USA > California > History of the State of California and biographical record of Coast Counties, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 41
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After the close of the war with Mexico Mr. Carr remained in that country until he had recovered his losses through fortunate invest- ments. Returning to New Orleans in January, 1849, he there suffered from an attack of cholera. On his recovery he went to Washington and attended the inauguration of President Taylor, with whom his acquaintance had ripened into warmı friendship. Meantime Congress had passed a bill authorizing the secretary of war to furnish, after registration, fire arms at govern- ment cost for all persons going to California. Senator W. M. Gwin was the first, and Mr. Carr the second man to register under this law. While Mr. Carr was in Washington Postmaster- General Callamore tendered him an appoint- ment as postal agent of California, but two days
later told him that General Taylor's private sec- retary wanted the office for an old schoolmate, Captain Allen, whereupon Mr. Carr released Judge Callamore from his promise.
Under appointment as deputy to Col. James Collier, collector of the port of San Francisco, Mr. Carr arrived in San Francisco August 18. 1849. Collier did not arrive until November, and meantime he had accepted a position as deputy under the military collector, Mr. Harri- son. After the arrival of Mr. Collier, he assisted in organizing the office and remained in the custom house about one year. After retiring he was nominated for the assembly and elected by a majority of one hundred and seventy-six over the highest-competing candidate. Thus he became a member of the first California legis- lature. In the house he was appointed chair- man of the committee on commerce and navi- gation and second (though virtually chairman) of the committee on ways and means. He in- troduced and secured the passage of the first funding bill for San Francisco, when warrants were drawing a monthly interest of three per cent; this bill provided for the funding of the debt at ten per cent per annum. Subsequent to his retirement from the legislature Mr. Carr engaged in mining, bought and sold real estate, and in 1852 became a part owner of the Pulgas ranch. The next year he moved to the Pajaro valley, and while living there was elected super- visor of Santa Cruz county. Another purchase comprised a part of the Salsupuedes ranch, on which he engaged in stock-raising and grain- raising.
Since 1859 Mr. Carr has made his home in the Salinas valley, where at one time he was a very extensive property owner, but recently has disposed of a part of his holdings. In ad- dition to his property here, he owns about twenty thousand acres in Modoc county, where he has large herds of horses and cattle. Be- sides his other enterprises, after the Civil war he engaged in staging and contracting for the mail, and from 1866 to 1870 he was the largest star mail contractor on the Pacific coast, his contracts amounting to almost $300,000 per annum. For four years he carried the mail be- tween Oroville, Cal., and Portland, Ore., and
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he carried the first mail between Virginia City, Nev., and Boise City, Idaho.
October 27, 1836, Mr. Carr married Louise A. Brewer, of Nashville, Tenn., who died Novem- ber 4, 1840, leaving two sons. The older of these, Larkin W., of Salinas, has two children, Louise B. and Jesse D., Jr. The second son, John S., a resident of San Francisco, has three children, Sterling D., Jessie R. and Florida. The second marriage of Mr. Carr was sol- emnized May 24, 1843, and united him with Elizabeth Woods, who died May 17, 1864. Two daughters were born of this union, namely: Jessie D., the widow of Henry W. Seale; and Louise A., who died in infancy.
The oncoming of age has brought to Mr. Carr little diminution of his labors. Essentially an active man, he is happiest when his vigorous mind is grasping new plans for commercial ad- vancement or new projects for the benefit of the people. So long as his mind remains virile and his body robust, he allows nothing to lessen his interest in the busy workaday world, and to every whisper of "retirement" he has turned a deaf ear. He established the Salinas City Bank and for many years served as its president. At this writing he is still president of the Bank of Monterey, besides being president of the Monterey District Agricultural Association and a member of the board of freeholders that framed the new charter for Salinas.
All enterprises having for their object the good of his city and county find in Mr. Carr an advocate and friend, ready to give substantial aid. Generosity has been one of his notable traits. No worthy object of charity ever ap- pealed to him in vain. Enterprises of a public character have found him a donor to the full extent of his ability, and included among these contributions were $5,000 to the Odd Fellows for a public library in Salinas and $5,600 to the South Methodist College at Santa Rosa. Many a boy and girl have been aided by him in their struggles to secure an education, and in a quiet, unostentatious manner he has been a lifelong helper of the poor and unfortunate.
