USA > California > Kings County > History of Tulare and Kings counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 38
USA > California > Tulare County > History of Tulare and Kings counties, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the counties who have been identified with their growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 38
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Continuing to operate the two ranches, Mr. Guiberson bought out a livery business at Piru with the proceeds, and engaged in the livery and team contracting business, sending his teams into the oil fields near Pirn, and he soon was the proprietor of an extensive teaming business. He prospered well and by 1905 found himself the owner of considerable money for which he sought good invest- ment. In company with about twenty-five others, many of whom were from Los Angeles, as members of the Security Land and Loan Company, he bought thirty thousand acres of land in Kings county, and in that year came to Corcoran as the superintendent of said company, whose affairs he managed very successfully. During this time he made large individual purchases of land in that vicinity, his ideas of purchase proving most ingenious, as for instance his pur- chase of a thousand acres at $13 per acre, which he sold a few months later at $30. He has explicit faith in the fertility of the lands of this locality and it has never been shaken, and it is due to him more than to any other person that the value of the lands about Corcoran has been demonstrated.
Mr. Guiherson's principal aim has been to develop and improve these lands and place them on an income-paying basis. He has no hesitancy in saying that for the growing of alfalfa these lands have few equals and no superiors in the entire state of California. Among his first purchases were eighty acres of land adjacent to the town- site of Corcoran, forty acres of which he retains as his home place, and this he has beautified and improved until it is a model suburban home. To him belongs the distinction of having erected the first building on the townsite of Corcoran.
At a later date Mr. Guiberson organized the J. W. Guiberson Company, a dairy and stockraising concern with a capital of $500,000 based on bona fide land values. In this he is associated with J. C. Sperry, of Berkeley: Nathan W. Blanchard, of Santa Paula, and the company's holdings aggregate twenty-six hundred acres in all, two thousand acres of which is planted to alfalfa and irrigated by means of artesian wells. On one section of this property are two dairies which produce cream to the amount of $2075 per month. There are six hundred head of cattle on this property, and about nine hundred hogs, all of which are very well kept.
Besides these great landed interests Mr. Guiberson has others, different in character but almost as important. He is vice president of the Bank of Corcoran, vice president of the company operating the Corcoran Department Store, president of the Kings County Dairyman's Association, vice president of the Board of Trade of Corcoran, vice president of the Kings County Chamber of Com- merce and president of the California State Dairy Association.
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The lady who became the wife of Mr. Guiberson was before her marriage Miss Nellie F. Throckmorton, who was born in Illinois, October 8, 1866. They have four daughters, viz .: Hazel, Claire, Helen and Edythe. Mr. Guiberson is a Mason, a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Fraternal Order of Elks. Of unusual public spirit, he is ready whenever occasion demands to aid any measure which in his judgment involves the public good, and he is confidently relied upon to be the friend and helper of all public enterprises. With the privilege of the pioneer to take pride in the town, he is zealous for the promotion of every interest, and in church and educational cireles he is particularly active. He is president of the Board of Trustees of the Presbyterian church at Corcoran, and the commodious edifice recently erected by the con- gregation at once testifies to his munificence in gift of money as well as able and untiring effort as a member of the building commit- tee. He is president of the high school board and Corcoran will before the commencement of another school year have a fifty thou- sand dollar high school building.
Relying upon his ability and good judgment Mr. Guiberson was, by the Board of County Supervisors of Kings county, made vice president of the Kings County Panama Pacific Exhibit Commission, a position for which he is peculiarly qualified. No better testimo- nial of his real worth can be adduced than to mention the fact that in the campaign of 1912 he was elected as a Democrat by the people of his county, which is normally Republican, by more than thirteen hundred majority. For years he has been interested in the subject of good roads, and takes an active part in everything else pertain- ing to the public welfare and human upliftment. As a natural con- sequence he at the last election received a very flattering vote in his home and all other precinets in that county, where he was best known. and in his election to the assembly his fellow-citizens have made no mistake. This fact is recognized by the opposition as well as his Democratic friends, and became very evident from snch expressions as the following editorial from the pen of L. P. Mitchell. editor and proprietor of the Corcoran Journal of November 14, 1912:
Assemblyman-elect J. W. Guiberson is well qualified for the position to which he has been elected. IIe is a self-made man who has achieved success in his own affairs, and Corcoran people feel sure he will represent his district in a most satisfactory manner. Mr. Guiberson is an enthusiast on good roads and advocates the abolition of the present unsatisfactory system of handling county road matters, favoring the employment of an expert road man and placing the entire county road system in his charge. We consider this a very logical solution of the vexations road problem.
