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 70
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 70
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ROBERT MCADAM
One of the most splendid examples of the self-made, self- reliant and persevering men who are now numbered among the prosperons and successful operators in California is Robert Me- Adam, whose wide interests and signal success in his undertakings have marked him conspicuously in many localities in the common- wealth. He is well and favorably known to the people of Tulare connty as the promoter and part owner of the celebrated MeAdam ranches, which are situated five miles west of the city. Mr. McAdam is a native of the north of Ireland, his birth occurring September 27, 1851, in Connty Mayo, son of Sammel and Eliza (Ilenderson) Me- Adam, both of whom were natives of Scotland.
The MeAdam was a very prominent family in County Mayo, where they followed farming and milling and became land owners. In 1855 Sammel MeAdam with his family immigrated to Huron county, Ontario, Canada, and here in the year following the mother passed away, leaving a family of four children: James, who is men- tioned more fully elsewhere in this volume; Robert; Sidney, who became the wife of Robert Wright, lived in Michigan and died at the age of forty years, leaving one child; and Mary, who became the wife of John Jordan and died at her home in Toronto, Canada, at the age of twenty-four, leaving two children. Sammel MeAdam married for his second wife Mrs. Sarah (Wiggins) White, of Canada and by her had seven sons, viz .: William (deceased), Alfred, Ste- phen, Samuel, David, Joseph (deceased), and Charles.
Robert MeAdam, son of Sammel, was about four years of age when brought from Ireland to Canada. The loss of the mother at a tender age proved a great hardship and when but seven years of age he was obliged to take an active part in the work of pioneer-
.
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ing, swinging the ax and working in the forests clearing land for many long hours. It is difficult to realize in this day that such labor and long hours could be withstood by such a small boy, who, deprived of leisure hours and the many games and diversions which go to cheer the heart of a boy, was instead forced to live the life of a laborer and become inured to the hardest kind of work. While he used the ax and handspike his education was of necessity neg- lected and as the schools were not modern or well equipped he had little opportunity to obtain a thorough training. However, by nat- ural ability, close observation and attending diligently to good read- ing he became well informed and his wide and many experiences have been the most able teacher he has ever had. At the age of twenty-three Mr. MeAdam married Miss Mary Elizabeth Gemmill, of Canada, and six years later they removed to Pembina county, Da- kota territory, where they remained for nine years, successfully farming a traet of six hundred and forty acres especially in wheat. Selling their place they went to St. Martins Parish, Louisiana, where Mr. MeAdam accepted a position as manager for the Huron Plan- tation, a large sugar plantation of eight thousand acres, owned by an English syndicate, and under his able supervision the business prospered, a refinery was built at a cost of $800,000 and the enter- prise rapidly advanced. Finding that the climate there did not agree with him he came to Pasadena, Cal., in May, 1892, buying thirteen acres of orange grove for which he paid $6,000, and this he sold eighteen years later at a good profit. Meanwhile he had become the owner of a two-hundred-acre ranch, seventeen miles southeast of Los Angeles, which he sold in 1904 and then came to Tulare county to purchase sixteen hundred acres, five miles west of Tulare which he has improved and developed until it is now one of the best of its kind in the state. A further mention of this ranch property is given in this volume under the name of the MeAdam Ranches.
Eleven children were born to Robert MeAdam and wife, three of whom died in childhood. Of those surviving we mention the fol- lowing: Isabelle, principal of the Linda Vista schools, is the widow of John McAlpine, and has a daughter, Catherine. Annie is a senior in the University of Southern California at Los Angeles. Frank S. is mentioned elsewhere in this publication as is also his brother William J. Grace is attending a private school at Pasadena. Robert and Fred are students at the high school at Pasadena. Ilelen is in the grammar school there. About two years ago Mr. MeAdam became interested in mining. He is the owner of the Castle Dome Silver and Lead mines in Yuma county, Ariz., and it has already been brought up to a paying proposition; with the splendid energy of Mr. MeAdam united with that of his two sons, William J. and Frank S., the present managers, the mines hid fair to become one
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of the great dividend payers of Arizona. Mr. MeAdam is also in- terested in a gold mine at Goldfield, Nov., and one at Kingman, Ariz. In fraternal circles he affiliates with the Masons, is a Knight Templar, member of the blue lodge, chapter, commandery and Scottish rite. The family are members of the Lincoln Avenue Methodist Epis- copal church at Pasadena, where they make their home at No. 766 No. Orange Grove avenne, surrounded by many well-wishing friends who have come to appreciate their gentle and kindly ways, their unfailing hospitable welcome and their generous, thoughtful living.
