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 85
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Resigning in January, 1864, Dr. Stuart and his wife returned to Macomb, Ill., and two years later removed to Winona, Minn., where the doctor opened an office and rapidly gathered about him a large and influential practice. How- ever, his unwearying service in the Civil war had made inroads upon his con- stitution from which he was never able to completely recover, and believing that by becoming a co-worker with him in his profession she could relieve him of much of his practice, his wife entered upon her studies with zest. After studying for some time with her husband Mrs. Stuart became interested in research, and in 1876-77 took a course of lectures at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. In the meantime Dr. Stuart's health had not improved and he had come to California in 1876. It was for the pur- pose of joining him that in the summer of 1877 she came to California and met him at Santa Barbara. In the fall of that year Mrs. Stuart entered the Medical College of the Pacific, now Cooper Medical College, and on November 5, 1878, she was graduated from that institution. The health-giving climate and sun- shine of California proved beneficial, and prolonged the life of Dr. Stuart un- doubtedly, and after her graduation husband and wife were associated in the practice of their profession for nearly ten years, or until the death of the hus- band in Santa Rosa in 1887.
Since the death of her husband Dr. Stuart has continued the practice of her profession in this city, keeping abreast of the times in methods of treatment of diseases by study and by association with and membership in various medical associations, among them the State Medical Society of California, which she joined in 1879; the American Medical Association, being the first woman west of the Mississippi river to become a member, and that same year, 1885, a dele- gate from California to their annual meeting; and the County Medical Society, of which she has served one term as president, passing through the various
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offices in the society with the exception of secretary. In the midst of her profes- sional successes Dr. Stuart has been called upon to suffer keenly, not only in the loss of her husband, but in the death of their three beloved children, two of whom died in infancy, each being the only child in their household when taken away. Mary Stuart lived to the interesting age of twelve years, and as the light and joy of the household her death was an irreparable loss, and undoubtedly the death of her father was hastened thereby. Dr. Stuart has tasted deeply of the joys and sorrows of life, and all have contributed to the full, rounded char- acter which she is today, as she goes upon her errands of mercy in the relief of sickness and suffering.
LOUIS WALKER CLARK.
There is probably no place in the world where the raising of chickens has attained such large proportions as it has in Sonoma county, Cal., particularly in the vicinity of Petaluma, and among those who have contributed to this fame is Louis Walker Clark, proprietor of the Petaluma hatchery. A native son of the state, he was born in Grimes, Colusa county, March 6, 1865, the son of A. J. Clark, an early pioneer settler in that county, who, however, did not long survive to enjoy the results of his early efforts. He passed away in 1865, when his son Louis was an infant. The whole responsibility of his training and education thus fell on the mother, who nobly did her part to make up for this loss to her child. In addition to providing him with a good education in the public schools of Colusa county and Pierce Christian College at College City, he was also given a good musical training. His mother bore the maiden name of Martha Grimes, was born in Virginia and is a sister of Cleaton Grimes, the founder of Grimes, Grand Island, Cal., and a second cousin of Gen. U. S. Grant. She is now the widow of H. D. Strother and resides in Berkeley.
