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 65
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enjoy themselves, then start out with a will and determination to succeed. As the days went by, the two, working side by side and harmoni- ously, accumulated a snug competence, and at the same time gained and retained the confi- dence of associates.
In company with M. J. Fontana, the Demar- tini family arrived in Watsonville July 27, 1878. The first venture in which Mr. Demartini was interested was the starting of a grocery where the Foresters' building now stands. From the first his energy and wise judgment in buying his stock were realized in an increasing trade, and soon he was justified in enlarging the business into a general store. In 1884 he disposed of the business and bought from Mr. Pierson a ranch in Monterey county, just across the Pajaro river. This he planted to apples, which now form a fine orchard. In 1888 he bought two lots on Maple street, one of the best residence avenues in the town, and here he built a commodious house, besides acquiring other property of value. In all of his labors he had the cheerful co-opera- tion of his wife and not a little of his success was due to her counsel and business ability. In the . home at Watsonville which he had erected and which is still occupied by the family, his earthly life came to an end May 19. 1897. Though he was still in middle life at the time of his demise, he had attained a success not always achieved by men many years his senior. For twenty years he was actively associated with the lodge of Odd Fellows, in which he served as past grand. At the time of his death he held office as chief of the Watsonville fire department. Of his six children George and Paul died when young. Joseph has been employed since 1895 as bookkeeper for the Loma Prieta Lumber Company at Opel. The daughters, Lottie, Adeline and Amelia Estella, reside with their mother.
MRS. E. DAVIS.
That the monopoly or even the greater part of the credit for the pioneer development of California is due the male part of the population has never been conceded by even the most prej- udiced. That women were the abiding inspira- tion of those uprooted from their original sur-
& L Davis
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roundings, and practically cast adrift amid new and untried conditions, is a glory which must forever overshadow anything that man may have accomplished. Among these noble and self- sacrificing women the name of Mrs. E. Davis is entitled to more than passing mention, and now, in the evening of her life, her friends and all who are familiar with her career, insist that she is entitled to unstinted praise and all possi- ble honor.
A native of Mississippi, Mrs. Davis was born February 25, 1830, and is a daughter of a hat manufacturer by the name of Sumner, who even- tually removed from his native state of Ken- tucky to Mississippi, where he married and be- came a planter on a large scale. In Crawford county, Ark., he engaged in the same occupa- tion, and, being an ambitious man, and full of confidence in the west, he resolved to cross the plains with his family, an undertaking of magni- tude in those days, and as yet unheard of to any extent. In fact, the family are supposed to be the first to thus reach Oregon by way of the overland trail with oxen and horses, and their courage is something which inspired the admira- tion of people who in no wise appreciate the ex- tent of the dangers involved. Six months was the time required to make this memorable trip, and during its progress one man was acci- dentally killed, and was buried at Independence Rock.
After a winter in Oregon City, the travelers re- moved to Sacramento county, Cal., and the same year, 1843, Miss Sumner married George Davis, the bride being at the time just past thirteen years old. Mr. Davis was a native of New York City, and crossed the plains as a trapper in 1841, locating in Montana, where he engaged in an extensive trade with the Indians, dealing prin- cipally in buffalo hides and deer skins. This wedding bears the distinction of being the first marriage between white people ever consum- mated in the state of California. Mr. Davis bought property in Oregon City and there ran a bakery, which trade he had learned in the cast, and the young couple continued to live there for three years. In 1849 they settled in Sacramento for a short time, and then removed near Stockton, Cal., where they owned a ranch,
in connection with which was maintained an inn, feed and horse stables, a combination which proved very successful. The town was located half way between Stockton and Sacramento, and became the halting place for the hundreds of miners who infested those parts, and who inva- riably put up at the shelter provided by these far-sighted dispensers of public hospitality.
