Pen pictures from the garden of the world, or Santa Clara county, California, Part 85

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 85

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Colorado; but finding it unprofitable, he came on to California and settled in San Jose.

October 24, 1880, the subject of this memoir was married to Miss Rachel Lang, who was born in Richen, near Eppingen, Germany. They have one child, Reda, six years old.

OHN R. HENSLEY and his mother, Mrs. Rebecca G. Hensley, are the owners of one of the finest orchards of the Willow Glen District. This orchard contains twenty-seven and three-fifths acres, planted with 3,000 trees, of which 1,700 are prunes, 400 peaches, 275 cherries, 325 egg-plums, and the balance apricots, apples, and pears. It is situated on Malone Avenue, near the Almaden road. It was bought by them in March, 1882, the price paid being $190 per acre. No better land for horticultural pur- poses can be found in the neighborhood. Only a few trees had been planted prior to their purchase. Since that time the work of improvement has entirely oc- cupied Mr. Hensley's time. He has the satisfaction of seeing the results of his labor, for few if any better- cared-for orchards are to be found.

His parents, James L. and Rebecca (Tiffee) Hens- ley, were born and reared in the State of Missouri. In Boone County, that State, their son John R. was born, November 25, 1854. In 1857, when less than three years of age, he came with his parents to this State, and was reared on a farm, in Colusa County, where his father died, in 1871. Four years later his mother moved with her children to San Jose. Buying a residence in that city, she has since made it her home. With her live her three daugh- ters: Orilla, Nancy, and Mary. John W. is the eldest child and the only son. Being unmarried, he keeps "bachelor's hall," and can generally be found attend- ing to the care of the ranch, in which he justly feels great pride.

EORGE W. STEWART, one of the early set- tlers of the Moreland District, was born in Ten- nessee, September 8, 1834. His parents, John N. and Isabella J. Stewart, removed from Ten- nessee to Mississippi when he was a child, and a few years later to Bowie County, in the northwestern part of Texas, where on a ranch George W. Stewart was

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reared. When twenty years of age he became one of a party of fifteen men who started on the overland trip to California in the spring of 1854. As they drove 600 head of cattle before them, their progress was necessarily slow, and the following winter was spent on Bear River, in Salt Lake Valley. Some time was also spent in grazing the stock in Carson Valley, Nevada, after which they pushed on, and, reaching this State in the autumn of 1855, sold their cattle in Placerville. Thus was ended, without serious mishap, a journey of a year and a half.

In December of the same year, Mr. Stewart came to Santa Clara Valley, and ever since has been a resi- dent of the county. After spending the first two or three years in the cultivation of rented lands, he purchased his present home in 1859. It is located on the San Tomas Aquino road, and at the time of the purchase contained 116 acres, fenced and slightly im- proved. A portion having been sold, the ranch now contains ninety-four acres, which, until 1883, was de- voted to grain production and general farming. Now forty-five acres are in vineyard, and twenty-five acres in orchard. Thirty-five acres of the vineyard were planted in 1883, and the remainder four years later. The crop of 1887 was 174 tons, twenty tons being Muscat (table) grapes, which were sold at $20 per ton; the remainder (wine grapes) were sold at $12 per ton. The orchard is in full bearing, and produces chiefly French prunes, although Silver prune, apricot, pear, apple, and almond trees are also to be found.

Mr. Stewart was united in marriage, December 2, 1858, with Miss Julia A. McCoy, who was born in Jackson County, Missouri, November 10, 1842, the daughter of James and Elizabeth McCoy. Her father died when she was young, and her widowed mother, with her family of two sons and three daughters, came to this valley in 1853, settling near the place where Mr. and Mrs. Stewart now live. The latter have six children, all of whom are members of their father's home, except the eldest, William L., who resides in Los Angeles. Their names are: Frank, Robert, Eda, Nellie, and Marvin. Realizing that knowledge is power, Mr. Stewart has given his children all the educational advantages available. Robert and Eda are now attending the University of the Pacific, and Nellie is attending the Moreland District School. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are members of the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics Mr. Stewart is identified with the Democratic party. He may be styled a self-made man, for he possessed no wealth when he commenced in life in this State, and he has,

by industry and a thorough understanding of his vocation, built up a prosperous and pleasant home for his family.

