occupant of his present ranch in Russian River township since that year also.
The son of a pioneer and also a native son of the state, Clarence C. Hall was born near Healdsburg, August 29, 1855, the son of L. J. and Elizabeth (McCool) Hall, both natives of Missouri. Born in Lafayette county, that state, October 30, 1825, the father early in life assumed the responsibilities of his own maintenance, his first work, at the age of fifteen, being as a farm hand in the vicinity of his home in Missouri. He followed this for a number of years, and when only twenty-two years old took upon himself the responsi-
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bilities of married life by his union with Elizabeth McCool. Six years after their marriage, in 1854, the young people came to the west and located in So- noma county, Cal., on the ranch in Russian River township which is still the home of Mr. Hall. Here the death of Mrs. Hall occurred April 29, 1903, when in her seventy-fifth year. Six children were born to this esteemed pioneer couple, four of whom are deceased, while those living are our subject and Rosella. Since the death of the mother the daughter has tenderly cared for her father in his declining years.
As he was the only son in the parental family Clarence C. Hall and his father became associated in the maintenance of the home ranch as soon as the schools days were over for the younger man, and the association formed so many years ago has only recently been severed, the year 1908 marking the in- dependent venture of the son on property which he purchased from his father. This purchase consisted of six hundred and fifty-six acres of choice land in the Alexander Valley district, in close proximity to Healdsburg, and the diversity of its soil, much of which is rich river bottom land, makes it unexcelled for productiveness. Here he has thirty acres in prunes, from which he receives an average crop of one hundred and eighty tons of green fruit per season ; for his crop of 1910 he received $65 a ton for his Imperials, while the French prunes brought $35 a ton. Besides his orchard he has twenty-five acres in hops, the crop from which during the last season amounted to one hundred and sixty bales; twenty acres in tomatoes, and five acres in peaches and apples. As has been stated elsewhere, besides the home ranch he also has thirty-eight hun- dred acres of mountain land, which furnishes unsurpassed grazing for his sheep, which number twenty-five hundred head.
In 1888 Mr. Hall was united in marriage with Miss Lela Allen, a native of Nevada, and three children have been horn to them. The eldest child and only son, Conway Allen, born in 1890, is assisting his father on the ranch. Gladys, born in 1892, is attending the high school at Healdsburg. Gretchen, born in 1894, is a student in the state normal school at San Francisco. Politically Mr. Hall is a Democrat, and fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order, Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, and the Santa Rosa Lodge of Elks. Mr. Hall is one of the reliable and substantial men of Healdsburg, and one who wears modestly the dignity conferred by an upright, courageous and altogether worthy life.
BARNABAS HASKELL.
As far as the records of the Haskell family are obtainable, it is known that its members were residents of New England for many generations, and that the father of Barnabas Haskell was a seaman engaged in the merchant trade along the coast from Hartford, Conn., to New Orleans, La., throughout the active years of his life. It was in the first-mentioned city, Hartford, Conn., that Barnabas Haskell was born, and while a youth there prepared for his future by learning the hatter's trade, and in connection with this, also acquired a thorough knowl- edge of the furrier's trade. With this equipment he went to New York City to begin life in earnest on his own account, and for a number of years was in the employ of the leading hatter in the metropolis at that time. In 1847 he re-
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moved to Boston, Mass., and was employed at his trade in that city for the fol- lowing five years.
During his residence in Boston Mr. Haskell became interested in the far west and he determined to come here and see for himself whether or not the opportunities were as real as he was led to believe. He made the journey by way of Galveston, Tex., and from there came to California and settled in Sonoma county. Many of the immigrants of that period were drawn hither on account of the prospects of a sudden fortune in the mines, but while Mr. Haskell had no ambition in this direction, he saw an opportunity to benefit indirectly by the im- petus which the mining enterprise had created. and it was with this idea in mind that he came to Petaluma in 1856 and opened a dry-goods and clothing establishment. This was the pioneer establishment of the kind in the country for miles around, and it is needless to say that the undertaking proved a success. He continued actively engaged in business for about twenty-two years, when, in 1878, he disposed of his business interests and lived retired thereafter until his death, which occurred in 1887. His long residence in this community had endeared him to a host of friends and acquaintances, for he possessed a kindly, lovable disposition, and his death was mourned as a public loss. In his political opinions he was independent, and at the polls supported those men and measures which, in his judgment, were best able to advance the prosperity of the con- munity.
