USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 50
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TRANQUILLO GUGLIELMETTI.
Tranquillo Guglielmetti, engaged in farming and dairying upon a fine ranch of thirty-three acres in Mission Valley, is a native of Switzerland but has been for thirty years in California. During the first period of his residence in this state he engaged in the dairy business in Petaluma, Bloomfield, Valley Ford and Bodega in Sonoma county and has since that time given his attention to that line of work. He understands it thoroughly, is progressive in his methods and honor- able in all his business dealings and has, therefore, won success, which is the natural result of his industry and ability. He came to San Diego county in 1890 and was one year at Santa Ysabel and nine at Bernardo. In the latter
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place he had a struggle to gain his livelihood, being hampered by lack of water in pursuing his dairy business. He rented there four hundred acres and con- ducted a dairy upon it, but in 1909 moved to Mission Valley, purchasing his present property of thirty-three acres. He has a large portion of this planted in alfalfa, harvesting a number of crops every year and realizing a substantial profit from the sale of each. A great deal of his attention, however, is centered upon his dairy, which is well equipped and modern and sanitary in every par- ticular. Mr. Guglielmetti keeps fifty-four high-grade cows and sells his milk to the wholesale markets in San Diego. He keeps everything about his farm in excellent condition, has made substantial improvements in buildings and equip- ment and has installed a fine pumping plant for purposes of irrigation. He has in addition built a comfortable new residence upon his property and is well on the road to prominence and prosperity.
Mr. Guglielmetti married, in San Francisco, Miss Matilda Satori, a native of Switzerland, and they became the parents of nine children, Adolph, Julius, Ermenia, Anthony, Cadet, Siro, Joseph, Henry and Mary. Fraternally Mr. Guglielmetti is identified with the Foresters of America, the Order of Druids and the Modern Woodmen of America. In his increasing prosperity he realizes the hope of a better fortune, which brought him to America, and is reaping the reward of his honest, upright and industrious life.
NELSON OLDS, JR.
Nelson Olds, Jr., representative of one of the oldest and most prominent pioneer families of California and for over thirty years a dominating figure in the agricultural development of San Diego county, is living retired in Escondido, having earned rest by a long period of honorable and worthy work. He was born in San Lorenzo, Alameda county, on March 3, 1856, and is a son of Nelson H. and Levina F. (Martin) Olds, both early settlers in California. In 1849 the father of our subject left his native state of Ohio and shipped as a sailor aboard a vessel which came around the Horn to San Francisco. Having served through the entire period of the Mexican war and having experienced the hardships and dangers of army life at that period, he was well equipped for work as a pioneer and in the years which followed influenced in no small degree the course of development in California. He became a member of the vigilance committee at San Francisco and was identified with much of the work done in the stirring and picturesque days during which this body of men administered the law. In 1850, however, he left the city and began mining for gold in the Sierra "dig- gings." After two years he opened a general merchandise store at San Lorenzo in Alameda county and here married. In the same year he and his wife moved upon a ranch in Marin county, and upon this property the father engaged in general farming, specializing in dairying. He was successful in both branches and by earnest and faithful work earned a comfortable competence, which jus- tified his retirement in 1878. In that year he came to San Diego and lived in the city until his death, which occurred in 1882, at the age of fifty-eight. In his passing California lost a worthy representative of the highest type of her pioneer Vol. 11-25
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-a sturdy, forceful, courageous and determined man, whose public spirit gave to his work significance as a force in directing expansion.
Nelson Olds, Jr., of this review, is the second in a family of five children. He received a public-school education in Marin county and remained at home until after he had attained his majority. When he was twenty-two years of age he came to San Diego county and here bought three hundred and twenty acres in the San Pasqual valley, five miles from Escondido. For thirty-four years he gave practically all of his attention to the upbuilding and development of this ranch, making a specialty of dairying and stock-raising and feeding his animals with the products of his farm. From time to time he added to his original tract and finally owned four hundred and fifty acres of fine land. By virtue of his earnest, enterprising and long continued work he became known as an in- fluential man in agricultural circles and, since his methods were always pro- gressive and his standards high, much credit is due him as an individual factor in the present prosperity of San Diego county. Eventually, however, Mr. Olds sold his farm and retired from active life, buying a home in Escondido, in which he is now residing. He has important business interests in this city.