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IRVING L. JAMESON
Born near Dixon, Solano county, Cal., in 1862, Mr. Jameson is a true son of California, proud of its history and traditions, and devoted heart and soul to its best interests. His parents were John B. and Catherine (Watts) Jameson, natives of Illinois. His father crossed the plains with mule teams in 1854, and at the end of his long and tiresome, but never to be forgotten, overland journey settled in Napa county. Later he moved to a place near Dixon, Solano county, where he acquired government land and engaged in farming and stock-raising, his chief product being grain, with which he was quite successful. Mrs. Jameson hore her husband children as follows: Henry, of Glenn county; Edwin, of the state of Washington; Mrs. John Bond; Mrs. Robert Board; and Irving L. The father died in 1902, the mother in 1874. Mr. Jameson was enterprising and pro- gressive, honest, industrious and public spirited, in every sense of the term a good and useful citizen.
It was in the public school near his childhood home in Solano county that Irving L. Jameson laid the foundation for the practical education which has helped him to make a success of his life. His primitive venture into business was made as a rancher on the Jame- son homestead, near Dixon. Afterward he became owner of the place by purchase from his father. In 1888 he moved from Solano county to Tulare county and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land on Deer creek, where he raised grain. From there he eventually moved to Porterville. He came to his present ranch of about eighty acres, four miles north of Tulare, in 1898, and has greatly improved the place, making of it a high grade dairy ranch of thirty-five cows, sixty-five acres being devoted to alfalfa. His new dairy barn, recently built after his own plans, is one of the most practical for its purposes in the county. The cow stalls have cement floors, and there are individual stalls, which were designed by Mr. Jameson with a view to giving each animal comfort. The feed alley also is cemented, and the provisions for convenient grain storage are excellent, while the plant for pump- ing water is up-to-date and thoroughly efficient. Mr. Jameson's finely bred Holsteins attract the attention of all visitors to the vicinity of his dairy. He is practically and enthusiastically interested in horses, and owns the well-known imported French Percheron stallion, Mar- dochet, registered; five brood mares and colts and an imported jack for breeding mules.
Absolutely as his home interests command his attention, Mr. Jameson has others. He is a director of the Tulare Rochdale store. a member of the Dairymen's Co-operative Association of Tulare, and is identified with local bodies of the Woodmen of the World and the Fraternal Brotherhood. He married, in 1898, Miss Ida Roberts, a
7
Ida Mo Jameson.
I. L. Januar.
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native of Solano county, and they have children: Mada, Lawrence, Doris and Lowell. The interest in public affairs so characteristic of the elder Jameson has been passed down to the son, and there is no other man in this part of the county more willing to assist, according to means and opportunity, any measure that may be pro- posed for the general good.
ALMER B. COMFORT
Conspicuous among the prominent citizens and officials of Guernsey, Kings county, Cal., who has evidenced the power of staunch loyalty to his early training, which has materially acquired for him the success he has reached today, is Almer B. Comfort, the well- known proprietor of the flourishing and active general store business of Guernsey, which he also serves as postmaster. Inheriting the splendid traits of his father, Byron G. Comfort, a pioneer of Kings county, who is a prosperous farmer near Hanford, he early evidenced the ability and perseverance which led him to mercantile interests. and his entire career has been indicative of thrift, energy and integrity.
Born in Kings county, C'al., the son of Byron G. and Carrie Il. (Drullard) Comfort, Mr. Comfort was there reared to manhood, acquiring his elementary education in the common schools, and becom- ing thoroughly familiar with farm work and steady, honorable and clean habits. Upon reaching manhood's estate he rented a large dairy farm in the vicinity of Corcoran, which he operated with signal success, following that line of business for a long period until in 1912 he found himself able to purchase a business of his own. Being attracted by a chance to purchase a general merchandise business at Guernsey he went there to make investigation with the result that he bought and has since conducted it with the most gratifying results. Being naturally of a genial, optimistic dispo- sition, he attracts many friends to him, and in his position as post- master of Guernsey, which appointment he received in December of 1912, he finds himself the recipient of many good wishes and the good will of the entire community. In addition to these duties he has taken over the management of the lumber yard at Guernsey, which bids fair to become an important business in the near future.
