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 61
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In Nebraska Mr. Phillips married Lucy E. Swayne, a native of New York, and daughter of W. M. Swayne, a native of England, and a builder by occupation. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have one child, Gladys, who is living at home. Mr. Phillips is a Republican in political affilia- tion, but has never been before the public as an aspirant for office. He is one of the enterprising citizens of the town, and his success is a matter of pride to his many friends and associates
THOMAS E. PHILLIPS.
The name of Phillips is associated with the earliest growth of King City, and especially with the pioneer livery business here and the erec- tion of the first barn in the place. It is also rec- ognized that the Phillips boys are worthy suc- cessors of their capable and energetic father, being sober, industrious, and exceedingly pop- ular with their patrons and friends. Thomas E. Phillips was born in Brazil, Clay county, Ind., in 1874. His father, John Phillips, one of the best known of the upbuilders of King City, was born in Wales, and came to America with his parents when four years of age. The family settled in Ohio, and in the course of time John tendered his services in the Civil war, as a mem- ber of Company A, One Hundred and Fifth Ohio Infantry, under Capt. Daniel B. Stam- baugh. He enlisted August 5, 1862, and was honorably discharged June 3. 1865, near Wash- ington, D. C., having served for nearly three years. While living in the east he engaged in coal mining, after the war settled in Clay county, Ind., where he married Sarah Ann McDonald, and reared a family of four children, the sons, Thomas and John, now in King City, being the only survivors.
The Phillips family came to California in 1874, and settled at Marysville, then went to Plymouth, Amador county, where they lived until they came to King City in 1886. While living at Marysville and Plymouth, the elder Phillips engaged in gold mining with considera- ble success, and at King City opened the livery business of which his sons are now making such
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a success, and of which they took possession after his death, June 22, 1899. He was a Re- publican in politics, as are his sons, and father and sons were associated with the Lodge No. 158, I. O. O. F., of King City. John Phillips was entitled to vast credit for the success which rewarded his effort to make a name and place for himself in the west, and only the strictest application to business and duty could have spanned the distance traveled between the time when he arrived in King City with $500 in his pocket and the time of his death, when he was the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land, several town lots, and $3,000 in money. For several terms he was a school trustee of his adopted city, and in other ways was identified with the making of improvements and the gen- eral upbuilding. His wife, who died at Plym- outh, Amador county, Cal., October 6, 1883, was of Scotch descent, and was formerly Sarah Ann McDonald.
Since their father's death, the Phillips boys have built a fine barn for their livery business, and have a suitable collection of rigs and good horses. Originally the enterprise was started to accommodate the stage route and travelers through the country, and to a certain extent a large share of patronage comes from these di- rections. The sons have rented out their land, and devote all of their time to the livery. Thomas Phillips has been prominent in Repub- lican affairs, has been constable for two years, and is now district deputy under Sheriff Keif. He is a member of the Foresters of America. November 5. 1901, he married Marian Hollen- beck, of King City, and they have a son, Law- rence, born September 20, 1902.
JAMES ALBERT PELL.
In the spring of 1880 the two families then residing in Pacific Grove were surprised by the appearance in their quiet midst of a newcomer, who was none other than James Albert Pell, the present funeral director and justice of the peace. The stranger happened to be adaptive, and was not at all daunted by the absence of encouraging prospects. It was not long before he was driving the stage from Pacific Grove to
Monterey, and later met the trains for J. O. Johnson for about five years. Afterward he was employed by the Pacific Improvement Company in the superintendent's office and El Carmelo Hotel about three years. The meat market busi- ness engaged his attention for a time, and he eventually launched out into the business of funeral director and undertaker, at a still later day adding furniture to his undertaking stock. In the intervening years he has managed to se- cutre a comfortable profit from these combined activities, and is now among the best known of the pioneers of the town.