EPHRAIM M. THOMAS is the owner of a fine property on Hicks Avenue, at the Willows. He bought his estate, of II 5 acres, in June, 1878, it then being a portion of a grain-field. He erected his fine residence in 1884, and during the fol- lowing winter planted his orchard, consisting princi- pally of prune and apricot trees, with a general varicty for domestic use.

Mr. Thomas is a native of Lincolnville, Waldo County, Maine, where he was born May 3, 1832. He was reared to a farm life in that State but left home at the age of eighteen to learn the carpenter's trade. In 1856 he followed the hosts of men who came to Cali- fornia in search of wealth. He engaged in mining in Placer County and lived in that county at Dutch Flat, for twenty-one years.

While on a visit to his parents, in 1865, he was married, September 30, to Miss Adelia K. Heal, a native of Hope, Knox County, Maine. Capt. James Thomas, his father, was in the service during the war of 1812, and was a pensioner at the time of his death, which occurred in 1884, at the age of eighty-seven years and six months. A peculiar circumstance of his life was the fact that he died on the farm where he was born. Mrs. Thomas, the mother of the subject of the sketch, died in 1875, at the age of seventy-two years and four months. Mr. Ephraim Thomas was the ninth in a family of fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters. They are widely separated, he having but two brothers in this State: John Y., a resi- dent of Placer County, and Job I., of Nevada County.

Mr. Thomas pays taxes on quite a large amount of property, as, besides his Willows estate, he is the owner of two houses and lots in San Jose, and a house and lot in Dutch Flat. His residence at the Willows is a very fine one, worthy of special notice, while the grounds and all other surroundings are correspond- ingly elegant. Mr. Thomas was not a rich man when he came to California. He is the architect of his own fortune, and certainly deserves the prosperity which he enjoys, for he has secured it by energy and good management.

Politically, he is identified with the Republican party. He is prominent in Masonic circles. While a resident of Dutch Flat, he became a member of Clay

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Lodge, No. 101, F. & A. M., and he has acted as Master of the Lodge for three years, and held elect- ive offices for eleven years. He is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Garden City Lodge, No. 142, San Jose. He has passed all its chairs, serving nineteen years as an officer.

OHN C. RODGERS, residing on the northwest corner of Meridian road and Hamilton Avenue, is the owner of one of the most desirable pieces of property in the Hamilton District. The building im- provements are noticeably good, and the orchard, of ten acres, is in full bearing. It comprises a general variety,-prunes, peaches, apricots, pears, apples, and a few fine almond-trees. Mr. Rodgers paid $8,000 for the place.

Mr. Rodgers was born in Rockbridge County, Vir- ginia, in 1822. His father, Aniel Rodgers, is also a Virginian by birth, a strong, healthy man, whose physical strength was largely inherited by his son John. The family moved to Monroe County, Mis- souri, in 1828, and thence to Warren County, Illinois, in 1833. There the parents are buried in the family cemetery, which is located on land now owned by the subject of this sketch. John C. Rodgers married Miss Mary Anne Mitchell, in Warren County, Illinois. He suffered her loss by death, in June, 1871. Eight children were born to them, of whom five are living: William M., who is now (1888) living on the old home- stead in Warren County, Illinois; Rachel I., who lives with her father; Mrs. Clara J. Nash, who, with her husband, occupies a part of her father's present home; John A., a resident of Kansas; and Mary, who makes her home with her father.

Mr. Rodgers is a member of the United Presby- terian Church, as was also his wife. He is a strong Republican, of Abolitionist antecedents. His father was a radical Abolitionist, although born and reared in a slave State. His grandfather, Rev. John Rodgers, never owned or hired a slave, being thoroughly an Abolitionist.

Both father and grandfather were strong, rugged men, physically and mentally, of Scotch extraction. They were descendants of the Presbyterian seceders from the Established Church of Scotland, who founded the Associated Church. They were lineal descend- ants of John Rodgers the Martyr, of Smithfield. Ap- preciating the sturdy characteristics of these men, Mr. Rodgers may well refer, with pride, to his ancestry.

ENRY TRUE BESSE, residing on Delmas Avenue, near San Jose, was born in the town of Wayne, Kennebec County, Maine, August 16, 1823. He is the son of Samuel and Mercy (Dexter) Besse. The founders of both families, Besse and Dexter, settled near Plymouth during its early history, and descendants of both families were pioneers of Maine. Jabez Besse, the grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, settled in Wayne, Kennebec County, over 100 years ago, and the maternal grand- parents, Constant Dexter and his wife, settled in the same town about the same time. They were men of sturdy New England habit, strong in principle and religious faith.

