Pen pictures from the garden of the world, or Santa Clara county, California, Part 105

Author: Foote, Horace S., ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844

USA > California > Santa Clara County > Pen pictures from the garden of the world, or Santa Clara county, California > Part 105

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Mr. Millikin is interested in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Santa Clara Lodge, No. 52.

C. MORSE. Among the well-known citizens of this section, mention must be made of the subject of this sketch, who resides on the San

Francisco road, about half a mile west of Santa Clara, at which place are located the Pacific Seed Gardens, of which he is the proprietor. These gardens occupy about 400 acres, and are really mag- nificent in extent and productions, well worth a visit from all who are interested in the growing industries of the county. The gardens were established, in 1875, by R. W. Wilson, a seedsman from the East, and then contained but fifty-four acres. Mr. Wilson conducted the business until 1878, when he sold it to Kellogg & Morse, who steadily enlarged the grounds and in- creased the business. By sound business principles and good judgment, they built up and successfully managed one of the largest enterprises of this charac- ter on the Pacific Coast. Its magnitude may be judged from the fact that in 1887 the products of the gardens comprised over 150 tons of the best varieties of field, garden, and flower-seeds. In the development of the latter, Mr. Morse is spending considerable

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time and money, and in the near future this branch of the business is destined to become most successful. It is worthy of note that the cost of conducting these large gardens is nearly $30,000 per annum. In 1887 Mr. Kellogg retired from the firm, and since that time Mr. Morse has been the sole proprietor and manager. He is paying attention to the improvement of the quality rather than to the increase of the quantity of his products, and in this he has been eminently suc- cessful, particularly with the different varieties of lettuce, onion, and carrot seeds. He also owns a fine residence upon the grounds, in which are found all the comforts which characterize a well-ordered home.

Mr. Morse dates his birth in Thomaston, Maine, in 1842. His parents, Obadiah and Chloe W. (Cope- land) Morse, were natives of Maine, and descendants of old Puritan families of New England. His father died when he was but four years of age, leaving his mother with means inadequate to the care of the farm and the rearing of her children. In the hard struggle which she was obliged to make, the mother was de- pendent to a great extent upon the assistance which her children were able to render her in the care of the farm. Thus at an early age Mr. Morse was accus- tomed to farm labor and was taught the stern duties of life. Reared in this school of necessity, he devel- oped those qualities of independence and industry which, carried into his after life, insured his success in all the business operations in which he became en- gaged. At the age of seventeen years, being desir- ous of rendering his mother more assistance than was possible from his earnings as a farm laborer, he com- menced a seafaring life, which he followed for several years, in fact until he came to California, in 1862. In this State he engaged in several occupations, among them that of a painter, in which he became very pro- ficient. He became a contractor for work in house painting, following this business for twelve years in Santa Clara, previous to the purchase of the seed gardens, and, although never taught the trade, by his natural ability he was enabled to cope successfully with his competitors.

The subject of our sketch married Miss Maria J. V. Langford, the daughter of Pleasant and Sarah Langford, of Santa Clara County. Of their five chil- dren, four are now living. Their names and ages (in 1888) are as follows : Eva A., aged nineteen years; Lester L., aged seventeen years; Stella M., aged four- teen years; and Winnie M., aged seven years.

Mr. Morse is a prominent member of the Advent Christian Church of Santa Clara, having been one of

its founders, and having since taken the deepest inter- est in its welfare. He is a progressive man, and as such always takes part in all public movements which tend to the advancement of the prosperity of his county, to which, by the conscientious management of his own important business affairs, he adds not a little.

