USA > California > Alameda County > Past and present of Alameda County, California, Volume II > Part 47
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skill won him high standing in the regard of his professional brethren, as well as an extensive practice. Dr. Sehorn now has important business connections through his investments. He is a director in the Los Angeles Development Company, which holds a large tract of farming land that is being subdivided as sites for small homes. His investments have been carefully made and his success has resulted largely therefrom.
Throughout his entire life Dr. Sehorn has been a stalwart demo- crat, and his political activity dates from the time when at Red Bluff he was captain of the Cleveland and Hendricks Guards. At the time of the Lane-Pardee contest for the governorship of California Dr. Sehorn purchased and published the Vallejo Times. The town of Vallejo has always been strongly republican, but the strenuous efforts of Dr. Sehorn turned the tables and secured a large democratic vic- tory. His editorials were logical and his clear reasoning and thor- ough understanding of the situation, together with his clear and con- cisc expression of opinions, constituted a most potent force in swerv- ing public thought. In the furtherance of the cause he published an "extra" every afternoon, which was largely responsible for the success of the campaign at Vallejo and through that region. He has been present at every state convention of his party since the celebrated Stockton convention. Dr. Sehorn was also an active force in politics while residing in San Francisco and in 1914 was elected town trustee of San Leandro with a majority of two hundred and ten.
In San Francisco was celebrated the marriage of Dr. Sehorn and Miss Ethel Hayes, of San Jose, California. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church. His life is one of untiring activity in support of any cause, business, political or otherwise, with which he is connected, and his efforts have been notably resultant.
O. F. OLSEN.
O. F. Olsen, now living in Sacramento, was formerly the man- ager of the Oakland store conducted by the John Brenner Company of Sacramento, dealers in house furnishings, and by virtue of this responsible position and the force of his ability, enterprise and dis- crimination was one of the foremost business men of Oakland. Dur- ing the entire course of his active career he has been associated with this concern and has risen steadily through successive stages of prog- ress and advancement to a place of prominence in its affairs.
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Mr. Olsen is a native of San Francisco and when still a young man entered the employ of the John Brenner Company of Sacra- mento, applying himself to his duties conscientiously and assiduously and learning the business in principle and detail. He was gradu- ally advanced through the various departments as his ability became known and recognized until he finally held the important office of manager of the Sacramento store. The John Brenner Company deals in all kinds of household furnishings and is prepared to furnish a home from top to bottom. There are three stores, in Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland, and the company controls an important and growing patronage. It is the exclusive agent for the Gustav Stickley Craftsman furniture made in Syracuse, New York, and is interested besides in many other lines of house furnishings. The business is managed along the most progressive and modern lines. The directors of the company believe in advertising and they give away each year a fine lot and a new bungalow to one of their cus- tomers. There is a combination mattress factory, warehouse and garage in Alameda and there all the mattresses sold by the concern are manufactured and all the upholstery work done. The John Brenner Company is one of the largest and best known institutions of its kind in California and its policy is one of development and advancement, nothing being neglected which will aid in the expan- sion of the business or promote its rapidity of growth.
In 1906 the John Brenner Company decided to open a branch store in Oakland and, recognizing Mr. Olsen's excellent administra- tive and organizing ability and his detailed knowledge of the busi- ness, selected him as manager of the enterprise. Their choice proved an excellent one for under Mr. Olsen's able direction the Oakland store became the most profitable of all the branches, furnishing em- ployment to one hundred persons in the store and warehouse. In connection with the retail business Mr. Olsen conducted a house- rental department and was thus enabled to keep in touch with the newcomers who intended to make their home in Oakland. He studied modern business conditions and did everything in his power to cooperate with his employes for their mutual benefit, organizing a Mutual Aid Society. This brought him in close touch with his employes and proved a measure of great benefit in fostering a whole- some social life among them and enabling them to provide for their needs in case of sickness or death.