JAMES McADAM
The MeAdam family of which James MeAdam is a member num- bers among its representatives some of the best, most reliable and active citizens of the state of California, their interests being mostly in Tulare county and throughout southern California. James Me- Adam, whose residence is now No. 1248 . East Colorado street, Pasa- dena, is a native of Ireland, having been born in County Mayo, March 17, 1849, son of Samuel and Eliza ( Henderson) MeAdam, of whom more extensive mention is made in the biography of Robert McAdam elsewhere in this publication.
Coming to Canada in 1855 with his parents, here the next year his beloved mother passed away, leaving her sons to face the battle of life together with two sisters who have married and passed away. Like his brother, Robert, Mr. McAdam had few educational advan- tages, but was compelled while still a young child to assume the duties of hard and ardnons toil, which though beyond his strength and years served later to create in him the strong character, inflexible will and unswerving courage for which he is known. In 1884 he re- moved to Pembina county, Dakota territory, and with little or no capital he began to work for himself and after three years had fully paid for a hundred and sixty-acre wheat farm which was located about three miles from a railroad station. Selling his holdings there in 1894 he came to Pasadena and immediately purchased property which he improved and sold, buying more and entering the real estate business which has increased until he today is reputed to be one of the prosperous men of Pasadena. lle is the owner of a quar- ter block of business buildings there, located on East Colorado street. which is estimated at $60,000. His interest in the dairy ranch in Tulare county is large and he has given close attention to all his property with a view toward improvement and bringing it to the best state possible. A elear-headed, keen-sighted business man, who has attained success largely through his straightforward, honest
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manner of dealing, he has ever displayed sagacious judgment in his operations, and he is a thorough, practical worker in every line he undertakes.
Mr. MeAdam became interested in Tulare county property in 1910, when he purchased three hundred and twenty aeres seven miles west of Tulare. He has improved this place by erecting three barns thereon, 44x60 feet in dimensions, with cement floors and stanchions of the most modern kind. In his dairy business every precaution is taken to promote the most extreme cleanliness, the most modern methods being used. Three irrigating electric pumping plants have been installed and every improvement is made toward developing the land. He is a great believer in the fertile San Joaquin valley as a splendid field for dairying purposes and the handling of stock. In spite of his meager educational advantages he has become a well-posted man through wide reading and study and he is looked upon as an authority on many subjects of the day, his most pleas- ing characteristics being his modesty and generosity to aid others in whatever manner is in his power. He believes in intelligence coupled with ability and industry and has no time for drones.
In 1873 James McAdam was married in the county of Huron, Canada West, near Toronto, to Miss Mary Ann Musgrove. They have two adopted children to whom they have given loving care, Pearl, who is now seventeen years of age, and Edith, eight years of age. Mr. MeAdam is a Mason, being a member of the Masonic lodge, No. 272, Pasadena, and is also a devout attendant of the First Pres- byterian church, of which his family also are members. A great admirer of William Jennings Bryan, for whom he has voted for President three times, he followed his polities as far as national affairs are concerned. While evincing the greatest interest in civic affairs he has never sought public office, choosing to fill the duties of a private citizen with conscientious effort.
HERMAN T. MILLER
Herman T. Miller, city attorney of Visalia, of Exeter and of Lindsay, Tulare county, C'al., is a native son of Tulare county, having been born in Visalia in 1874. His father, Artelius O. Miller, a con- tractor and builder, came to Visalia in 1858 and died there in 1888, after a career of success and honor. Mr. Miller was educated in the public schools and the high school of Visalia so far as his education was possible in those efficient institutions, was graduated from the University of California in 1899 and from the University of Michi-
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gan at Ann Arbor, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in 1901. Returning to Visalia he has prospered as a general practitioner and become well known throughout the state as the head of the legal departments of the three cities mentioned. He became city attorney of Visalia in 1902 and the Exeter and Lindsay appointments followed.