A native of Canada, near the Vermont line, Mr. Pell was born September 13, 1852, a son of James G. Pell, also a native of Canada, and a farmer by occupation. Mr. Pell is still living in his native land, and is at present about ninety years of age. The family was first represented in America by the paternal grandfather of James Albert Pell, who was none other than Major George Pell. The latter immigrated to the United States with his brother, William, who was captain in the army, and served in the war of 1812; he lived to be one hundred and five years old. James G. Pell married Mary E. Kemp, a native of Vermont, and who died while young in Canada, leaving three children, of whom George A. was the twin of James Albert, and Mary E. is the wife of Herbert E. Titamore, a rancher of Monterey county, who is men- tioned at length in another part of this work.
When sixteen years of age, James Albert Pell went to Massachusetts and drove a stage over the Hoosac mountains for a Boston firm for two years, and then returned to the home farm, where he lived until removing to California in the spring of 1878. On the coast he settled at Salinas, Monterey county, and worked at any- thing that he could find to do, and in the spring of 1880 came to Pacific Grove, as heretofore stated. \ stanch Republican, he has been quite active at times for his friends, and his own fit- ness for office has found an outlet as justice of the peace, a position maintained for a term of four years, and to which he was again elected November 4. 1902, for four years more. Fra- ternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent Protec-
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tive Order of Elks, and the Foresters. Mr. Pell has the distinct advantage of being the only undertaker in the town, and he also has the advantage of keeping abreast of the times as to the improvements and innovations in his chosen art of embalming and caring for the dead. He owns a good horse, and has every reason to congratulate himself upon his choice of location and his deserved popularity with the classes of society comprising the community of Pacific Grove. His family live in a pleasant and cozy home in the town, which is presided over by Mrs. Pell, who was formerly Adel Affron, a native of New York state, and whom he married in 1890. Four children are the result of this union: Grace Affron, Philip Sheridan, Charles Gibbons and James A., Jr.
ALEXANDER PATERSON.
The influences which tended to mold the character of Mr. Paterson in his youth were such as clustered around the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. He was born in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, in 1848. He served an apprenticeship of five years to the carpenter's trade. With a firm faith in the opportunities offered by the United States, in 1870 he crossed the ocean and settled in Boston, Mass., where he secured work as a builder. In 1875 he came to Cali- fornia, and for a few months was employed on a safe deposit building in San Francisco. His first association with San Luis Obispo county, where he now lives, was in October, 1875, when he began to work in the quicksilver mine at Pine mountain, near Cambria. Eighteen months were spent in that employment. In January. 1877, he purchased a squatter's claim on San Simeon creek, and at once entered upon the life of a rancher, making a specialty of stock-raising. The ranch of eleven hundred acres which he still owns has been improved under his constant su- pervision and painstaking industry. Needed buildings have been erected, fences have been built, and the tract has been transformed from a raw waste of land to an improved ranch. The house standing on the farm was erected by Mr. Paterson and proves his skill as a carpenter.
In order that his children might have desira-
ble educational advantages, in 1890 Mr. Pater- son moved to Cambria, where he now makes his home. In a shop which he built he carries on a general business as as undertaker and house repairer, and dairy supplies, and he also does a small amount of building in the town. Until the burning down of the Home and Cambria creameries he remained a stockholder in both. While living in town and conducting a business here, he does not neglect his ranch but gives considerable time to its oversight and still keeps a number of head of stock on the land.
As president of the Cambria Republican Club, Mr. Paterson is at the head of an organization that accomplishes much for the promotion of Republican principles in the locality. He is also a member of the county central committee, and in September, 1900, he was a delegate to the congressional convention at Santa Barbara. Fra- ternally he is master of San Simeon Lodge No. 196, F. & A. M., and also a member of the state grand lodge. In 1879 he was united in marriage with Miss Emma, daughter of F. P. Gross, of Cambria. They are the parents of four children, namely: Mary 1., Emma Jane, Alexander F. and Ormond. There is no principle of which MIr. Paterson is a firmer advocate than the impor- tance of a high standard of education. His service as a school trustee has given him an opportunity to do much for the improving of the schools. In the organization of the Union high school at Cambria he was an active factor. It is his ambition to give his children excellent advantages. His older daughter is a graduate of the San Jose Normal School and is 110w teaching school, while the second daughter, who is a graduate of the Santa Clara high school, is in her second year at the State University at Berkeley.
GEORGE W. PARSONS.