Mr. Olsen is a member of the Athenian, Elks and Commercial Clubs and fraternally is connected with the Masonic order, holding membership in the Shrine. While a resident of Oakland he took an
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energetic part in the promotion of all progressive movements and was a powerful individual factor in municipal growth and expan- sion. He served at one time as a director of the Chamber of Com- merce and his cooperation can always be counted upon to further projects of permanent community interest. He is preeminently a business man and he possesses the integrity, the aggressiveness and the keen insight necessary for success along business lines. With true administrative skill he founded and developed in Oakland a large and profitable commercial concern and built it up along true economic lines, making it a source of profit to the company and a valuable addition to the industrial resources of the city.
FREDERICK DELGER.
A pioneer of Alameda county, a man who by his own initiative, hard work and good judgment in real estate investments made a marked financial success was Frederick Delger. Born in Saxony, Germany, March 11, 1822, he spent his early manhood in his native land. In 1847 he came to America, remaining for a time in New York city, where in 1848 he was united in marriage with Miss Ernes- tine Blecher. In 1852, with his wife and one child, he started for California by way of Cape Horn, reaching San Francisco, January 7, 1853.
Being a hard worker and thrifty Mr. Delger accumulated enough money to enable him, in 1855, to open a retail shoe store for himself. and soon thereafter a second one and later a branch store in Sacra- mento. His business prospered and a few years later, selling out the retail stores, he opened, and for a while conducted, a wholesale shoc business. In the meantime he began the purchase of real estate in San Francisco and in 1860 made quite an extensive investment in real estate in Oakland. These several purchases proved to have been wisely selected and by the development of the two cities greatly increased in value. In 1860 he moved his residence to Oakland and thereafter until his decease that city was his home. He subdivided and improved his real-estate holdings and thus materially aided in the expansion of his home city, and business blocks of both San Francisco and Oakland still bear his name.
Possessed of benevolence of character, he gave to many worthy objects, among which may be mentioned the Fabiola Hospital and The Altenheim, to which he and his wife contributed liberally.
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To Mr. and Mrs. Delger were born four children : Mrs. Matilda Brown and Mrs. Annie Moller, both of Oakland; Edward F. Del- ger, of San Francisco; and Mrs. Lillian D. Powers, now residing abroad. At the age of seventy-six, on April 25, 1898, Mr. Delger's life work ended. He was survived by his widow until January 5, 1908.
CHARLES H. WENTE.
The name of Charles H. Wente has come to be regarded as synonymous with development and progress in Alameda county, for not only is he one of the most successful and progressive vineyardists in this part of the state but his varied interests have also touched closely many phases of financial and commercial development. He was born in Germany in 1851 and grew up on his father's farm there, taking charge of the property in partnership with his older brother when he was eighteen years of age. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native country.
Charles H. Wente came to the United States in his early man- hood and after one year of travel settled in California in 1882. For a short time he worked as a farm hand and later moved to Napa county, where he was employed in one of the first vineyards in that locality. In the interests of his employer he laid out a large vinc- vard, and he continued this occupation in the employ of others for three years thereafter. At the end of that time he came to Livermore and bought an interest in fifty acres of vineyard land belonging to Dr. Benard. Before the latter's death, in 1887, they made ten thou- sand gallons of wine in one year, and after Dr. Benard passed away Mr. Wente with his two new partners increased the capacity of the enterprise steadily, setting out more vines year by year. In 1806 Mr. Wente purchased four hundred and forty-six acres and in the following year set out upon this property one hundred acres in vines. In 1901 he purchased his partners' interests and has operated this enterprise alone since that time, owning today one thousand acres of land, three hundred acres being set out to vineyards. He has a plant the capacity of which is half a million gallons of wine and for the better disposal of his property purchased in 1908 the business con- trolled by the Napa & Sonoma Wine Company, of San Francisco, of which he is now president and majority stockholder.