Mr. Comfort belongs to that circle of young men of California who have the future of the country in their hands, and who give every prophecy of taking the burden of business and political life on their shoulders with capability and splendid executive ability. Ever alert for the welfare of their interests and those of their town 23
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and county, they are public-spirited and quick to move in the direction they deem best for all concerned.
Mr. Comfort is not a holder of any public office. In politics he votes the Republican ticket, and his interest in the affairs and issues of his party is ever active, he being well-informed on all enrrent topies pertaining to the advancement of his country.
THOMAS H. BLAIR
The character of any people is usually well indicated by that of its public officials. Throughout its history Tulare county has quite generally commanded the confidence of the public through the repre- sentative men who have been called to fill its offices. Judged by capacity and by zealous devotion to the interests in his charge, none has gained higher place in popular regard than Thomas H. Blair. county assessor. In qualifications essential to the proper discharge of his difficult duties he is adequate to all demands upon him, and by keeping in close toneh with increase of property values and familiar- izing himself with all current improvements he is able to judge acenrately as to the proper assessment to place upon a given piece of property. Looking solely to the interests of the county. he complies with the law in the performance of his duties. manifesting always a conscientious regard for the rights of the taxpayer.
In Randolph county, Mo., Thomas H. Blair was born in 1864, a son of Calvin H. and Mary E. (Moffett) Blair, natives respectively of Arkansas and of Tennessee, and was brought to California by his parents, who settled in Sonoma county in 1865 and in Tulare county about a year later. Calvin H. Blair crossed the plains first in 1850 and after mining two years in California went back to Missonri in 1852. There he married in 1856 and about ten years later he moved to Towa, where he remained about three months, losing all his worldly possessions except an ox-team and a saddle horse, which he sold for just enough money to take him to California by way of New York and the Isthmus of Panama. He moved from Sonoma county to Tulare county, bringing his family and he- longings in wagons, and settled on Dry Creek. From there he moved to near Exeter, in the Yokohl valley, where he farmed for some years. In 1875 he went to Orosi, in the northern part of the county, and bonght land there which he farmed until 1896, when his death ocenrred. Following are the names of the children of this pioneer and his wife, Mary E. (Moffett) Blair, who died Jannary 14. 1912: William M., Thomas H., Mattie, wife of II. Meyers of Fresno
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county. Cal., Laura, Caledonia, Sarah, wife of George Hedgepeth, Frank L., James I., Finis E., and Clarence Holmes.
On his father's stock ranch, Thomas H. Blair was reared, acquir ing a good knowledge of cattle raising, meanwhile attending public schools as opportunity afforded. After the death of his father he associated himself with his brothers in the management of the home ranch. From his early manhood he has been active as a Democrat in local political affairs, and in 1902 was elected county auditor of Tulare county. He was re-elected to that office in 1906, and in 1910 was elected county assessor. The work of the county assessor is of such a character that his duties are not to be compared with those of any other officer. His success depends largely upon the accuracy of his judgment ; he comes in direct contact with all classes of people and in designating property valuations he must treat all with impartial fairness. That such is the spirit of Mr. Blair's official conduet is well known to all, and he is personally acquainted with nearly every old citizen of the county and no man or official is held in higher esteem. Socially he affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
CHARLES C. BEQUETTE
The name Bequette has long been honored not only in Tulare county, but in the state at large. In these pages appears a biograph- ical sketch of Paschal Beqnette, Jr., in which is given some of the history of Col. Paschal Bequette, Sr., a native of Missouri who rose to eminence on the Pacific coast. Charles C. Beqnette was born at Saint Genevieve, Mo., in 1834. His parents dying while he was vet but an infant, when he was five years old he was taken to Wis- consin. where he became a member of the family of his uncle. In 1850, when he was about sixteen years old, he and his brother crossed the plains to California and located at Hangtown. Later, in 1852, they went to Sierra county, where they mined until 1857. In 1859 Mr. Beqnette drove a band of cattle from Yolo county to Tulare county and settled on land at Outside Creek, where he prospered as a stockman until 1867. Then selling ont his interests there, he home- steaded a tract of land near Lemon Cove, where he was snecessful in the breeding of cattle and horses for fifteen years, until he took up his residence at Visalia, where he has since lived, continuing an active interest in the political affairs of the county. His public spirit and his capacity for public business have been recognized by his appointment to various responsible offices, he having served two
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terms as deputy recorder and anditor of Tulare county, of which he has also served as deputy county treasurer and deputy county assessor.