In 1854 Mr. and Mrs. Davis removed to a farm four miles from the city of Santa Cruz, in Santa Cruz county, and eight years later, in 1862, located on a ranch of one hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity of San Miguel. This ranch was utilized for an extensive stock and sheep raising enterprise, which, owing to the dry seasons of 1865-6, proved a most disastrous failure. They then removed even closer to San Miguel and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres, subsequently proved up on the same, and made that their home for twenty-eight years. Here Mr. Davis died in 1891, at the age of sev- enty-five years. Mrs. Davis still owns eighty acres of the San Miguel ranch, which is devoted for the most part to the cultivation of wheat. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, David is living at home: Eliza, the wife of N. Azbell, lives in the Indian valley; Joseph lives on his mother's farm; Buchanan is a farmer in this count}; May is now the wife of R. B. Still; Annie is the wife of R. G. Flint, of San Miguel; Charles lives in San Miguel; and Elecay is liv- ing at home.
GEORGE L. DAVIS.
Prominent among the ranchers to whom the Salinas district has offered exceptional oppor- tunities is George L. Davis, the owner of a fine ranch of three hundred acres two and a half miles southwest of Salinas. He comes of a family established in this country by the pater- nal grandfather, Thaddeus, who was born in Ire- land and was a government contractor and mill man in both his native and adopted countries. After locating in Canada he became an officer in the government military service, and his promising and useful life was cut short in middle age.
Thaddeus Davis, the father of George L., was
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born in New York state in 1811, and went to Canada when a young man. In 1850 he started across the plains and worked in the mines for about three years, achieving fair results. He then located on a ranch in Santa Clara county and engaged in the stock business for a short time, after which he bought a small place at what is now Riverside (then called Hilltown). where his death occurred in 1887. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and quite active therein. He married Nancy Ann Hagar, a native of Canada, and of English parentage, and who died at the home of her son, George L., in 1900, at the age of seventy- nine years, her birth having occurred in 1821. Her grandfather lived to be one hundred years old, and her grandmother died in California at the age of eighty-six. Mrs. Davis, who was an active member of the Baptist Church, was the mother of six children, three of whom died young, George L. being the oldest of those living. A. Augusta is a widow living in San Mateo county, Cal., and H. L. is a prominent rancher of the Salinas district, and mentioned at length in another part of this work.
George L. Davis was born on Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada. April 16, 1838, and was four- teen years of age when he came to California. His first position here was as a clerk in a store for a year, after which he ran a ferry across the river from Hilltown for several years. When twenty years of age he engaged in the dairy business with his brother, H. L., and about 1868 bought a part of the Chimesal ranch of five hundred acres, where he carried on extensive dairy enterprises. In 1880 he purchased his present ranch of three hundred acres, advan- tageously located in the Salinas valley, and at the present time fitted with all modern machin- ery and labor saving devices. He has since devoted his ranch to general farming and stock raising. and has settled down to be a notable and enterprising acquisition to the substantial and reliable community of Salinas.
In July, 1901, Mr. Davis was united in mar- riage with Ernestine Titus, daughter of Benja- min Titus. They have one child, George Thomas, born June 2, 1902. Mr. Davis is a Republican in national politics, but in local af-
fairs votes always for the best man. He was postmaster of Hilltown for several years, and was postmaster of Salinas before there was any recognized town of that name. He has been quite active in a political way for his friends, but has never desired official recognition for him- self. Since 1876 he has been a member of the Odd Fellows.
A. MONTEITH.
That the successful hotel man is born and not made is demonstrated in the career of A. Mon- teith, owner and proprietor of the Alexander Hotel in Paso Robles, and one of the hustling business men of the place. Born in Scotland, March 7, 1857, he is a son of a Scot of Perth- shire, who died when his son was six years of age, and to whom and his wife were born three other sons, John. James and Robert. Educated in the public schools of his native land, Mr. Monteith came to America in 1863, accompanied by an aunt who lived in New York. At the age of twenty-one years he went to the state of Ne- vada, and for a time worked on a Nevada ranch. In 1879 he came to California and settled in Nevada county, where he engaged in teaming and freighting from Nevada City to near-by towns. His freighting outfit was disposed of in 1800 in favor of a stage line running from Nevada City to Graniteville, a distance of thirty- two miles, and during the nine years as owner of this line he had many unique experiences while transporting the mails for Uncle Sam. Upon coming to Paso Robles, his brother Rob- ert and himself bought the Alexander Hotel. which property consists of seventy-five feet frontage and is two stories in height. The hotel has been greatly improved and modernized under the present management, and is a paying and popular investment.