Mr. Clark's earliest efforts at self-support were as a teacher in his home county, following this for some time, after which he engaged in ranching in the same vicinity for two years. His identification with Petaluma dates from the year 1900, as does also his interest in the chicken business. He began in the business on a small scale, first raising chickens for the market, but later installed a hatchery and thus began the nucleus of the large business of which he is the proprietor today. To one less far-sighted than was he the undertaking would have seemed venturesome indeed, as when he had his plant installed he found himself heavily in debt, but this has long since been forgotten in the successful years that have followed. Whereas in the beginning of the enterprise he hatched out about five thousand eggs, his capacity is now fifty thousand eggs at one time, the output of his hatchery for nine months amounting to four hundred thousand chicks. This entails the use of over one-half million eggs. The chicks are sold and shipped when one day old, shipment being made in cases containing one hundred chicks, which are so constructed as to insure safety to the stock for a three-day trip. It is no uncommon occurrence for Mr. Clark to make shipments as far as Seattle, Wash., and Salt Lake, Utah, and in nearly every instance they arrive in perfect condition. However, the largest part of his patronage comes from the country in and around Petaluma, supplying poultry raisers with the
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young chicks which they raise for the market or for the purpose of egg supply. Mr. Clark has a special contract with poultrymen which insures a first-class stock of eggs for his hatchery, and it is the fact of an unvarying high standard of stock which has placed the name of the Petaluma hatchery high up on the list of those engaged in the chicken industry in this vicinity. He makes a specialty of White Leghorns. At the state fair Iteld in Sacramento in September, 1910, Mr. Clark received the first premium for newly hatched chickens, his exhibit consisting of one thousand chicks one day old. The hatchery has been enlarged from the plant as originally started in 1900, and is now one of the finest and largest in the county, and by this is meant the largest in the world, for this county ranks first in this industry in the world. The plant is modern and well equipped with all the conveniences which this special industry demands. The hatchery has twenty-four uniform incubators, each with a capacity of two thousand and ninety-six eggs, heated by hot air, generated from gas burners, all placed in one large building.
On October 11, 1899, Mr. Clark formed domestic ties by his marriage with Miss Irene I. Howe, who was born in Santa Cruz, Cal., the daughter of Ira and Mary A. (Hoag) Howe, both natives of New York state. The father came to California across the plains and followed mining in Trinity county until return- ing east. After his marriage he returned to California by way of Panama about the year 1857. He died in Lake county, and his widow is a resident of Colusa. Two children, Dorothy and Truman. have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Clark.
EDWARD F. WOODWARD.
Foremost among the citizens of Santa Rosa who won themselves a place of note by years of honest and zealous labor, mention should be made of the late Edward F. Woodward, whose death, September 11. 1910, was the cause of general mourning in the community in which he had lived for nearly three decades. During this time he was not only associated with business interests in Santa Rosa, but he was also prominent in political and administrative affairs in Sonoma county, serving first as city treasurer of Santa Rosa, subsequently as mayor, and still later as treasurer of the county, to all of which he was elected as candidate of the Republican party. Still greater honors were be- stowed upon him by his fellow-citizens when they elected him to represent them in the state senate, where for one term he gave his constituents faithful service.
Mr. Woodward was a native of the middle west, his birth having occurred in Dubuque, Iowa, January 1, 1853. During young manhood he cast in his lot with the great west, locating first in San Francisco, and from there coming to Santa Rosa in 1882. Here he became a member of the real-estate firm of Proctor, Reynolds & Co., and upon the death of the senior member, the firm became known as Reynolds & Woodward. Not only was Mr. Woodward en- dowed with splendid business ability, but he also possessed a personality that made a friend of everybody with whom he was brought in contact, and no one held a higher standing as an upright. honorable business man than did he. Dur-
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ing his early residence in Santa Rosa he became interested in political matters in the county, and so faithfully did he serve the interests of his fellow-citizens in the capacity of city treasurer for two terms that they elected him for a similar period to the office of mayor. It was during his incumbency of this latter office that the city established the municipal water plant, which was largely the result of his own personal efforts. It is the history of progress that it wins its way only by gaining supremacy over opposition, and Mr. Woodward found no easy road to the successful accomplishment of his plan for municipal owner- ship of the city water plant. With the other members of the council he was made defendant in a number of lawsuits over the matter, but in all cases the council were victorious.
After the expiration of his office as mayor Mr. Woodward was elected county treasurer for two terms of four years each. Subsequently he was elected state senator, serving in this capacity for one term, at the end of which time he received the appointment of collector of the port of San Francisco, and it was while serving his second appointment in this capacity that he was called from the scenes of earth, September 11, 1910. Among his personal friends Mr. Woodward claimed such men as Senator George C. Perkins, and Congress- man Duncan Mckinley, besides many other men who have held high rank in political and business circles. Mr. Woodward was financially interested in the Perkins-McKinley Paint Company, besides which he was president of the Union Trust Savings Bank of Santa Rosa, an institution of which he himself was the organizer, and of which he continued president from the time of its organiza- tion until his death. Among his large real-estate holdings was a ranch near Woolsey station, which he made his country residence, and upon which he raised general farm produce, making a specialty, however, of raising hops, in which he took great pride.