SOHN H. PIEPER is a native of the Province of Hanover, Germany, where he was born in 1824. His parents were natives of the same place and passed all their lives there, and are both buried in that province. His father, while living, had charge of the public highway of the district of Osterode, Hanover. The subject of this sketch was educated in the Academy of Mining and Forestry in Claus- thal, in the Hartz Mountains. In 1843 he entered on his military duties in the engineer corps, serving in this corps for seven years. He then became a Lieu- tenant of engineers and Adjutant of the corps in the service of Schleswig-Holstein. After his honorable discharge from military duty, he came to the United States, landing in New Orleans, and went immediately to San Antonio, Texas, but, the climate disagreeing with him, he left there and went to New York, and for three years he was employed as principal assistant of the Topographical Survey of the State of New Jersey, then in charge of Lieutenant (now General) Egbert L. Viele. He was afterward employed as principal assistant engineer in laying out Central Park, New York. For a period of seven years he held this position, and then resigned it to accept that of mining engineer and assistant manager of the Mariposa Grant, Mariposa County, California, which position he held for two years. Mr. Pieper then came to San Jose and engaged in the practice of his pro- fession of civil engineer and surveyor, and since 1867 he has been City Engineer of San Jose, during which time extensive improvements of the city, such as the construction of the streets, bridges, and sewers have been made under his plans and specifications. He has also planned the improvements of the chan- nels of the streams passing through the city. The sewage system of the city of San Jose, and the im- provement of the channels of the several water-courses running through the city, were according to Mr. Pie- per's plans, and were made under his supervision. The detailed description of these improvements, which appears elsewhere in this book, is taken from his able report on these subjects.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Mr. Pieper owns a fine fruit farm of thirteen acres south of San Jose, which he has planted to 600 prune trees, 365 Moorpark apricots, 265 peaches, 250 cherry trees, and three-quarters of an acre in vineyards. When five years old the peach and apricot trees yielded fruit that, when evaporated, amounted to six tons.

Mr. Pieper is married to Miss Adele Hoffman, a native of Cassel, Germany, and has six children. The eldest, Carl, is now a civil engineer and surveyor in Pasadena, California, in partnership with Colonel Place, formerly of the United States Engineer Corps; Oscar H. Thekla, Alphonse, Ernest, and Olga are the names of the other five, all of whom are attend- ing school. Mr. Pieper's residence is on the corner of Alameda and Stockton Avenues. He is a member of Garden City Lodge, No. 142, I. O. O. F., also of the Legion of Honor and the Order of Chosen Friends.

ENRY SEARS, residing on the Almaden road, near the city limits of San Jose, is the owner of a very fine orchard of about eight acres. The substantial buildings on the place were erected by Mr. Sears, with regard only to comfort and con- venience, and well show the taste of the owner. Pur- chasing the property in February, 1884, out of a wheat-field, he commenced the work of improvement at once. The rapid development of the orchard, to those unacquainted with the possibilities of this won- derful climate and soil, when supplemented by skill and the unstinted use of money, is almost marvel- ous. In the orchard can be found almost every variety of deciduous fruit adapted to the soil,-cher- ries, French and Silver prunes, almonds, English wal- nuts, grapes, and many kinds of plums and peaches. The last-named fruit ripens from the first of June until the middle of October. Eight peach trees, planted the first year for home use, have long been producing more fruit than the family could use or give away to friends. In 1887 from these trees, in- cluding two planted later, a surplus of 1,800 pounds of fruit was sold. This fact is mentioned merely to illustrate how little Mr. Sears understood the capac- ity of the soil for producing fruit, and to give the

general reader an idea of the same. This model little orchard is penetrated by two fine avenues lead- ing to the residence, one from the Almaden road on the west, and the other from Orchard Street on the north. The residence, with all its surroundings, makes a most pleasant and comfortable home.

Mr. Sears is a Massachusetts man by birth, which he dates in old Berkshire County. His business life has been spent chiefly in Illinois. At Rockford he built up an extensive business in cutlery and fire- arms. He is the head of the firm of H. Sears & Co., on Wabash Avenue, Chicago, a wholesale house with a trade of $300,000 per annum, in the same general line of business.

In 1883 Mr. Sears, finding that failing health would not permit him to live in Chicago, and having traveled extensively in California, Florida, and other sections in search of a congenial climate, concluded to settle in the beautiful, sunny Santa Clara Valley. Much of his old-time vigor has returned, and he can hardly find words to express his enthusiastic praise of the climate, resources, and possibilities of his new home.

H. ROBERTS, the subject of this sketch, is an intelligent and energetic mechanic, who has established a blacksmith and carriage repairing shop near the corner of Saratoga Avenue and the Stevens Creek road, in the Doyle District, about four miles from San Jose. These works are a decided advantage to the community, and Mr. Roberts just reaps the pecuniary reward to which his enterprise and industry entitle him. He is also an inventor of no mean order. One of his most useful and bene- ficial inventions is the Roberts Cultivator, which is so well appreciated by orchardists and others that it is rapidly taking precedence over all its competitors. This is particularly noticeable in the community sur- rounding Mr. Roberts' place of business. He is also the owner of a comfortable and pleasant home ad- joining his shop. By his useful, active life, and his qualities of integrity and industry, Mr. Roberts has won the deserved esteem of his neighbors and fellow- citizens. He is a member of Santa Clara Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F. Politically he is a strong and in- telligent Republican.