Though never a seeker of office for himself, Mr. Carr has always been ready to aid his friends in their candidacies, and during his ear-
lier life he was one of the leading Democrats of California. By reason of his acquaintance with every administration at Washington from Presi- dent Taylor down, his support was sought by those who desired office and those who were interested in securing the passage of important bills. A successful business man, a genial com- panion and a public-spirited citizen, he is round- ing out a long and useful life, and is enjoying the confidence which his integrity and his hon- orable character merit.
JOHN G. JOY.
It may be that the desire to maintain the tra- ditions and excellencies of an enviable ancestry has influenced the life and work of John G. Joy, the present postmaster of Salinas, for his family were represented among the voyagers of that historic craft, the Mayflower, and later be- came identified with the growth of New Eng- land. At any rate, it is demonstrated that the courageous allegiance of his forefathers to the cause of the colonists under the leadership of Washington during the Revolutionary war, found an echo in his heart when a like oppor- tunity came his way in 1861, for no more loyal soldier shouldered a musket or more dearly won the right to a place on the roll call of the nation's heroes.
The early life of Mr. Joy was spent near Ban- gor, Me., where he was born in 1843. a son of John C. and Pauline (Robinson) Joy. The father, who was a farmer during his mature years, died when his son was young, but the mother is still living, and has reached beyond the allotted time to ninety-seven years. John G. Joy was educated in the public schools, and at an academy, his school days terminating with his enlistment in the war when seventeen years of age. As a member of Company E, Second Maine Regiment, commanded by Captain Emer- son, Colonel Jameson and Colonel Roberts, he participated in nearly all of the battles engaged in by the army of the Potomac, his first vivid experience being at the first Bull Run. Ile was in the Fifth Army Corps battles, through the Peninsular campaign, at the front in the battles of second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg.
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and Chancellorsville, in all of the battles led by General Grant, and at the Wilderness and Ma- nassas, as well as in the battle which witnessed the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Truly re- markable was the fact that through all the fierce heat of war he was never wounded or laid up in the hospital for physical disability.
With the return of peace Mr. Joy went for a time to Michigan, and in 1867 came to Califor- nia, locating at Santa Clara, where he expe- rienced a long siege of illness. The same year found him in Monterey county, where he rented a portion of the land upon which Salinas is now located, to which was later added more, until he farmed in all about three thousand acres. Dur- ing this time he became interested in politics, and as a stanch Republican filled several local po- sitions of trust. His first vote was cast for Abra- ham Lincoln, and that, too, is a reminder of the grim necessity of war, for he was at the time in the trenches at the battle of Fredericksburg. Sixteen or eighteen years ago he was elected county auditor, and under President's Harri- son's administration was appointed postmaster of Salinas for four years. In 1898 he was ap- pointed to the same office by President MeKin- ley, which position he still holds with satisfac- tion to the community.
In 1883, in Salinas, Mr. Joy married Jane M. Joy, a native of Maine, and who died in 1893, leaving one son, Paul Kennedy, who is attend- ing school. Five years ago Mr. Joy returned to his old home in Maine and married Johanna B. Bubar, a native of Maine. He is fraternally associated with the Royal Arch Masons, and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Re- public. Mr. Joy has to an exceptional degree the confidence of his fellow townsmen, and he is liked and esteemed by all who are fortunate enough to know him.
THOMPSON L. HOLLINGSWORTH.
In the intelligent supervision of his agricul- tural interests in Monterey county Mr. Hol- lingsworth has found sufficient to engage his time and attention during the years of his resi- (lence here. During 1890 he settled upon a
farm near Jolon and this place he has since made his home, meantime acquiring the posses- sion of four hundred acres, of which three hun- dred and twenty are tillable. General farm pur- suits are conducted by this energetic farmer, and at the same time, like most agriculturists of this locality, he carries on a stock-raising busi- ness.
Near Waterford. Loudoun county, Va., Mr. Hollingsworth was born October 16, 1860, and there he was reared upon a farm. At the age of nineteen years he accompanied his brother, Henry D., to West Liberty, lowa, where he worked on a farm during one summer. From there he went to Kansas. Two months later he and his brother crossed the country to Cali- fornia, settling near Stockton early in 1880. After a summer spent on a ranch there he came to Santa Cruz county and secured employment in a lumber camp. Meantime, desiring to com- plete his education, which had been somewhat neglected, he entered the State Normal School at San José in 1881, and by working during the summer months in a sawmill, he managed to defray his expenses while in school. In 1884 he was graduated from the normal school, after which he taught one term of school at Boulder Creek. In 1886 he came to Monterey county and settled in the Jolon valley, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land. On his pre-emption claim he spent one year, but in 1887 moved to a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres which his wife had homesteaded the previous year. From there, in 1890, he moved to his present farm, which is one of the valuable properties of the valley. His marriage took place April 26, 1887, and united him with Miss May E. Perkins, of Jolon, a native of the vicinity of Concord, N. H., and a daughter of Jacob Perkins, who settled in Monterey county in 1885. Born of this mar- riage are two children, E. Claire and Lytle.