On December 11, 1907, Mr. Miller married Miss Blanche Hewel, a native of California, and a daughter of the Hon. A. Hewel, for- merly judge of the Superior court of Stanislaus county, and their daughter, Arabella E., was born June 10, 1910. Mr. Miller is an Elk, a Mason and a Shriner. As a citizen he is influential and public- spirited.
MERRITTE T. MILLS
In Sacramento county, Cal., Merritte T. Mills was born Jannary 13, 1853, a son of William H. and Louisa (Lawless) Mills, natives respectfully of Georgia and Missouri. The father crossed the plains in 1849, with an ox-team outfit that consumed six months in making the journey. After mining some time in Calaveras county he located in Tulare county, two miles southeast of Visalia, late in 1853, and later took up a quarter-section of land nearby, where he was for ten years engaged in the cattle business. Disposing of that interest finally in 1874, he located near Lindsay, where he farmed during the ensning ten years. Then he returned to the timber belt, locating near the place of his first settlement, and there he and his good wife lived out their days and passed to their reward. Of their chil- dren Merritte T. and William H. survive.
Since his father passed away, Merritte T. Mills has been ranch- ing on his own account. For a time he operated one hundred and fifty acres on the plains in the neighborhood of Lindsay, and during the last six years he has conducted his present ranch of forty acres with much success. At this time he has twelve acres in prunes and twenty acres in peaches of the following-named varieties: Phil- lips elingstones, Muirs, Susquehannas, Fosters, Tuscan clingstones, and early Alexanders. These trees were all planted by his own hands, and though his orchard is only seven years old it has produced good crops. llis prunes are of the French variety and in 1911 he sold ninety five tons of them. The soil of his ranch is rich, his irrigation facilities are good and the place is in every way well adapted to prone and peach culture. Some of his acreage is devoted to alfalfa. He has abont eighty hogs of the Jersey Red variety and a dairy of eighteen cows.
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The woman who became Mr. Mills's wife was Miss May Van Loan, a native of Wisconsin, and she has borne him eight children: Lula B., Elizabeth, Russell, Howard, Roy, Neva, Ford and Eva. As a citizen, Mr. Mills is publie-spirited, devoted to the best interests of the community.
ROBERT NULL
The first day of July, 1835, Robert Null was born in Jefferson county, Mo. He received a limited common school education and when he was nineteen years old, which was in 1854, he crossed the plains to California with neighbors named McVay and Nelson. Their party had but three wagons, but there were larger parties before and behind them and four hundred head of cattle were driven on ahead. They came by way of the North Platte, the Sublett cutoff and the sink of the Humboldt, crossing the mountains east of the Amer- ican valley, and eighty head of their cattle fell victims to alkali. Indians menaced but never really molested them. Six months after their departure from Missonri they arrived at Marysville, Cal., and began mining on Nelson's creek, where Mr. Null operated eight years. Then he fell ill of mountain fever and went south to recuperate. He worked a year on a ranch, then returned to mining, operating at Diamond mine and at Gold Hill for a year with good success. Then, following false lures, he and others tried to find mythical mines in one place and another until he became discouraged and went to Oregon, where he lived until 1884. Then he took sixty head of horses to Kansas. He bought them at $10 a head and sold them there at $50 to $60 a head, making considerable money. He returned to Cali- fornia in December, 1892. ITe bought eighty acres of land a mile and a half north of Traver, where he now lives, and has since made further purchases. He has twenty acres in alfalfa and is conducting a dairy, having a goodly number of cows and twelve head of young heifers, his cows yielding him a profit of $75 each per annum. Fonr horses are required on his ranch and he has a flock of about one hundred turkeys.