JOHN CUTLER, M. D. AND A. R. CUTLER
A native of Indiana, Judge Cutler was born in 1819, in the town of Newport, Vermilion county. A predilection for the medical pro- fession led him to take up studies with that object in view at an early age, and he completed his studies and received his diploma in Iowa. In the last mentioned state he followed his profession until the mem- orable year of 1849, when he crossed the plains to California and made settlement in Eldorado county. While a resident of that connty he served as a representative to the state legislature.
Judge ('ntler's residence in Tulare county began with the year 1852, at which time he engaged in agrienlture on a large scale, farm- ing one thousand acres five miles northeast of Visalia, on the St. John's river. Here, as in his former place of residence, his fellow- citizens recognized his unnsnal ability and fitness for public office and for two terms he served them efficiently as judge of Tulare county. The marriage of Judge Cutler united him with Mrs. Nancy (Rice) Reynolds, a widow with two danghters, Amelia and Celeste. Seven children were born of her marriage with Judge Cutler. three sons and four daughters, as follows: Mrs. V. D. Knupp of Porter- ville: A. R .; John; Mary; Loyal O .; Ida, and Mrs. Edna Hartley. Judge Cntler passed away on the family homestead near Visalia July 12, 1902, and his wife died in Santa Cruz several years prior to his demise.
The second child born to Judge and Nancy (Rice) Ontler was A. R. Cutler, a native of Tulare county, born in 1860. When his school days were over he assisted his father in the care and manage- ment of the home ranch, and later undertook ranching on his own account. At the present time he is ranching on a large scale in Talare county, having under his immediate supervision the Venice Cove, Monson and Hills Valley ranches. His stock now numbers four hundred head. Fruit is raised on one hundred acres-raisin grapes, peaches, apricots and oranges predominating-besides which he has twenty acres in prines, and the remainder of the land is in alfalfa.
Following a service of four years as deputy county clerk, Mr.
Charles. g. Esklof. Mas Karry B ORlof.
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Cutler received still greater honors in April, 1911, when he was elected mayor of Visalia, an office which he is well qualified to fill. Ilis mar- riage in 1888 united him with Miss Nimmie Pringle, and they have two sons, John F. and Albert R.
CHARLES JOHN EKLOF.
Numbered conspicuously among the thrifty and prosperous or- chardists of Tulare county is Charles John Eklof, born October 10, 1869, in Sweden. In April, 1889, when he was about twenty years old, he landed in New York, equipped with a good education obtained in the public schools of his native land. His early training had laid a splendid foundation on which to enter the struggle for success in America, to which he dedicated himself, his ambitions and his energies. Mr. Eklof had been born and brought up on a farm, and it was as a farm hand in Nebraska that he passed the first year of his life in America. In 1890 he went to the Northwest, into Washington, where he remained three years and four months, and in 1894 he embarked for San Francisco, whence he soon made his way to Fresno, being here employed in a vineyard till 1897. In the year last mentioned he located near Lindsay and engaged in the nursery business, which commanded his efforts for twelve years and brought him fairly good financial recompense. Then he began to buy land, securing forty acres and then twenty, forty of which were put into an orange orchard. The estimated value of his crop in 1912 is $10,000 and he is one of the most successful men in his line in his vicinity, with promising plans for the future.
In 1911 Mr. Eklof married Mrs. Mary B. Frans, a native of Ohio. As a citizen he is loyal and patriotic, taking an active interest in the welfare of his community. His success has been great, for he started with nothing and could now turn his interests into $50,000 cash, but it has been the success of a self-made man, well deserved.