Mr. Wente is also well known in financial circles, having exten- sive and important connections along this line. He was one of the
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organizers of the Livermore Valley Bank, founded in 1905, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. He was made vice president of this concern, holding this position until 1907, when the enterprise was reorganized as the First Naitonal Bank of Livermore with Mr. Wente as president, an office which he occupies at the present time. At the time of the reorganization of the First National Bank Mr. Wente also established the Livermore Valley Savings Bank in connection with it and is at the head of this concern also. The combined resources of the two banks are seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars and the capital stock of the Savings Bank is twenty- five thousand dollars and of the First National Bank fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Wente was the organizer of the Farmers Warehouse Company in Livermore and resigned as treasurer of this concern after a number of years of able service in order to establish the Independent Warehouse Company, in which he still owns an interest. He con- trols a large brick yard in Livermore, being president of the only fire brick plant in this region, and he is a director and was one of the organizers of the Vulcan Fire Insurance Company of Oakland. He. with several others, founded the Livermore Valley Building & Loan Association, and he has been a director therein from its organization. He was one of three men who established the Masonic Hall Associa- tion of which he is president. The building together with the lot cost twenty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, and is the finest edifice in Livermore. Thus it may be seen that his interests are ex- tensive, varied and important, and they are conducted always in a progressive, farsighted and intelligent manner so that he stands today among the men of power and prominence in this locality.
Mr. Wente married Miss Barbara Troutwein, a native of Ger- many but a resident of Oakland at the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Wente have become the parents of seven children: Ida May and Caroline H., at home; Charles F., assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Livermore; E. A., who is in the wine busi- ness in association with his father and acts as manager of the vine- yard; Herman L., attending the University of California; and Freda B. and Hillman, who are attending school. Mr. Wente is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is identified also with the Sons of Herman and the Grape Growers Association. His home located two miles from Livermore is called the Benard Vineyard. In 1913 he purchased the famous Oak Spring Vineyard which is situated just across from his home and which has been noted for many years because of the fine spring which afforded a watering place for the many travelers who went from San Jose to Stockton, from Stockton
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10 Oakland, etc., on horseback. He holds a high place in business circles of Alameda county and his integrity, enterprise and ability have made him widely known and greatly respected.
JUDGE WILLIAM H. WASTE.
Ambition, energy and a progressive spirit, combined with a true sense of the dignity and meaning of the law and of the value and benefit of its aims and purposes, have brought Judge William H. Waste to a position of prominence and distinction at the bar of Cali- fornia and to a place of honor on the bench. For many years he has assisted materially in the development of Alameda county and his public services have been especially important as judge of the superior court to which he was appointed by Governor Pardee on the 13th of April, 1905.
California numbers Judge Waste among her honored native sons, his birth having occurred on a farm in the vicinity of Chico, Butte county, October 31, 1868. His parents were John Jackson and Mary C. (McIntosh) Waste, the former a native of New York and the latter of Kentucky. The father was a true California pioneer, for he crossed the plains in 1851, riding a fine thoroughbred Kentucky horse and carrying his rifle on the pommel of his saddle. He acted as hunter and guide for an emigrant train which was over three months in making the trip, and after his arrival in California he settled in Sutter's Fort, whence he removed to Princeton, Colusa county, where he engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He followed the same occupations after he removed to Chico, Butte county, and was a prosperous and prominent agriculturist at the time of his death which occurred in 1882. His wife has also passed away.
In the acquirement of an education Judge Waste attended public school in his native community and supplemented this by a course in the University of California, from which institution he received a degree of Ph. B. in 1891. He had determined to make the practice of law his life work in pursuance of this ambition he entered Hast- ings Law school in San Francisco, graduating with the degree of LL.B. in 1894. During his law student days he was also interested in journalism, acting as a reporter on the San Francisco Examiner, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Oakland Tribune and Times. After he was admitted to the bar he began the practice of his pro-
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fession in Oakland, there securing a large and representative clientage and there remaining until he came to Berkeley where he has since remained an honored, active and loyal citizen.