In Marysville, Cal., Mr. Monteith married Emily Amberg, a native of Nevada county, Cal .. and of this union there have been born three children, Eva, Minerva and Emily. Mr. Mon- teith is interested in many public enterprises in the city, and is especially enthusiastic in his effort to improve the water system of the town. .A stanch Republican, he has been prominent
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in promoting the interests of his party, and in April, 1902, was appointed to fill an unexpired term as trustee. Fraternally he is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and socially he is connected with the best people in the city.
FRANCIS DOUD.
An Irish-American embodying the wit of his own, with the enterprise and determination of liis adopted country; a hero of the Indian and Mexican wars, and the oldest soldier on the coast who served from '39 to '47; a rugged pio- neer of '49; a business man whose wise invest- ments and capacity for industry have resulted in his possession of many ranches, stocked with the best cattle in the west; and an upbuilder and stockholder of many of the most important en- terprises in Monterey, such is the record of Francis Doud.
A native of Ireland, Mr. Doud was born Jan- tiary 20, 1820, and came to the United States in 1838, when eighteen years of age. The follow- ing year he enlisted in Company A, Second United States Infantry, and saw service in Flor- ida for two years, under General Riley, during the Indian campaign. He was subsequently promoted to sergeant of Company A, and sta- tioned at Fort Niagara, N. Y., until 1846, during which year he accompanied his regiment to Mexico under Generals Scott and Taylor, and operated on the Vera Cruz and Monterey lines as sergeant and color sergeant. In Mexico he was wounded three times, and at Cerro Gordo, where he distinguished himself for bravery which won him a medal made from Mexican guns, he was discharged for disability in 1848, and stationed at Porota, Mexico, until convalescent. The following year he married, in New York City, Miss Kenna, who died in Monterey in 1896, just after celebrating her golden wedding. Directly after his marriage, Mr. Doud and his wife boarded a ship. Orpheus, under command of Captain Filmore, and bound for San Francisco, which city they reached July 6, 1849. The winter of '50 was spent with indif- ferent success in the mines of Mariposa county, and thereafter Mr. Doud came to Monterey,
where he met his former commander, General Riley, the then military governor of California. He at once became associated with the commis- sary department as civilian, acting in the capac- ity of orderly to Generals Riley and Halleck, the latter secretary of state, and was thus employed until 1851.
At the end of his military service Mr. Doud became interested in stock-raising and the butchering business, and soon owned large ranches all over Monterey county. He still con- tinties to handle cattle, and owns several ranches in the county. On an eminence overlooking the bay Mr. Doud built, in the latter '6os, one of the most desirable homes in the city, the view being unexcelled. Here he has since lived. He is one of the organizers and a director in the Bank of Monterey, and the Monterey County Bank at Salinas, and he owns a large interest in the Mon- terey Electric Light Plant. He is treasurer of the Monterey Progressive Association, and a director in the Sloat Monument Association. The addition known as the Doud tract, where beautiful homes are in process of construction, was laid out by Mr. Doud, and much valuable property has passed into his hands and is now owned by him. He is a member of the Society of California Pioneers, and Pioneers of the Mex- ican War, and for twenty-five years he has been government custodian of the Monterey Military Reservation. A stanch Republican in national politics, he has never had time or inclination for political office, but has nevertheless served on the school board for over thirty years.
W. H. EVANS.
Whether as a rancher or as manager of a large livery enterprise in Templeton, W. H. Evans has evinced business ability, and has earned the success which has crowned his western efforts. He is one of the sons of Ohio who have cast their lot with this section of California, of whose exceptional possibilities he is a keen appreciator. Born near Granville. Licking county, Ohio, February 20, 1864, he is a son of Nathan and Adelia (Case) Evans, and grandson of John Evans, the latter of whom was born in Vermont, and died in Ohio at the age of eighty-eight
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years, and at the time had scarcely half a dozen white hairs in his head. The maternal grand- father, Filo Case, was also born in Vermont. and removed to Ohio at a very early day, when a young man. He died in the Buckeye state at the age of seventy-seven years. There were but two children born to Nathan Evans and his wife, one daughter and one son, the former of whom. Clara, is now Mrs. Fred Wells, her husband being a railroad man near Cleveland, Ohio.
