USA > California > Alameda County > Past and present of Alameda County, California, Volume II > Part 43
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On retiring from office, Mr. Morehouse, accompanied by his wife, made a tour of Europe, which lasted for fourteen months. He was one of the directors of the Central Bank of Oakland and for a quarter of a century has been a director of the First National Bank of that city. He is likewise vice president of the First National and has continued in that position for many years. Upon the organ- ization of the Bank of San Leandro, in May, 1893. he was chosen one of its directors and has so continued. Upon the death of Soc- rates Huff he succeeded to the presidency and still remains at the head of the institution. Some years after the Bank of San Leandro was established and had proven itself a successful and well managed institution, Mr. Morehouse organized the First National Bank of San Leandro, of which he is also president. A branch of this bank is now maintained at Elmhurst. Mr. Morehouse has thus entered into active, and prominent relations with financial interests of the county and has done much to uphold the financial stability of this section of the state. He has likewise had other business connec-
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tions of importance. For twelve years he was owner and manager of the Junior Monarch Hay Press Company, one of the pioneer manufacturing concerns of San Leandro, which is now operated by Toffelmier Brothers. He was likewise for several years a director in the original Best Manufacturing Company of San Leandro. It is a widely recognized fact that his business judgment is sound and his enterprise unfaltering. Moreover, he has the power to quickly discriminate between the essential and nonessential in business af- fairs, together with the ability to coordinate seemingly diverse inter- ests into a harmonious and unified whole.
On the 28th of June, 1861, at Racine, Wisconsin, Mr. More- house was married to Miss Marion Jewett, a native of the Western Reserve of Ohio. Her death occurred in March, 1907, and thus was terminated a happy married life of more than forty-five years. In politics Mr. Morehouse has always been a stanch republican where national issues are involved, and he cast his first presidential vote in Alameda county for Fremont in 1856. In local politics he usually gives his support to the candidate whom he thinks best fitted for office regardless of party affiliations. He is a broad-minded man, liberal in thought and honorable in purpose. His life has been fruitful of good results, not only in the attainment of success, but in his sup- port of progressive public measures which are of benefit to the community.
CHARLES LEWIS TISDALE, M. D.
Dr. Charles Lewis Tisdale, prominent in medical circles of Alameda as a representative and successful physician and surgeon and widely and favorably known in official life of Alameda county by reason of his remarkable record in the office of county coroner, was born in Auburn, New York, June 2, 1858. Following the com- pletion of a course in the public schools of Elmira he entered Wes- leyan College at Lima, New York, and subsequently enrolled in the University of Michigan.
Later he moved to California, but, having decided to follow the medical profession, he returned east, entering the Hahnemann Med- ical College of Chicago, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in March, 1878. He was at that time not yet twenty-one years of age and could not legally begin active practice. However, the fact that he was in every other way fully qualified
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to engage in professional work was in itself a good evidence of his ability and comprehensive knowledge of the science of medicine. Shortly after his graduation Dr. Tisdale received an appointment from the Hawaiian government as government physician on the island of Hawaii in which capacity he served with credit and ability for five years. Upon his return he determined to pursue his medical studies further and accordingly went to New York city and took a post-graduate course in the New York Homeopathic Medical Col- lege. It was with this exceptional equipment that he came to Ala- meda and engaged in the practice of medicine, and his time has been occupied with the work of his profession since. He possesses a comprehensive knowledge of the underlying principles of medicine and keeps in close touch with the trend of modern thought along professional lines through constant reading, study and research. His patronage has increased steadily, and his skill and ability have be- come more widely recognized. Dr. Tisdale was a member of the board of medical examiners for twenty consecutive years, holding the record for length of continuous service on that board. In addi- tion to this he has been treasurer of the California State Homeop- athic Society for the past twenty years and was professor of pyhsi- ology and of theory and practice at the Hahnemann Medical College of San Francisco until 1901. .