For all that he was able to accomplish in life Mr. Haskell gave much credit to the faithful and helpful co-operation of his wife. Before her marriage she was Miss Abagail Goodwin, a native of Hartford, Conn., the daughter of Joseph Goodwin and the descendant of a substantial colonial ancestry. Two years after her husband had come to the west she joined him in Petaluma, and at once threw the weight of her influence in channels that were uplifting and ennobling. She soon became identified with the educational progress of the town, and for ten years was principal of the schools of Petaluma. For two years she was a teacher also in Miss Atkins' Seminary, in Benicia, Cal., the pioneer seminary in the state for girls, this later becoming Mills' Seminary at Oakland, Cal. Not only was she interested in school and church matters, but she was as well a leader in the reform movements of the day and was one of the leading supporters of woman's suffrage in the state. In the best sense of the word she was a Christian, having devoted her life to the uplifting of humanity, and her death in 1884, when she was about sixty years of age, was the cause of universal sorrow among the inany who had fallen under her influence. For many years she had been a member of and worker in the Swedenborgian Church. The only child born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Haskell is William B. Haskell, of whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.
WILLIAM HENRY GROVE.
Very few of the men now identified with the citizenship of Sonoma county have been connected with its material development for a period as long as may be claimed by Mr. Grove, whose proud boast it is that he has lived within the limits of the county since the year 1853. From his native commonwealth of
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Ohio he came to California at the time named, when he was a boy of only ten years. Hence the associations of his busy life center in the west. Whatever of success he has achieved (and this has been considerable) may be attributed to his energy of temperament, vigor of mind and force of will, coupled with the opportunities afforded by the region where so much of his life has been passed. As a pioneer of Russian river township he has aided every movement for the local welfare, has contributed to the building of schools and churches, has pro- moted the civic prosperity, has helped to open roads and improve lands, and in every respect has discharged the duties falling upon public-spirited citizens. For a long time he has owned and occupied a ranch of one hundred and eighty acres near Windsor and to the development of the property he has given earnest, intelligent attention. A fine vineyard of thirty-five acres is an eloquent testi- monial to his skill as a horticulturist. The successful raising of grain indicates his industry as a husbandman. By care and wise management he is in receipt of a gratifying annual income and lias been enabled to surround his family with the comforts of existence.
Upon establishing domestic ties Mr. Grove married Jeanetta Spence, who was born in Canada in June of 1848, being a daughter of Andrew and Nancy (Letson) Spence. The children born of the union were named William, Elmer, Jesse, Edith M. and Elodia. The second-named son married Vivian Huych, and the third, Jesse, married Dora Isaac, by whom he has a daughter, Ruth. Edith is the wife of William Wilson and has an adopted daughter, Emma. Elodia, Mrs. Joseph Smith, has a daughter, Dorothy. In the Spence family there were the following sons and daughters: William, Thomas, Archie, Andrew, Charles, Sarah, Jeanetta, Mary, Belle, Nellie and Martha. William married Mary Thomp- son and has two sons, George and Fred. Thomas has two sons, Henry and Arthur. Archie married Sophia Smear and has three children, William, Myrtle and Viola.
The Grove family is of eastern extraction and colonial stock. In the house- hold of David and C. (Richter) Grove there were the following-named sons and daughters : William Henry, whose name introduces this article; Orville, Ben- jamin F., Louis, Christopher, George W., John, Grant, Mary F., Phoebe, Emma and Louisa. The eldest daughter, Mary Frances, married John Hopper and had thirteen children, namely: John, Louis, George, Roy, Otey, Elwood, Sadie, Nancy, Mary, Louise, Emma, Ada and Henrietta. Benjamin F. married Clara Morehouse and had seven children, Herbert, Walter, Chester, Charles, Louis, Oren and Edna (Mrs. George Nicholson). Orville was united with Ida With- worth and they became the parents of the following children, Elliott, Everett, Leonard, Melburn, Sidney and Blanche. Christopher married Nancy Hopper, to which union four sons were born, Charles, Fred, Edward and Bert. George and his wife, who was Emma Clark, had a family comprising three sons, Chester, Ray and Clarence. Grant married Mary Callahan, and their union was childless. Phoebe, Mrs. J. L. Rickman, had two sons, Lloyd and Walter. Emma, Mrs. Edward Hopper, had one son, Percy, and Louisa, Mrs. Richard Porter, became the mother of four children.