Typical of all that is best in western enterprise is the career of George W. Parsons, one of the most extensive grain dealers in this part of Cali- fornia, and a resident of Templeton since 1899. There are probably few men on the coast more thoroughly conversant with all depart- ments of the grain business, or who appreciate
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to a greater extent the admirable possibilities in this direction available to residents this side of the Rockies. A native of Coles county, Ill., Mr. Parsons was born December 11, 1860, a son of William and Jane J. (Kshow) Parsons, na- tives respectively of Iowa and Ohio.
William Parsons removed to Illinois when a young man, and October 7, 1867, started out over the plains in a train of one hundred and ten wagons, and comprising four hundred people. He himself had three wagons, four horses and four yoke of cattle, and consumed in the jour- ney seven months. This particular band of gold seekers had a great deal of trouble with the Indians, and their trip was interspersed with in- cidents interesting or dangerous, as the case might be. Mr. Parsons settled in Clackamas county, Ore., and bought one hundred and sixty aeres of land, upon which he lived and to a mod- erate extent prospered for twenty-five years. The three sons and two daughters born to Mr. and Mrs. Parsons were reared on the Oregon farm, and all are now living, George W. being the second youngest. Thomas J. is resident manager of the Del Monte Milling Company at San Francisco, while L. H. is a farmer in the state of Washington.
Until his twenty-fifth year Mr. Parsons lived in Oregon with his father, and then engaged in the logging, saw mill and general lumber business for about seven years. Afterward he had charge of a gang of men on the Northern Pacific Railroad, employed to do repair work, and in 1895 removed to San Francisco and engaged in the milling business for the Del Monte Milling Company. He was general miller in their establishment for six years, and in 1899 came to Templeton, which has since been his home, and where he is still manager for the Del Monte Milling Company's branch affairs. He buys and sells enormous quantities of grain for the company, and on his own responsibility han- (les all kinds of fire and life insurance. During 1901 he bought four thousand eight hundred tons of wheat, and during 1902 he will buy about three thousand tons.
While in Oregon, Mr. Parsons was united in marriage with Nettie Brand, a native of Oregon, and daughter of Matthew Brand, a native of
Dundee, Scotland. Mr. Brand is a blacksmith by trade who came to the United States when a young man, and homesteaded a ranch near Portland, Ore., on the Columbia river, about 1852. He subsequently returned to his native Scotland, and has not been in America for a number of years. Four interesting children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Parsons: George L., Ora L., Florence and Ethel. Mr. Parsons owns a fine residence in the town, and has about eight acres under prunes. He is quite active in Democratic politics, and is fraternally con- neeted with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows.
W. E. PARKER.
The combined responsibilities of agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Company, and man- ager of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Monterey are ably discharged by Mr. Parker, who is a native son of California, and was born in Dutch Flat, Placer county, January 17, 1865. When eleven years of age, in 1876, he removed with his parents to a ranch in the Salinas val- ley, Monterey county, after which he completed his education in the public schools at Castro- ville. At the age of sixteen he entered the employ of Dr. Parker, a druggist in the latter town, and was thus employed until appointed agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Company in 1883, at the same time receiving the appoint- ment of assistant postmaster of the town. In 1886 he was sent to Houston, Tex., in the inter- ests of the Wells-Fargo Company, and while in the southern state was located at different points for a year. He then came back to California and located at Monterey, as assistant to the general agent of the express company, and for the past few years has held the position of gen- eral agent.
In November, 1900. Mr. Parker was made agent and manager of the Western Union Tele- graph office at Monterey, and during all these years has most creditably acquitted himself in the discharge of his important duties. Mrs. Parker was formerly Clara D. Wright, who was born in Illinois, and of this union there are three sons, Ralph, Lee Allen and Will H. Mr. Parker
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is a stanch deunder of Republican interests, and has been very active for his party, for several years hokling the office of city clerk. Frater- nally he is identified with the Lodge No. 217, F. & A. M., and with the Independent Order of Foresters. He has been chief of the Monterey fire department since its organization in 1889, at the time of the incorporation of the town. He is possessed of many fine personal attributes, including tact and geniality, and numbers among his friends and associates many of the most desirable people in the locality in which he lives.
