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 95

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1190

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 95

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The Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railway Company was incorporated in 1903. with a capital stock of $1,000,000, the direct outcome of the energy and perse- verance of A. D. Bowen. The general officers in charge of the management of the road at the present time are as follows: E. M. Van Frank, president and general manager ; John A. McNear, vice-president ; Thomas Archer, secretary and treasurer ; and B. H. Dibblee, Rudolph Spreckles, Francis Cutting, Thomas Archer, E. M. Van Frank and John A. McNear, directors. Among man- agers in this part of the state Mr. Van Frank is conceded to be one of the best. possessing a wide experience and marked executive ability, all of which, taken in connection with the fact that he has a personality that makes a friend of every one that he comes in contact with, has made him an invaluable acquisition to the upbuilding of the road.

Of all the towns tapped by the Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railway, probably none has benefited by it more directly than has Petaluma herself. Here are lo- cated the shops of the company, wherein fifteen men are in constant employ- ment, while eighty men are employed on the entire system, the greater part of whom are residents of this city. Besides the electric roads owned and managed by the company, it also operates two steamers between Petaluma and San Fran- cisco, the officers and crew of which number forty men. The general offices of the company are also located in Petaluma, which is destined to be one of the largest and most popular cities in this section of the state, if its record of progress during the past few years may be taken as a criterion.

GEORGE W. LAMOREAUX.

One of the early merchants that continued in business for many years in Petaluma, making an honorable record, was George W. Lamoreaux, a native of Wayne county, N. Y., born May 17, 1828. His father, Thomas Lamoreaux, was born in France and was one of three brothers who fled from France on account of religious persecution at the time of the revocation of the edict of Nantes. Mr. Lamoreaux came to the United States, locating in Wayne county, N. Y., where he was a merchant in Arcadia, now Newark, on the Erie canal. on which he also ran a packet. Under these surroundings his son, George W., was reared, learning the mercantile business from the time he was tall enough to look over the counter, and following this vocation until he came to California.

In 1858 George W. Lamoreaux was married in East Newark, N. Y., to Miss Margaret H. French, a native of Rockingham county, N. H., daughter of Asa and Betsey (Bean) French. The former, who was born in New Hampshire, was a cooper by trade, and his demise occurred when Mrs. Lamoreaux was a babe. The mother subsequently married Thomas Dearborn and removed to East New-

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ark, N. Y., where Margaret lived until she was twelve years of age, when she returned to New Hampshire, receiving her education there in the public schools until her marriage.

In 1859 Mr. Lamoreaux came to Petaluma, Cal., where he engaged in the grocery business for many years with an honorable record and a successful carcer until he retired. He died July 30. 1908, aged eighty years, mourned by a host of friends. He was a member of the Odd Fellows order, an active member of the Petaluma Fire Department for many years and was also affiliated with the Old Military Company. He and his wife were active members of the Epis- copal Church, in which he was senior warden.

Since her husband's death Mrs. Lamoreaux continues to resides at the old home on Fourth street, where she is surrounded by many friends, who love her for her amiable qualities and her charitable deeds.

JAMES ROSS MOWBRAY.

Many years have elapsed since the death of Mr. Mowbray in 1881, but the good which he accomplished in the locality in which he lived for so many years in Sonoma county has kept his memory fresh in the minds of those who came after him and profited by the uplift which his life and efforts gave to the upbuilding of the community.

J. R. Mowbray was a native of Ohio, born in the Miami Valley in 1818. and in the locality of his birth he was reared to a stalwart young manhood. He was in the full flush of young manhood when he heard of the opportunity for young men in California, and among those who came to the state early in the year 1849 he was one of the most enthusiastic. The trip was made across the plains behind slow-plodding oxcn, but as soon as he reached his journey's end he lost no unnecessary time in going to the mines of Sierra county. His enthusiasm was not without its satisfaction, if the five years he spent in the mines there may be taken as an indication of satisfaction in his efforts. From Sierra county he then went to the Sacramento valley, remaining there for a short time only, when, in 1860, he came to Cloverdale and near this town, in the limits of the town of Preston, he purchased a ranch upon which he lived and labored the remainder of his life. His ranch comprised one hundred and seventy acres of choice land, sixty acres of which he planted to wine grapes. In the early days, however, much of his attention was given to cattle and sheep raising, and he was one of the very first in this part of the county to make the change from stock-raising to the raising of grapes and other fruits now a source of such large income to the valley.