In 1896 Mr. Olds married Miss Ada Roberts, who was born near Council Bluffs, Iowa, a daughter of N. R. and Harriett (Beebe) Roberts, the former a native of Augusta, Maine, and the latter born near Sandusky, Ohio. Mrs. Olds' parents were married in Iowa, whither they came in 1860, among the pioneers in that state. They came to California after a number of years' residence in Iowa and settled immediately in San Diego county, where the father followed farming and dairying until his death, which occurred in 1900. His wife passed away four years later. In their family were four children: Ada, the wife of the subject of this review; Fred, who resides in San Diego county; Mrs. J. H. Lewis, a widow living in San Diego; and Adelbert, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Olds became the parents of two children: Nelson, who died at the age of five months; and Carlton M., born February II, 1899, who is now attending school.
Mr. Olds gives his allegiance to the republican party but, although he is eminently public-spirited in his citizenship, he neither seeks nor desires office. Inheriting many of the sturdy characteristics of his pioneer father, he has by contending bravely against obstacles and by seizing every favorable opportunity developed a strong and worthy character, which is the real foundation of his success. He is numbered among the prominent and influential men of Escondido and his life furnishes a splendid example of the power and force of honorable manhood, of earnest effort and high principle.
THE JOHN THOMPSON RANCH OWNED BY A. A. RALPH AND FAMILY.
In passing through Twin Oaks valley, of which much could be said as to beauty, climate, fertility of soil and sub-irrigation, one of the first ranches to catch the eye is what has been known as the John Thompson Ranch, but is now owned by A. A. Ralph and family, eastern people, who call it a privilege to live in the land of sunshine, sea breeze and flowers.
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This ranch is a speaking evidence of what women can do as fruit growers. There are twenty-five acres of orchard, some in full bearing, some coming into fruitage, and others just planted. The fruit is brought to the greatest perfection that pruning-done properly and just at the right time-cultivation and care at all times, can produce. Care has been taken to plant the fruits that are best adapted to soil and climate, apricots, prunes and peaches, while the family orchard holds a variety of the fruits of southern California. The finest apricots sold by the Orange County Dried Fruit Association last year were raised and dried with all sanitary care on this ranch.
The aim of the ranch is quality first, then quantity, and its owners are work- ing with the hope that the other ranchers will come into line as fruit growers and that Twin Oaks valley will eventually be one great deciduous orchard ready to help supply the market at San Diego and have a part in making up cargoes of ships when that city shall be "first port of entry" for vessels from all over the world.
O. H. P. FORKER.
O. H. P. Forker is living retired in San Diego, where he is just completing the thirty-second year of his residence. During the course of his life he has become well known in local republican politics and is numbered among the most prominent men in the public life of the city. He has given much time and atten- tion to his business interests as the owner of a fine fruit ranch and his work has been effective along all lines as a force in development. He is entitled to honor and esteem among his friends for he is one of that fast lessening body of veterans who fought in their country's cause during the Civil war. Mr. Forker was born in Clinton, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 29, 1836, and was four years of age when his family moved to Ohio. In 1858 they pushed on to Illinois and here Mr. Forker grew up upon his father's farm. When he laid aside his books he taught school in Ohio and Illinois until August, 1861, when he enlisted in Company H, Ninth Missouri Volunteer Infantry. After the bat- tle of Pea Ridge his company was transferred to the Fifty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry and he remained a member of this body until the close of hostilities. He served for four years attached to the First Brigade of his regiment and saw active service in the Army of the Cumberland under Generals Thomas and Sherman. He was present at the battles of Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Ringgold, Chickamauga and all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign from May 3, 1864, to December, 1865. He was wounded twice in the battle at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 16, 1864, and in the same engagement fifteen bullets went through his clothes. After four years of able and distinguished service he was mustered out at Nashville, Tennessee, July 6, 1865, with honorable dis- charge and returned immediately to Illinois, settling in Edgar county, where he farmed and became active also in public life. There he served for four years as county clerk and was for seven years warden of the state prison at Chester. In 1880 he came to California, settling in National City. Being a shrewd busi- ness man capable of studying conditions and applying the results of his observa-
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tion, he immediately recognized the future development of the fruit growing industry and bought five acres of land, which he planted in oranges, apricots, peaches and olives. By progressive and practical methods he soon brought this enterprise to a high state of development, his crops increased in abundance and quality and he himself became numbered among the most prosperous fruit grow- ers in the district. In the fall of 1912 he sold his property and moved to San Diego, where he has since been living retired.