After leaving the paternal homestead in Ohio, W. H. Evans worked on the surrounding farms by the month, and for fifteen years was em- ployed by different land owners throughout Ohio. During that time he managed to save up $500, with which he started for California, in- tent upon making the land of the rising sun his future home. As a preliminary in his new loca- tion he lived on a farm for a time, and then engaged in the dairy business with considerable success. In the fall of 1901 he purchased the livery business with which his name has since been associated, and in connection with which he still raises wheat and barley on two hundred and seventy-five acres of rented land.
In San Luis Obispo, Cal., Mr. Evans married Jennie Gibson, a native of California, and dangh- ter of Robert Gibson, who was born in Ireland, and came to the United States when a young man, settling in California, where the remainder of his life was spent. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Raymond, who is five years of age. Mr. Evans is a Democrat in political affiliation, and is fraternally associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is one of the honored and popular citizens of Temple- ton, and represents its enterprising business ele- ment.
E. A. EATON.
No more satisfactory illustration of the self- made and substantial business man exists in the county than E. A. Eaton, a resident of Salinas, and manager of the Ford & Sanborn mercantile concern. The success of Mr. Eaton is founded u:pon an untiring capacity for work, a genius for detail, an unswerving integrity, and the kind of authority which not only secures the best and
greatest amount of labor from employes, but in- spires as well a profound respect for his ability and personal worth.
A native son of California, Mr. Eaton was born in San Francisco in 1860, a son of Alex- ander and Martha (Lockwood) Eaton, the for- mer of whom was a blacksmith in San Francisco, and the latter came to California when a child, in 1849. The preliminary education of Mr. Eaton was acquired in the public schools of his native town, but at the very early age of twelve he faced the problem of self-support, and his schooling was temporarily abandoned for a clerkship with the drug firm of Painter & Cal- vert. During the three years that he remained with the firm he gained a fair knowledge of the business, and thus equipped he removed to Hol- lister and engaged in the drug business on his own account. Upon disposing of his drug inter- ests he went into business with Mr. McMahon, and for four years was a valuable assistant in the management of the mercantile enterprise. Sub- sequently he began with the firm of which he is now the manager, and from the position of bookkeeper at King City was elevated to the general management of the local interests there. For nine years he was identified with King City, after which he was transferred to Salinas as as- sistant general manager to Mr. Vanderhurst, and two years later, in 1898, assumed his present responsible position as general manager of the whole business.
The Ford & Sanborn mercantile concern, with headquarters at Salinas, is one of the largest mercantile establishments in California, and is the outgrowth of Vanderhurst, Sanborn & Co .. with which Mr. Vanderhurst was connected for over thirty years. Nearly everything in the mer- cantile line is carried in stock, and the company own fine brick buildings in Salinas, and have many different stores in different parts of the state. The organization is most perfect and complete, the different departments being under different heads, the implement, grain, dry-goods, grocery, and wagon and carriage departments being conducted by men qualified accordingly.
In San Francisco, in 1882, Mr. Eaton married Fannie Fanntin, who was born in Oakland, Cal., her family being among the early settlers of the
Hiram lovey
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state. Of this union there are two children, Edna and Alma. Although a firm believer in Republican institutions, Mr. Eaton has never run but for one office, that of supervisor, in which he was defeated. He is prominent fraternally, and is affiliated with the Masons, Elks and the Native Sons of the Golden West.
HIRAM COREY.
No name in Monterey county is more endur- ingly associated with its substantial development than that of Hiram Corey, owner of Las Palmas ranch, three and a half miles south of Salinas, and one of the large land owners and prosper- ous citizens of this section. This honored citi- zen was born in Stanbridge, Canada, March 7, 1831, and is fourth among the nine children born to Reuben and Melinda (Reynolds) Corey, natives of New York and Vermont respectively.