In Schoharie, New York, in October, 1884, Dr. Tisdale married Miss Emma Krum, and they have become the parents of three daughters : Mrs. E. L. Varney, Mrs. Paul Gardiner and Ruth, all graduates of the Alameda high school.
Dr. Tisdale gives his political allegiance to the republican party and as a progressive and public-spirited citizen he has taken a very active part in public affairs. In 1906 he was elected county coroner of Alameda county and has served by reelection since that time. During the period of his service he has held over two thousand in- quests personally, and the work of the office has been so vastly increased that it now requires eleven deputies to handle the business. Notwithstanding this the affairs of the department have been thoroughly systematized and are conducted without friction or con- fusion. In 1890 Dr. Tisdale consented to act as a member of the board of education in the city of Alameda, holding this position for eight years, during two of which he served as president of the board. He received the appointment of United States pension surgeon in 1898, resigning this office after eleven years on account of pressure of other business. He was also for seven years physician for the county jail and in addition to these various positions of responsibility
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has been chairman of the congressional committee of the third con- gressional district for many years. He is president of the Bank of Fruitvale, a reliable and growing institution. His fraternal con- nections are important as he is past exalted ruler of Oakland lodge, No. 171, B. P. O. E., and holds membership in the Oak Grove Lodge of Masons and several other organizations and clubs. In all pro- fessional, personal and official relations he has held steadily to high and pure ideals and has won the confidence and esteem of a wide circle of friends.
JAMES G. QUINN.
James G. Quinn, who was elected judge of the justice court of Oakland township in 1899, has retained that position throughout the intervening years and has made a highly creditable and commend- able record in that connection. His birth occurred in Melrose, Massachusetts, on the 24th of August, 1873, his parents being M. D. and Mary Quinn. The father, who was born in Ireland on the 23d of October, 1847, received his education in that country and when twenty-three years of age emigrated to the United States, settling in Melrose, Massachusetts. There he was engaged in business as a sawyer until 1875 and then came to San Francisco, where he carried on the same business until 1877. In that year he took up his abode in Oakland and established himself in the grocery business, here con- ducting an enterprise of that character until the time of his retire- ment in 1897.
James G. Quinn attended the graded and high schools until grad- uated therefrom at the age of eighteen years and subsequently en- tered Hastings College of the Law, which is the law department of the University of California and from which he was graduated in 1896. He was then appointed police magistrate of the city of Emeryville, acting in that capacity until 1899 and making his home in Oakland during the period of his incumbency. In 1899 Mr. Quinn was elected judge of the justice court of Oakland township, and this position he has held continuously since. The legal profes- sion demands not only a high order of ability but a rare combination of talent, learning, tact, patience and industry. The successful law- ver and the competent judge must be a man of well balanced intel- lect, thoroughly familiar with the law and practice, of comprehen- sive general information, possessed of an analytical mind and a self-
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control that will enable him to lose his individuality, his personal feelings, his prejudices and his peculiarities of disposition in the dignity, impartiality and equity of the office to which life, property, right and liberty must look for protection. Possessing these qual- ities, Judge Quinn has proved an able and conscientious minister in the temple of justice.
In Oakland, California, on the 16th of February, 1904, Judge Quinn was united in marriage to Miss Glenora Belle Harris, by whom he has two children, James G., Jr., and William Harris, who are five and three years of age respectively. Judge Quinn is a re- publican in his political views and is identified fraternally with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World and the Loyal Order of Moose. He is likewise Past Grand Chief Ranger for California of the Foresters of America, the order having a member- ship of twenty-three thousand in the state and enjoying a wonderful increase during Judge Quinn's term as grand chief ranger. His hobbies are sharpshooting, hunting and baseball, and he is a popular member of the Oakland Athletic Club, the Commercial Club, the Nile Club and the Shellmound Pistol & Rifle Club. He also be- longs to the Chamber of Commerce and is well known as one of the leading, respected and representative citizens of Alameda county.
JAMES A. JOHNSON.
