USA > California > Alameda County > Past and present of Alameda County, California, Volume II > Part 40
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T. H. MOORE.
T. H. Moore, one of the successful and prominent business men of Richmond, whose interests extend to many fields, was born in Lin- coln county, Missouri, in 1854, his father having gone from Kentucky to that state in pioneer times. The subject of this review was reared upon a farm in his native county and when he was twenty-six years of age began his independent career, turning his attention to agri- cultural pursuits. He understood farming in principle and detail and his long experience and practical methods brought him a gratify- ing degree of success, and he became finally one of the leading agri- culturists in Lincoln county. He owned three farms, one of two hundred acres, another of one hundred and twenty, and another of forty, and for thirty-six years he continued to develop these tracts, providing them with substantial barns and outbuildings and neglect- ing nothing which would add to their appearance or value.
For a number of years Mr. Moore made his home in Troy, Lin- coln county, and was well known in local democratic politics, holding the position of county coroner for eight years and of justice of the
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peace for twelve. He was also a charter member and a director of the Peoples Bank of Troy. In 1909 Mr. Moore came to Richmond, California, and turned his attention to the teaming business, with which he has been successfully identified since that time. He is also a real estate operator on an extensive scale and is a director in the Mechanics Bank of Richmond. His interests are all capably and progressively managed and have brought him a gratifying measure of success.
In 1880 Mr. Moore was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Wyatt, a native of Missouri, and they have become the parents of eight children, Lulu A., Laura G., Lee D., William T., Florence B., Wright W., Mattie J. and Ray C.
Mr. Moore is prominent in the Masonic order, holding member- ship in the lodge and chapter, and he has been through all the chairs in the Modern Woodmen of America. He is a business man of insight, ability and capacity and holds a high place in business circles of the city.
ALBERT J. BROWN.
Albert J. Brown, president of the Albert Brown Undertaking Company, is a well known and representative business man of Oak- land, and he also has a wide acquaintance in San Francisco, where club and social relations have brought him into prominent connec- tion. He was born in Denver, Colorado, February 17, 1875, and is a son of Albert and Mary A. Brown. The father was a native of the northern part of New Jersey, born July 21, 1842. There his educa- tion was acquired and later he removed westward to Denver, Colo- rado, where he engaged in the building and contracting business until 1874. He then embarked in the undertaking business, which he con- ducted at that place until 1881, when he sold out and made his way to Los Angeles, California, where he conducted an undertaking estab- lishment until 1886. He then disposed of his interests in that city and came to Oakland, where he purchased the undertaking estab- lishment of W. T. Hamilton, which had been founded in 1874. He conducted the business under his own name until 1905, when it was incorporated under the firm style of Albert Brown Undertaking Company, of which he became president, serving in that capacity until his death, which occurred in January, 1909. He was promi- nent in Masonry, having attained the thirty-second degree of the
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Scottish Rite, and he was also a member of the Mystic Shrine. His fraternal relations were with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen and to their teachings he was ever loyal. His political allegiance was given to the republican party, but he preferred that other should hold office, while he con- centrated his energies upon his business affairs.
In 1870, in Denver, Colorado, Albert Brown, Sr., was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Downey, and unto them were born four children, including Albert J. Brown, whose name introduces this re- view. He was a lad of about six years when the family came to California, and he pursued his education in the public schools of Los Angeles and of Oakland, passing through consecutive grades until graduated from the high school in the latter city with the class of June, 1894. He next attended the University of California and was graduated in 1899. Since then he has been identified with the Albert Brown Undertaking Company and in January, 1909, following the death of his father, he was elected its president. The company con- trols a large and growing business and its success is well estab- lished.
In San Francisco Mr. Brown was united in marriage, in Feb- ruary, 1906, to Miss Lois Rice, and they have one child, Barbara. Mr. Brown holds membership in the University of California Club of San Francisco and is well known in that city and in Oakland, hav- ing an extensive circle of warm friends. In fact, he is widely known throughout California because of his residence in Los Angeles, his attendance at the State University and his identification with the two Bay cities.
