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 80
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WILLIS Y. WALKER.
Throughout the state of California no name is held in higher repute than that of Walker, the labors and accomplishments of three generations, and their various branches contributing to its upbuilding in permanent and various ways. Long before the gold-seekers had been attracted to the west, members of this intrepid family had hewed their way to the Pacific coast, making sev- eral journeys between Oregon and California before they finally located in the latter state, being attracted finally by the finding of gold at Captain Sutter's camp in 1848. An interesting and detailed account of the family will be found in the sketch of John Walker elsewhere in this volume.
A native son of the state, Willis Y. Walker was born near Sebastopol, Sonoma county, November 19, 1870, the youngest of the seven children, four sons and three daughters, born to his parents, John and Eleanor ( Morin) Walker. By the time he had reached school age the educational advantages offered to the children of that locality were exceptional as compared with what they had been
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a few years previously, and he wisely made the best use of his opportunities. After completing his studies in the common school he received further advan- tages by attending a course in Santa Clara College. When his course in the latter institution was over he returned to the home ranch and helped his father in the care of this vast acreage, consisting of forty-three hundred acres of fine cattle and dairy land. This the father had purchased from the Joaquin Carrillo Rancho Company, the land at one time having been a part of an old Spanish grant. In the early days. of the father's life on this property many thousand head of cattle bearing his brand roamed the unfenced acres and brought their owner a handsome income.
Willis Y. Walker continued on the home ranch with his father until attain- ing his majority, when his father gave him six hundred acres of fine land, upon which he raised cattle and sheep and also maintained a dairy business on his own account. Later he sold the property and purchased the Aaron Barnes estate on Main street, Sebastopol. The greater part of this property he retains today, and in the meantime it has increased in value fifty per cent. Recently he disposed of a portion of the land and bought the T. B. Miller ranch on Rus- sian river known as the Knob Hill ranch. This includes one hundred and fifty acres, of which seventy-five are in hops, which yield about forty-five tons annu- ally. He has sixty acres in the home place in Sebastopol, all in Gravenstein apples, which yield bountifully. He also has an evaporating plant on the place, in which some of the fruit is dried for the market.
Mr. Walker's marriage united him with Miss Olive Ingran, a native of Monterey, Cal., and one son, Donald Ingram, has been born to them. Politically Mr. Walker is a Democrat, fraternally is an Odd Fellow and socially a Native Son of the Golden West.
GEORGE W. GRAVES, M. D.
Over twenty years have come and gone since Dr. Graves departed this life, his death occurring May 16, 1890, but time has not dimmed the affection- ate regard in which he was held by those who were associated with him either professionally or socially during the long period of his residence in Petaluma.
A native of the south, Dr. Graves was born in Virginia, April 19, 1831, the son of parents whose financial condition did not make it possible for them to bestow many advantages upon their son. As a consequence, all that he acquired in life was the result of individual effort, and his accomplishments out-distanced many times those of many other men who had had opportunity and advantages heaped upon them. Being an ambitious lad, George W. Graves determined to rise above conditions and make a name and place for himself in the world, and with this end in view he made every circumstance and oppor- tunity serve him to good purpose. He secured a fairly good education in the schools near his boyhood home in the south, supplementing this by well- chosen private reading, particularly in the line of medicine, for when quite young he had made up his mind to follow the medical profession. When he had accumulated the necessary means he entered upon a course in the medical college of Richmond, Va., and from this institution received the diploma which permitted him to enter upon the practice of the medical profession.
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In his native state Dr. Graves practiced his profession until the breaking out of the Civil war, when he offered his services to the cause of the south. As a surgeon he enlisted under General Lee's command, in the Fifth Louisiana Regiment A. N. V., under the immediate command of Col. Stephen D. Pool. For four years, or the term of his enlistment, Dr. Graves rendered faithful and meritorious service, and after peace was declared he again turned his atten- tion to private practice, opening an office in Uniontown, Ala. He continued in that southern city about three years, when he determined to come to Cal- ifornia, and in 1868 his name was added to the citizenship of Petaluma, Sonoma county, and from that time forward until his death, May 16, 1890, he worked indefatigably toward the upbuilding of his adopted town and county. Soon after locating here he opened an office for the practice of his profession, and from the first his skill and ability attracted to him a patronage that was al- together worthy. As years passed by he became recognized by his professional contemporaries as one of the leaders of his profession in this section of the state, the result of a good fundamental knowledge of his profession, to which he constantly added by research, which kept him abreast of the most ad- vanced students of the science.