Henry T. Besse was reared to manhood in the State of Maine, spending his youth on a farm, receiving his primary education in the common schools, and at- tending higher schools and teaching later. He left home and settled in Boston, Massachusetts, the year that he attained his majority (1844). The gold fever caused him to seek his fortune on this coast, and he embarked at Boston, November 12, 1849. The voyage was long and tedious. Off Cape Horn an albatross was caught, and to it was fastened a collar, upon which Mr. Besse had inscribed these words: " Bark Orion, off Cape Horn, Feb. 19, 1850." The albatross was again caught, with a hook, from another vessel, and the inscription and circumstances were published in Boston papers, causing the greatest anxiety on the part of those who had friends on board the Orion. However, the vessel reached San Francisco in safety on the sixth of May, 1850.

Mr. Besse engaged in placer mining for a few months, but during the following October started on the return trip to the East, this time choosing the Isthmus route, and reaching Massachusetts in January.

On the twenty-second of April, 1851, he married Miss Harriet Frost, in Lowell, Massachusetts. Mrs. Besse was born April 2, 1822, and is the daughter of Aaron and Rosetta Frost. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Besse lived in Massachusetts until 1855, leaving on the twentieth of March of that year for Boone County, Illinois, where they engaged in agri- culture. Soon after locating there Mr. Besse entered the ministry of the Wesleyan Methodist connec- tion. He remained in the ministry until he came to California, thus spending about thirty years in the service of the Master. In 1871 he became a resident of Kansas, settling in Sterling, Rice County. In 1877 he returned East and took charge of a church at Eagle Harbor. He acted as pastor of churches at

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that place, and at points in Steuben County, for five years. Thence he removed to Sullivan County, Penn- sylvania, where he spent nearly three years in the min- istry. From Pennsylvania he came to Santa Clara County, arriving here August 28, 1885. His pres- ent home, of five acres, he improved from a stubble- field. He also owns a half interest in a Plummer Avenue orchard of eight-year-old trees, comprising prunes, cherries, apricots, and peaches .. On his home property he has erected a fine residence. This is sur- rounded by grounds tastefully laid out, at the en- trance to which are placed the letters of the word " Home." After spending much of his life before the public, Mr. Besse now enjoys a somewhat retired life in his pleasant and inviting "Home."

0-90 ILLIAM R. PENDER owns one of the finest Good fruit orchards in his part of Hamilton Dis-

trict. He took possession of his fine residence (erected by himself in 1882-83) on Washing- ton's birthday, 1883. The sixteen acres upon which his orchard stands were prepared from a stubble-field, and planted with 1,700 trees, entirely by himself. His orchard is now five years old, and consists chiefly of prune, apricot, and peach trees. Several varieties of plums and cherries are also found.

Mr. Pender was born in England, November I, 1829. He followed a seafaring life for several years before coming to this State, in 1854. He engaged in mining for a number of years in Sierra County, mak- ing that place his home until he came to the Hamil- ton District. In 1861 he returned to England, and on the second of January, 1862, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Coon. They embarked at South- amption for St. Thomas, and from St. Thomas for Aspinwall, on the British steamer Trent. It will be remembered that the Trent was the vessel from which the Confederate embassadors, Mason and Slidell, were forcibly taken by Commodore Wilkes, of the United States Navy-an act which came near adding to our domestic trouble a war with England. This happened during the first half of the trip, Mr. and Mrs. Pender being passengers of the same steamer on her return trip, from St. Thomas to Aspinwall.

Mr. and Mrs. Pender have two children. Agnes, born in Sierra County, is a teacher, having taught five terms in the home district; she is now in Co- lusa County, where she is acting as Principal. The

younger child, David, also born in Sierra County, is a drug clerk in San Jose.

Mr. and Mrs. Pender are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of San Jose. Mr. Pen- der is a member of San Jose Lodge, No. 10, F. & A. M. Politically he is a Republican.

His orchard gives ample evidence of the energy and care expended upon it. His home is a hand- some one, and is built to suit the convenience and please the taste of himself and his wife, as they ex- pect to make it their permanent residence.