In matters pertaining to religion Mr. Hol- lingsworth has always inelined toward the doc- trines of the Society of Friends, in which he has a birthright membership. Politically he supports the men and measures of the Repub- lican party. As a general rule, he has avoided polities and public office, the only exception to
.
etefred Baldwin
1
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this being his service since 1895 as clerk of the board of school trustees, in which capacity he has been interested in the development of the public-school system in his locality.
ALFRED BALDWIN.
The interest which attaches to the biography of California pioneers is not that of curiosity, but is a visible expression of the gratitude which all men feel toward those forerunners of civili- zation in the far west. Not only as a pioneer of the state, but also as one of the earliest resi- dents of Santa Cruz, Mr. Baldwin has a high position among the people of the city and county of Santa Cruz. In the twilight of his busy and eventful life, he can review the past without remorse and look forward to the fu- ture without fear, conscious that his acts have been influenced by principles of justice and in- tegrity.
The life which this narrative outlines began in Renssalaer township, Albany county, N. Y., March 22, 1816, in the home of Sherman S. and Talmadge (Sutherland) Baldwin. The father, who was a native of Newtown, Conn., followed the shoemaker's trade and spent all of his active years in New York state, where he died in the prime of life. In his family there were four children, Mary, Alfred, Hiram and Julia Ann. The older of the sons, Alfred, learned the shoe- maker's trade under his father's oversight. As a boy he read much, eagerly devouring such books as came within his reach, and his interest was particularly keen in works of travel. De- siring to cast his lot among people in a sun- nier climate than his home state could boast, in 1845 he took a steamer from New York to New Orleans, and thence proceeded up the Mis- sissippi to St. Louis, where he met an Ohio party bound for Oregon. With these people he journeyed across the plains to Oregon. Af- ter a year there (during which time he helped to build the first house ever erected in what is now the populous city of Portland), he started southward with R. C. Kirby, making the trip on horseback.
Arriving at Yerba Buena in August, 1846, Mr. Baldwin remained there until 1847, when he
came to Santa Cruz. Instead of remaining here, he returned to San Francisco and enlisted, for sixty days, as a United States recruiting officer under Purser Watmaugh, of the sloop-of-war Portsmouth, who acted as captain of the com- pany. At the expiration of his time he re-en- listed under General Fremont, who with a troop of three hundred and forty men embarked at San Francisco for Los Angeles, but during the voyage met a vessel bearing orders for them to stop at Monterey. Landing there they pro- ceeded southward, Mr. Baldwin serving gal- lantly until the close of his term of enlistment, when he was honorably discharged. He then returned to Santa Cruz, where he secured work at the shoemaker's trade. When gold was dis- covered in the mountains, he abandoned his trade and began mining and prospecting on Feather river. However, the work proved too trying upon his by no means robust constitu- tion and he was forced to abandon the life of a miner. His next employment was as super- intendent of the Larsen ranch (which afterward became Senator Stanford's Vino ranch), receiv- ing $100 per week for the management of the property.
Again coming to Santa Cruz, Mr. Baldwin found that his old associate and friend, Mr. Kirby, had started a tannery in the town. He himself, deciding to locate here permanently, opened a shoe store in the adobe hotel on Mis- sion street where the Sisters' school now stands. After a time he bought a farm that is now owned by L. K. Baldwin (who is not a relative, though bearing the same family name). The property is on Baldwin's creek, which was named in his honor. After some five years he returned to mercantile pursuits, which he con- ducted for a long period, eventually, however, discontinuing the sale of clothing, etc., and con- fining his attention to shoemaking. About 1895 he retired from business cares, to enjoy, in his declining years, the fruits of his former toil; surrounded by every comfort which can enhance the pleasures of living, and ministered to by a devoted family and genial friends. It has always been his desire to contribute to the well being of his home city and its people, and any meas- ure for the public good received his prompt
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support. Among other improvements he built a commodious brick structure adjoining the Pa- cific Ocean House; also his residence at No. 44 Walnut street, which was the first erected on this street. At the time of locating here, the population was small and entirely confined to the upper rise of ground, the present business section of the city being entirely unimproved and unoccupied.
