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 58
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 58
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84
WILLIAM F. BERNSTEIN
As a baker and also as a stock-raiser William F. Bernstein has achieved a high standing in Kings county, Cal., and his bakery at Hanford and his stock farm near that town are among the best. each in its class, of their respective kinds in Central California. Mr. Bernstein was born in Ohio, near the old town of Lebanon, Warren county, in April, 1873, and there was reared to manhood and educated in common schools and at a normal school, and began teaching some years before he attained his majority. He was twenty-three when he came to Hanford and found employment in the bakery establishment of Fred Bader. Three years later he bought a one-half interest in the business and at the expiration of another three years he became its sole proprietor. Since then he has been its able manager and has developed it commensurately with the growth of the town. He handles a general line of first- class bakery goods and his ice-cream and candies have won a reputa- 35
626
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
tion which keeps them in constant demand. His business occupies a two-story and basement building which takes up a ground space of 25 x 150 feet and employs in its various departments twenty-one skilled workers.
Adjoining the city on the southeast is a ranch of six acres which is the property of Mr. Bernstein, and he owns forty acres located a mile west of the city on which he breeds thoroughbred registered Poland-China hogs, as well as saddle horses which are in high favor with discriminating users of animals bred and trained for such service. He has exhibited his thoroughbred hogs at various local fairs. llis entire ranch is devoted to alfalfa and to the feeding and development of the stock mentioned.
In the promotion and organization of the Kings County Chamber of Commerce Mr. Bernstein was influential, and he was elected its first president and re-elected to that office in December, 1911. In a fraternal way he affiliates with the Masons, being a Templar and a Shriner, and also with the Hanford Camp, Woodmen of the World. As a citizen he is helpful to all worthy local interests, ready at all times to do his full share in the encouragement of the development of the town. He was married, May 28, 1902, to Mary Pearl Trew- hitt, who was born in Tennessee, but had been brought to Hanford by her parents. Her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Trewhitt, is a resident of that city.
JOHN T. MORGAN
Synonymous with the name of Mr. Morgan is the name of the Morgan's Market, of which he is the owner and proprietor, a thriv- ing enterprise in Visalia, which is known for the high character of the goods handled and for the excellent service rendered. From seven to ten employes are required in the conduct of the business, and two delivery wagons enable the owner to make prompt delivery. All of the meats carried in the market are killed and prepared under the direct supervision of Mr. Morgan, whose slaughter house is located on the outskirts of town.
A native son of California, John T. Morgan was born in San Bernardino in July, 1863, the son of Thomas and Eliza (Mee) Morgan, the former a native of Illinois and the latter of England. The Morgan family became established in California in 1859, when Thomas Morgan came hither from the middle west and settled in San Bernardino county. He was a man of versatility and ability, and in addition to carrying large personal interests he rendered invaluable service to the young and growing community in which
627
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
he settled. He was elected and served acceptably as the first sheriff of San Bernardino county. He died in 1863. His wife was also a pioneer to the west, having crossed the plains from Utah at the time of the Mountain Meadow massacre. Reared and educated in his native county, at the age of fourteen years John T. Morgan went to Pinal county, Ariz., where he entered the employ of the Silver King Mining Company and also for several years worked in a butcher shop. This latter experience, combined with the knowl- edge of the business that he had acquired in his native county, led him to undertake a business of his own, and going to Riverside he opened and managed a meat market for Barker Brothers for four years. Subsequently he purchased the business and conducted it alone for four years. He then sold out and went to San Jacinto, where he opened and conducted a market until coming to Visalia in 1902. In that year he bought ont the nucleus of the business which he owns today, then a small, unpretentious store, which in the meantime has expanded in business and reputation until it is now conceded to be one of the best appointed butchering establish- ments in the state, doing a wholesale and retail business.
In April, 1911, Mr. Morgan was honored by his fellow-citizens by election to the office of city trustee of Visalia, from the sixth ward. He is a property owner and an influential member of a number of fraternal orders, being a member of Four Creek Lodge No. 94, I. O. O. F., Fraternal Brotherhood, Woodmen of the World, Foresters of America, and the Native Sons of the Golden West. He was married in 1891 to Miss Lillian R. Cleveland, who was born in Iowa, and they have three children, Everett C., Howard G., and J. Thomas. Visalia has no more public-spirited citizen than Mr. Morgan, who is ever on the alert to promote the development of the city, as is indi- cated by his liberal assistance toward every worthy public movement.