Mr. Mowbray's marriage in 1867 united him with Miss Mary J. Larison, a native of Ohio and the daughter of that well-known pioneer, Samuel Larison. One son was born of the marriage of Mr. Mowbray and his wife, Frank, a civil engineer by profession, who is engaged in business in Vancouver, B. C. Fra- ternally Mr. Mowbray was an Odd Fellow. His death in 1881 was looked upon as a public loss, for he was held in the highest regard by all residents of the community, by common consent being counted one of the most fruitful bene- factors the valley had ever known.

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Since Mr. Mowbray's death the widow has resided on the place, engaging in grape-growing and agriculture. She built a new residence on the hill, over- looking Preston and the Russian river, and known as Rio Vista. She is a member of the Eastern Star and the Rebckahs at Cloverdale, in both of which lodges she has held office. In her religious views she is liberal, and assists all of the churches in their philanthropies as well as all public enterprises for the upbuilding of the community. As one of the very first settlers in the valley no one appreciates more than she the wonderful transformation from its orig- inal primitive condition to the paradise that it is today.

WILLIAM HENRY MANION.

In Mr. Manion we find another Native Son of the Golden State, and in him too we find those characteristics which almost invariably stand out prominent- ly in the make-up of her native sons and daughters. In the light of heredity this is but another demonstration of cause and effect. More often than not, the parents of these children have come to the west in their early married life, eager to establish a home in the midst of conditions that would develop and reward them for their labors. As their hopes and ambitions became realities their children were naturally endowed with the same love for the locality, to the end that they rarely ever seek a home in any other part of the country upon attaining years of maturity.

A perusal of the family records develops the fact that Mr. Manion comes of southern ancestry, his grandparents on the paternal side, Edmund and Eliz- abeth Manion, being natives of Kentucky, as were also his parents, William and Elizabeth (Barnett) Manion. An interesting account of the life and accomp- lishments of William Manion will be found elsewhere in this volume. Among the worthy pioneers who came to California during the period of the gold excitement was William Manion and his wife. Struggles and hardships were their lot for a considerable period, but hope of ultimate success in the accomp- lishment of the purpose for which they had risked their all buoyed them on and rewarded them at last. Settlement was made in Sonoma county, and it was on their ranch near Santa Rosa that their son William Henry was born October 16, 1856. With the other children in the parental family William at- tended the district school near his home, and early in life he became familiar with agricultural life through the performance of the duties that were required of him by his methodical parents. The outcome of this training was that when he attained mature years there was no indecision in his mind as to his future career, and ever since entering upon business life he has continued to be a tiller of the soil. He lays claim to four hundred acres of as fine land as can be found in Sonoma county, five miles from Santa Rosa, on Rural Route No. 3. Believing in a diversity of interests he has not confined his attention to one branch of agriculture to the exclusion of others, but is maintaining a number of industries with equal success. Stock-raising forms one of these industries, about thirty head of cattle being fattened for the market at the present time. besides which he has about ten head of horses. Chicken-raising is also followed

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with very satisfactory results, about five hundred hens contributing to Mr. Manion's shipment of eggs, besides which he has about six hundred small chickens, three months old. Sufficient corn is grown on the ranch to supply the home needs, about ten acres being in corn. Another source of income to Mr. Manion is from the sale of wood cut from his property, from one hundred to one hundred and fifty cords being cut and sold each year, yielding about $700 annually. Much of this timber is cut from Bennett's peak, which is on his ranch, and which is not only a source of profit, but is also a mark of beauty and adds considerably to the value of his land.

In 1887 Mr. Manion was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Ann John- son, who was born in Illinois in May, 1869, the daughter of Snelling and Amanda Johnson, the former deceased, but the latter still living in Santa Rosa. Three children have blessed this marriage, of whom we mention the following : The eldest, Edith Lee, born March 11, 1889. is now a trained nurse in Mary Jesse Hospital in Santa Rosa ; Zelda M. was born January 23, 1894; and Zalene, born October 27, 1898, is now a student in the grammar school at Santa Rosa. Politically Mr. Manion is not an adherent of either of the parties, but nevertheless does his duty as a good citizen at election time by casting his vote for the best man for the office in question. With the exception of filling the office of school trustee he has been the incumbent of no public office, finding all of his time consumed in the care of his ranch.