On October 26, 1873. Dr. Graves was united in marriage with Miss Luella Baber, the daughter of Randall Gordon Baber, a California pioneer who crossed the plains in 1859. At that time he settled on a ranch near Santa Rosa, and there he lived and labored until his death in 1875. Two children blessed the marriage of Dr. and Mrs. Graves, as follows: Georgia, the wife of Fred A. Bordwell, of Mazatlan, Mexico; and Hill B., a civil engineer in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, having his headquarters in Ogden, Utah.
HARRY J. BARNETT.
A man of no little prominence and importance in the vicinity of Santa Rosa and Sonoma county is Harry J. Barnett, whose representation here dates from 1885, since then being very active in all that tends to promote the general welfare of his adopted home. Ohio is Mr. Barnett's native state, his birth occur- ring December 28, 1868, in the home of George A. and Loretta J. (Meyers) Bar- nett, the former born in New York in 1843. and the latter born in Illinois in 1842. They were married in Ohio, and in that state they passed the early part of their married life. During young manhood the father had volunteered his services in the cause of the Union, enlisting as a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-second New York Volunteer Infantry, Company F, Sixth Corps. in which he served for three and one-half years. At the battle of Petersburg he was wounded by being struck in the shoulder by a piece of shell, and was taken from the battle-field to Lincoln's hospital, and was an inmate there when he received the news of Lincoln's assassination. Subsequently he was removed to the state hospital at Rochester, N. Y., and finally, in 1865, received his honor- able discharge, after a service that was long and trying. but one which he gave willingly.
Harry J. Barnett was a lad of seven years when, with his parents, he came to California, settlement being made in San Francisco, where he had an excel-
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lent opportunity to prosecute his studies. His school days were over at the age of fifteen years, for from that age dates the beginning of his experience in the world of business. His initial training was in the dairy business, following this as long as he remained in San Francisco, or until 1885, when the family removed to Sonoma county. Mr. Barnett bought twenty acres of fine land near Santa Rosa, paying for the same $3,500, and today the same property could not be purchased for $10,000. In fact, Mr. Barnett has recently disposed of ten acres for $6,500, and on the remaining ten acres is building a beautiful modern resi- dence. This and the surrounding country are in direct contrast to what he beheld when he came to this locality twenty-five years ago, when there was no habitation nearer than three miles away. The poultry business has received Mr. Barnett's special attention for the past eighteen years, and since reducing the size of his ranch he expects to run only about fifteen hundred chickens.
In 1892 Mr. Barnett was united in marriage with Miss Grace Lentz, a native of Minnesota, whose parents immigrated from that state to California about the same time the Barnett family came to the state. All of the eight chil- dren born of this marriage are natives of California. Loretta, born in 1893, has completed the grammar course in the Santa Rosa schools; Anita B., born in 1895, is a student in the high school; Marjorie, born in 1899, and George A., born in 1898, are attending the district school; Dorothy, born in 1906, Helen and Harriet (twins), born in 1908, and Wilson Lee, born in 1910, complete the family. Politically Mr. Barnett is a Republican, but has never held nor had any desire to hold public office. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which body he has passed through all the chairs of the subordinate lodge and the encampment; he is also a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters. Mr. Barnett's long residence in Sonoma county has brought him prominently before the people, by whom he is universally re- spected. He has perhaps done as much as any one man for the building up of Sonoma county, and much credit is due him for the interest he has displayed in her welfare.
CHARLES HENRY BUTLER.