JOSEPH T. HINCH.
Joseph T. Hinch, who embarked in the real-estate business in Oakland in 1903, has here been successfully engaged along that line during the past decade. His birth occurred in Eureka, Humboldt county, California, on the 14th of August, 1879, his parents being Thomas and Eliza Hinch. The father came to California in 1873, settling in Eureka, where he was actively engaged in the mercantile business until the time of his retirement in 1903. His demise oc- curred in 1913.
Joseph T. Hinch attended the graded and high schools in the acquirement of an education and following his graduation, at the age
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of nineteen, spent six months in the Eureka Business College. Subse- quently he purchased his father's stock in the firm of Hinch, Salmon & Walsh, general merchants, in which he still owns a third interest. In 1903 he came to Oakland and embarked in the real-estate busi- ness, of which he has remained an active and successful representa- tive to the present time. In the intervening decade he has erected three hundred cottages which he has sold on the easy payment basis.
In San Francisco, on the 6th of February, 1901, Mr. Hinch was united in marriage to Mrs. Paulena Huck, by whom he has one child, Lucille. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is a member of the Oakland Commercial Club and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In matters of citizenship he is intensely loyal and public-spirited and gives his unqualified indorse- ment and cooperation to every movement inaugurated that will ad- vance the municipality or promote the welfare of the community along the various lines of human activity.
HARMON BELL.
Among the many brilliant, able and resourceful men who have gained positions of prominence and distinction at the bar of the Bay cities is Harmon Bell, practicing in Oakland and controlling im- portant legal interests here and in San Francisco. He is recognized as the leader of the Oakland bar and is at the head of the law firm of Bell, Bell & Smith, with offices in the Thomson building. The record of his career is the record of worthy and upright living, of strict adherence to high personal and professional standards, of native talents and powers well used for worthy ends. These things need not be repeated to the readers of a history of this section of Califor- nia, for Mr. Bell is one of Oakland's most progressive and successful native sons and his name has been known and honored here since pioneer times, his father having been one of the earliest and greatest ministers of the gospel in San Francisco.
Harmon Bell was born on the 23d of March, 1855, and is a son of Rev. Dr. Samuel B. and Sophia (Walworth) Bell, the former a native of Orange county, New York, and the latter of Cleveland, Ohio, both descendants of families which were prominent in Revolu- tionary times. A sketch of Samuel B. Bell appears on another page of this work. Harmon Bell was reared at home and in the acquire-
HARMON BELL
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ment of an education attended Lyons Academy in Lyons, New York, and afterward Hillsdale College at Hillsdale, Michigan. He then enrolled in Washington College, a private school at Alameda, Cali- fornia, and at the age of twenty-two took up the study of law, a profession which had always attracted him. He entered the offices of Dirlam & Lehman in Mansfield, Ohio, whither he had gone with his father in 1875, and in the next year he moved to Kansas City, where he completed his legal studies in the office of Judge Turner A. Gill of that city. He was admitted to the Missouri bar on the ist of May, 1878, and opened an office in Kansas City, where he continued for twenty years thereafter, becoming known as one of the most prominent and successful attorneys in the state. Success in law brought with it prominence in politics and, representing the republican party, he was elected to the state legislature, serving from 1881 to 1882 and leaving the impress of his personality and ability upon the political history of the state. Upon leaving Missouri, Mr. Bell came to San Francisco and in that city he met with his usual success in his profession, securing a large and representative clientage which connected him with a great deal of notable litigation. In 1904, shortly before the fire, he became chief counsel for the San Francisco, Oakland & San Jose Railroad and for the Oakland Trac- tion Company, and he removed his home and office to this city, where he has since remained. He was for years chief counsel for these con- cerns, which absorbed the various smaller traction corporations and which have done much to promote general growth and development. Mr. BeH is known throughout the Bay cities as a strong and forcible practitioner, well versed in underlying legal principles and possessed of the discriminating ability necessary to make effective application of his knowledge. His mind is incisive, analytical and deductive, quick to grasp the most intricate details of a case, while his presenta- tion of his arguments is always clear and logical. He has thus risen to prominence in his chosen field, and his name has been coupled with the successful completion of a great deal of notable and im- portant legal work.