Judge Waste stands high in the councils of the local organization of the republican party and has had a distinguished and successful political career. He was elected to the state assembly from the fifty- second district in 1902, his able work winning him reelection in 1904. On the 13th of April in the following year he was appointed by Governor Pardee Judge of the superior court and he has since served in that capacity, dignifying and elevating the high office he holds. He has proved his fitness for the position by eight years of straight- forward, successful and beneficial work, his decisions being always just, impartial and in accordance with both the principles of humanity and the requirements of the law. His work has been constantly con- structive, beneficial and far-reaching in its effects and is destined to form a part of the judicial history of California.
A man of broad views, modern ideas and well developed powers Judge Waste has not confined the field of his activities to his heavy and responsible professional and public duties, his interests extend- ing to anything which he deems will promote the growth and de- velopment of the city or the best interests of its citizens. It was through his influence in the legislature that the appropriations for a large state building at the University of California were secured and he secured also an appropriation for an agricultural building which, however, was not erected owing to lack of funds. He was the or- ganizer and first president of the Holmes Library Association of Berkeley to which Mr. Carnegie contributed forty thousand dollars for the erection of a building, and he has identified himself closely with various important business enterprises, acting as attorney for the First National Bank, the Homestead Loan Association of Berke- ley and the Berkeley Bank of Savings and Trust Company.
Judge Waste married in Berkeley on the 16th of September, 1896, Miss Mary Ewing, a daughter of Archibald and Rowena (Taylor) Ewing, natives of Virginia. Judge and Mrs. Waste have two chil- dren, William E. and Eugenia McIntosh. Fraternally Judge Waste belongs to the Masonic order, holding membership in Durant Lodge, A. F. & A. M. of Berkeley, of which he is past master; Berkeley Chapter, No. 92, R. A. M .; Berkeley Commandery, No. 42, K. T .; and Aahmes Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is identified also with Berkeley Parlor, N. S. G. W., and Peralta Camp, W. O. W. He is one of the prominent and well known members of the Methodist Episcopal church and is an active religious worker, contributing
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liberally to the support of the church and its charities. He has served as president of the Young Men's Christian Association of Berkeley and is prominent in the Epworth League. The excellent qualities of his character, his high integrity and righteousness, have molded his destiny along honorable lines, bringing him professional success, per- sonal prominence and public distinction-all worthily won and wisely used.
HON. WILLIAM S. WELLS.
Hon. William S. Wells, who is at present presiding in depart- ment 4 of the superior court of Alameda county, enjoys the distinc- tion of being the first superior judge in the county to receive the republican nomination for that office direct from the people, he, hav- ing on the 16th of August, 1910, received a handsome majority at the primaries. Judge Wells was born in Fairfield, Solano county, California, June 24, 1861. He comes from old New England stock and has inherited the qualities that generally lead to success. His father, William S. Wells, was a native of Maine and came to Cali- fornia in January, 1850, and was one of the sturdy pioneers who helped to make California what it is today. The father settled in Solano county and practiced law there and later in San Francisco. He was a resident of Oakland at the time of his death, which occurred on Christmas Day, 1878.
Judge Wells acquired his preliminary education in the public schools and later entered St. Augustine College at Benicia, subse- quently completing his studies at the University of California. He was admitted to the bar of the state in 1884 and began the practice of his profession in Contra Costa county with almost immediate success. He received the appointment of assistant district attorney of Contra Costa county in 1886, and his record in that office led to his appointment as judge of the superior court in that county Janu- ary 26, 1899, in place of Joseph P. Jones, deceased. Judge Wells was afterward elected to fill the unexpired term and again for a full term which expired in January, 1909. In April of the same year he was appointed to the superior court of Alameda county upon the passage of the law, creating an additional judge in this county and since assuming office he has won the approval and respect of the community for his fair disposition and just rulings. As a judge of the probate department of the superior court, where many compli-
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cated and intricate points of law are coming before him, he has shown a comprehensive and exact knowledge of the underlying principles of his profession and a sound judgment which only long experience and careful study can produce.