ALPHEUS C. WILLIAMS
The present supervisor of the Third District of Tulare county, Cal., A. C. Williams, who lives at No. 420 N. Church street, Visalia, was born in Dent county, Mo., November 24, 1868, and after leaving school became connected with the train department of the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad.
It was in 1891 that Mr. Williams came to California. Locating at Tulare city, he worked on different ranches near there for three years, then moved to six hundred and forty acres of land east of Visalia, where he engaged in grain farming, in which he was suc- cessful for some years. In 1903 he established the Visalia Feed,
628
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
Fnel & Storage Co., an enterprise which under his management became one of the most important of its kind in Central California. For a considerable period he has been prominently identified with local political affairs and in 1908 he was elected supervisor to repre- sent the Third District of Tulare county, and it is worthy of note that he was the first Republican elected to that office by that constituency. How well he has served in that important capacity his fellow citi- zens well know and his record for efficiency and integrity is a most enviable one. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1893 Mr. Williams married Miss Mary Ellen Goad, daughter of John C. and C. Odele (DeBolt) Goad, the former of whom was born in Madisonville, Hopkins county, Ky. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Ellen M. and Alpheus C., Jr. Mrs. Williams' father came across the plains to California in the early '60s, and lived in Nevada county until 1873, when he came to Tulare county and located on a ranch eight miles northeast of Visalia. He was one of the most prominent ranchers in the neighborhood of old Venus until his death, which occurred September 25, 1905. When he was twenty-one he joined the Masonic order and was popular in those circles. His wife, whom he married in Grass Valley, Nevada county, was a native of Ohio and passed away April 25, 1906. They were the parents of the following children: Pearl, Anna G. and Frank A., all deceased; J. E. Goad, of San Diego, the only living son; and Mary Ellen, who is now Mrs. Williams.
IRA BLOSSOM
Among the early pioneers of Tulare county who have become successful ranchmen is Ira Blossom, who was born in 1832 in the state of New York. He grew to manhood and was educated in the Empire State and in 1852, when he was twenty years old. sought his fortune in California. For a time he stayed in San Francisco, and from there he went to Stockton and soon went into the mines, where he worked a year. After that he lived six years in the San Joaquin valley. In 1860 he moved to Tulare county and during the ensuing six years assisted in the operation of a flour mill near Visalia. Next we find him located on South Fork river. in a section of Tulare county in which he has since made his home. His first land purchase was a tract of eight hundred acres on which he lived for a time, but which eventually he sold in order to buy land near Three Rivers, where he has lived during the past decade. In 1860 Mr. Blossom married Mrs. Julia Clongh, and they have
629
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
four children, three of whom are living. One of their daughters lives in San Francisco, the other in Mt. View, Cal., and their son is with his parents on their family homestead. The latter is filling the office of deputy park ranger, the duties of which he is performing with much ability and eredit.
The present land holdings of Mr. Blossom aggregate one hun- dred and thirty-five acres, part of it in fruit and most of the remainder in grain. He has given part of his time to stock-raising, in which he has achieved considerable success, and is regarded as one of the old reliable farmers of his district, being honored by the people of Tulare county as one of their few remaining pioneers. His personal characteristics are of the kind that make men popular with their fellows and many a man who has had the benefit of his acquaintance has found in him a valued friend. He never held office or identified himself with any order, but is public-spirited in support of all worthy interests of the community.
J. A. CRAWSHAW, M.D.
While giving attention to general practice Dr. J. A. Crawshaw specializes along lines safely and sanely within the limits of the field of the family physician. His residence and office are in the Bissell Building, Hanford, Kings county, Cal. Born August 10, 1879, at Carbondale, Ill., he was there educated in the public schools and in the state normal school in the usual courses of such institutions. When advanced sufficiently in his professional studies, he matriculated in the medical department of the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1901, and after passing the prescribed exam- inations was duly graduated therefrom with the degree of M.D., June 5, 1905. After eighteen months devoted to the practice of his profession at Murphysboro, Ill., he came in 1907 to Hanford, where he has since prospered increasingly as a general practitioner of medicine and surgery, specializing in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat.