In 1880 Mr. Bell was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Wilson, a daughter of A. C. J. and Margaret Wilson, who settled in Santa Barbara in pioneer times. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have become the parents of four children, two of whom, Walworth and Marjorie, died in early childhood. The elder son, Traylor W., is an attorney at law and is associated with his father, while the younger, Joseph Samuel, is still at school. The family belong to the First Presby- terian church of Oakland. Vol. II :4
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Mr. Bell's interests are almost as extensive in San Francisco as in Oakland and he is a leading member of the city bar association. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the Knights Templar and the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and he is a member also of the Native Sons of the Golden West and the Sons of the American Revolution. He belongs to the Athenian, Sequoia and Claremont Country Clubs of Oakland and the Transportation and Commonwealth Clubs of San Francisco. Mr. Bell is a man of sterl- ing qualities of heart and mind and takes an active part in all mat- ters tending to the uplift and advancement of citizenship. In 1913, when the Oakland Commercial Club was formed, he was unani- mously chosen its president. The aim of the organization is to pro- mote a greater harmony and a more united purpose in civic, com- mercial and industrial growth. No better selection could have been made for the head of such an organization than Mr. Bell. He at once became a power in its councils and it has grown to be a strong and potent factor in the business life of Alameda county. Mr. Bell was reelected president of the club in 1914. Politically he is a stanch adherent of the republican party and active, progressive and public- spirited in matters of citizenship, taking an intelligent interest in the advancement and growth of the community in which he resides. He is a man of great breadth of view, of progressive ideas, of high personal and professional standards and his wide experience and successful practice have placed him among the leading attorneys of the state. Those who come within the close circle of his friendship find him a broad-minded, large-hearted and liberal man, a supporter of public movements, an upholder of private morality-a man whose success has been well deserved and always worthily used.
CHARLES PALMER.
A pioneer in California was Charles Palmer, who died in Berkeley in 1897. He practiced law in San Francisco and Oakland for many years and from this field his interests extended to many others touching closely public and business development. Mr. Palmer was born in Connecticut and after completing his prelimi- nary education was graduated from Yale University, where he studied law. In 1850 he came to California by way of the Strait of Magellan and afterward mined in Nevada and Eldorado counties for some time. Later he removed to Folsom, Sacramento county, and
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engaged in banking there until 1877, in which year he came to Ala- meda county, where he remained a resident until his death. He practiced law in San Francisco and Oakland, having been con- nected through a large patronage with much important litigation in the courts of the state. He founded the Oakland Paving Company and was its attorney for many years, the weight of his influence being felt in the direction of its policy and as a force in its continued growth and progress.
Mr. Palmer married Miss Harriet Day, who came to California with her parents in 1855. Her father, Sherman Day, was a surveyor and mining engineer and surveyed the wagon road over the Sierras before the advent of the railroad. In the early days he engaged in mining and for a number of years he held the office of United States surveyor, located at San Francisco. He was one of the trustees and founders of the College of California, now the University of Cali- fornia.
Mr. Palmer was a member of the Masonic fraternity and gave his political allegiance to the republican party. He was a man of ability, of unquestioned integrity and in the field of his profession he attained a position of distinction and honor. His death, which oc- curred in Berkeley in 1897, was sincerely mourned by a wide circle of friends.
JONATHAN F. CHAMBERS.
