Yolo County Biographies – B
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A. G. BAILEY A professional career that began with his admission to the bar of the
state January 14, 1907, give abundant indication of future successes
for Mr. Bailey. Indeed, already he has achieved a position highly creditable
to one so young in years and in professional experience. Conscientious
endeavor, dating back to early childhood and continued without abatement
up to the present time, has brought him to an established position among
the able citizens of Yolo county, and he further has the honor of being
one of the youngest district attorneys in California. Nature endowed
him with qualities well adapting him to public affairs. Conservative
in spirit, yet a friend of progress, a logical reasoner and a fluent
speaker, he throws himself into professional affairs with an energy
that bespeaks success when coupled with the attributes indispensable
to the law. James David BAIRD The opportunities afforded by Yolo county to men of self-reliant spirit
and persevering energy find a striking illustration in the successful
activities of James D. Baird, who came here at the age of ten years,
the son of a pioneer who gave to his children the heritage represented
by rugged constitutions, education and sagacious training. The family
is of Anglo-Saxon lineage and its representatives in the new world give
evidence of the possession of many of the traits for which that race
is famous. In his own history it is apparent that he is a man not easily
daunted by discouragements and not readily disheartened by obstacles.
Quietly by energetically he worked his way forward until now he ranks
among the large land-owners of the county as well as one of its most
loyal citizens and progressive farmers. J. E. BAIRD J. E. BAIRD, an agriculturalist near Woodland, is the son of Thomas
and Mary (Hodgin) Baird, who were natives of England; the father by
vocation was an engineer and mill-wright, and died in Woodland in 1878.
The subject of this sketch was born in England in 1852, and was brought
to America when only two years of age; after living in Missouri until
1859 he came to California and located in Woodland. He now has a fine
farm of 400 acres a mile east of that place; and he is also a partner
with three brothers in 320 acres near Knight's Landing. Wheat is their
principal product. Mr. Baird is not married. Thomas BAIRD Forty years have wrought their marvelous transformations in city and
on farms since time ceased and eternity began for Thomas Baird, an Englishman
by birth and lineage, but an American in his keen desire to grasp opportunity
and in his pre-eminent characteristics of enterprise and optimism. Comparatively
brief, as we count time, was the period of his sojourn near the western
coast of our country and brief also was the duration of his residence
in America, nevertheless he was able to lay the foundation of a permanent
prosperity which, although death prevented his own consummation thereof,
aided his children in their personal efforts to accumulate a competency.
When he crossed the ocean to the new world he was young and strong,
but without means or friends, and the early years of his association
with our country represented a constant endeavor on is part to earn
a livelihood. For some time he made his home in Richmond, Mo., and followed
the trade of a millwright, in which he was not only experienced, but
also unusually capable. Early in manhood he had married Miss Mary A.
Hutchinson and they cross the plains in 1859, making the tedious journey
with wagons and oxen after the fashion of the day. During the spring
of 1862 he settled on a ranch one mile east of Woodland and here he
died in 1871, his wife having died two years before. Hon. Francis E. BAKER A native of Michigan, Francis E. Baker was born in Quincy, October 2, 1839, and he made his home in his native state until he became a resident of California. His early education was followed by a course in Hillsdale College, which he entered in 1860 and continued his studies there until the fall of 1862. It was at that time that he entered the law department of the University of Michigan, and immediately after his graduation, March 31, 1864, he was admitted to the bar. In the following year he came to California via Panama, and in 1867 he located in Yolo county, and here he engaged in teaching until 1871, when he began the practice of law. In September, 1873, he was elected district attorney, and in 1875 he was re-elected, thus holding the office from March 4, 1874, until March 4, 1878. For many years Mr. Baker was a leader in the Democratic party and a shining light among the attorneys of the state. In 1880 he was elected to the assembly of the Twenty-forth legislature, and during his term of office he represented his constituents ably. He was a member of the board of education, was one of the library trustees, and held various other municipal offices, in all of which he showed good judgment and a keen loyalty to the community's best interests. Fraternally he was a Mason and was past worshipful master and was also honored by an election to Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of California. He also held membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Uniform Rank, K. P. In Woodland, July 19, 1874, Mr. Baker was married to Miss Addie E. Thomas, a native of Monroe, Green county, Wis., and the daughter of Charles S. and Josephine L. (Wallace) Thomas. (A sketch of Charles S. Thomas will be found elsewhere in this volume.) Mr. Baker was one of God's noblemen. He was generous to a fault, true as steel, and all who came in contact with him liked him instinctively. He