Dr. Crawshaw is a director of the Hanford Sanitorium, which he helped to organize and which is now in the course of construc- tion. It is a modern structure, costing $30,000, and is to be com- pleted February 1, 1913. The Doctor holds membership in the Fresno Medical Society, the San Joaquin Medical Society and the California State Medical Society. He is identified with the Kings County Auto Association, is a Blue Lodge, Royal Arch and Eastern Star Mason, a Forester of America and a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Foresters and its ladies' auxiliary order, a
630
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
Modern Woodman, a member of the order of Fraternal Aid and of the Portuguese orders of U. P. E. C. and of I. D. E. S. In all of these societies he takes a helpful interest, greeting their members in fraternal brotherhood and advancing their many good works in every way possible.
Beside his professional work Dr. Crawshaw has found some time to devote to other interests, notably to ranching. He owns a farm of one hundred acres, eight miles north of Hanford, all under irrigation and devoted to stock-raising. At this time he is arranging to give special attention to the breeding of mules.
In 1904 Dr. Crawshaw married Miss Bessie Hagler, who was then a resident of Illinois. They have an interesting little daughter named Alleen.
The Doctor, although an adopted son of California and a comparatively late arrival to the city of Hanford, yet enters heart- ily into the political and social life of Kings county. He took part in the program of the "Kings County Karnival" in May, 1911, and rendered an original poem on the birth of Kings county, from which we quote the following :
" 'Twas in the spring of ninety-three, In the county then of Tu-lar-e, With division talk on every tongue,
That the battle of polities was sprung. Fast the missiles flew each way, Until the twenty-third of May. When Captain Blakely with his dart Plunged the weapon in their heart.
"With the sun still shining in the skies, And the tears undried in the mother's eyes, Out from the wounded, bleeding heart, The "Baby County" made a start, To spread afar its honored fame And win itself a Christian name, Whose echo o'er the plain would ring, In honor of our Baby King."
CILARLES E. JOYNER
In the country round about Exeter, Tulare county, Cal., there are few citizens who are more highly regarded than is Charles E. Joyner, a native of Tennessee, born in 1859, who came to California
631
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
in 1872, when he was thirteen years old. It should be noted that he came here simply as a visitor, expecting soon to return to his old home and that except for brief absences he has remained here ever since. He grew to manhood on the J. H. Johnson ranch and finished his education in the public schools in that neighborhood. He was an orphan, his mother having died when he was an infant, his father when he was but a small boy, but he found friendship and. encour- agement under the sunny California skies and set his face bravely toward the future. He may be said to have made his way in the world since he was a mere boy. In 1884 he married Catherine Mabrey, a native of Arkansas, who has borne him seven children, all of whom are being educated in the public schools near their home.
Fruit has engaged Mr. Joyner's attention and he has thirty- five acres in three-year-old navel oranges. Formerly he raised grain. His land cost him about $2.50 an aere and at a fair market valuation it is worth today $700 an acre. He has prospered, and in so doing has generously conceded the right of the community at large to do as well. While he is very publie-spirited, he cares little for prac- tical polities and has steadfastly refused office.
JOSEPH W. LOVELACE
A native of the Lone Star State, born in Fannin county, in 1858, Joseph W. Lovelace, now living at No. 502 S. Church street, Visalia, is a son of John W. and Arminta (Stallard) Lovelace, natives respectively of North Carolina and of Tennessee. The family came to California, members of a party that came across the plains with ox-teams and seventy-five wagons, consuming six months in the journey. Coming over the southern ronte, they stopped in the fall of 1861 at Bakersfield. where John W. Lovelace built a small cabin, which in the following winter was swept away by a flood. After the breaking up of their home there they moved to El Monte, Los Angeles county, where they lived until they removed to Tulare county in 1863. The father fought through the Civil war in Gen. Sterling Price's Confederate army. After receiving his discharge, he brought his family back to Tulare county and engaged in mer- chandising. at Farmersville, where he bought the store of Crowley & Jasper and formed a partnership with T. JJ. Brundage. He interested himself also in stock-raising and in 1869 took up a stock ranch at Three Rivers which he improved. Returning eventually to Texas, he died there in 1875; his wife also has passed away. During his residence at El Monte, Los Angeles county, this pioneer became a member of the local lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. As a
632
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
citizen he was public-spirited and helpful to all good interests of the community.