In 1869 Mr. Forker married in Illinois Miss Anna Blackburne, a daughter of Colonel W. D. Blackburne, who was in charge of the Seventh Illinois Volunteer Cavalry during the Civil war and was killed in battle near Memphis, Tennessee. Mrs. Forker died in 1906.
Mr. Forker has always taken an active part in politics, upholding in his public career the principles and standards of the republican party. He has been a member of the county central committee for a number of years and has been present at every republican convention held in San Diego county since he estab- lished his residence. A man active and hearty in spirit and interests at seventy- six, he has no reason to display the value of any of his aims or ambitions. What he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful completion and the nature of his interests has placed him among the representative citizens of San Diego county. He keeps in touch with his comrades of fifty years ago by his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic and is an earnest worker in the interests of that organization. One sleeve of his coat hangs empty, a constant reminder of his valiant services and sacrifices for his country in the dark days of the Civil war.
HOBERT H. CASE.
Although a quarter of a century has passed since the death of Hobert H. Case on his ranch near Escondido, he is still sincerely and gratefully remembered in this part of San Diego county, for he left the impress of his forceful individual- ity upon its agricultural history and upon the records of public progress. He was born August 29, 1836, near Hartford, Connecticut, and is a son of Ezekiel and Julia (Barbour) Case. In the family were eight children, only two of whom are still living : Lucian B., of Miller, South Dakota; and Howard, who lives in Newton, Iowa.
Hobert H. Case was reared in the home of an uncle and remained in this family until after his marriage. He then took up land in Nebraska and spent two years engaged in general farming. In 1872 he came to California and settled in San Diego, where he worked at various profitable occupations. Two years later he came to the Escondido valley, took up one hundred and fifty-three acres of land and developed, cultivated and substantially improved it until the time of his death. At one time he added sixty acres to his property but subsequentiy sold eighty-five, his farm finally comprising one hundred and twenty-eight acres. Upon this Mr. Case carried on general agricultural pursuits and was also exten- sively interested in bee culture. He was active, intelligent and enterprising and his close application, resourcefulness and study of agricultural conditions brought
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a degree of success which placed him among the men of influence and weight in this community. His business methods, too, were above reproach, characterized as they were by strict adherence to standards of high honor and integrity.
In Washington, Iowa, on March 29, 1870, Mr. Case married Miss May S. Marshall, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Johnston) Marshall, both of whom were born in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Case is one of a family of five children, only three of whom are still living: Nancy J., who mar- ried John G. Mickey, of Osceola, Nebraska, an uncle of ex-Governor Mickey of that state; May S., the widow of the subject of this review; and Elizabeth, who is now Mrs. W. P. Bevington, of Escondido. Mr. and Mrs. Case became the parents of four children : Helen A., the deceased wife of Earl G. Crandall, of Los Angeles, by whom she had one son, Arthur E .; Samuel T., of Pittsburg, California ; Hobert H., who lives with his mother and operates the ranch; and Julia, the wife of Floyd R. Sharpe, of San Francisco.