For thirty-three years James A. Johnson has been a member of the Oakland bar. He was born in Springfield, Illinois, in 1850. His father, William E. Johnson, was a Methodist preacher and for more than thirty-five years an effective member of the Illinois An- nual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Johnson was a student in the public schools of Illinois and later graduated from the Illinois Wesleyan University at Blooming- ton in 1872. After his graduation he engaged in teaching in the public schools and later took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar upon examination before the supreme court of Illinois in 1881. Immediately afterward he came to Oakland and was ad- mitted to practice at the bar of California. He has since resided continuously in Oakland engaged in the practice of his profession. He served as city attorney from 1886 until 1896. In his political views, he has always been a republican.
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In 1877 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Cecelia Johnson. They have two children: one daughter, Ethel Alberta, now the wife of Dr. Elmer E. Brinckerhoff of Oakland; and one son, Elliott Johnson, who is a graduate of the State University of California and is engaged in the practice of law. Fraternally, Mr. Johnson is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
DR. SAMUEL B. BELL.
Rev. Dr. Samuel B. Bell, who passed away at Santa Barbara, California, in 1897, was one of the earliest and leading ministers of the gospel in San Francisco, winning recognition as a distinguished Presbyterian preacher. He was born in Orange county, New York, and was ordained as an evangelist at Onondaga, that state, in 1852. In November of that year he was sent by the American Home Mis- sionary Society as one of their missionaries to the Pacific coast, and he sailed around the Horn on the clipper ship Trade Wind, landing in San Francisco after a most eventful voyage of one hundred and five days. Upon his arrival in California he commenced his work as a Presbyterian missionary on the shores of San Francisco bay, upon the site where Oakland now stands, and he was thus a pioneer in the foundation of Presbyterian principles and doctrines in this vicinity. He built the first Presbyterian church edifice of Oakland and was its pastor for many years, exemplifying in his honorable and upright life the principles in which he believed.
A man of great breadth of view, activity of mind and of varied interests, he left during the ten years of his first residence in Cali- fornia the impress of his personality and standards upon many of the - most notable institutions in the state. He procured the charter for the College of California, now the University of California, and he was one of the founders of that institution. He represented his dis- trict in the state senate and in the house of representatives for three years, during which time he was connected with a great deal of im- portant legislation, aiding in the passage of the Homestead law and introducing the bill creating the board of regents in California. He was president of the first republican state convention ever convened in California and in many other ways aided in making political his- tory. He preserved a lively recollection of pioneer times in the state when gold was so plentiful that there were grave apprehensions that it would soon become valueless, and he could remember the period
DR. SAMUEL B. BELL
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of crime and lawlessness which necessitated the organization of the Vigilance Committee.
A ter a residence of nearly ten years in California, Dr. Bell re- turned to the east, making the journey overland to New York. He tendered his services to General Hooker in 1862 but was not per- mitted to go to the front, the same year witnessing his appointment as pastor of the Fiftieth Street Presbyterian church in New York city. He there became prominent as a lecturer and orator, taking part in many stirring events of that time and making numeorus ad- dresses at the laying of corner stones, and before colleges, univer- sities and other learned bodies. He was a member of two general assemblies of the Presbyterian church of the United States and was prominent in the councils of his religious denomination.
From New York city he went to Lyons, in Wayne county, New York, and thence to Hillsdale, Michigan. From the latter city he again removed to California, having accepted a chair in Washington College, Alameda county, which he afterward resigned in order to become pastor of the First Congregational church of Mansfield, Ohio. Afterward he removed to Kansas City, Missouri, and then came again to California, making his home in Santa Barbara, where he lived a retired life until his death, passing away in 1897, in his eighty-first year. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sophia Walworth, was a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a descendant of Revolutionary ancestry.
WILBER E. STILL.
Wilber E. Still was long prominently known as the publisher and editor of the Livermore Echo, a paper which is still being con- ducted by his son. In 1863 he became a resident of the Pacific coast country.