In his wife, Mr. Woodward had a faithful co-laborer and help-mate. Be- fore her marriage, which occurred February 7, 1881, she was Miss Lizzie L. Frear, the daughter of Rev. Walter Frear, a well-known clergyman of the west, and whose field of labor for years has been in the Hawaiian Islands. The only son born of the marriage of Mr. Woodward and his wife is deceased. Two daughters survive, Mrs. Allan J. Wallis, of Dubuque, Iowa, and Miss Bessie Woodward, the latter of whom makes her home with her mother. Fra- ternally Mr. Woodward was identified with but one organization, being a mem- ber of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of Santa Rosa.
WILLIAM MCELROY.
Many changes have been wrought in the material aspect of Sonoma county since Mr. McElroy first came here during the year 1861, at which time he began an association that has continued to the present and has given him a deep af- fection for the scenes so long familiar to his eyes. Of all his kindred he is the only one residing in California and doubtless he would not have migrated to this part of the country had he not been the possessor of a roving disposition and a love of adventure. When, however, he had arrived in the west he found himself delighted with the region and in all the ensuing epoch never once has he lost faith in California's future as one of the best states in the Union, the peer of any
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commonwealth in resources and character of population. The impression gained in early days was deepened by a visit to the east about twenty-five years ago, when he renewed the associations of youth, but returned to the Pacific coast with a deepened devotion to its interests and an enlarged conception of its pos- sibilities.
Born in Chapinville, Conn., January 24, 1837, William McElroy is of Scotch ancestry through his father, a shoemaker by trade, who lived to be eighty years of age, and of German ancestry through his mother, who likewise attained the age of four score years. Though not so well educated as the boys of the present generation, he had the advantage of a thorough apprenticeship to the mechanic's trade, at which he worked in the east for nine years. Mean- while he had heard much concerning California and when a period of enforced idleness came at his trade he decided to join a party bound for the western coast. As a member of this expedition of forty-four he found his way safely to the mines of the west, where he easily found employment. At different times he was engaged in mining in the Columbia river region and the Salmon river locality, making the trip to the latter mines by boat to Portland, Ore., thence to Washington on horseback, and returning to California overland with an In- dian pony.
In search of work Mr. McElroy went from San Francisco to Napa, whence after a short interval spent in breaking up sod ground with a plow, he proceeded to Sonoma county for the purpose of visiting the old fort. The country he found to be rough and sparsely settled. In the midst of the crude conditions a successful industry had been established by Dresel & Co., wine-manufacturers, who had planted a vineyard in 1861 and were beginning to erect a winery at the time of Mr. McElroy's arrival. It was easy for him to secure employment in the construction of the building and later he aided in the development of the vineyard, making a scientific study of the treatment of diseases of the vines and becoming familiar with the best modes of cultivation. As foreman of the vine- yard he had charge of one hundred and fifty acres and from five to twenty-five men. It is significant of the mild and tactful disposition of the man that, while he held the position for thirty-three consecutive years, he never once had any misunderstanding or dispute with his proprietor and employer, the relations be- tween the two being unusually harmonious and satisfactory. Had the tract been his own he could not have been more faithful to its cultivation than he proved in the interests of his employer. Many a night he stood guard against the deer and wild hogs that frequently attempted to enter the vineyard and always he con- sidered the welfare of the work rather than his own convenience.
Upon finally severing his long and honorable identification with the wine manufacturers Mr. McElroy bought a ranch containing considerable meadow, as weil as twenty acres in prunes and twenty-five acres in grapes. For nine years he managed the property, but the limitations of advancing age induced him to sell out and retire, since which time he has occupied a cottage erected for him in Sonoma. His wife, formerly Louisa Brill, of San Francisco, has shared with him the good will of the neighborhood and the esteem of acquaintances through- out the valley. They are the parents of two daughters, Mrs. Lucinda Skinner, of Sonoma, and Miss Edna, both of whom were given the educational advan- tages offered by the Sonoma schools.