During many years of his life Mr. Baldwin re- mained a bachelor, but in 1866 he formed do- mestic ties, being then united with Miss Fannie W. Willard, who was born in Sterling, Mass., a daughter of Manassah and Sarah (McDuffy) Willard, also natives of the Bay state. The grandfather, Peter Willard, was a direct de- scendant of Major Simon Willard, a man of large wealth, who immigrated to Scituate, Mass., in 1634. The family of which she was a member comprised seven children, namely: George, Joseph, Mary Ann, Caroline, Orissa, Amelia and Fannie. After leaving school she taught for a number of years, proving a success- ful and highly esteemed educator. Three chil- dren were born of her marriage to Mr. Baldwin, but two died in infancy. The only survivor, Caroline Willard Baldwin, was graduated from the University of California with the class of 1892, and later attended Cornell, from which she graduated as Doctor of Science. Later she became the wife of Charles T. Morrison, a lum- ber merchant of San Francisco, and they have a daughter, Frances Elizabeth.
As a boy Mr. Baldwin was reared to a belief in Democratic principles and to these he ad- hiered closely until the Civil war, when, believ- ing the Republican party to be the friend of the Union, he changed his platform and has since been a stanch Republican. From the earliest days of Masonry in California he has been con- nected with this great order, and has exempli- fied in his life its doctrines of brotherly kind- ness and charity. Another fraternal organiza- tion in which he has been interested is the Odd Fellows. On the establishment of the lodge in Santa Cruz he became a charter member, and is now past grand and past chief patriarch. In his citizenship he has set a high type of excellence, his example being well worthy of emulation by
young men of the present generation. His con- nection with Santa Cruz has extended over the entire period of local history from the early set- tlement of the town to the present time, and his voice, directly or indirectly, has been heard on almost every question affecting the administra- tion of local affairs, while his unflinching integ- rity has secured for him the full and complete confidence of all who know him.
HARRY ASHLAND GREENE.
The sterling personal characteristics, accom- panied by unquestioned financial and executive ability, which have placed Harry Ashland Greene among the foremost developers of Monterey, have been correspondingly exemplified in a worthy and enviable ancestry, variously repre- sented among the history makers of the world, and latterly prominent in the realms of com- merce, journalism, art and letters. He was born in San Francisco, January 12, 1852, a son of Hon. William Greene, one of the upbuilders of New Orleans and San Francisco; grandson of the emigrant ancestor, another William, who settled near Quebec, Canada; and great-grand- son of Gen. William Greene, conspicuously en- rolled among the military commanders of Eng- land.
Hon. William Greene was born near Dublin, Ireland, in the dawn of the nineteenth century, and was reared on the paternal homestead near Quebec. When grown to manhood he learned the lithographers' trade in New York City, and a few years later located in New Orleans, where he established, and became the head of a large lithographic firm, and where he made his home for many years. In time he became the owner of a line of vessels plying between New York and New Orleans, and while thus engaged in the merchant marine business accumulated quite a fortune. Soon after his marriage he built a stanch sea faring craft (named by his wife the "William and Elizabeth," these being their Christian names), which was loaded with a hun- dred thousand dollar cargo and sent to sea un- der command of a trusted captain and his wife, long in the employ of Mr. Greene, its destina- tion being around the Horn to San Francisco.
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This fortune in merchandise once upon the high seas, Mr. Greene started for San Francisco on his wedding journey, an additional incentive be- ing the reception of the vessel when it should reach the Pacific port. At San Francisco he built a wharf and warehouse for unloading and storing his goods, and patiently awaited the coming of the faithful captain and his charge. When many days overdue a dawning suspicion of disaster was justified by subsequent events, and as far as the future has left the mystery unrevealed it is apparent that the ship was destined for a watery grave.