Jonathan F. Chambers is engaged in the real-estate business in Oakland and has found opportunities which he has utilized and which have brought him success. His birth occurred in County Cork, Ireland, January 31, 1883, his parents being Michael and Catherine (Moynihan) Chambers, both natives of the same county. The father came to America in 1884 and the mother in 1885 and es- tablished their home in Buffalo, New York, where they passed away.
Their son, Jonathan F. Chambers, remained in Ireland, where he attended the public schools until he was eleven years of age and in 1894 came to this country, making his way to Buffalo, where he im- mediately began work at the printer's trade. In 1901 he went to Cleveland as inspector for the Empire Typesetting Machine Com- pany and there he remained for over a year. He engaged in print- ing and newspaper work in New York city for several years and then went to Washington, D. C., where for two years he held the responsible position of superintendent of typesetting machines in
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the government printing department. This department is one of the best managed enterprises under government control and the fact that he held a position of authority therein is proof of his efficiency and reliability. During the time he spent in Washington he took a two years' course in the evening classes of the National University Law School.
In 1907 Mr. Chambers came to California as coast representative for the Lanston Monotype Machine Company, opening offices on New Montgomery street, San Francisco, and continuing in that line for four years. His practical knowledge of printing and of the good points of a type-setting machine enabled him to make many sales for the firm, but in August, 1911, he entered the real-estate business in Oakland, as he saw wonderful opportunities in that line. He specializes in the building of houses and bungalows and the easy terms which he offers have enabled many families of limited means to secure homes when they would otherwise pay rent year after year and in the end have no property of their own. He is aggressive and enterprising and has followed a well planned campaign which has made the merits of his proposition known to those whose needs it is his design to meet. His houses are good value for the money re- ceived and as his terms are liberal he is doing a fine business and has not only gained financial success for himself, but has helped to build up the city of Oakland as well.
Mr. Chambers was married in Buffalo in September, 1905, to Miss Rachel McCabe, a native of that city. Both are well known in social circles of Oakland and the hospitality of their home is always accorded their friends. Mr. Chambers is a republican in his political belief, but has not taken an active part in politics as his business affairs have dominated his entire time and attention.
WILLIAM A. SIEBE.
William A. Siebe, a native son and popular young citizen of Oak- land, devotes his attention to the duties devolving upon him as sec- retary and manager of Shellmound Park. He was born on the 10th of November, 1881, a son of Ludwig Siebe. In the acquirement of an education he attended the public schools until the time of his graduation at the age of sixteen, and subsequently worked as clerk in a retail grocery store of San Francisco for two years. He next spent a year as a student in Heald's Business College and then
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secured employment as a clerk in the wholesale hardware establish- ment of Dunham, Carrigan & Hayden of San Francisco.
Mr. Siebe next became secretary and manager of Shellmound Park, of which his father, Captain Ludwig Siebe, acts as president. The park embraces ten acres and derives its name from the shell mounds located in and around the place, which were built by the Indians centuries ago. Mr. Siebe and his father have rented the park to the best societies in California and have managed it very success- fully, ever maintaining its attractiveness for both the student and the pleasure seeker. In 1915, commencing August 8th, the San Francisco International Shooting Festival Association (Inc.) is to hold a rifle and pistol tournament at this park in connection with the Panama- Pacific Exposition and prizes to the amount of fifty thousand dollars are to be competed for. This is the largest purse ever offered at a shooting contest in the United States. Marksmen from all over the world will participate and the tournament will cover a period of seven weeks. The Swedish Singing Societies from all parts of the United States will hold a singing festival at this park Sunday, June 20, 1915, which will mark the opening of the convention of the Swed- ish Singers, which is to take place at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. The Caledonian Club will celebrate its golden jubilee here on May 30, 1915, which is to be a reunion of all the Scotch societies in the United States.
On the 29th of November, 1904, in San Francisco, Mr. Siebe was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Klevesahl, by whom he has three children, namely: Madeline, who is eight years old; and Harold and Dorothy, who are six and three years of age respec- tively.