CHRISTIAN NISSON.

When asked for his opinion concerning the possibilities of Sonoma county, Christian Nisson has nothing but praise and commendation to offer for reply, and in truth he could make no other, his opinion being based upon his own suc- cess as rancher and dairyman. The first representative of the family in this country was Erick Nisson, who came from Denmark in 1866, and located in Sonoma county, Cal., and three years later his son, Erick P., also came to this locality and built up a ranch enterprise in the vicinity of Petaluma which is a credit to the owner as well as to the community. By his marriage with Claudina Moltzan, who, like himself, was a native of Denmark, Erick P. Nisson became the father of eight children, two sons and six daughters, named as follows : Christian, Henry, Lena, Mary, Clara, Anna, Loretta and Elinor.

The eldest child in the parental family, Christian Nisson, was born on the homestead ranch near Petaluma, October 5, 1877, and with the other children he attended the public schools in Petaluma during boyhood. By predilection as well as early training on the home ranch he was well fitted to take up the duties of ranching as soon as his school days were over, and by concentrating thought and efforts along this line to the exclusion of other distractions he has been enabled to take his present high position among the ranchers and dairymen of Sonoma county. For a considerable period he worked side by side with his father in the maintenance of the home place, but finally, in 1906, purchased the ranch of which he is now the owner and proprietor, not far from the old home- stead on Rural Route No. 4 from Petaluma. This consists of two hundred

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HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY

acres, for which he paid the owner, Allen Roseburgh, $80 an acre. Here he makes a specialty of dairying and chicken-raising. His dairy consists of twenty cows, and from the sale of butter which he manufactured he realized about $1,800 during the season of 1909. During the same season he realized in eggs from three thousand chickens $8,100, while during the year 1910, from four thousand chickens, his income amounted to $11,000. During the year 1911 he increased his flock to six thousand chickens. From the above figures it is plain to be seen why Mr. Nisson is such an enthusiastic believer in the possibilities of Sonoma county. He has labored indefatigably to bring about his present suc- cess, and all who know of his good fortune take heart and labor the more indus- triously on their own ranches, knowing that what one has accomplished others can also do. Politically Mr. Nisson is a believer in Republican principles.

J. LUPPOLD.

The self-made men of Sonoma county have a fine representative in J. Lup- pold, of Santa Rosa, one of the respected and popular men of his community. Cordial, frank and sincere in speech, he makes friends with all with whom he comes in contact, and is an active participant in the affairs that affect com- · munity, state or nation. A native of Missouri, he was born in Bridgeport, Warren county, March 26, 1860, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Luppold, both of whom were natives of the Fatherland. The parents lived to attain good ages, the father living to the age of eighty-five years, while the mother passed away when seventy years old. In so far as their circumstances permitted the parents gave their son every advantage for an education, his schooling including attendance at the common and high schools of Bridgeport.

However, it was early in life impressed on the mind of Mr. Luppold that he had his own way to make in the world, and accepting the situation philo- sophically he lost no time in finding employment after his school days were over. Working as a farm hand in the vicinity of his home was the first work to which he turned his hand, and he continued there in that line of occupation until the year 1888. That year marks his advent in the west and the beginning of his career covering nearly a quarter of a century in Sonoma county. Here as in his home locality he continued agricultural pursuits, working for a time in the employ of Winfield Wright, of Santa Rosa, and subsequently establishing himself on a ranch of his own in this vicinity. This is an exceptionally fine property, located four miles north of Santa Rosa on the Healdsburg road, and here he has resided alone for the past twenty years, never having formed do- mestic ties. In 1901, with the accumulations of a number of years hard labor, he went to Nome, Alaska, in the hope of finding sudden wealth, but he was doomed to disappointment, as instead he lost all the means that he had saved. Disappointed but not discouraged, he returned to his Sonoma county ranch and has since been contented with the peaceful, wholesome and remunerative life which it affords.