Politically, Mr. Null is a Socialist. In his religions affiliation he is a Methodist. Hle married Miss Mary Jane Warmoth, a native of Grundy county, Mo., and a daughter of John and Mary Jane (Col- lins) Warmoth. Mr. Warmoth crossed the plains with his family in 1861. Following are the names of ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Null: John D., Robert Lee, Mary Ellen, Nancy J., Louisa. T. Oscar. Richard, Alvin B., Cynthia and Anna B. John D. married Bertha
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Tarr, and they live in Tulare county. Robert Lee married Mrs. Anna Banty. Mary Ellen, now Mrs. Lee, has four children, Lilly M., Mary Z., James W., and Ruby E. Nancy J. married Allen An- derson, has borne him five children, Robert L., Alfred, Mary E., Vernon and Leland, and they live near Orosi. Louisa married Wil- liam Crawford and they have children named Robert R., Aaron, Winnie M. and Mary E. T. Oscar married Lily Mullis; they have a daughter named Mary F. and live near Orosi. Cynthia married A. R. Thompson and resides at Hanford; they have two children, llarold and Helen. Richard and Alvin are unmarried. Anna B. became the wife of Edward Ilayes and has borne him a son, Robert Earnest, and is living in Tulare county.
GEORGE W. POLLOCK
In Washington county. Ind .. George W. Pollock was born, Feb- ruary 7, 1856. He was reared among rural surroundings and gained such education as was available to him by attendance at the schools taught near his boyhood home. Ile was brought up to useful work and thus prepared to make his way in the world.
When young Pollock left his native state it was to go into the neighboring state of Illinois. After a stay of two years there he came. in 1880, to California and settled northeast of Stockton, where he lived and labored with more or less success for six years. From there he came to Tulare county and found employment with the Comstock people, operating sawmills in the mountains. Thus he busied himself six years, then he rented a hundred and twenty acres of land four miles east of Visalia, and farmed for two years, raising wheat, barley, alfalfa and stock. His next venture was on more rented land, this time two and a half miles south of Goshen, the old Tom Coughran ranch, two hundred and forty acres of rich soil, which produced for him alfalfa and stock. There he remained eight years, making some money and learning a good deal about California farm- ing and stock-raising. In 1907 he bought the sixty acres which constitute his home farm, on which he has usually about two hum- dred hogs and raises considerable fruit. Twenty-five acres of his land is in alfalfa. Looking back on his life thus far Mr. Pollock sees in it a record of ups and downs, but the ups have been more permanent than the downs, and gradually, as all good things are accomplished, he has gone forward to greater and still greater sue- cess. lle counts his experience as one of work and rewards, and tries to forget the obstacles he has had to overcome.
'In 1893 Mr. Pollock married Margaret Preston, of Missouri
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birth, who has borne him four children: Freal, Rita, George and Elizabeth. Socially he is a Woodman of the World. As a citizen he has in numerous instances demonstrated an admirable public spirit.
DANIEL WOOD
A native of the Empire State, at one stage of our national development a mother of pioneers, Daniel Wood went early to Wis- consin, whence, in 1849 he came across the plains to California as a member of a party of thirteen whose experiences during their six months' journey were perilous and painful in the extreme. Once they were obliged, in the desert, to burn some of their wagons for fuel, and a few of the party died of cholera. After his arrival in Cali- fornia, Mr. Wood went into the mines at Hangtown, where flour was $50 a sack, one onion cost $3, and eggs readily brought $1 each. Of course it will be understood that the lack of local production and the excessive cost of transportation were factors in determining these almost prohibitive prices. When he was done with the mines, he went to San Francisco, whose Indian camps were then its most con- spicuous features. From there he went to Mariposa county, where he taught school for a time. He was one of the first white men to visit the Yosemite valley. Eventually the fortunes of the border bronght him to Visalia and soon he was employed to teach in the old Visalia Academy and later given charge of schools in other parts of Tulare county. He was one of the founders and a constituent member of the first Methodist class organized in Visalia and was the pioneer berry- grower of Tulare county, taking off a erop of strawberries worth $1600 from one acre of ground. During the pioneer period he oper- ated a ranch of two hundred and forty acres near Farmersville, Tulare county. For some time he held the office of justice of the peace, by anthority of which he performed the marriage ceremony of the famous Chris Evans.
The state of Indiana includes what was the birthplace of Miss Carrie Goldthwaite, who became Mr. Wood's wife, and bore him children as follows: Daniel G., George W., Litta, Stella, Edna and Edward. Jolm W. Goldthwaite, Mrs. Wood's father, came to Cali- fornia by way of the overland trail, in the pioneer days, took up gor- ernment land and developed a ranch in Tulare county. He saw service in the Union army during the Civil war and had an intimate personal acquaintance with Gen. W. T. Sherman. In the years after the war until he passed away he was a leading spirit among Californians of the Grand Army of the Republic.