Mr. Roberts was born in 1856, in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and is the son of William and C. E. (Riddle) Roberts. He became a resident of this State in 1873, coming directly to Los Gatos, of this county. At that place he made his home for four years, being engaged in mechanical pursuits. He then established the works above mentioned. In 1881 Mr. Roberts married Miss Laura V. Reynolds, the daughter of Frank Reynolds, of Los Gatos. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have no children.

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PEN PICTURES FROM THE "GARDEN OF THE WORLD."

D. REED, a resident of the Willows, owns ten acres on Hicks Avenue, which he improved from a state of nature, removing the wild trees and brush. He bought the property in 1877, and commenced tree-planting in February of the fol- lowing year, setting nearly 2,000 trees. Now his orchard is in full bearing. Six acres are planted in apricots, and the remainder in cherries. Mr. Reed has been a resident of Santa Clara County for fifteen years, and of the State since February, 1867. For the first six years of his residence in California, Mr. Reed lived in Placer County, and since coming to Santa Clara County has been directly or indirectly interested in fruit-culture, witnessing much of the growth of the county, in prosperity and population. Politically Mr. Reed is fully in accord with the prin- ciples of the Republican party.

He was born in Oneida County, New York, but was reared in Madison County, that State. He was born on the sixth of August, 1842. His parents, Mansel and Laura Reed, are deceased, the father dying in Lewis County, and the mother in Onondaga County, of the State of New York. Mr. Reed was reared to a farm life, but has engaged in various occupations. He came directly from Madison County to this State. On the sixteenth of October, 1873, he was united in marriage with Miss Augusta Milliman, at Oakland. Mrs. Reed was born and reared in Madison County, New York, and her parents, Joseph and Louisa Milli- man, now live in Onondaga County. Mr. and Mrs. Reed have two children, William and Joseph.

OHN MORGAN, of the Milliken District, re- sides on the San Francisco road, three miles west of Santa Clara, near the corner of the Saratoga and Alviso roads, where he has quite extensive carriage manufacturing and repairing and blacksmith shops. These works are centrally located in a fine farming and orchard section, and are well patronized by the community. Mr. Morgan is an intelligent mechanic, and is deserving of the patronage which he receives. His mechanical ability is well displayed in the "Morgan Cultivator," of which he is the inventor -a farm implement which his patrons fully appre- ciate, and which rapidly supersedes all competitors. Near his shops Mr. Morgan owns a comfortable home, which, with his family, he occupies.

The subject of this sketch was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1845, and is the son of John and Elspit

(Alexander) Morgan, residents and natives of that place. At an early age he became interested in me- chanical work, and engaged in it while attending school. He thus became the intelligent artisan who merits the success that results from a combination of education and mechanical genius. In 1872 Mr. Mor- gan left his native home, to become a citizen of the United States. Upon landing at New York he started directly for San Francisco. After his arrival there he worked at ship-building and other kindred occupa- tions for about five years. He then removed to San Jose, and for about eighteen months was employed in the machine shops of that city; but, being of an enter- prising disposition, he soon established the shops mentioned in the first part of our sketch, and has since conducted them with great success.

By his enterprise, industry, honesty, and ability, Mr. Morgan has won not only the patronage of the community, but also its respect. He is a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, and is also con- nected with the Santa Clara Lodge, No. 238, I. O. O. F.

In 1874 he married Miss Margaret Center, daugh- ter of George Center, of Santa Clara County. Three daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan: Lizzie C., aged (in 1888) twelve years; Lillie, aged nine years; and Maggie, aged three years.

ZRA F. BEACH dates his birth in Erie County, New York, February 2, 1844. He is the son of Harry and Hannah Beach, both of whom were natives of Erie County. The homestead in which the subject of our sketch was born was estab- lished by his grandfather, and there also was born Harry Beach, the father of our subject, and there he still lives, at the age of seventy-nine years. The mother, Mrs. Hannah Beach, died in 1872.