An incident which comes to the mind of every resident of Santa Rosa when the name of Mr. Luppold is mentioned is that concerning the burning of the

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"hoodoo automobile." An account of the event was graphically told in the Press-Democrat of November 5. 1908, from which we quote as follows: "The hoodoo anto goes up in smoke. In the presence of a tremendous crowd of spectators Luppold's hoodoo automobile was burned at ten o'clock last night, November 4, 1908. The auto held a big bale of hoodoo hops, grown in 1902, placed on a specially selected pile of oak and pine cord wood. At a given signal a sky rocket was sent up, at the same time Milton W. Wasserman applied the torch to the wood just mentioned. The crowd cheered themselves hoarse as the flames danced here and there amid the wood that had been saturated with oil to insure its burning. Good Luppold was the hero of the hour on this oc- casion. He said the auto should burn and it did. He kept his part of the agreement and the people were satisfied. The old auto was soon reduced to ashes, and as the embers died down there was heard across the din the exultant voice of Mr. Luppold saying : 'I guess the hoodoo is sure gone now.' Among those gathered in front of Luppold's place were a number of hop growers who had come from all parts of the county to see the hoodoo bale of hops burned. The hops were 1902's, the hoodoo-price year. The hop-growers hope that this hoodoo disappeared when Luppold's did. Luppold and his hoodoo auto have become known from coast to coast and newspapers everywhere have printed accounts of the affair. In the burning of the auto last night Mr. Lup- pold celebrated the election of Taft. He said he would do so when he first said he would burn the machine or the hoodoo would go up in smoke."

GEORGE IRWIN.

In Mr. Irwin we find a Native Son who has never known any other home than the one he now occupies, for his birth occurred on the ranch he now owns, near Santa Rosa, in 1873. The records show that he is a descendant of southern ancestors, for his father was born in Tennessee, and his mother was born in Missouri. Both are now deceased, the father passing away in 1898, and the mother nine years later, in 1907. Besides George Irwin the parental family in- cluded four other sons and one daughter, all of whom are living in Sonoma county, three sons making their home near Sebastopol, and the other son and daughter make their home with Mr. Irwin of this review, on the old home ranch near Santa Rosa.

Mr. Irwin was educated at the district school in the neighborhood of his home, and with the close of his school days he began to assume duties in the management of the home ranch that ultimately resulted in his supervision and control of the entire property. Here he has a fine tract of fifty acres all in grain, besides which he keeps a number of cows, only enough as yet however for his own use, but it is his intention to enlarge his dairy and ultimately make the dairy business his chief industry. In the meantime he is reaping large harvests of the various grains, all of which find a ready market at excellent prices.

By his marriage in 1901 Mr. Irwin was united with Miss Anita Jones, a native of Ukiah, Mendocino county, Cal., and the daughter of Lewis D. and Martha J. (Orender) Jones, the former deceased, but the latter still living in

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Santa Rosa. One child, Ruth Agnes, has blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Irwin, and everything in the power of these proud parents is being done to fur- ther her welfare and happiness. Mr. and Mrs. Irwin are both members of the Baptist Church at Santa Rosa, being regular attendants upon its services and active workers in the many benevolent organizations connected therewith. Poli- tically Mr. Irwin is a Democrat. If there is one object more than another that receives Mr. Irwin's keenest thought and interest it is the subject of providing good school facilities for the young in his district, and his accomplishments along this line are worthy of commendation. At the present writing (1910) he is serv- ing as trustee of Hearn district school and is also central committeeman of the Matanza district.

GEORGE EDWARD KING.

One of the thrifty and most enterprising agriculturists of Sonoma county is George E. King, who for many years has been actively engaged in his chosen vocation on a large and well-kept ranch near Kenwood. Being early trained to habits of industry and economy, he laid the foundation of his future success when young, and is now enjoying the prosperity to which he is justly entitled. He was one of a large family of thirteen children born to his parents, who at the time of his birth, March 18, 1861, were in Stuttgart, Germany. One year later the parents removed to England, where they remained throughout the balance of their lives. The father, Rev. Joseph King, was a native of London, England, and was a minister in the Episcopal church.