UCIUS D. WOODRUFF. One of the finest ranches in the Willow District is owned by the subject of this sketch. It is located on Curtner Avenue, between Lincoln and Plummer Avenues. In September, 1881, Mr. Woodruff bought 25106 acres, then part of a grain-field. The following spring he set out 1,500 trees. He has retained eighteen acres, selling the remainder. Each year he has planted trees, until now all of his property is devoted to fruit culture, and nearly all of his trees are in bearing. His fine, large orchard now comprises 600 French prune, 100 Silver prune, 400 apricot, 500 peach (of different va- rieties, principally Sellers' Cling), 50 old cherry, 74 young cherry, 50 apple, 5 almond, and a few walnut and fig trees. In 1887 280 peach trees (budded only two years before) yielded $365 worth of fruit. In the same year the entire orchard, many being young trees, and the oldest being but six years old, produced $2,000 worth of fruit. Of this sum $900 was realized from 400 apricot trees, 100 of which were but four years old. Mr. Woodruff may justly feel satisfied with the financial results of his labor in his horticult- ural interests, while the rapid growth and thrifty con- dition of his young orchard bear witness to the ex- cellent care which he bestows upon it.

Mr. Woodruff was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, December 3, 1824. He is a descendant from a long line of New England ancestry, the family history of both parents running back to the Mayflower. He is the son of Denman and Naomi (Gillett) Woodruff, who never left their native State, and now sleep in the old Litchfield Cemetery, with their forefathers. Mr. Woodruff was reared to a farm life, receiving the ed- ucation of the common schools. On the sixth of October, 1846, he wedded Miss Mary Ann Fernald, who, although of American parentage, was born in

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the Province of New Brunswick. Her father, Mark Fernald, was a native of Kittery, Maine, and her mother, Ann (McNiell) Fernald, of New Boston, New Hampshire. They moved to New Brunswick before their marriage, in 1812, and spent the remainder of their lives in that province. Mr. Woodruff en- gaged in agricultural pursuits for two years after his marriage, in Connecticut, thence removing to Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1851. In the latter year they emigrated to Knox County, Missouri, then in the far West, where Mr. Woodruff engaged in farming.

At the time of his country's peril, he offered his services in her defense, entering the service as Or- derly Sergeant, July 6, 1861, in Company B, Twenty- first Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and was made First Lieutenant November 15. He participated in the des- perate and heroic battle at Pittsburg Landing. After the evacuation of Corinth, failing health necessitated his resignation. After a partial recovery, he received, on the tenth of August, 1862, a commission as Cap- tain of a company in the Fifty-first State Militia. August 19, 1864, he was honored by another promo- tion, being commissioned Lieutenant Colonel, in which capacity he acted until the war closed.

In 1868 he removed to Rock Island, and during the following nine years was a trusted employe of the government, as one of the Engineer Corps, and again at the Arsenal on Rock Island. He came to Santa Clara County in September, 1881, immediately locating at his present home.

The faithful, conscientious performance of duty which made Mr. Woodruff a good soldier and officer, he has carried into all the relations of his life, busi- ness and social. This quality, combined with a bright, genial spirit and a kind heart, have made him loved and respected in the community where he makes his home. Politically he is identified with the Repub- lican party. He was reared, as was also his wife, in the faith of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

EV. L. W. KRAHL, of Meridian District, owns a productive farm of twenty acres, devoted to fruit culture, on the road leading from San Jose to Saratoga, three miles west of the city. He made the purchase of this property on the seventh of June, 1882, at which time about one-half of it was set to trees, one and two years old. During the fol- lowing two years, the remainder of the farm was con-

verted into orchard, one-half of the work being done each year. A small house was then on the property, and to it has been added the main building, forming the substantial residence of to-day.

Mr. Krahl is a native of Trumbull County, Ohio, where he was born November 16, 1835. He is the son of Samuel and Catharine (Gray) Krahl, who married in 1825, and settled in the dense forests of that country during the following year, creating a comfortable home in the wilderness. The first barn in all that section raised without the aid of whisky was erected by Samuel Krahl. It still stands, possi- bly as a monument to temperance. Samuel Krahl was born in Georgetown, on the Ohio River, of which place his father, who came from far off Germany to seek a home in the new country, was a pioneer. He was one of the original Abolitionists, and a supporter of James G. Birney in 1844. He was a practical Christian and a member of the Congregational Church, and in his death, which occurred in 1879, at the age of eighty years, the community lost an hon- ored and respected citizen. His widow has reached the ripe age of eighty-five years, and still lives upon the old homestead, with her youngest son, Eli B. Her eldest son, George N., lives in Kansas, but in- tends to become a resident of this county.