Though by trade a blacksmith, a calling which he has followed throughout the greater part of his life, Mr. Butler is no less gifted as an agriculturist, as he has demonstrated during the last six years that he has been superintendent of an orchard of one hundred and fifty acres in Sonoma county, near Healds- burg. Like many who have contributed to the citizenship of California, Mr. Butler is a native of one of the states to the east, his birth occurring in Fond du Lac, Wis., November 24. 1864. The primary education gleaned in the schools of Fond du Lac was enlarged upon in Healdsburg, Cal., whither Mr. Butler came with his parents in 1874, and for a number of years he carried on his studies in the schools of this place.
With the close of his school training Mr. Butler prepared himself for a business in life by apprenticing himself to learn the blacksmith's trade, and his training completed, opened a shop and gathered about him a good trade. which he continued to follow for a number of years, or until 1904, when he
J. J. Spurgeon
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gave it up to take charge of the property of which he is now the superintendent. This is a large ranch of one hundred and fifty acres, all in fruit, and that he is making a success of his latter-day calling, hut a glance at the fine appearance of the ranch will prove beyond a doubt.
In 1887 a marriage ceremony in Healdsburg united the lives of Charles H. Butler and Miss Mary E. Miller, the latter a native of the state and the daughter of James and Martha (Walters) Miller, the latter of whom is still living at the age of seventy-eight years. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Butler, but of the number only four are living. The eldest of these, Aubrey C., a native daughter of Healdsburg, is now attending Berkeley Uni- versity ; Grace V. is a student in the San Francisco Normal; Vernon M. as- sists his father in the management of the ranch, and Charles W. is also at home with his parents.
Politically Mr. Butler is a Republican, stanch and true in his support of that party's candidates, and an active worker in the ranks of his party, but this activity has never been tainted with self-seeking, for he has never held nor had any ambition to hold public office. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias of Healdsburg, the Foresters of America, and also with the Eagles.
On the paternal side Mr. Butler is a descendant of a long line of New England ancestors, his father, James H. Butler, being a native of Vermont, and he passed away in Healdsburg, Cal., in 1896. The wife and mother, Sarah M. Billings in maidenhood, was born in Indiana, July 18, 1831, and died March I, IQII, at the home of Mr. Butler, at the age of seventy-nine years.
SIDNEY FRANCIS SPURGEON.
Petaluma has within its borders many enterprises and industries that con- tribute largely to the welfare and prosperity of the community. Its topograph- ical position in the state, its natural resources and salubrious climate all tend to increase and enhance its commercial value as well as to make the owning of an industry a profitable undertaking.
Sidney F. Spurgeon, proprietor of the Petaluma foundry, a very enterprising and successful young man, was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England, a son of Robert Walter Spurgeon, who in turn was a scion of a long line of noble fore- bears. The father of Sidney F. Spurgeon resides at the present time in Brent- ford, a suburb of London, and is associated with the Beldham iron works. He was a first cousin of Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, the noted preacher. The wife of Robert Walter Spurgeon, Sarah (High) Spurgeon, a native of Norfolk, is also living.
Sidney F. Spurgeon, of this review, is the third of a family of fourteen children, all of whom are living. At the age of fourteen years he was appren- ticed to the moulder's trade, working in the Beldham iron works, London. He served an apprenticeship of seven years in this institution, gaining during this time a complete knowledge of core-making and moulding. After the expira- tion of his apprenticeship he remained for two years in the employ of the firm. In the fall of 1905 he came to Brandon, Manitoba, where for one year he
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worked at his trade. Leaving that section of the country he came to San Fran- cisco, Cal., arriving in that city three months after the fire. Being an expert workman and thoroughly conversant with the details of his trade, he experi- enced no difficulty in securing a position in that city, where he continued until 1910. On September 25, 1910, he came to Petaluma and commenced the busi- ness in which he is now engaged. During the short time that the Petaluma foundry has been in operation he has built up a large business and receives a large patronage from the surrounding country. His brother, Cecil R., is work- ing with him in the capacity of moulder. The foundry is located on Fourth street in a well-equipped building. So complete are the facilities for moulding that castings up to the weight of sixty-five hundred pounds have been made.