George E. King was reared and educated in England, and in 1883, when about twenty-two years of age, came alone to the United States, going direct to Klamath Falls, Ore., where, during his nine years residence there he accumulated considerable valuable real-estate, among others owning a half-interest in five hundred and sixty acres of land. It was this interest that he traded for real estate in Santa Rosa in 1891, receiving in its stead twenty-five acres one mile from town. For a time he followed farming and poultry raising, and after selling the land engaged in the real estate business in Santa Rosa until 1901. In December of that year he came to Kenwood and bought a twelve-acre ranch upon which he resided for four years. He then bought fifty acres of the Yost tract which he subdivided and sold, subsequently purchasing the ranch on which he now resides. The original purchase consisted of fifty-six acres, to which he added by the purchase of adjoining land until at one time his acreage included eighty-two acres, constituting one of the finest ranches in Sonoma county. In addition to carrying on general farming he also had a fine vineyard and an eight- acre orchard of walnuts, the latter of which he set out himself. From time to time Mr. King has sold off portions of his ranch until now he has only thirty- six acres. In addition to his other interests he is also engaged in the poultry business ..

Mr. King's marriage January 24, 1889, united him with Miss Winnifred Prideaux, a native of Plymouth, England, whose ancestry can be traced back to William the Conqueror. Her father, George Prideaux, a gentleman of Plymouth, is deceased, as is also his wife. The eldest of the six children born to Mr. and

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Mrs. King is Joseph E., born in Oregon January 9, 1890, and now in the employ of the Wells-Fargo Express Company at Benicia, Cal. Martha Winnifred was born November 13, 1891, and has graduated from the public schools of Santa Rosa and Kenwood. Nellie Gertrude, who was born in Santa Rosa April 24, 1893, was educated in the schools of Santa Rosa and Kenwood also. Catherine Frances, born in Santa Rosa in 1895, received her schooling in Kenwood. Esther Florence Violet, born in 1897, and Marguerite, born in Kenwood in 1901, are both students in the schools of this place.

Politically Mr. King is a stanch Republican, and while in England was identified with the Masonic body, but has not affiliated with the order since coming to the United States. He is a member of the Kenwood Improvement Club, composed of enthusiastic citizens whose object is the promotion of the unrivalled advantages of town and county, and he is also a member of the Royal Order of Moose in Santa Rosa. He is a member of the board of school trustees for the Los Guilicos district, to which he has already given eight years service, a part of the time as clerk. Mr. and Mrs. King are both active members of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Santa Rosa, in which he has served as vestry- man.

M. V. HOOTEN.

With the activities of earlier life restricted by the physical limitations of advancing years, Mr. Hooten has withdrawn from many of the enterprises that once occupied his attention and has reduced greatly his former extensive agri- cultural operations, so that at the present time he owns merely his old home- stead of six acres. From time to time in other days he sold off land from the original tract and thus reduced the size of the place to its present acreage. The title of Walnut Grove, by which the farm is known, comes to it in recognition of its splendid grove of beautiful large black walnut trees, planted by the present owner very many years ago and now forming one of the best-known landmarks in the vicinity of Healdsburg.

Born in Morgan county, Mo., in the year 1838, M. V. Hooten was a son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Cook) Hooten, pioneers of 1852 in California. During the spring of the year mentioned the family packed their belongings in a wagon, and with ox-teams started across the plains in company with an expedition comprising seventy-five persons. The eventful journey lasted four months and was made memorable by an outbreak of cholera among the emigrants. Twenty- three of the number were taken ill during a period of two weeks, and all died within eight hours after their first seizure. Every sickness proved fatal and death soon ended their sufferings. The survivors, worn and exhausted, arrived in California in the early autumn, and the elder Hooten mined during the winter at Cherokee Flat, Butte county. Coming to Petaluma, Sonoma county, in 1853, he took up land near Liberty and there remained for seven years. The county was sparsely settled and Petaluma itself contained only two stores and a few houses. The tide of emigration was diverted from San Francisco to the south- east and the coast counties to the north were passed by, their settlements being insignificant and their ranches few for many years after the discovery of gold.

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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 95

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1190

Author: Gregory, Thomas Jefferson
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1190