Following are the names of the living children of John W. and Arminta (Stallard) Lovelace: Martin F., Charles P., Willis R. and Joseph W. The last named was but a lad when his father bronght his family to Tulare county during the war of the states. He grew to manhood at Visalia and there finished his schooling. For twelve years he was engaged in stock-raising in the Three Riv- ers district of Tulare connty, and in 1900 he moved to Visalia in order to give his children better edneational training. He is interested in real estate in that city and owns besides a one hundred and twenty acre grain ranch fifteen miles east of Lemon Cove. Socially he affiliates with the Woodmen of the World. He married, in Texas, Miss Helen Schlichting, a native of Wisconsin, who has borne him children as follows: Byron O., county surveyor of Tulare county; Nathaniel F .; Clay; Walter; and Lee. Mr. Lovelace is well known for his helpful publie spirit.
Mr. Lovelace's deceased brothers and sisters were: Mollie, who died about the year 1884, was the wife of the late Hon. J. C. Brown, who represented Tulare county in the legislature several times and was a member of the Constitutional committee which revised the state constitution of California in 1876; John Almer, who was married, died in Texas in 1889; and Lillian Josephine, who also was married, died in Texas in 1882, leaving no children.
JOHN CHATTEN
A resident of California from 1868 to 1907, when he passed away, the late John Chatten was of English extraction and a native of Canada. Thomas Chatten, his grandfather, brought his family from Norfolk, Eng., and settled in Ontario, where his son Robert Chatten, father of John, farmed near Colborne till 1896, when he (lied aged seventy-eight. Robert's wife, Betsy Doe, a native of Ontario, died there aged seventy-two. She was of English aneestry, a daughter of James Doe, who was a Canadian settler and farmer. John Chatten was their second oldest child and the oldest son in a family of nine children, all of whom attained to maturity. Hle was born near Colborne, Northumberland county, Ont., December S. 1848, and grew up where the work was hard and the living not the best. From the time he was eleven, when he was taken out of school, he worked on the farm and one of his tiresome and painful tasks was the picking up of stones, which made his back ache and
633
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
wore the skin off his fingers. His uncle Richard Chatten had come to California as a 49er, and his accounts of the climate and the ease with which a living might be earned or a competency secured were alluring reading to the folks in the bleak Canadian backwoods. This finally lured John Chatten to the state and for two years after his arrival he worked for his uncle. After his marriage he took up independent farming and stock-raising on one hundred and fifty acres of his uncle's land, and a year later bought an unimproved tract which he transformed into an attractive homestead.
More than ordinary success rewarded Mr. Chatten's efforts as a farmer, and late in life he made a profitable specialty of dairying. His activity in local affairs was displayed in efficient service as a member of the county central committee of his party, and his interest in education impelled him to accept the trusteeship of the Elbow school district, the duties of which he discharged for thirty years, assisting to build a school house and to put the home school on a firm and substantial basis. Other praiseworthy measures were given his aid and counsel, and he was recognized as one of the leading men of the county.
Miss Celeste Reynolds, who became the wife of Mr. Chatten December 11, 1870, was born in Iowa and brought across the plains to California by her parents when she was but seven months old. They came in an ox-train and seven months were consumed in the journey. Her entire life in California has been lived in Tulare county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Chatten were: Wesley, an engraver in Portland, Ore .; Arthur; Wilmot L .; Ray, deceased; Fred, and Elsie. The family residence was built in 1903 and the homestead includes a hundred and seventy-two acres on Elbow creek, irrigated by the Wutehumna ditch, Mr. Chatten having been a direc- tor in the ditch company. Every acre of this homestead is tillable, and he also owned a quarter-section of adjoining land which he devoted to grazing.
The third in order of birth of the children of John and Celeste (Reynolds) Chatten, Wilmot L. Chatten was born near Visalia, November 11, 1878. He began his active career by ranching with his father. In 1902 he bought land, which he farmed until after his father's death. He now rents of his mother the home place and the adjoining land. He has twenty-five acres in barley and twenty acres in alfalfa, the remainder being pasture, and he maintains a dairy of twenty cows and keeps an average of about a hundred hogs. His family orchard is one of the best in its vicinity, and he gives some attention to chicken-raising. He is a man of public spirit and, as was his father, is a Republican. In 1902 he married Miss Iola Fudge, daughter of William Fudge, an early settler in the county. They have two children, Meredith and Dallas.