In Oakland, Cal., Mr. Spurgeon was united in marriage with Miss Emily Purdy, who was born in Folkstone, Kent, England. One child, Sidney William, was born of this union. Mr. Spurgeon is not identified with any fraternal organization, but is a member of the International Moulders Union of North America. He and his wife are members of the Episcopal Church, and have already endeared themselves to the hearts of many of the residents of Peta- luma. A promising future is in store for Mr. Spurgeon, as his present indefat- igable energy augurs well for a life of great usefulness and much achievement.
WILLIAM ELDER.
A period of about twenty years marks the span of Mr. Elder's life in Cali- fornia, dating from early pioneer davs, and as one of the typical pioneer settlers, sturdy, resourceful and energetic, he aided materially in the upbuilding and improvement of the section in which he settled, Sonoma county. "He was born in Scotland in the year 1812, the son of parents who instilled into his young mind high ideals of life, with a right understanding of his duties toward God and his fellowman. It was with this wholesome training and a fair education that he set out from his native land at the age of sixteen years, making the trip across the Atlantic ocean to New York. He remained in that city from 1828 until 1849, during these years being engaged in teaching and also working at his trade of wheelwright. In the last-mentioned year he came to California by way of Panama, making the trip by steamer to Aspinwall, and by the sailing vessel Harriet Rockwell to San Francisco, which city he reached in January, 1850
Northern California was Mr. Elder's first place of settlement, in Grass Val- ley, Nevada county, which he found to be an excellent location for a general merchandise store, this being a supply station for those interested in the mines of the locality. With John Parker as a partner he established a business of this character under the firm name of Parker & Elder, an association which continued as long as he remained in that locality. From Grass Valley he sub- sequently went to San Francisco, engaging in business there for a short time, when, in 1854, he came to Sonoma county and made settlement at Petaluma. Though the settlers located here were few and scattered, he was not slow in recognizing the possibilities of a thriving town growing out of the small begin- ning. and with this thought in mind he established a general merchandise store
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under the name of Harris & Elder. his partner being George Harris. This association continued for a considerable period, when Mr. Harris retired from the firm, and thereafter business was conducted under the name of Elder & Hinman, M. M. Hinman becoming the junior partner. The business was begun on a modest scale, but was increased from time to time as demand made neces- sary, and during the years that Mr. Elder maintained the store, he not only had the satisfaction of noting his own growth and prosperity, but he noted with increasing pride the substantial growth and upbuilding of his home town, which he prophesied would he the case when he came to the little settlement years before.
A man of energy and action, Mr. Elder was one who was not content to sit idly by and watch developments, but he was willing and anxious to take a part in bringing about better conditions, and the work which he accomplished in this respect has not been forgotten, though more than three decades have come and gone since his death. He was the first mayor of Petaluma, also the first chairman of the board of trustees, was secretary of the board of education, and later became president of the board. He was also one of the founders of the Congregational Church of Petaluma, in which both himself and wife were among the most active workers. In 1864 Mr. Elder went to Rochester, Minn., and engaged in the mercantile business for about four years, at the end of that time, however, returning to Petaluma and resuming his former business. He survived about eight years after his return to the west, his death occurring in Petaluma in 1876.
In New York state, in 1838, Mr. Elder married Miss Sarah Clayton, their marriage resulting in the birth of four children, as follows: Alexander, who died in Oakland in 1891 : James W., of Petaluma; Mrs. Emma E. Cady, also of Petaluma ; and Mrs. A. K. Munson, of Oakland.
EDWARD BIRD.
England has given to California no more enthusiastic citizen than is to be found in Mr. Bird, a rancher located four miles from Santa Rosa, on Rural Route No. 5. Born in Shropshire, England, in 1843, he was reared and educated in the locality of his birth, and the first employment which he followed after attaining mature years was as a farm hand. He had had considerable experi- ence along this line when, in 1865, at the age of twenty-two, he came with his brother James to the United States. The voyage across the Atlantic was accom- plished without incident worthy of note and the vessel finally landed its burden of human freight in the harbor of New York. For a short time the brothers remained in the vicinity of this metropolis, and then went to Pittsburg, Pa., remaining there altogether about three years, when they came west as far as Iowa. Two years were passed in that state, when they again took up the west- ward march, this removal taking them to South Dakota, Clay county profiting by their citizenship for about thirty years, or until 1895.