Notwithstanding this severe crippling of his fortunes, Mr. Greene continued to live in San Francisco, and readily recognized the oppor- tunities for investment, and the exercise of sound business judgment, among the somewhat chaotic conditions then existing. In his under- takings for the upbuilding of the city he be- came associated with such men as Lick and Geary, and, becoming interested in politics, he was made a member of the first board of alder- men of the town and chosen as their first presi- dent. Van Ness avenue, Geary and Greene streets, are landmark names transferred to city thoroughfares in honor of the unrivaled services of this original board of city fathers. Mr. Greene became the owner of valuable city prop- erties, and from time to time subdivided va- rious tracts of land into city additions. An hon- ored name, extensive holdings, and the example of a well directed, upright life, was the heritage left his descendants at the time of his death, August 1, 1870. He married Anne Elizabeth Fisk, a native of Rhode Island, and daughter of Francis Melbourne Fisk, a wealthy citizen of New Orleans, and the intimate friend of Jeffer- son Davis, the hero of the Confederacy, with whom he was imprisoned at Fortress Monroe, Va. The Fisk family came first from England to America, and were among the very earliest settlers on American soil. The paternal grand- father was born in Rhode Island. Mrs. Greene (Anne Elizabeth Colton Fisk) became the mother of five children, three of whom are liv- ing. Of these, Clay Meredith Greene, the play- wright, of New York, was the first white boy born in San Francisco. The next in order of
birth is Harry Ashland, while the youngest liv- ing is Francis Melbourne Greene, a dramatic and art critic, who spends much of his time in Europe as a lecturer before well-known educa- tional institutions. The entire family are of a decidedly literary turn of mind, and have made a profound study of the exponents of greatness that have adorned the centuries.
In his youth Harry Ashland Greene was fa- vored with exceptional educational advantages, luis preliminary training being at the hands of private tutors and in the public schools. He also attended the City College and Santa Clara College, and in 1866 took a course of study at the Military Institute at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In 1870 he went to Paris to further increase his knowledge, but owing to the unsettled condi- tion of the country which terminated with the battle of Sedan and the ceding of Alsace-Lor- raine to the Germans, he changed his plans, and, after a visit to England, returned to Amer- ica. After a course at the Pacific Business Col- lege in San Francisco, he engaged in mining in Placer county, and gained a thorough knowl- edge of the business, and upon returning to San Francisco became identified in a clerical capac- ity with the grain and produce firm of George Babcock & Co. After a few months he became a broker on the stock exchange, and operated on the board until 1889. With his brother, Clay M. Greene, he formed the stock brokerage firm of Greene & Co., in 1874, but a few months later the brother withdrew to follow his profession, and, owing to illness, Mr. Greene closed out his time-honored business in 1890, leaving a record as the oldest commission stock broker at the time who had not gone under owing to finan- cial disaster.
In 1886 Mr. Greene built his beautiful sum- mer home in Monterey, to which he repaired as a surcease from strenuous business activity. tlic outcome of which was a vital interest in all that pertained to the upbuilding of this delightful town. Scarce a public enterprise instituted within the last ten years but has benefited by his sound judgment and forethought, his shrewd business sagacity, and wide-awake methods. He is one of the owners of the new Monterey tract, fast developing into one of the finest resi-
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dence parts of the city, and from time to time valuable bits of city property have passed through his hands. In the early days of his residence here he organized the Monterey & Fresno Railroad, and he is now vice-president of the Monterey & Pacific Grove Street Railroad. He is secretary, treasurer and owner of the elec- tric light plant, and was a heavy stockholder in the Bank of Monterey, of which he was the orig- inator and the first cashier, but resigned imme- diately after his appointment. The old Capitol Club, for so many years the pride of Monterey, owes its organization to his interest, and he served as secretary of the same from its begin- ning until his resignation in August of 1901. He is also one of the organizers of the Monterey Progressive Association, and at present man- ager, and has, owing to his tact and general abil- ity, been chosen to represent lis adopted city on many important occasions. He was presi- dent of the Monterey commission at the Mid- winter Fair in San Francisco, and was director- general of the California Jubilee held in Monterey in 1896. As a native son of the Golden West he has distinguished himself by loyalty to its traditions and landmarks, and but for his vigorous stand for its preservation, Col- ton Hall, California's first capitol, had been long ago demolished to make room for a public school. So keenly did Mr. Greene appreciate the ignominy offered one of the interesting buildings of the state, that he raised, by popu- lar subscription, sufficient money to purchase a larger and more desirable school site. This and kindred evidences of largeness of purpose and zeal in well doing have won him the personal regard of all who rejoice in Monterey's many claims to consideration, and of those also who appreciate the worth of unquestioned integrity and honorable living. The work, "Historic Monterey and Surroundings," says of Mr. Greene that he "has the honor of being the most enterprising and public-spirited citizen in this vicinity. With the Monterey & Fresno Railway project, the Bank of Monterey, the Pacific Grove Street Railway Company, the Electric Light Company, and other enterprises, he has been prominently identified from their incip- iency."
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