Mr. Case belonged to the Masonic order and was active and well known in its affairs. He gave loyal support to the republican party and in everything pertain- ing to school affairs took a deep and active interest. He died on June 26, 1887, leaving to his widow and his children a comfortable competence, acquired through an honorable career, and a still more valuable inheritance in the memory of an untarnished name.
FRANK S. BELL.
Frank S. Bell, who for fourteen years conducted a butcher business in Fall Brook but who is now living retired, was born in Indiana in 1856, a son of Sheba and Mary K. Bell, both natives of Cincinnati. They made their home in that city until 1858 and then moved into the woods of Minnesota. Pioneer conditions con- fronted them upon their arrival, for the work of civilization had been scarcely begun and Indians were still frequent visitors in the locality. The Bell family were there at the time of the massacre of 1862 and the father and sons helped repulse the savages. When the skirmish began they were at work some thirty miles away but reached home in time to protect their family. The father of our subject lived in Minnesota until 1900 and witnessed much of the development and growth of his section of the state. In the latter year he moved into Iowa, where he passed away in 1910. His widow still survives him and is living at Lamont, Iowa, in the eighty-eighth year of her age. To their union were born nine children, all of whom are still living. Two sons are residents of California and of the remainder of the family some live in Minnesota, some in Iowa and one in Montana.
Frank S. Bell acquired his education in the public schools of Pleasanton, Iowa, and in a commercial school in Meeker county, Minnesota. When he was twenty- six years of age he began his active career, operating a farm of his own in Harrison county, Missouri. Leaving this property, he came to California in 1894 and settled near Fall Brook, where he rented land. Upon this he carried on general agricultural pursuits for four years and then moved into the town, where he established himself in the butcher business, in which he continued until
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1912. He carried only the finest and best meats and made every effort to meet the wants of his customers, his business transactions being at all times honorable. This policy proved so profitable that in 1912 he was enabled to retire and is now making his home in Fall Brook, where he owns valuable residence and business property.
In 1882 Mr. Bell married Miss Margaret Minton, who was born in Indiana, a daughter of James and Mary Minton, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Indiana. The mother died in the latter state and afterward the father moved to Iowa, where he spent some years in active practice as a physician and surgeon. Later he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he is living in retirement, having reached the age of eighty years. Two of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Minton grew to maturity: Margaret, the wife of the subject of this review; and Mrs. Leonora Morgan, of Newton, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Bell have four children: Pearl, who was born in 1884 and who is the wife of Eric Hindorff, their home being near Fall Brook; Delano, born in 1889, who is married and resides at Pomona, California; Mary G., born in 1893, who resides at home ; and Gladys May, born in 1899, who is attending school at Fall Brook.
Mr. Bell gives his allegiance to the republican party but never seeks public office. His life has been a busy and useful one and throughout his business career he manifested skill in management and execution. Whatever he has undertaken he has carried forward to successful completion and his labor has been the most powerful factor in the attainment of a prosperity which places him among the men of affluence in Fall Brook.
CHARLES HUESTON JULIAN.
Charles Hueston Julian, one of the leading contractors in the plumbing and steam heating business in San Diego and a self-made man who has worked his way steadily upward through persistency, capability and determination, was here born on the 19th of October, 1874, his parents being Archibald Hueston and Mary Julian. The father was born in Tuscumbria, Alabama, and is one of the few surviving veterans of the Mexican war. He has reached the age of seventy- nine years. His wife, who was a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, died at the age of sixty-three years. It was in 1849 that the father crossed the plains, attracted by the excitement attendant upon the discovery of gold. He was a tinner by trade, but after reaching this city engaged in placer mining for a number of years in northern California, where he made and lost two fortunes. In the year 1868 he came to San Diego, where he has since made his home and for a considerable period has lived retired, enjoying a well earned rest in the evening of his life. His wife was a most earnest and untiring Christian worker, aiding largely in all departments of the church work and also in charitable societies. In the family were seven children, six of whom are yet living and all are mar- ried, with one exception.