CHRISTIAN PALMTAG.
Occupying a prominent position among the residents of Watsonville was Christian Palmtag, who for many years and until his death prose- cuted business pursuits in this part of the state. He was born in Baden, Germany, a son of Fred- erick and Christiana Palmtag, and received a fair education in the schools of his native land. Like most German boys, he was taken out of school at fourteen years of age in order to learn a trade, the occupation in which he was apprenticed being that of a silk dyer. In 1854 he crossed the ocean to the United States, and for a time was employed in Camden, N. J., later going to Philadelphia. During his residence in the latter city he married Fredericka Gerber. who was born in Baden and had been his school- mate in childhood days. She was a daughter of George and Marie Gerber, residents of that old German city.
After his marriage Mr. Palmtag removed to Ohio and entered into the grocery business. Ilowever, the most diligent efforts only secured for him the barest livelihood, and, discontented with prospects there, in 1862 he sought the broader opportunities of California. After cross- ing the plains, he engaged in mining on Dutch Flats, Little York river, being interested with his brother Fred. Later he began to farm in the Sacramento valley, and then came to Watson ville, where in 1868 he bought the George Adams brewery. At that time the plant was small and the business not upon a substantial basis. Under his supervision the plant was en-
larged to a capacity of sixteen barrels, and at the same time he established a demand for his products, his sales extending to Salinas, Hol- lister and Santa Cruz. The Pajaro Valley brew- ery, of which he continued to be proprietor until his death, was placed upon a substantial basis financially and brought to him a gratifying rev- enue. While still in the prime of life, at forty- eight years, he died in 1881, his death occurring. in the handsome residence which he had erected and which is now occupied by his widow. Since his death the brewery has been conducted by his son, William, who has enlarged the plant to a capacity of thirty barrels.
In the family of Christian Palmtag there were the following sons and daughters: William, who married Fronia Rowe and by that union had five children, Christie (deceased), Elmer, Clif- ford, Chester and Harold (the latter twins); Fred, who died at thirty-one years of age, leav- ing his wife, Mrs. Sadie (Rhodhouse) Palmtag, and one child, Fredericka; Kittie (deceased): Lena (deceased): Charles, assistant cashier of the Pajaro Valley Bank, and who married Grace Lee, by whom he has three children, Alvin L., Lloyd and Raymond; and Albert, who married Katie Sherer and has a daughter, Louise. Dur- ing his earlier life Mr. Palmtag was actively associated with the Masons and took a decp interest in the work of the order. While he was averse to filling public positions and pre- ferred to devote himself exclusively to business matters, he consented at one time to fill the office of town trustee. At all times he gave his influence to measures he believed to be for the benefit of the city and valley where he made his home.
CHARLES HENRY REED.
The sixth son of Irvin Reed, born at Zanes- ville. Ohio, in 1810, and his wife, Mary Mif- flin Evens, born near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1813. Charles Henry Reed was born at Rich- mond. Ind., September 12, 1848, and died at San Luis Obispo, Cal., June 17, 1901. In many respects Mr. Reed was the architect of his own fortune. In 1862, during the Civil war. when men were enlisting in the army, he became
COMO Dodge
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imbued with the spirit of the times and went to Indianapolis to enlist there because the recruit- ing officer in Richmond declined to take him. He met with no better success in Indianapolis, and after one night in a box car he was glad to return to the parental farm. He attended the public and private schools in Richmond, then went to Earlham College, in the vicinity, and later was a student of the University of Michi- gan at Ann Arbor.