In politics Mr. Siebe is a stanch republican, while fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Herman Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Mission Chapter, R. A. M .; San Francisco Commandery, No. 41, K. T .; and Aahmes Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is like- wise a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Native Sons, the North Deutscher Verein, the German American League of California, the Shellmound Pistol & Rifle Club, the Gol- den Gate Rifle & Pistol Club, the United States Revolver Associa- tion, an honorary member of the San Francisco Scottish Thistle Club and a director and vice president of the San Francisco International Shoot Festival Association. Mr. Siebe is an expert pistol shot and is one of the few men in California who holds the ninety-five per cent medal of the United States Revolver Association. He has been active in the sport of revolver and rifle shooting all his life and is the
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holder of several handsome medals, including state honors. He has an extensive acquaintance in Oakland and has hosts of friends, as in all of his dealings he has conducted himself in a manner to entitle him to the esteem and confidence of those with whom he comes in contact.
ARTHUR W. BEAM.
Arthur W. Beam is one of the substantial citizens of Hayward, California, where he has for a number of years been engaged in the real-estate business. He has important property interests and is also connected with the First National Bank of Hayward. Mr. Beam was born on the Puget Sound, in Island county, Washington, and is a son of George and Almira N. (Wright) Beam, the former a native of Illinois and the latter of Missouri. They crossed the plains in 1854 and located in Island county. The father was engaged in mining and farming. Both are deceased.
Arthur W. Beam attended the public schools of Island county and while yet in his boyhood moved to San Francisco, where he made his home for several years. He then became connected with the Selby Smelting & Lead Company of Contra Costa county, remaining in their employ for about twenty years and rising to the position of chief accountant and department manager. After the company disposed of their interests to the trust in 1906 Mr. Beam came to Hayward, engaging in the real-estate business in partnership with Peter Wilbert, the association having been continued to this day with mutual profit. Together they bought much property, including the Villa Hotel, and they also own the land upon which their office stands. Mr. Beam enjoys the reputation of being one of the most competent judges of local real estate and is frequently consulted in financial matters as regards realty investments. In 1905, in coopera- tion with John A. Park, they organized the First National Bank of Hayward, Mr. Park becoming cashier. In 1907 they bought a tract in the Castro valley, which they subdivided and are now selling in one and two acre lots, the speculation proving highly satisfactory from a financial point of view and demonstrating the farsighted- ness and business ability which have made them so successful in all their transactions.
In San Francisco, Mr. Beam married Miss Margaret C. Benson, a native of California, and they have one daughter, Edith, attending
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Mills College. Mr. Beam is a stanch democrat and has always given his allegiance to that party, doing all in his power to realize the ideals which were first propounded by Jefferson. He is president of the Jefferson Club of Oakland, which position indicates the important place which he takes in his party, yet he is not an office seeker, his personal modesty directing his political activities along other lines. He has always been interested in educational matters and is a mem- ber of the board of schools trustees of Hayward. He is also a mem- ber of the Commercial Club of Oakland and of the Chamber of Commerce of both Oakland and Hayward, being thoroughly in accord with the aims and purposes of those organizations, and always allving himself with the men who exert themselves in order to in- crease the trade and commercial interests of Alameda county and to extend its importance and prestige.
Fraternally Mr. Beam is a member of the blue lodge of Masons in Contra Costa county and to the Aahmes Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and the Scottish Rite Bodies of Oakland and Naval Com- mandery at Vallejo. He is an Odd Fellow and a Woodman of the World, acting in the capacity of banker in the latter lodge. His name is also upon the roster of the Foresters of America and he is chief ranger of the local organization. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and he is a member and an elder of the Hay- ward organization. For several years he has actively participated in Sunday school work and is at present superintendent, also inter- esting himself in other church extension. There is much that is creditable in the career of Arthur W. Beam, who has lent valuable aid in the way of enabling Hayward to realize some aspects of its higher self.
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