634
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
HARRISON A. POWELL
Most of the sons of Kentucky who have come to California have developed into citizens of whom Californians are prond and they have exacted from California the full reward of enterprise and industry. This is true in the case of Harrison A. Powell, one of the best known citizens in the Exeter district in Tulare county, who was born in Henderson county, Ky., August 11, 1859, and lived there until 1902. He came to California at this time and located at Exeter, where he has made his home up to this time. He had passed the earlier years of his life as a farmer and it was but natural that he should have continued here to woo fortune after the manner of his youth. But at first he had not the capital with which to establish himself as he planned to do. He went to work, saved money and invested it in land, and while the land was increasing in value added to his fund by continuing his labors. Then when the land was worth selling he converted it into money and put the money where it would draw interest, and as a financier he has perhaps prospered as well as he would have done had he carried out his original intention to become a farmer.
In 1879 Mr. Powell married Lenrah Cottingham, a native of Kentucky, and they had six children : Chester E., Ernest C., Judith A., Mary, Rhea and Earl. Mrs. Powell died in 1891 and in 1909 Mr. Powell married (second) Martha Ficklen, a native of Missouri. His father was born in Virginia, while his mother was a native of Kentucky. lle is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, affiliating with both lodge and encampment, and was vice grand of his lodge in 1911. Politically he adheres to the Democratic faith. llaving at heart the welfare of the community, he is public- spirited in such measure as to make for the very best citizenship. He is essentially a self-made man who has prospered by industry and frugality at the expense of his brain and brawn and not to the cost of any of his fellow citizens. Some idea of his quality may be inferred from his recent assertion, not boastful yet delivered with an air of satisfaction: "I am fifty-three years of age and have never been under the influence of liquor."
WILLIAM WHITAKER
In Connecticut William Whitaker, now of the Dinuba district in Tulare county, C'al., was born in November, 1833. His start in business life was as an axe-maker. Later he manufactured clothes- pins until about the time of the beginning of the Civil War. Re-
635
TULARE AND KINGS COUNTIES
sponding to President Lincoln's first call for seventy-five thousand three months' troops, he enlisted in the First Regiment, New Hamp- shire Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service of the United States at Concord, N. H., in April, 1861. Later he re- enlisted in the Fifth Regiment, New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. During the period of his service he held all ranks from private to captain of his company, having been commissioned for the latter office just before his dis- charge. His first experience in battle was in June, 1861, and he was in thirty regular engagements with the Army of the Potomac, in- cluding the fighting at Petersburg and Gettysburg and in many skirm- ishes, passing through many perils, not the least of which were those incident to an explosion which he is not likely ever to forget. After the war he engaged in the lumber and sawmill business in Ashford, Conn. Later he devoted himself to farming, which he fol- lowed there until in 1899, when he came to Tulare county, where he has since made his home. His first purchase of land here was five acres, which he has since sold in town lots from time to time. He owned twenty acres at Yettem, eleven of which is in Muscat grapes, also five acres of Malagas. AAt this time he is practically retired from active business life. He keeps alive memories of the Civil war by membership with Shafter Post No. 92, G. A. R. Politically he is a Socialist. In his religious affiliation he is a Seventh Day Adventist. Besides his home at Dinuba he is the owner of consid- erable valuable property in the East. His brother Edward W. Whitaker was promoted from his original place as private in the ranks, by successive advancements, to the office of brigadier-general in the Federal army in the Civil war and is now stationed at Wash- ington, D. C. Daniel Whitaker, another of his brothers, rose to be a captain and was killed June 17, 1863. He had another brother, George, in the Union Army, enlisting from California. Another brother, Horace Whitaker, who died in Stokes valley in October, 1910, unmarried, came to California in 1856, via Isthmus of Panama. Ile followed the stock business in Tulare county from 1858, and became a well known factor throughout the county, having won a suit over land title from the Southern Pacific Railway Company after being in litigation about twenty years.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.