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HENRY O. RAGLE
On October 15, 1860, Henry O. Ragle was born in Hawkins county, Tenn. His parents, natives of Virginia, both died in Tennessee. They were representatives of old Southern families and his mother was a woman of rare quality, who to an uncommon degree impressed her character on her children. He was about twenty-three years old when he came to California, well equipped by public school ednea- tion and by much practical experience in farming to take up the battle of life in this then comparatively primitive agricultural re- gion. For a time after he came here he did farm and ranch work for wages, but soon he took up one hundred and sixty acres of land and began to improve and cultivate it. From time to time since then he has honght other tracts nntil he is now the owner of more land than nine hundred acres, some of it grazing land, some of it fruit land, and some of it devoted to grain. Besides being a suc- cessful farmer he is quite an extensive handler of cattle.
In 1894 oeeurred the marriage of Henry O. Ragle, son of Henry Ragle, to Miss Jennie K. Underwood, a native of Tennessee, whose father has passed away, but whose mother is still living. Mrs. Ragle has borne her husband four sons and three daughters. Clarence is a student in a business college at Fresno; Eva is in grammar school; Lloyd, Herbert, Oscar and Marie are in the public school; Dorothy is the baby of the family.
Without capital when he came to Tulare county, Mr. Ragle has been snecessful beyond many of his friends and neighbors and as he has advanced he has been ready at all times to extend a helping hand to those who have been less fortunate. His interest in the community is such that he has been publie-spiritedly helpful to every movement for the general uplift. Especially has the cause of educa- tion commanded his attention, and though having no liking for public office, he has been impelled by it to accept that of school trustee, in which he has served with much efficiency, with an eye single to the educational advancement of his neighborhood.
SANTOS BACA
A descendant of old Mexican and Spanish families, Santos Baca was born in San Bernardino county, Cal., in what is now Riverside county, November, 1865. His father was Jesus Cabeza De Baca, who was the son of Jose Baca, for whom Vacaville was named. ( The name Baca was formerly spelled Vaca, hence the spelling of Vacaville.) Jesns Cabeza De Baca married Inez Baca, a native of
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Spain, and he engaged in the stock business and grazed sheep where the city of Riverside now stands. lle was directly descended from Spanish discoverers who landed on the shores of the United States in the middle of the sixteenth century and eventually settled in New Mexico. In 1849 the parents of Santos Baca came to California with ox-teams from New Mexico, and both passed away at old Spanishtown, near Riverside.
When Santos Baca was seven years old he was taken to Sacra- mento to attend school and in 1880 made his way to Tulare county and thence to Riverside. In 1883 he went to Vacaville but the same year found him in the employ of a liveryman in Tulare city. In 1902 he located at Porterville and was employed in the same business until 1910, at which time he became one of the proprietors in the Exchange stables. He has from time to time interested himself in other enterprises and has evidenced a helpful solicitude for the ad- vancement and prosperity of the community. Fraternally he affiliates with the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
In 1892 Mr. Baca married Miss Nancy E. Doty, a native of Mis- souri, who has borne him six children, as follows: Fay and Harold, in the high school; Glenn and Rita, in the grammar school; Rene, in the primary school, and Damon.
JOHN H. LEACH
One of the comparatively few citizens of Porterville, Tulare county, ('al., who saw the place come into being on the prairie and have witnessed and promoted its development to the present time is Jolin 11. Leach. A native of Washington county, Ill., born January 15. 1849, he was reared and educated in Clinton county, whither his parents moved when he was a small child. there taking up the re- sponsibilities of active life. In the spring of 1880 he left Illinois for the Black Hills, where he prospected for gold and worked in the mills four years. After that he lived for a time in Missouri and later until 1890 in Kansas, where he followed the carpenter trade. In that year he located near Porterville, C'al. He soon bought prop- erty and later brought his family on from the east. After he was well started here he bought land, planted orange seed, raised the plants and set out five acres, which he still owns, and has given considerable attention to truck gardening.
In 1875 Mr. Leach married Miss Louisa Lewis, a native of ('lin- ton county, Ill., and they have two children. Their danghter, Mamie I., is a member of their household. Their son, William S., is an 43
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