It is characteristic of Mr. Grove that he takes a warm interest in all movements for the uplifting of mankind. Particularly is he interested in enter-
AS Hodges ges
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prises for the local welfare. While averse to holding office he has on occasion consented to serve the people in an official capacity, and has rendered efficient service as constable and as school trustee. The people of his township en- tertain the highest opinion of his ability as a man, his devotion as a citizen, his friendly spirit as a neighbor and his patriotic support of all enterprises for the material upbuilding and educational advancement of the county where for nearly sixty years he has made his home.
HARRY CHURCHILL HODGES.
Being surrounded with the comforts of life which had come' as a result of his own effort, a beautiful home and happy surroundings, Harry C. Hodges passed the evening of his days in perfect contentment, his active career having been passed in commercial and legal circles in states to the east prior to coming to California, after which he took up ranching, following this until retiring to private life in 1901. A native of Kentucky, he was born in Franklin county April 6, 1836, the son of parents and the descendant of ancestors that had made the south their life-time home. The circumstances of the family were such that Mr. Hodges was privileged to enjoy the best educational advantages, and unlike many who are thus fortunately situated, he made the best possible use of his privileges. At an early age he recognized a liking for the legal profession and thereafter all of his studies were carried on with this idea in his mind, to the end that he attained the success that he set out to win and at the same time secured a financial success that more than exceeded his expectations and was the nucleus of the fortune which became his. The grammar schools in the vicinity of his home in Franklin county furnished him his primary training, after which he continued his studies in Georgetown College, completing his legal studies in Louisville University, and there receiving his diploma that admitted him to the bar.
Returning to Frankfort, Ky., after his admission to the bar of Kentucky, Mr. Hodges opened an office there for the practice of his profession, and was apparently content with his outlook in the south until about the year 1875, when he was seized with the western fever, his first move in this direction taking him to Missouri. He remained in the last-mentioned state about a year, practicing his profession there also, but not being altogether satisfied with his prospects there he went further west to Kansas, and there, in Topeka, became interested in the banking business with John D. Knox. This association was amicably and profitably continued for ten years, after which he opened an office for the practice of law in that city and continued this for about two years, or until he gave it up to come to California in 1887. Coming directly to Sonoma county, he pur- chased a ranch of forty acres in the vicinity of Healdsburg, which he set out to grapes and fruit, in the cultivation of which he was as successful as he had been in previous ventures in the legal and commercial world. After conducting the ranch for a number of years he finally gave its management into younger hands and retired to private life, making his home in Healdsburg, at No. 447 Piper street, where he lived comfortably and happy, and where his many friends and acquaintances delighted to gather. He passed away November 23, 1910,
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and was buried from the First Presbyterian Church which he and Mrs. Hodges had attended and been members of for so many years. Mr. Hodges became a member of the church during young manhood and throughout his long life supported it liberally.
Mr. Hodges had been twice married, his first union, in 1863, uniting him with Miss Sarah Milam. She passed away October 6, 1894, leaving one daugh- ter, Hollie, Mrs. William Knox, of Alameda. Two years after the death of his first wife Mr. Hodges married Miss Annie Foreman, a native of California, born near Healdsburg. She is the daughter of John and Mary Ann (Fry) Foreman, natives of Cumberland county, Pa., who came to Healdsburg, Cal., in 1862. Mr. Foreman took up farming and is still a resident of this vicinity, but his wife is deceased. Politically Mr. Hodges was a Democrat and on all occasions voted for and supported the candidates of that party. Unlike the majority of men who had been for so many years intimately associated with the business world as. had Mr. Hodges, he had had no ambitions whatever for office-holding, and although his versatile ability would have enabled him to acquit himself creditably in whatever position he might have been placed, he always declined all honors in that direction that might have been his. Per- sonally he was well liked and highly respected by the best citizens of Healds- burg, and though comparatively speaking he might have been considered a new- comer to the west, he still represented the progressive and substantial spirit so marked a characteristic on the western slope.