L. W. Krahl, the subject of this sketch, is the second son. He spent his boyhood years on his father's homestead, receiving as good educational ad- vantages as the new country afforded. At the age of sixteen, he entered Oberlin College, passed through its classes with credit, and graduated in 1858. He then engaged in teaching, and followed the profes- sion until 1861. On the twentieth of March of that year, he was united in marriage with Miss Nellie S. Pepper, daughter of John and Ruth Pepper. She was born March 20, 1838, in England, coming with her parents to Ohio (Ashtabula County) when four- teen years of age.

Mr. Krahl was converted in his nineteenth year, under the preaching of Rev. J. H. Fairchild, and joined the Congregational Church. In the spring of 1862 he entered the ministry of the Wesleyan Meth- odist Church. He engaged in preaching the gospel for sixteen years, being located in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. When failing health necessitated a change, he came to California. After visiting different portions of the State, he decided upon Santa Clara County as the place which combined a health-giving climate with a productive soil and great natural beauty. His home, in this lovely valley,

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he calls the "Evergreen Place." His orchard, of which mention has been made, is a very fine one in- deed. It contains 1,415 French prune, 24 Silver prune, 2 Hungarian prune, 502 apricot, 140 peach, 230 cherry (black and white), 200 yellow egg plum, 100 Columbia plum, 10 nectarine, 10 pear, 29 apple, 7 almond, 4 English walnut, and 2 Italian chestnut trees. It is literally true that Mr. Krahl lives "under his own vine and fig tree," for his orchard contains also a fig tree! The thrifty condition of the trees (so great in number and in variety) shows Mr. Krahl to be one of the most efficient horticulturists of the district. Not only the orchard, but also the house and all its sur- roundings, evince the care and attention bestowed upon them. In connection with the fruit interests, more extended mention must be made of the produc- tiveness of the orchard. We give the estimate for 1887 : 502 apricot trees yielded almost 30 tons, from which were realized nearly $900; while 230 young cherry trees yielded $380 worth of fruit. The crop of prunes was the lightest, 24 tons being harvested, and sold for $960. The total yield of all fruits was 79 tons, and the total receipts nearly $3,000. Such results cannot but be encouraging.

Mr. and Mrs. Krahl have two daughters : Blanche, now the wife of the Rev. John B. Kinney, of Syracuse, New York, now of San Jose; and Bertha, wife of Rev. T. H. Lawson, who is now pastor of the First Wesleyan Church of San Jose. His niece, Miss El- leta Elmer, was adopted at the age of two years, and is now a member of their household. She is the or- phan daughter of Mr. Krahl's sister, Mrs. Pluma Elmer, who died at Yuba City, in this State, where her husband, Henry Elmer, made his home many years ago. Mr. Krahl has two sisters living in this State. The eldest is a graduate of Oberlin College, and is the wife of Judge J. L. Wilbur, of Yuba City. The other sister, Alice, is the wife of J. S. Brame, of Monterey.

Mr. Krahl is not now actively engaged in the min- istry, but is ready at all times to aid in extending the Master's kingdom. Many opportunities for ministe- rial work present themselves, and Mr. Krahl cheerfully responds to all demands of this nature on his time. For years Mr. Krahl was a member of the Republican party, but when prohibition was made a political issue he joined the ranks of its supporters, and has since adhered to that party.

T. PETTIT, residing on the Doyle road, one- half mile south of the Stevens Creek road, owns a fine orchard property of twenty-two acres, which he bought in 1881, and has improved from a stubble-field. Tree-planting was commenced at once, ten acres being planted the following season in apricots and prunes about equally divided. The re- mainder of the orchard was set during the next two years, principally to prunes and peaches, French prunes leading the whole orchard. The results which Mr. Pettit obtains from his horticultural interests clearly show the excellent care which he bestows upon them. In 1887 five acres of apricots yielded thirty- five tons of fruit, which sold for about $1,000. After gathering the crop of 1887, Mr. Pettit, in partnership with his sister, bought twenty acres of fruit land ad- joining the town of Colusa, in Colusa County, and during the present season (1888) has planted it with apricots and peaches.

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Pen pictures from the garden of the world, or Santa Clara county, California, Part 85

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