USA > California > Contra Costa County > The history of Contra Costa County, California > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
488
HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
ject of this review and a brother, Robert K., a prosperous real-estate man re- siding in Seattle, Washington. The parents of Judge Latimer have traced their ancestry back for many generations in England. His great-great-grand- father came from England and located in Maryland about the time Lord Baltimore died. On Mr. Latimer's mother's side the family tree can be traced back to Revolutionary times. Judge Latimer was educated in the private and public schools of Missouri, graduating from the Mt. Pleasant College, of Huntsville, in the class of 1877. Two years later he came to California, lo- cating in Concord, in this county. He afterward removed to Walnut Creek, where he was employed in a drug-store. It was about this time that he de- cided to adopt law as a profession. He began reading law while working in the drug-store, and was admitted to the bar in August, 1884. He later opened an office in Walnut Creek, where he practiced his profession for two years, after which he removed to the county seat. In the larger place his legal tal- ent soon won recognition, and he became prominent in many big actions, gaining a prestige that endeared him to the hearts of all with whom he came in contact. Judge Latimer soon rose in his chosen profession and be- came one of the leading attorneys in California. In 1908 he was urged by his friends to become a candidate for superior judge of Contra Costa County. He was elected by a flattering majority, and has been repeatedly honored by being returned to the bench. For thirty years he has been a factor in the pro- fession, and his advice and council is often sought by other lawyers and jur- ists. During his service on the bench, Judge Latimer has been called to pre- side over the courts of other counties, and has decided many notable and celebrated cases. As a leading man of affairs, a trained lawyer, and a judge of the superior court, he has established a name that the people of Contra Costa County and of California are proud of. He has a brilliant past and a future that is most inviting. In 1889 he was united in marriage to Miss Ma- dora Garner, of Los Gatos, California. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic lodge of Martinez, and has filled all the chairs in his lodge, except that of master. He is an active member of the I. O. O. F. of Martinez, and has held every office in that order. Judge Latimer served two years as jus- tice of the peace in Concord, and was district attorney for three years. He also held office in the California State Iroquois Club. His wife is a member of the Eastern Star and Women's Improvement Club of Martinez, and takes an active part in all club and social events, and is a lady of education and refinement.
1
EVERETT B. TAYLOR, a practicing attorney of Martinez, has won suc- cess, and is numbered among the able representatives of his profession. Mr. Taylor is a native son and was born at Byron, Contra Costa County, Califor- nia, August 1, 1879. He is the son of Volney and Agnes E. Taylor. His father is a native of Canada, while his mother is a native of Illinois. Mr. Taylor's father is widely recognized as one of the county's most esteemed citizens,
489
BIOGRAPHICAL
and has always followed agricultural pursuits. He is still a resident of By- ron. The subject of this review received his education in the public schools of Contra Costa and Alameda counties, and the University of California. Later he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1904. Subsequently he started to practice his profession in Alameda County, and afterward re- moved to Contra Costa County, locating in Martinez, where he has since re- sided. Mr. Taylor gives his political allegiance to the Republican party. Fraternally, he is identified with the Woodmen of the World. On December II, 1901, he was united in marriage to Miss Carrie F. Bohmen, of Sacramen- to, a native daughter. To this union has been born a daughter, Beatrice V., born May 6, 1906. Although a young man, Mr. Taylor has won a prominent place in the ranks of the legal fraternity in this part of the State. His father is an extensive farmer and owns eight hundred acres near Byron. He is affiliated with the Masonic lodge, also a member of the Odd Fellows. He has taken a prominent part in the temperance work throughout the State and county. He enjoys in a full measure the confidence and respect of all who know him.