Ezra F. Beach was reared to the life of a farmer, and that work has filled the greater part of his years. At the age of twenty years the desire to see more of the world led him to leave the home of his father and grandfather to seek the far-off Western State of Cali- fornia. The four years succeeding his arrival in this State, in 1864, were spent in the mines at Dutch Flat, Placer County. Upon leaving the mines he came to this part of the State, and ever since has been a resi- dent either of Santa Clara or San Benito County, with the exception of two years spent in Santa Cruz County. His home has been a part of the time at Gilroy, and a part at San Felipe, but wherever he has

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lived he has been engaged either in agriculture or hor- ticulture.

On the seventeenth of August, 1873, he was united in marriage with Miss Ida Nason, who is a native Californian, dating her birth in San Francisco, Feb- ruary 6, 1856. Her parents, Edmund and Marietta Nason, were born in the State of New Hampshire, but reared in Massachusetts. They came to Califor- nia, settling in San Francisco, in 1854, and now (in 1888) are residents of San Felipe, San Benito County.

The pleasant cottage home and fine orchard of ten acres, owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Beach, are located on the Stevens Creek road, five miles west of San Jose. . The purchase was consummated May 3, 1884. All the improvements, and all the building up of the place, have been the labor of their hands. The orchard comprises prunes, apricots, and peaches, one-half of the land being devoted to the first-named fruit, and the other half to the two last-named fruits, in equal proportions. J. W. Beach, a brother of our subject, owns a promising young orchard of ten acres adjoining this property.

Mr. and Mrs. Beach are the parents of two bright boys: Elmer E., born September 20, 1875, and Her- bert S., born March 25, 1878. Mr. Beach is a man of public spirit and enterprise, and is naturally greatly interested in all matters of that character. Politically he is in full sympathy with the Republican party, while socially he is affiliated with the Santa Clara Lodge, No. 52, I. O. O. F., and with Mount Hamilton Lodge, A. O. U. W., of San Jose.

CHRISTIAN BOLLINGER was born in 1817, in Bollinger County, Missouri. At that early date it was a wild and unsettled country, and his pioneer parents not possessing an abundance of this world's goods, his youth and early manhood were spent in hard and unceasing labor at farming and kindred pursuits, which left his opportunities for se- curing an education even more limited than was ne- cessitated by the primitive condition of the country. But his inborn good sense, coupled with untiring en- ergy, has enabled him to overcome many of these dis- advantages, and to successfully compete with the more favored but less ambitious portion of humanity, in the race for wealth and position.

At the early age of nineteen years, Mr. Bollinger was united in marriage with Miss Sallie Farmer, the

daughter of Reuben Farmer, of Bollinger County, and together they traveled life's road for more than forty-four years, the wife's death occurring in 1880. To Mr. and Mrs. Bollinger were born nine children, of whom five are now living: David, George, Mary, Catharine, and Emma. All are married and living either in Santa Clara or San Mateo County. For his second wife, Mr. Bollinger married Mrs. Vinnie Wein- berg, of Contra Costa County.

The subject of our sketch is justly entitled to the distinction of being one of the pioneers of California, he having emigrated to this State early in 1852. He first lived in Napa County, for about a year, and then came to Santa Clara County. Here he spent another year, and again removed, this time to San Mateo County, where he became possessed of large and valuable tracts of land in the foot-hills of the Coast Range. In 1883 the Spring Valley Water Company, of San Francisco, having need of Mr. Bollinger's land in extending their water system, made him ad- vantageous offers, which he accepted. Having thus disposed of all his real-estate interests in San Mateo County, he returned to Santa Clara County, and es- tablished his residence on a 184-acre tract of fine farm- ing land on Saratoga Avenue, a little southwest of Santa Clara. This property he sold in 1887, realizing a fine return upon his investment. He then removed to Santa Clara, where he has since made his home.

Mr. Bollinger owns some fine orchard property on Saratoga Avenue, within the limits of Santa Clara, and there he intends to build a home, in which to spend his remaining years, where, surrounded by all needed comforts, he may enjoy the rest which his long, energetic, and industrious life justly entitles him to receive.

FRANKLIN P. CANRIGHT resides a little west of the Los Gatos road, in the Hamilton District. He is the owner of a fine ranch of thirty-one acres, which he bought in June, 1881, it be- ing at that time part of a grain farm. He established his residence on the property in October of the same year, erecting his buildings after taking posses- sion. During the first year he planted nine acres, principally in prunes. His orchard now contains eleven and one-half acres, and the remainder of his farm is devoted to the raising of hay. In 1887 he sold $300 worth of prunes, a good showing for a

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young orchard, for that year, which was not consid- ered a good one for prunés.