In the year just mentioned Edward Bird came to California and located in Sonoma county on the property he still owns and occupies, four miles from Santa Rosa, on Rural Route No. 5. Here he has fifty-five acres of unexcelled
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land, well suited to the raising of the produce which he has planted it to. Thirty acres are in small fruits, prunes, grapes and berries, while the remainder of the land is in grain. Diversified farming is the wisest policy to follow in the opinion of Mr. Bird, for in the possible shortage or failure of one crop, the others will bring in an income and make any loss less apparent. He has been exceptionally successful, however, and during the season of 1909 he gathered six tons of grapes, about the same returns from his prune trees, and a large crop of luscious berries.
In Clay county, S. Dak., Mr. Bird was united in marriage with Miss Mary Haver, who died three years later, in 1875. Two children were born of this mar- riage, both sons, but the elder one only, John E., born in 1873, is now living. In October, 1882, in Lodi, Clay county, S. Dak., Mr. Bird was married to his present wife. In maidenhood she was Miss Phebe Smith, born in Van Buren county, Iowa, in 1840, the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Prine) Smith, natives of Canada and Kentucky respectively. Her first marriage united her with Michael Harrington, who died in 1881, and in the following year she became the wife of Mr. Bird. She is an exceptionally broad and intelligent woman, inter- ested in the welfare of humanity, as is practically demonstrated in the work which she attempts and accomplishes in the cause of temperance. She is also especially interested in the Grange, in the work of which she has assisted greatly. She is also an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she is a member, while Mr. Bird holds membership in the Episcopal Church. Both are held in high esteem in the best circles in Santa Rosa, to whose citizenship they have contributed in a marked degree. Politically Mr. Bird is a Republican, and while a resident of South Dakota he held a number of appointive offices in his community.
GEORGE L. ABEL.
Ever since becoming a resident of Sonoma county in 1893 Mr. Abel has been deeply interested in the material upbuilding of the region and in a quiet but practical way has promoted local progress. For twelve years he has occu- pied his present ranch near Santa Rosa, which in its appointments and produc- tiveness ranks with the best in the county.
Records show that the Abel family is of southern origin, and the father of George L. Abel, George Abel, was born in Kentucky. The mother was born in Indiana, and the parents were living in the latter state, in Orange county, at the time of the birth of their son, December 7, 1863. When he was a child of two years the home of the family was transferred to the adjoining state of Illi- nois, settlement beng made in Louisville, Clay county. This was fortunate for the son, for it gave hint an excellent opportunity to get an education that the country district in which he was born could not have offered. Altogether he remained in that state for twenty years, at the end of that time going to Ne- braska, where he continued farming, the same occupation that he had followed in Illinois after his school days were over. The move to Nebraska proved all that he had expected in every way, but after he had been there eight years the desire to come to California led him to dispose of his interests in Nebraska and that year, 1893, found him on his way to California. Coming direct to Sonoma
Ano loe Bauer
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county, he located on a ranch near Geyserville for three years, after which lie cast about to find a suitable location in the vicinity of Santa Rosa, the result of which was he purchased the property which has been his home ever since, on Rural Route No. 4. Here may be seen a modest, well-kept ranch, which in every way is indicative of the owner, method and orderliness being everywhere ap- parent. Thirteen acres of the ranch are in prunes and apples; the trees in the orchard are from four to six years old, all in splendid producing condition, and during the season of 1909 he gathered three and one-half tons of fruit from his prune trees ; the ranch is equipped with a drier, thus making it possible for the owner to make shipment of his produce direct to the market. Besides his orchard Mr. Abel has six and one-half acres in vineyard, the rest of the land being in melons, corn and similar commodities, besides which he has fifty very thrifty walnut trees. The diversity of crops which Mr. Abel produces is a wise provision, for in the event of the failure of one or more, the chances are that at least one will prove successful and yield an income. In keeping with the im- provements which Mr. Abel has made from time to time to bring his ranch up to its present point of excellence is the beautiful home which he has recently erected, at a cost of $1,500.
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