EARL B. FITZPATRICK, M. D .- Among the many brilliant and able men who have gained prominence and distinction among the medical profession of the Bay cities is Doctor Earl Fitzpatrick, practicing in Martinez. He is numbered among the foremost representatives of his profession. He was born in Redding, California, March 23, 1887. He is a son of John W. and Mary Louise Fitzpatrick, both of whom are dead. His father was a native of California and his mother a native of Washington. At the time of his death, his father was associated with the Southern Pacific Company, as land agent in Nevada. Doctor Fitzpatrick was educated in the public schools of Red- ding, and graduated from the Oakland High School. Later he attended the Oakland Medical College, and graduated in 1910. He served as intern in the Alameda County Hospital for a period of ten months. In March, 1911, he re- moved to Martinez, where he has since carried on a general practice. Politi- cally, Doctor Fitzpatrick is affiliated with the Republican party. He acts in the capacity of assistant county physician, and is now serving as secretary of Contra Costa County Medical Society, and is a member of the American Medical Association. Fraternally, Doctor Fitzpatrick is affiliated with the Masonic lodge of Martinez, holding membership in No. 41. He is also a member of the B. P. O. E. of Richmond, No. 1251, the Woodmen of the World, the Eagles, the Moose lodge of Martinez, the Red Men, the order of the Eastern Star, and is a member of the Native Sons. While a resident of Martinez Doctor Fitzpatrick has built up a large and representative patron- age, accorded to him in recognition of his unusual proficiency in his chosen field of labor. Doctor Fitzpatrick is medical examiner for the following in- surance companies: Metropolitan Life and Mutual Life (of New York), Western States Life, West Coast Life, Mutual Life (of Des Moines, Iowa),
490
HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Ætna Life, and Travelers', and also serves in this capacity for many frater- nal organizations. He has a sister, Mabel, wife of Clarence F. Murdig, who resides in San Diego.
EDWIN MERRITHEW, M. D., has been successfully engaged in the prac- tice of medicine at Martinez for the past eight years, and is widely recog- nized as one of the able and representative members of the profession. He was born at Gold Run, Placer County, California, November 23, 1880, son of Moses W., born July 4, 1837, and Annie Elizabeth Merrithew, born in 1854. His father is a native of Maine, and his mother was born in San Francisco. The parents still reside in Placer County. The subject of this sketch was ed- ucated in the public schools of Placer County. He also attended the Stockton Normal School. He then entered the Cooper Medical College and graduated in 1905, becoming intern at the Lane Hospital in San Francisco. He prac- ticed his profession in Sonoma County, and in June, 1907, he removed to Martinez, where he enjoys the full confidence of the people of his locality. In March, 1911, Doctor Merrithew was appointed county physician, which office he has since held. He has served as health officer of the city of Mar- tinez since January 1, 1914. He is local surgeon for the Santa Fe Railroad. Fraternally, Doctor Merrithew holds membership in the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, and the Elks. He has held the chairs in the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and now serves as camp physician of the Woodmen of the World. He is especially interest- ed in and a member of the Native Sons. He is a member of the Contra Cos- ta Medical Society, the California State Medical Association, and the Amer- ican Medical Association. He has served as vice-president of the County Medical Society. In politics the Doctor is a Republican. He was married to Miss Emma Kriner, of California, October 29, 1910. To this union one son, Wallace Kriner, was born on July 29, 1913. Mrs. Merrithew is a member of the Women of Woodcraft, and is active in all matters pertaining to promote the general welfare and growth and expansion of the community.
REUBEN H. CURRY .- An enterprising and prosperous representative of business interests in Richmond is Reuben H. Curry. His birth occurred in Contra Costa County, at Clayton, August 10, 1864. He acquired his education in the public schools of this county. He is a son of Edward Curry, a native of Missouri, who came to California via Cape Horn in 1849. He located in Clayton, and after a time he returned to his native State and in 1855 was united in marriage to Annie Goodwin, a native of Indiana. They then crossed the plains with an ox-team, which took six months, and again located at Clayton. The father was an experienced stockman and followed this busi- ness all his life. He died in 1865. While crossing the plains the parents of Mr. Curry had many narrow escapes from the Indians, and on one occasion res- cued a lady who had been scalped by the Indians while en route. Mr. Curry's
491
BIOGRAPHICAL
mother is still living and makes her home in Alameda. Four children were born in the parents' family-Martha, wife of Augustus Houston, deceased; Edward, a mining man; Josephine, wife of John Breen; and the subject of this sketch, who embarked early in life for himself, and has been engaged in various places in the hotel and soda business. He operated the Geyser Ho- tel in Sonoma County for ten years, and run a hotel at Angels Camp for six years. In 1901 he removed to Richmond and established the first manufactur- ing business in the city, called the Richmond Soda Works. He continued in this about three years, then sold out and left Richmond for ten years, when he returned and repurchased the business which he had originally start- ed, and since his return has met with gratifying success. Mr. Curry was united in marriage to Georgia B. Dingley, a native of San Francisco, April 5, 1883. To this union were born Grace D. and George Franklin. Mr. Curry is a Republican. He has been honored by being elected on the water commission, and took office in April, 1913, which he now holds. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the Rebekahs, the Moose, the Eagles, and is a Native Son.