RICHARD FULKERSON.
The earliest member of the Fulkerson family of whom we have any knowl- edge is John Fulkerson, the great-great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. This ancestor was a native of Pennsylvania, as was also his son, Fulkird, who was taken by his father to Kentucky when he was a child of eleven years. In- dians were numerous in that section of country at the time, and the family often took refuge from their attacks in the stockade at Lexington. The next in line of descent was Richard Fulkerson, born in Hardin county, Ky., February 11, 1806. Early in the '40s the latter removed to the wilds of Montgomery county, Ind., and from there, in 1844, pushed still further west to Davis county, Iowa. This now flourishing and thickly settled region was then in its most primitive condition, and if the full history of the state should ever be written it would tell of the noble and untiring efforts of Richard Fulkerson and his courageous wife in the development of that wild region. For over sixty years he had been a member of the Masonic fraternity. He died November 24, 1887, when nearly eighty-two years of age, and his wife died March 17, 1883, aged seventy-three years.
One of the children in the family of Richard and Saralı (Clawson) Fulker- son was Stephen T. Fulkerson, who was born in Grayson county, Ky., July 7, 1840. It was soon after his birth that the parents removed first to Indiana and from there in 1844 went to Davis county, Iowa, and settled as pioneers. After remaining in that section for about ten years, in the spring of 1854 the family
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came overland to California, reaching Sonoma county October 4 of that year. Stephen T. was a child of fourteen years at the time, the youngest of five children, all of whom had received a meager education in the country schools of Davis county, Iowa. Even since he came to the state in 1854 he followed ranching in Santa Rosa township, until giving up active labor, when he moved to Santa Rosa, where he now lives retired. When he was only eighteen years old he took upon himself the responsibilities of married life, his marriage, August 29, 1858, uniting him with Amanda Ellen Cockrill, a native of Missouri. Her parents, Harrison and Ruhama (Doyle) Cockrill, also natives of Missouri, located in Sonoma county in 1853. The ranch which was formerly the home of Stephen T. Fulker- son is located in Rincon valley, six miles from Santa Rosa, admirably located, and so diversified as to hill and valley land as to be adaptable for every variety of crops the owner might choose to raise. This is one of the large ranches of this part of the county, comprising three hundred and twelve acres. Nine chil- dren blessed the marriage of Stephen T. Fulkerson and his wife, named in the order of their birth as follows: Henry H .; Alice Clara, who became the wife of Theodore Grider : Laura E., the wife of Douglas Badger; William E., de- ceased ; Richard ; Molly S., deceased, formerly the wife of William Wendt; Nora C., who became the wife of Henry Leggett : Bruce A .; and Ida Helen, the wife of George Cummings.
The fifth child in the parental family, Richard Fulkerson was born on the family homestead in Rincon valley, Sonoma county, February 19, 1871. After an attendance at the common schools of a few years in this locality he turned his attention to the calling which his forefathers had followed without exception, working first as a farm hand, and later undertaking a ranch of his own. He is now located on a fine tract of seventy-five acres near Santa Rosa, all under cul- tivation to vineyard, orchard, hay and grain.
The marriage of Richard Fulkerson in 1890 united him with Miss Pauline Wendt, a native of Sonoma county, Cal., the daughter of German parents, now residents of Alpine valley, Sonoma county. The only child born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fulkerson is Alma, born in Sonoma county in 1895, and now a student in the public school in Rincon valley. Politically Mr. Fulkerson is a Democrat, and fraternally he is a member of Santa Rosa Lodge No. 24, Forest- ers of America.
JOHN MERRITT.
Among those whose names stand out prominently in the pioneer history of Sonoma county is John Merritt, a prosperous and prominent citizen of Petaluma. His identification with this immediate locality dates from the year 1851, and in truth he may be called one of the pioneer settlers and upbuilders of the town and surrounding country. At that time the thriving center of activity which Peta- luma has since become was not dreamed of, and he relates the fact that he him- self stacked hay on the corner of Main and Washington streets under a white oak tree. All of this he has seen change, cultivated fields giving place to city lots, which have become the homes of a thrifty and contented people.
A native of Indiana, John Merritt was born in Marion county, June 30, 1827, and until he was fourteen years of age he lived in the locality of his birth.
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