Capt. Reuben Corey was reared on the pa- ternal farm in New York state, and when a young man removed to Canada, where he won the rank of captain in her majesty's service. About 1856 he removed to Bloomfield, Sonoma county, Cal., purchasing a ranch of three hun- dred acres, upon which he retired about 1865, and where he died at the age of seventy-five years. He was active in the Republican party, and equally so in the Methodist Church, and, considering his time and opportunities, was a successful man. His wife, who lived to be sev- enty-six years of age, was the mother of ten children, namely, Pauline, the wife of Nelson Bentley, and whose son, William, is mentioned in another part of this work; Noah, a rancher in this county; Hiram; Malinda, the wife of R. Reynolds, living on the old Canadian home- stead; Cynthia, the wife of Joseph Stocking; Reuben, a rancher in San José; Addie, wife of George Case; Minerva, Mrs. Jerry Hogan; Sarah, wife of Charles Littlefield; and Augusta, wife of William Hall.
While still living in Canada Hiram Corey worked for a time on the railroad, and January I, 1852, accompanied his brother, Noah, to Cal- ifornia by way of the isthmus, arriving at Clark's Point February 26, 1851. For a time the broth- ers engaged in contracting for supplies and
logs for a saw mill, and later leased a ranch and supplied vegetables to the state prison. In De- cember, 1853, the brothers went to San Fran- cisco and borrowed a weather beaten schooner with which to proceed south for provisions. The journey was enlivened by a storm which caused the men to abandon the craft. which later went to pieces, and they owed their rescue to a surveying party which happened along at Point Eryes. After landing, they were con- fronted by other dangers from grizzly bears, and this circumstance caused them to return to the surveying party, with whom they set out for San Francisco. The sea was still rough, and storms along the coast rendered navigation almost impossible. In desperation they were obliged to once more head for shore, but not before the vessel was dashed to pieces upon the rocks. Hiram, who could swim, saved his own life and that of his brother, and they afterward walked back to the ranch which they had leased, much the losers by their hazardous expedition. Hiram thereafter worked in a saw mill for about six months, and in the spring of 1853 the brothers went to Marin county and leased a ranch of four hundred acres, upon which was operated the first dairy with American cows successfully conducted in this part of the state. In 1862 this property was disposed of and Hiram proceeded alone to Aurora, near Virginia City, where he was superintendent of the Red, White and Blue mines for five months, and through his wise foresight the company then abandoned the mines as not worthy of development. He then went to the Owens River quartz mines and located several claims for a New York com- pany, and, being a warm friend of the superin- tendent of the company, he was sent to Los Angeles to make up the trains for transporting the machinery the two hundred and fifty miles to the mines. The wagons and machinery had been shipped to San Pedro from San Francisco, and Mr. Corey purchased the cattle and made up the train. The Indians were extremely troublesome, and Mr. Corey assumed the re- sponsibility of driving one team himself, encoun- tering many obstacles and dangers on the way. The lumber for the mines had to be rafted fifty miles, and a road had to be made to the
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mines over which to convey the lumber. All this was superintended by Mr. Corey, who was familiar with the territory, having been in the locality during 1862, when he camped with the cavalry at Big Pine, and had a battle with the Indians before they could locate the mines. He staid with the regulars for six or eight weeks at that time, and his perseverance re- sulted in later valuable services to the company, who relied upon his judgment and discretion.
Leaving the mines in Nevada, Mr. Corey spent about two years on a leased ranch at Point Eryes, seventy-five miles from San Fran- cisco, and in October, 1872, leased the Buena Vista ranch of seventy-seven hundred and twen- ty-five acres, the greater part of which is in the Salinas valley. He then bought four hundred and fifty dairy cattle from Nevada, and when his five years' lease expired renewed the same for seven years, adding to his original stock five hundred cows. In 1883 the ranch passed into his absolute possession, and remained his property until its disposal by Mr. Corey, in 1889, to the Buena Vista Land Company, who afterward forced him to take back two thousand acres of the property. Subsequently he bought back his present ranch of sixteen hundred acres, which has been named Las Palmas, and is not only the finest ranch in the county, but one of the best in the state. Mr. Corey is engaged principally in stock raising, and upon his fertile meadows have grazed some of the finest cattle and horses in California, their owner being regarded as one of the best authorities on the subject for many miles around.
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