WILLIAM J. JOHNSON, one of the representative men of Martinez, has won a place among the leading and progressive business men of his locality. He is genial and pleasant in manner and has made many friends in the bus- iness world. He was born in that far-off land, Poland, on July 17, 1868. He was reared and educated in the old country, attending the public schools and a technical institute. At the age of eighteen he came to America and lo- cated in Boston, where he remained for seven years and followed his trade as machinist. May 15, 1895, he came to Contra Costa County and located in Martinez, where he first engaged in the bicycle business. Later he manufac- tured medical machinery and dental appliances. The importance of this line of work gained him prominence all over the United States. Of recent years he has given his attention to expert automobile work, and has the agency of several high-class cars. Politically, Mr. Johnson is a strong Progressive, and in his co-operation in political matters he has been a strong Roosevelt man. Fraternally, he is a member of various organizations. On February 2, 1907, he was married to Miss Mary Kobylanski, of Chicago. To this union have been born two children, Kazimir and Louisa. The family are members of the Catholic church. Mrs. Johnson takes an active part in all church work and is a valued member of the Improvement Club of Martinez.
JOHN H. NICHOLL .- Among the men who, by reason of their personal integrity, ability, and business enterprise, have come to be regarded as repre- sentative citizens and leading business men of Contra Costa County, Cali- fornia, is John H. Nicholl. He has been active in promoting the best inter- ests of the community along many lines, and throughout his entire life he has directed his efforts where mature judgment and keen discrimination have led the way. Mr. Nicholl was born in San Leandro, Alameda County, in 1855, and is the son of John and Agnes Booth (Hodge) Nicholl, natives of
492
HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
the north of Ireland and both of Scotch ancestry. His father died on July 28, 1914. The subject of this review acquired his early education in the San Pablo public schools and later attended the California Military Academy of Oakland, and the Pacific Business College of San Francisco. Following the completion of his studies, he operated the Nicholl Hotel in Oakland for four years, after which he engaged in mining on Wood River, Idaho. He moved to Salt Lake City, and in 1899 returned to Oakland, organizing in the same year the John Nicholl Company, a closed corporation, of which he has since been secretary and manager. He maintains offices in Richmond and Oakland, through which passes daily an immense amount of business. The John Nicholl Company controls valuable real-estate holdings in Ventura, Contra Costa, and Alameda counties, and also valuable tracts of land around Rich- mond. Land belonging to the company was sold in 1896 for the right of way for the Santa Fe Railroad. The company made the first sale in Richmond to Claus Spreckels for the use of the San Francisco & San Joaquin Valley Rail- road. The consideration was $80,000, and the land was located in the best part of Point Richmond. Mr. Nicholl recently sold for $525,000 one hundred and eleven acres in the heart of Richmond, land which had been acquired by him in the early days for thirty dollars an acre. This was the largest sale of undivided and unimproved property ever made in the United States. Mr. Nicholl is now the owner of some of the most valuable ranches in Ventura County, Spanish grants acquired in 1867, and has one thousand acres in that locality planted in lima beans and English walnuts. He still has large prop- erty holdings in and around Richmond and other sections in California. Al- though he is a man of power and prominence in real estate circles, his in- terests have not by any means been confined to this field, as is evident from the fact that he was the founder in 1901 of the Bank of Richmond, which, starting with a capital of $30,000, has under his administration as president increased this to $100,000. Mr. Nicholl is also known as the organizer of the first water company of Richmond. His knowledge of present-day business conditions is comprehensive and exact. To the solution of many difficult problems which have confronted him in the course of years he has brought keen discrimination and penetrating sagacity. Mr. Nicholl is an ex-member of the Richmond Industrial Commission, and in the summers of 1913 and 1914 made trips to Washington as a delegate to secure an appropriation from the United States Government for harbor improvements in Richmond. He can always be counted upon in the furtherance of any plan for the advance- ment of the city, where he has gained prominence as a man of marked abil- ity and substantial achievements. His unbending integrity of character, his marked business ability, and his public spirit make him a citizen whose worth is widely acknowledged.