Mr. Canright is a native of Ulster County, New York, where he was born on the twenty-fourth of Jan- uary, 1829. His father, Solomon Canright, was a na- tive of New York, and his mother, Pamelia (Pecor) Canright, of Vermont. His father died in Brookfield, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and his mother now lives, at the advanced age of eight-three years, in the city of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Within a few years after the California gold fever broke out, Mr. Can- right followed the multitude who had made the long journey in search of gold. Leaving New York city, he traveled by way of the Isthmus, and landed at San Francisco, on the fifth of February, 1854, having been two months on the way. He first made Prairie City, Sacramento County, his home, being engaged in placer mining there. Thence he removed to Downieville, Sierra County, where he worked at min- ing for thirteen years with varied success. In 1867 Mr. Canright quit the mines, and engaged in general farming in Solano County, where he remained until he removed to his present home, in 1881. On the fifth of October, 1862, he married Miss Mary E. Hatch, a native of Columbia County, New York. They have three children, namely: Eva Pamelia, William Edward, and John Franklin.

In politics Mr. Canright is identified with the Republican party. As a horticulturist his success is assured, while he has won the esteem and respect of the members of the community in which he lives, by the strict honesty of all business transactions, as well as by the great kindness of heart and genial nature.

JOSEPH D. CANNEY, a resident of the Willow District, owns a fine fruit orchard of six acres, located on Pine Avenue, between Washington and Lupton Avenues. The improvement of this piece of property, which was formerly a barley field, he commenced in 1876. The orchard furnishes prunes, cherries, and pears. The building improve- ments are all Mr. Canney's work.

Mr. Canney was born in New Durham, Stafford County, New Hampshire, June 3, 1838. He is the son of James and Jane M. (Fox) Canney, both of whom were born and reared in New Hampshire. In 1855 the family removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was then but a village. In that place, on the nineteenth of September, 1864, Mr. Joseph D. Can-

ning wedded Miss Phobe M. Gilmore. They have two children, Ida L. and Fred G. At the present time (1888), the former is in her twenty-second year, and the latter, attending the University, is in his twentieth year.

Mr. Canney's parents removed from Minneapolis to Santa Clara County, in 1869, and now live at the Willows, owning and occupying a piece of property on Minnesota Avenue. The father and son, under the firm name of J. Canney & Co., are engaged, dur- ing the season of such work, in fruit-drying. Mr. Canney's parents are members of the Society of Friends. Mr. Canney's sister, Elvira J., the wife of W. E. Ward, makes her home with her husband at the residence of her parents, on Minnesota Avenue.

Mr. Canney and his family are members of the Methodist Church. Politically Mr. Canney is a Re- publican, with strong Prohibitionist tendencies. He has been a resident of Santa Clara County for eight- een years, and during this time has won the respect of the community, for his integrity, and for all those qualities which he inherited from the old New England family from which he has descended. His influence, which is for the right, is exercised in the efforts which he puts forth for the good of the community in which he lives.

M ELVIN L. GRUWELL, residing on Saratoga Avenue, three miles from Santa Clara, in the Moreland District, has been identified with Santa Clara County since 1853. He was born in Marion County, Indiana, in 1826, and is the son of John and Ruth Gruwell. When a babe, his parents removed with their family to Quincy, Illinois, and thence, in 1837, to Farmington, Van Buren County, Iowa. There the home was established and retained for several years.

Melvin L. was the youngest of a family of nine children, five boys and four girls. Of this large family, three sons and two daughters are now living. Jacob, who is a minister in the Southern Methodist Church, lives at East San Jose; Laban H. is a resident of Contra Costa County; Mrs. Melinda Williams, a widow, lives in Los Angeles; Mrs. Avis Garrigus makes her home in Santa Clara; and the fifth is the subject of our sketch. The deceased are: Asa, who died in Meridian District, in this county; Robert, who died in the Hamilton District; Mrs. Lydia Harding, who died in Alameda County; and Mrs. Jemima

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Pen pictures from the garden of the world, or Santa Clara county, California, Part 105

Author: Foote, Horace S., ed Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 844

Author: Foote, Horace S., ed
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 844