At the age of twenty-one Mr. Reed began work as a clerk in his father's hardware and im- plement store in Richmond. He soon became a partner and continued in the business for several years. Then for a couple of years he was a grain buyer. In 1882 he moved to San Luis Obispo, Cal., and established the vehicle, hard- ware and implement firm of C. H. Reed & Co. The business was a success from the start and he retained the management of it until his death. The next year he opened a branch store at San Miguel, a near-by town, but before the business got fairly started this store and its con- tents were destroyed by fire. December 5, 1884, he married Mary Rhoda Snell. Of this union there were two children. Irvin and Rhoda Ra- mona. Being interested in agriculture, like his father before him, he bought a small farm at the edge of town, and there he made his home until he died. Although he continued to man- age his business, he found time to modernize the house that was built in 1810, to set out an orchard of orange and lemon trees and to irri- gate it with water from a fine spring on his mountain side. After leaving. the orchard, the water nourished a beautiful flower garden in the front of his house and fed a fountain there be- fore disappearing in a ravine a little further on. Next he bought a large piece of virgin land and when his plans for planting it were completed he organized the Nipoma Orchard and Packing Company, and as the manager of this company he converted a desert waste into a veritable gar- den. His example has been followed by the many prosperous fruit growers now in San Luis Obispo county.
Before leaving his native city, Mr. Reed joined a Masonic lodge, and he was the leading spirit in organizing a lodge of Knights Templar in
the town of his adoption. Amidst his many business cares he found time to take an active interest in politics. He was a Republican, and as chairman of the county central committee he was instrumental in winning and keeping his county in the Republican fold, which no one before him had been able to do. As a member of the city council of San Luis Obispo he dis- charged his duties with such fairness to all that he gained the respect of his political opponents. He was a man of liberal views and large Lusi- ness capacity, generous to a fault, and the honor which pervaded his every walk of life was ac- centuated by care and devotion to his family. To know him was to admire him and be his friend
WILLIAM R. DODGE.
The various enterprises which at different times have engaged the attention of Mr. Dodge have proved less attractive to him than the oc- cupation of a rancher, which he now follows. Though born and reared in a city, and more familiar with metropolitan customs than rural pursuits, since he came to Monterey county and took up farm work he has proved that the selec- tion of a calling was not a mistake. The raising of cereals adapted to his locality receive due attention from him, and he has made of agricul- ture a science, hence is meeting with the suc- cess his intelligent efforts deserve.
In San Francisco, where he was born June 12, 1864. Mr. Dodge received such advantages as the public schools afforded. The education there obtained was supplemented by a course of study in Santa Clara College. His com- mercial education was gained in McClure's Col- lege at Oakland. On the completion of his studies he secured employment as a bookkeeper, which he followed for a time. With the means thus secured he opened a grocery business in Oakland, where he remained for two years. However, he was not entirely satisfied with the outlook and looked around him for a more fa- vorable opening. Deciding that agriculture presented more attractions than business pur- suits, in 1888 he came to the Jolon valley, where he has since engaged in general farming. He
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is the owner of six hundred acres of land, a part of which is under cultivation and adapted to the raising of products for which the soil is suited. So closely has he given his thought and care to ranching that he has not partici- pated in public affairs to any extent, aside from voting the Republican ticket and supporting the candidates of that party. In fraternal rela- tions he is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
P. K. WATTERS, M. D.
The Watsonville Sanatorium, one of the best equipped institutions of the kind in Santa Cruz county, represents the advanced thought and splendid professional research of its founder and present proprietor, Dr. P. K. Watters. The success of Dr. Watters is rooted in an inquiring mind and in judgment capable of forming its own conclusions, regardless of established prec- edents. These admirable characteristics became apparent at a very early age, and materially in- fluenced the general education which preceded liis professional acquirements. He was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, in 1854, and, after graduating at the academy of that place, entered the medical department of the Iowa State Uni- versity, from which he was graduated in 1879.
The first general practice of Dr. Watters was conducted in St. Paul, Neb., where he worked up a large patronage, and was accorded the appreciation due so earnest and competent a practitioner. As time went on the limitations of the place became more and more apparent, so, in search of broader fields, he came west to Oregon, and settled in Eugene, Lane county, in 1888. Although successful during the five years of his residence in the northwest, he was tempted further south by the climatic and other advan- tages, and upon removing to Watsonville began a general medical and surgical practice. Keenly alive to the best interests of any community in which he lived, he was not slow to realize the handicap to doctors and patients owing to the absence of an institution where scientific care could be obtained and operations performed under favorable circumstances. Determining to provide for this necessity, he purchased a build-
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