HARRY W. WERNSE, one of the foremost men in Contra Costa County, is worthy being styled a self-made man, for, starting out in life without re-
493
BIOGRAPHICAL
sources, he has through his own energy and initiative risen to be one of the leading real-estate operators and promoters in the Bay region. Mr. Wernse was born February II, 1878, in St. Louis, Missouri, his parents being Wil- liam F. and Minna (Hintze) Wernse. His father came to America from Han- over, Germany. His mother is a native of Missouri. The subject of this sketch acquired his education in the public and high schools of St. Louis. After graduation he went to Texas, where he rode the range for two years. He then took up mining in Arizona and Colorado. This vocation he followed for five years. In 1902 he came to California, locating in San Francisco, where he engaged in the real-estate business and operated largely in Rich- mond. He has been associated with H. C. Cutting in the development of the Point Richmond Canal & Land Company of Richmond since 1904, and has served as secretary and treasurer of that company ever since. Mr. Wernse was united in marriage to Miss Helen J. Owens of St. Louis, Missouri, June 14, 1899. To this union in 1902 was born one daughter, Helen Mildred, who ranks high among her associates as one who enjoys and takes part in many children's operas. In politics Mr. Wernse is affiliated with the Republican party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order and the Elks. He has been prominently identified with Richmond's harbor project. He was elected as a committee of one to appear before the Rivers and Harbors Com- mittee of the House of Representatives in support of the bill for the im- provement of Richmond's harbor. He has been secretary of the Richmond Industrial Commission for the past four years, and is ever working in the in- terest of the city of Richmond's great industrial and commercial progress.
CHARLES LUTHER TRABERT is a man of marked ability and judg- ment, a resident of Berkeley, California, and prominently identified with the industrial interests of California. He is connected with the C. A. Smith Lum- ber Company as secretary. Mr. Trabert was born at Ephrata, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1871, son of the Rev. George H. Trabert, pastor of an English Luth- eran church. Mr. Trabert has devoted his entire life to the lumber business, and has been associated with the C. A. Smith companies longer than any of his business associates. He has made a scientific study of forestry and has accomplished a great deal of important work along this line. His father, in his seventy-second year, is still active in the ministry as pastor of the Salem English Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was the only Eng- lish Lutheran minister for years in the Northwest, and he established churches in Duluth and Red Wing, Minnesota; Fargo, North Dakota; La Crosse, Wisconsin; and many other cities. His wife. who was in her maiden- hood Miss Mary Elizabeth Minnigh, is of mixed Pennsylvania Dutch and English stock, an ancestor of the family having come from Munich in 1622. Charles L. Trabert received his education in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and Minneapolis, where he attended high school for three years. He was a mem- ber of the first manual training class in that city, and was for three years a
494
HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
student in Gustavus Adolphus College, at St. Peter, Minnesota. During his last year in college he became identified with the C. A. Smith Lumber Com- pany in the office, drawing maps and plans. In this way he became inter- ested in the lumber business and gained a knowledge of standing timber. Mr. Trabert spent some time in the Pine River district and accompanied the driving crews, thus becoming familiar with the details of practical lum- ber. At this time Mr. Trabert decided to take his final year in college, and attended Newberry College, North Carolina, graduating in 1894, and receiv- ing the degree of B. A. He returned to Minneapolis and permanently entered the employ of C. A. Smith & Company, then a partnership of C. A. Smith and ex-Governor John S. Pillsbury. Mr. Trabert became connected with the timber end of the business, and in one year became private secretary to Mr. Smith, which position he held for seventeen years. January I, 1904, the C. A. Smith Timber Company was organized with a capital stock of one million dollars; this company took over all the timber holdings of the former con- cern, and in May, 1912, removed their offices to Oakland, California. The C. A. Smith Timber Company acquired interests in the West, and their busi- ness grew rapidly, and subsidiary corporations were formed, and Mr. Tra- bert was made secretary of the various holdings. As the Smith timber was cut off in Minnesota and the