WILLIAM J. ADAMS
The life of the late William J. Adams of Visalia, Tulare county, spanned the period from April 4, 1837, to June 8, 1909. He was born in. Graves county, Ky., and died at his California home. Reared and educated in his native state he left there with a herd of cattle which he drove to Texas and from there across the plains to California, arriving in 1859. Settling near Tulare Lake in Tulare county, he
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ranged cattle for many years and later removed them to the moun- tains on Adams Flat, where he expanded his enterprise by raising both cattle and horses.
In 1871 Mr. Adams disposed of his cattle and horse interests and gave his attention to sheep herding. For two years he operated in Oregon, then came back to California and settled near Madera on the Fresno river, in Madera county, but after two years spent there, he returned to Tulare county and for twelve years farmed the old Murray ranch, near Visalia.
In January, 1865, Mr. Adams married Miss Mary Fannie Murray, a native of Missouri, a daughter of Abram H. Murray, who crossed the plains in 1852 and settled his family in the Visalia neighborhood. There their children have since become known and respected. They are Sarah, Mrs. E. Hilton, of Porterville; Abram P .; Frank C., a biographical sketch of whom is elsewhere in these pages, and Russell, who has passed away.
A man of strong character, upright in his dealing with all, ready at all times to do all in his power for the uplift or development of the community, Mr. Adams was a helpful citizen and the county and its people are benefited by his influence among them.
FRANK C. ADAMS
The well-known and successful builder whose name is above is a native of Visalia, Tulare county, Cal., born February 28, 1873, son of William J. Adams. He gained his education in the excellent schools of that town and began his business career as an employee of the Seeded Raisin Packing Company of Fresno, Cal. From Fresno he went to Stockton, where he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked for three years. Later he was for a time located in Angels' Camp, Calaveras county, whence he returned to Visalia, and in the fall of 1908 entered the contracting and building business on his own account.
Among the structures which serve to call attention to the skill and enterprise of Mr. Adams are the Charles Berry residence, the A. D. Wilson home, the addition to the E. O. Miller residence, the Simon Levy brick block, the Dr. W. W. Squires residence, the Meyer Iseman residence, the Howard Parish residence, and numerous others of differ- ent classes and of equal importance at and near Visalia. On January 17, 1911, Mr. Adams formed a partnership with J. H. Johnson in order to give attention particularly to the architectural department of his enter- prises, but the firm was dissolved October 26 following, and since that time Mr. Adams has been in sole control of the business which
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he has built up. Of the buildings erected by Adams & Johnson, the following mentioned, perhaps as conspicuous as any others, are the residences of Tng Wilson, John C. Hayes, Harry Haves. D. E. Perkins and Ralph Goldstein.
May 1, 1912, marks a very important epoch in Mr. Adams' career. He then became the builder for the Mt. Whitney Power & Electric Co., of Visalia. His first work was the building of a large brick and iron addition to the steam plant at Visalia, and on June 25, 1912, he began the construction of the Mt. Whitney Power Plant and cottages at No. 3 on the Kaweah river.
In the National Association of American Engineers Mr. Adams holds membership and he affiliates fraternally with Four Creek lodge, No. 94, I. O. O. F. He married October 7, 1894, Miss Mary A. Nichols, a native of Missouri, who has borne him three children, Willard, Merle and Russell. As a citizen Mr. Adams has commended himself to all who know him as a man of public spirit who has the welfare of the community at heart and is ready at all times to respond promptly and liberally to any call on behalf of the general good.
WILLIAM W. COLLINS
The present sheriff of Tulare county is William W. Collins, now serving his third term in that important office. Mr. Collins is a son of Albert O. and Sarah J. (Cochran) Collins, natives of Ohio. In 1862, Albert O. Collins enlisted in Company C, Eighty-fifth Regi- ment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which he served continuously from April that year until the end of the Civil war, rising to the rank of captain. Returning to Ohio he taught school there until the spring of 1866, when he moved to Putnam county, Mo., where he lived until May, 1873, at which time he came to California and located in Bakersfield, Kern county. There he was for a time in the meat trade and later conducted a large ranch until 1887, when he took up his residence in Inyo county and engaged in stock-raising near Bishop. Mrs. Collins passed away in San Francisco in 1910. aged sixty-eight years.
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