On the 4th of November, 1885, Judge Wells was united in mar- riage to Miss Ella O'Neil and he has two children: William S. Wells, Jr., a graduate of the University of California, now practicing law in Oakland; and Ella M., a graduate of Miss Head's school. Both are married. Judge Wells is prominently known in fraternal circles, being past grand master of Masons of California, a member of Oakland Lodge, No. 171, B. P. O. E., and belonging to the Wood- men of the World. He is prominent socially in Oakland, and his sterling worth and many excellent qualities of mind and character have brought him a wide and representative circle of friends.
WILLIAM HENRY PARRISH.
The years which covered the active business career of William Henry Parrish chronicled his success as the result of determined and persistent purpose, close application and indomitable energy, for he started out without influence and by his executive ability and genius for organization built up in Oakland what is still the largest teaming and draying establishment in the city. He is also entitled to repre- sentation in this volume as a veteran of the Civil war.
Mr. Parrish was born in McHenry county, Illinois, January 24. 1841, and was a son of Ransom and Adelia ( Lowell) Parrish, natives of New York. The father came to California about the year 1862 and in this state secured employment as a carpenter and mechanic. Soon afterward he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, set- tling on a farm in Sonoma county, where he remained until ill health compelled him to retire. He then moved to Oakland, dying at the home of his son in this city at the age of sixty-seven, having survived his wife for six months. Of their children Malinda died at the age of nineteen and Norman, also deceased, owned the California plan- ing mill in San Francisco for a number of years.
William Henry Parrish was reared in Wisconsin, where he re -. mained until he was seventeen years of age. At that time he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and there secured employment in a store, retaining this position until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he returned to Illinois. At Rockford, that state, July 13, 1861, he en-
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listed in Company G, Forty-fourth Illinois Infantry, in which he served three years and one month, receiving his honorable discharge August 13, 1864. On the 29th of October of the same year Mr. Par- rish arrived in California and for about seven years thereafter worked in a planing mill. At the end of that time he turned his attention to the draying and truck business, establishing the enterprise with which his name has since been honorably associated. For a time he was in business with a partner but from 1890 until his death conducted the concern alone, his office being located at 428 Sixth street. He began with a meager equipment, but his business expanded rapidly and at the time of his death he had seven draft teams, modern wagons and a force of eight men to assist in the hauling and moving. All modern appliances for the safe conduct of a business of this character were found in his establishment and his workmen were all specially trained in this line of labor. Many of the largest business houses in San Francisco and Oakland retained Mr. Parrish to relieve them of the details of their freight and express department. By his special sys- tem he paid all freight and expense bills and then presented the entire account when the goods were delivered to his patrons. Under his able management his concern grew to extensive proportions, being at the time of his death one of the largest and most important of its kind on the coast. The business is now under the direction of his sons, who have adhered to their father's policies and maintained the business at its usual standard of efficiency.
While on the journey to California on the steamer Golden Rule, Mr. Parrish made the acquaintance of Miss Catherine Machwirth, a native of Buffalo, New York, and a daughter of Adolph and Cath- erine Machwirth. The acquaintance thus formed ripened into affec- tion and culminated in their marriage four years later. Six children were born to their union, of whom one, Arthur, has passed away. The others are: Norman A., who is connected with the Machwirth Cornice Company of Buffalo, New York, having had charge of the architectural work of several of the largest buildings at the St. Louis fair; Clinton C., who assisted his brother in the exposition work; Charles C., and Wilfred E., managers of their father's interests; and Louisa C., who is now Mrs. George Denison. Mrs. Parrish survives her husband and is one of the well known and popular women of Oakland, having made her home at 2053 Webster street the center of a hospitable social circle.
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