various interests on the Pacific Coast grew, Mr. Smith, in looking for a western location, decided upon Oakland for the reason that the five timber districts controlled by the Smith interests-two fir tracts and one spruce in Oregon, with one redwood and one sugar-pine and yellow-pine tract in California-were tributary to tide-water. He there- fore moved all of his interests to Oakland, and established yards, planing- mills, and a box-factory at Bay Point, California. Mr. Trabert is a member of the National Foresters Association, the National Geographical Associa- tion, the Archaeological Association of America, a kindred body. He also belongs to the Oregon Conservation Association. He has frequently lectured before the University of California and the Forestry Club on the subjects of forestry. On June 25, 1894, Mr. Trabert was united in marriage to Miss Harriett Abney Wells, of Newberry, South Carolina, a daughter of Osborne Wells, one of the most prominent men of that city and an officer in the Civil War. To this union a daughter, Dorothy, was born in 1895. Mr. Tra- bert was well known in social circles of Minneapolis. He held membership in the University Club, the Interlochen Minneapolis Choral Club, the Philhar- monic Club, of which he was president, and the Federation of Men's Clubs. He was a member of the Minneapolis bar, having received his degree in law from the University of Minnesota in 1899. In Oakland he holds membership in the Athenian and Commercial clubs, and is a member of the University Club of San Francisco, and the Faculty Club of the University of California. During his entire life Mr. Trabert has been active in the affairs of the Lutheran church, assisting in the organization of the St. Michael's Lutheran Church of Berkeley, which was incorporated September 29, 1913, and is ves-
495
BIOGRAPHICAL
tryman and choir-master. He is a director in the Berkeley Ontario Society, and a member of the Sons of the Revolution, while Mrs. Trabert is treas- urer of the John Rutledge Chapter, D. A. R. She is in addition a member of Joseph Le Conte Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy. She is also a mem- ber of the Wednesday Morning Musical Club and the Ebell Society of Oak- land.
CHARLES BERNDT JOHNSON .- Throughout the years of an active bus- iness career Charles Berndt Johnson, of Bay Point, has given all or most of his time and attention to the lumber business, and is today one of the most trusted and valued lumbermen in California. He has risen through the vari- ous departments to be general superintendent of the C. A. Smith Lumber Company, of Bay Point, California. This position he is now filling with credit and distinction. He was born in Sweden, May 2, 1871, and is a son of Johnnas Anderson. In his country the son takes the first name of his father. His mother, Assarina (Anderson) Johnson, was also a native of Sweden. Our subject received a limited education in the old country and at an early age worked on his father's farm. At the age of twenty he came to America and located in Minnesota, where he found employment in a lumber-yard as a common laborer. He progressed and was promoted to shipping clerk for the Shelvin-Calpenter Lumber Company. Here he remained for fifteen years. He then removed to Freece, Minnesota, and there followed the same work for three years. In 1911 he came to Bay Point and became identified with the C. A. Smith Lumber Company, as shipping clerk and general foreman, after which he was promoted to the office of general superintendent, which posi- tion he now holds. He is watchful of all indications concerning trade condi- tions, is energetic, and has achieved a measure of success, which is the direct reward of persistent earnest effort. Mr. Johnson is a Republican. He has re- peatedly been elected on the Bay Point school board. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Masonic lodge and the I. O. U. W. Mr. Johnson was twice married; the first union was to Hannah Larson, a native of Sweden. This marriage occurred in 1892. His first wife died in 1903. To this union were born two sons and two daughters-Myrtle, wife of H. L. Taylor; Edna, who resides at home; Berndt, of Bay Point; and Henry, deceased. The second marriage was to Helena Elmgrem, also a native of Sweden, in October, 1905. To this union two children have been born, Bernice and Leslie. Mr. Johnson has many friends in the Bay cities, and he is popular among those with whom he is connected.
SIMON W. CUNNINGHAM .- The life record of Simon W. Cunningham is interwoven with the history of Contra Costa County. His parents, indeed, are of the true pioneers of the country; his father was one of the first.men to locate in this part of the State. Simon W. was born at Bay Point, April 30, 1868, a son of Daniel and Fannie (Hickey) Cunningham, both natives of
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.