He was born in Plainwell, Allegan county, Michigan, August 6, 1843, a son of William and L. E. (Noble) Still, who were residents of Rochester, New York, and in 1833 removed westward to Michi- gan. The youthful days of Wilber E. Still were spent upon the home farm in his native state with the usual experiences that fall to the farm lad. His education was there acquired and when a young man of twenty years he left his native state for California, making the trip by water and across the Isthmus. In due time he arrived in San Francisco, where he remained for eight years, or until 1871. Vol. 11- 2%
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During that time his business for the most part was carrying news- papers and for a brief time he was with the San Francisco Call as mail clerk. In 1869 he purchased some country property in the Arroyo Mocho, five miles from Livermore, and in 1871 moved upon his ranch, which for many years remained his place of residence. In 1873 he became a representative of leading book publishers and was so employed continuously until 1881, when he turned his atten- tion to the real-estate business in Livermore, concentrating his ener- gies upon the purchase and sale of property and thus adding ma- terially to the progress and prosperity of the town. In 1882, how- ever, he embarked in the newspaper business, establishing the Liver- more Echo, and thereafter gave his attention more and more largely upon the publication of his journal until in January, 1889, he prac- tically abandoned the field of real-estate operations and concentrated his efforts upon the publication of the paper.
Mr. Still was married in Livermore in 1876 to Miss Anne E. Webb, who was born in San Francisco, and they became the parents of four children : Clarence E., Wilber H., both deceased; Elmer G .; and Irene O. Mr. Still continued in the newspaper field until Oc- tober, 1904, when he retired and was followed by his son, who is still owner and publisher of the Echo. Both have enjoyed the high regard and friendship of business colleagues and associates and the name of Still is a synonym for enterprise and progress in this section of the state.
LLOYD M. MACDONALD.
The Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Livermore, or- ganized in 1885 under the name of the Bank of Livermore, has since that time been an important factor in the financial development of this part of Alameda county, the solid and conservative policy stead- ily adhered to by its managers having resulted in a normal and gratifying growth. Its president, Lloyd M. MacDonald, holds a position of distinctive precedence in financial circles, his excellent work in a responsible position having brought him prominence and honor in his chosen field. He was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1879, and is a son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Mckenzie) MacDonald, also natives of Canada, where the father was a banker and merchant. He passed away in 1909 and is survived by his wife, who makes her home in Berkeley. To their union were born three children : Viola,
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who lives with her mother; Lloyd M., of this review; and Frank, deceased. The latter was for some years identified with the banking business in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley.
Lloyd M. MacDonald was reared in Canada and acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Stratford, taking a first class teacher's certificate from the Collegiate Institute. At the age of seventeen he entered the employ of the Bank of Hamilton, Ontario, rising in seven years from the position of clerk to that of manager of one of the branches. He was the youngest man in the employ of the bank to hold this responsible position and was recog- nized by his superiors as an unusually conscientious and able worker. Mr. MacDonald came to California in 1903 and shortly after his arrival helped to organize the Livermore Valley Bank, of which he was made cashier. This bank was later reorganized under the name of the First National Bank, its present title. Mr. MacDonald re- mained connected with it for two years and then disposed of his interests, going to San Francisco, where he became connected with the Merchants National Bank as cashier. At the end of five years, in December, 1909, he returned to Livermore and was elected presi- dent of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of the city, of which he has remained the head since that time. This bank was founded in 1885 with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dol- lars, Thomas Varney being president and H. H. Pitcher, cashier. It was conducted under its original name until January 3, 1911, at which time it was changed to a national bank and given the title of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank. At this time the capi- tal stock was reduced to fifty thousand dollars. In 1905 the Liver- more Savings Bank was incorporated and although this is a separate institution with separate capital, it is under the same management. The officers in the two institutions are as follows: Lloyd M. Mac- Donald. president; Charles E. Beck, vice president; H. R. Parshall, secretary and cashier; and E. Fuchs, assistant cashier. The board of directors consists of Charles E. Beck, F. Mathiesen, L. M. Mac- Donald, F. C. Lassen, G. A. Therkof, M. G. Callaghan, T. E. Knox, Charles Holm, J. J. Callaghan, E. Pronzini and D. J. Murphy, all business men of insight and sagacity, who have proved their capabili- ties in various fields of endeavor.