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Those who have known Mr. McElroy only in his advancing years, quietly pursuing the even tenor of his way, could scarcely realize his early enjoyment of travel and adventure. When he first came to the west he drifted about from place to place, with no home and with his entire possessions packed on his back, yet he was happy and contented, taking all of his hardships with the calmness of a philosopher. On one occasion, when he crossed the Blue mountains with flour worth $1.25 per pound, he became short of rations and for nine days had nothing to eat but a small pièce of bacon and two "slap-jacks" a day. When night came he cut brush which he piled above the bottomless drifts of snow and wrapping himself in his blanket he slept soundly until morning. That trip, as well as many others scarcely less exhausting, ended without ill fortune to him- self. When the railroad was built he hauled produce to Embarcadero. In pio- neer times he was very active in promoting the building of schools and roads and gave liberally of his time and means to aid such movements, but he never identified himself with fraternities nor has he been a politician, his sentiments, indeed, leading him to maintain an independent attitude in party affairs.
ABSALOM. B. STUART, M. D.
One of the most engaging and striking personalities in the medical and surgical science in Sonoma county was that of Absalom B. Stuart, whose death July 30, 1887, was a distinct loss to the profession and a blow to family and friends that time has not healed. A long and trying experience as physician during the Civil war worked ravages in his constitution from which he never fully recovered, but only those near in kinship knew of his suffering, his fine genial nature making him an ideal physician and companion at all times.
A native of Williamsburg, Pa., Dr. Stuart was born August 27, 1830, a son of James and Mary Ann (Boyles) Stuart. His education was acquired in the public schools of Williamsburg and at Lewisburg University, his medical train- ing being received in Berkshire Medical College and Bellevue Medical College, of New York. After his first graduation he located in Westhampton, Mass., and from there he afterward located in the middle-west, first in Doddsville, Ill., and then in Macomb, same state, and it was in the latter town that he was mar- ried in September, 1859, to Anabel McGaughey. The breaking out of the Civil war soon after their marriage took the doctor and his wife to the scene of battle, and between the date of his enlistment, in August, 1861, and the date of his retirement from the service, in January, 1864, is a record of bravery and devotion to country and humanity which history can never do justice to. At the time of his enlistment he was assistant surgeon of the Tenth Missouri Infantry, and in the spring of 1862 he was appointed by General Rosecrans medical superintendent of the hospitals of luka, Miss. The duties which thus devolved upon him were discharged fearlessly and nobly and merited the pro- motion which followed in April, 1863, as surgeon of a company raised in Ala- bama in command of northern officers, and known as the First Alabama United States Cavalry. Overwork, both in the line of his professional duties and out of it, led to his physical breakdown, and in January, 1864, he and his wife, who
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in the meantime had been his almost constant companion, returned to their home in Macomb, Ill. Subsequntly they removed to Winona, Minn., where, as his health gradually improved, he built up a large and flourishing practice. Aside from his private practice he was instrumental in organizing the state board of health in 1872, becoming its first president ; was a member of the County Med- ical Society and its president in 1872; was secretary of the section on state medicine and public hygiene in 1873; and first vice-president of the Minnesota State Medical Society in 1874 and 1876. Other honors were his in 1872, when he was elected teacher of surgery in the Winona Preparatory Medical School, and the year following he served as president of the school. In 1876 he was a delegate to the International Medical Congress at Philadelphia.