In the public schools of San Diego Charles H. Julian pursued his education until he had reached the ninth grade. He left school in 1889 and afterward learned the plumber's trade in San Francisco and in Portland, Oregon. He has
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always continued in this line of business and has thorough knowledge of every phase of the work, his practical experience enabling him to wisely direct the efforts of those who now work under him. Gradually he advanced until he was able to engage in business on his own account, and he is now one of the leading contractors in the plumbing and heating business in San Diego, having a well appointed establishment and carrying a stock which on the average is valued at about eight thousand dollars. As he has prospered in his undertakings he has made some investments in realty and now has holdings to the amount of about fifty thousand dollars, all unincumbered.
In San Diego, on the 15th of January, 1895, Mr. Julian was united in mar- riage to Miss Jennie Belle Martin, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Elihu G. Martin. The father was a Civil war veteran, serving for four years, and the mother acted as a field nurse during the period of hostilities. It was in 1881 that Mrs. Julian came from Iowa to California, and for thirty-two years she has now been a resident of San Diego. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Consuelo and Archibald Hueston.
In politics Mr. Julian is an unfaltering republican, giving stanch support to the party at all times because of his firm belief in its principles. He has attained high rank in Masonry, having taken the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He is likewise a past noble grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has membership with the Knights of Pythias and the Frater- nal Order of Eagles. He is connected with the National Association of Master Plumbers of the United States and Canada, and he belongs to the Chamber of Commerce of San Diego. Along more strictly social and recreative lines he is connected with the Cuyamaca, Pastime Gun, Zarzeta Duck and Sana Leo Duck Clubs. His long residence in San Diego has brought him a wide acquaintance, and his many sterling traits of character have gained for him the warm and enduring regard of those with whom he has come in contact. He is popular in social circles and in his business connections is recognized as a reliable and enterprising man whose worth to the city is widely acknowledged.
H.' D.' A. ESP'ZA RANCHO.
One of the finest, most intelligently managed and best improved ranches in the El Cajon valley is the H.' D.' A. Esp'za Rancho, comprising thirty-five acres of land on an elevation overlooking one of the most beautiful sections of south- ern California. It has been operated as a fruit ranch for many years and its his- tory is interesting because it has been intimately connected with the development of the great fruit growing industry. The tract is part of the El Cajon Rancho and has passed through many hands since its purchase by its first owner, James Hill, in 1874. In the following year it was bought by Isaac Lankershim, who in 1882 sold it to J. H. Benedict. He operated the enterprise until 1886 and sold to W. H. Somers, who was its owner until 1889. In that year he sold it to J. S. Schiffer. The Wendell estate held title to it from 1890 to 1891, when W. H. Somers purchased it for the second time, holding it until 1892, when May
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E. Osborn became the owner. She sold the property in 1898 to John W. Gates, who in turn disposed of it to its present owners in 1912. The ranch is now controlled by a corporation, consisting of some of the most prominent and sub- stantial business men in El Cajon valley. Its president is G. C. Frances and the secretary and treasurer, E. H. Smith, and H. C. Smith is manager. The directors have inaugurated a policy of steady and systematic improvement along progressive and scientific lines, their ambition being to make this the finest ranch in this section of the state. It consists of thirty-five acres of land on a high elevation, nine acres being planted in oranges, five in peaches and a half acre in grapes and a family orchard. In addition to this there are five acres of hay land. The remainder of the ranch is laid out in building sites, which, situated high above the valley, command a beautiful view of the surrounding country. Three thousand dollars worth of improvements have been put upon the place by the present owners, three fine wells have been dug, an electric pumping plant installed and a reservoir containing one hundred and twenty-five thousand gallons of water constructed on the hill. Other substantial improvements are contem- plated and when completed will undoubtedly make the H.' D.' A. Esp'za Rancho one of the places of beauty and interest in the El Cajon valley. The company pack their own fruit and sell direct to the wholesale merchants and are enjoying a gratifying patronage, their goods commanding a high price and a ready sale.
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