In 1909 Mr. MacDonald married Miss Leah Mcleod, a native of Livermore and a daughter of John McLeod, a pioneer in this city, where he engaged in merchandising. He was also active in politics and held the office of postmaster for a number of years. He had five children : Mary E., the wife of D. J. Murphy, county super-
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visor of Alameda county ; Norman, a merchant of Livermore; A. C., a vineyardist of Livermore; Annie, the wife of M. L. Silva, deputy tax collector of Oakland; and Leah, the wife of the subject of this review. Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald have become the parents of a son, Norman L., who was born November 5, 1910.
Mr. MacDonald is connected fraternally with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Woodmen of the World, the I. D. E. S. and the U. P. C. In addition to his connection with the Farmers and Merchants National Bank and the Livermore Savings Bank he is also president of the Bank of Ceres, which he organized in 1911. and treasurer of the Dominion Oil Company, which he helped to develop. He is a business man of rare insight and ability and holds a place of prominence in business circles.
EDWIN WESLEY MASLIN.
Through the greater part of his life Edwin Wesley Maslin has been in the public service and since the Ist of March, 1894. has oc- cupied the position of deputy naval officer through appointment of Colonel J. P. Irish. He has passed the eightieth milestone on life's journey, but is still active and energetic, displaying those qualities in a degree not often seen in a man of his years. He was born in Balti- more, Maryland, April 1, 1834, his parents being Philip Thomas and Harriet Maslin. In tracing the ancestral history it is learned that William and Jane Maslin came from England in 1690 and settled on the eastern shore of Maryland, where they and their descendants were well known as prominent farming people. Representatives of the family have since been found in that section of the country, but the parents of Edwin W. Maslin removed to Baltimore in 1837.
Pursuing his education in the public schools of Baltimore, which he entered in 1843, he there continued his studies and in August, 1845. became a high-school pupil, but did not graduate. On the 7th of November, 1852, he left Baltimore on the ship Hermann and made the trip around the Horn. On the 15th of May, 1853, he arrived at Grass Valley, California, and at once engaged in mining, devoting his efforts to that work until September 5, 1855, when he entered upon the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1857 and opened an office in Grass Valley, where he con- tinued in private practice until his election to the position of district attorney of Nevada county in the fall of 1859. He acceptably
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served in that capacity until October, 1861, after which he resumed private practice and so continued until July, 1870. He was then again called to public office, being elected secretary of the state board of equalization, in which connection he made an excellent record. Upon his retirement from that position in April, 1872, he removed to Santa Rosa, California, where he engaged in private practice for about three and a half years, or until December, 1875, when he was selected by Governor William Irwin as his private secretary, serving until the retirement of the governor at the close of his term, in Jan- uary, 1880. At that date he was again elected secretary of the state board of equalization and filled the position with notable acceptabil- ity for eleven years. Upon his retirement in April, 1891, he was at once appointed manager of the state board of trade and so continued until March 1, 1894, when he was appointed by Colonel J. P. Irish as deputy naval officer, and has since continued in this position, cover- ing a period of two decades. His record needs little comment, for it speaks for itself. That he has again and again been called to positions of public honor and trust is an indication of the recognition of his ability and the trust reposed in him. On the 20th of Decem- ber, 1897, he was appointed one of the trustees of the Alameda Free Library and is still acting as a member of the board.
Mr. Maslin has been married twice. On the 26th of December, 1859, at Grass Valley, he wedded Mary A. Underwood, who passed away about fifteen years later, on the 7th of May, 1874. He did not again marry until October, 1885, when, in Sacramento, he wedded Mary A. Way, a native of Illinois. By the first marriage there were two sons : Thomas Paul, who married Stella Wyllie and is a minister of the Episcopal church, now in China; and Prentiss, who married Grace Parker and is residing in Sacramento. The only child of the second marriage is a son, Francis I., now an electrical engineer.
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