During all this time Dr. Stuart's health had not been all that he could desire, the cold, long winters taking from him any gain that had been made in the warmer months of the year. It was this condition of affairs that brought him to California in 1876. From Los Angeles, where he first settled, he went to Santa Barbara, and finally, in 1880, came to Santa Rosa, where the remainder of his life was passed. In the later years of his practice he had the invaluable assistance and co-operation of his wife, who had become a medical practitioner, and since his death has continued the practice of her profession. With his wife Dr. Stuart bequeathed $10,000 to the California Baptist College, in recog- nition of which the college perpetuated the name of their beloved daughter in Mary Stuart Hall. Dr. Stuart and his wife had been sorely tried in the death of their three children, two in infancy and Mary at the age of twelve years. She was born in Winona, Minn., October 31, 1871, and died in California August 23. 1883, four years before the death of her father. Fraternally and socially Dr. Stuart was identified with the Masons and the Grand Army of the Re- public. The literature of the medical profession was enriched from his pen in the "Annual Report of the Minnesota State Board of Health for 1873"; and "The Upper Epiphysis of the Radius," published in the "Transactions of the Minne- sota State Medical Society" in 1876. The mortal remains of Dr. Stuart were buried in Santa Rosa, the funeral services being conducted by Rev. E. H. Gray, of Oakland, who was chaplain of the United States senate when Abraham Lin- coln was assassinated, and who was pastor of the Baptist Church of which Dr. Stuart was a member for many years.
WESLEY ANDERSON PRICE.
A more encouraging or delightful ranching enterprise could hardly be conceived of than that owned and managed by Wesley A. Price, near Santa Rosa, on Rural Route No. 5. No resemblance to its present condition was pre- sented by this ranch at the time of purchase, May, 1903, for it was unimproved, but today a modern house shelters the family and the land is in a splendid state of cultivation. Certainly no ranch in the vicinity can produce at harvest time such a choice grade of prunes, apples, pears and plums, all of which are of a superior quality and kind. The greatest system and industry prevail on this ranch, the genial and popular owner having given much thought and study to the work which is to him not only congenial, but successful.
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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY
A native of Indiana, Wesley A. Price was born in Carroll county March 30, 1848, being one of the eight children, six sons and two daughters, born to his parents, the latter natives of Ohio. When he was a youth of sixteen years the home of the family was transferred to Gilman, Iroquois county, Ill., and continued there until the first migration to California in 1867. Woodland, Yolo county, was their first home in the state, after which they went to Mendocino county and continued there for seventeen years. The following five years were passed in the east, after which they again came to California and for four years thereafter were residents of Los Angeles. Another period of five years was spent in the east, after which Wesley A. Price sold out his holdings in that part of the country and came to California for the purpose of making it his permanent home. It was at this time, in May, 1903, that he came to Santa Rosa and purchased the ranch on which he now resides, one and a-half miles from town. Not only is the ranch advantageously located as to transportation, being on a railroad, but the soil is of superior quality and yields large harvests of all commodities grown. Half of the ranch, or ten acres, is in prunes, which during the season of 1909 yielded $500, a large part of the remainder of the land being in apples, pears and plums, besides which there is one acre of vine- yard and some pasture and hay land. Scattered about through the vineyard and orchard may be seen fifty stands of bees, a part of which came from Texas and the remainder from Los Angeles. There is perhaps no part of his ranch- ing enterprise that is so interesting and enjoyable to the owner as the work among his bees, the profits from which are about $50 a season.
In 1873 Mr. Price was married to Miss Sarah A. David, a native of Can- ada, and of the nine children born to them, two are deceased, as follows: Viola Jane, who was born in 1875, became the wife of James Lewis in 1894 and passed away the same year, and Willard Wade, who died in 1879, the same year in which he was born. The eldest of those living is Charles Oscar, born in 1877, in Mendocino county ; by his marriage with Anna Moore in 1901 he is the father of six children. William Martin, born in 1879 (twin brother of Willard Wade), went to Alaska in 1900, and when last heard from was in Dawson. Mabel L., born in 1882, became the wife of Owen Dugan in 1901, and two children have been born to them. George W., born in 1885, is at home with his parents, as are also the other children, Belle L., born in 1888, Laura Ethel in 1890, and Walter Franklin, born in 1892. All of the children are Na- tive Sons and Daughters. In his political sympathies Mr. Price is a Repub- lican. While he has no taste for public office, yet he has held a number of school offices, and in a quiet way has done considerable to enlarge the usefulness of the community in which he lives.
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