was a very able man, with broad ideas and a remarkably strong and bright intellect, and he left a record in his profession that will ever adorn the brightest pages of legal jurisprudence in the county and state.Transcribed by Bea Barton Colonel John Cameron BALL As the name will indicate to any one conversant with such matters, Colonel Ball is a member of one of the oldest families in Virginia. His father, Joseph L. Ball, was born and raised in Loudonn County, Virginia, on the James River. His mother, Mary Cameron, was also a native of Virginia, whose father, John Cameron, was born in the Highlands of Scotland, emigrating thence to Virginia. The Cameron family is well remembered as one that espoused the unfortunate cause of Prince Charlie (Charles Stuart, the lawful holder of the throne of England), in his last attempt to assert his rights, backed by his loyal Scottish subjects. Readers of the celebrated poem, "Lochiel," will recognize the circumstances. Both the Ball and Cameron families were planters and slave-holders in the South, Joseph L. Ball, the father of our Colonel J. C. Ball, emancipating his slaves some time in the thirties from conscientious scruples on the subject, and removing to Jefferson County, Ohio, on the banks of the Ohio River. There the younger members of the family were born, and there he died in 1872, at the age of seventy years. He was the father of eleven children, nine sons and two daughters, of whom the daughters and six of the sons grew to maturity, and save one are all still living. Of the six sons all are over six feet in height, and all unusually strong and robust. The father was a man of remarkable strength and possessed a powerful frame. But we cannot do better than reproduce a short sketch of the life and career of Colonel Ball, from the columns of a local paper written by one who knows him well:
Since the Harlan trial Colonel Ball has been engaged in several important civil cases requiring much labor and attention, among which is the case of Moore vs. Capay Ditch Company. In this action the right to appropriate for agricultural purposes the entire water of Cache Creek, a very considerable stream having its source in Clear Lake, is claimed on the one side, as, against the rights of the riparian owners living along the stream. The Colonel is found upon the side of the settlers, and the case has not yet been decided. Colonel Ball's recognized legal ability and business capacity has
recently secured him the responsible and lucrative position of attorney
for the Central Irrigation District in Colusa County, to which position
he ahs been elected by the unanimous vote of its board of directors. The district is formed under what is known as the "Wright Law," and comprises over 156, 000 acres of good farming land in Colusa County, which, without regard to irrigation, with the improvements already thereon, is of the full cash value of $5,000,000, and will be of immense value when the canal is completed. The district has issued bonds to the amount of $750,000, a portion of which have been sold, and the work of excavating the canal is actively under way. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 Thomas D. BALL One of the earliest settlers of Winters was Mr. Ball, who contributed
materially toward the development of this section, and whose death,
February 27, 1902, deprived his fellow citizens of one of their most
beloved friends and co-workers. C. P. BALZARI dairyman at Woodland, was born July 4, 1855, in Switzerland, of which country his parents, James and Constance (Mattie) Balzari, are also natives; the father, who has been a merchant most of his life, is still living there. When our subject was twelve years of age, he and his father came to California by water, landing at Petaluma, where he was engaged in the livery business until 1878; then he worked on a farm at Elmira, Solano County, until 1880, when he moved near Madison, Yolo County, and followed farming there until the next year, when he came to Woodland and started his present dairy ranch, where he keeps seventy head of cows and is the leading dairyman in that locality. He keeps the finest grades of stock. His gross income is $500 per month. He has 240 acres of land near Cottonwood in Shasta County, and twenty acres in Willow Oak Park, Yolo County. He was united in marriage, December 23, 1876, in Yolo County, with
Eva A. Merrell, a native of Michigan, born November 18, 1858, the daughter
of U. P. and Almira (Finch) Merrell, her father a native of Connecticut
and her mother of Michigan. They have two sons: Charles W., born July
7, 1878, and Robert A., January 2, 1884. Frank J. BARNES Frank J. Barnes, a farmer of Yolo County, is a son of Abram and Grace Barnes, natives of Kentucky, who moved to Missouri, where the father served in the Indian war, and the mother, in the fort of Howard County, moulded bullets for the company. It was in that county, in 1836, that the subject of this sketch was born, and when eighteen years of age he crossed plain and mountain to California, with his mother and the family; his father had come in 1850. The latter followed mining, but mostly farming and stock-raising to the time of his death in 1875. The widow died in 1877. Mr. Frank J. Barnes has been a resident of Yolo County ever since his arrival in California, excepting the two years he was in Butte County. He has had a farm of his own, raising grain and live-stock, excepting about three years in the butcher business in Woodland. His present ranch consists of 130 acres of very fine land lying about three-quarters of a mile west of Woodland on the Main street road, and he has thereon a good two-story dwelling. He was married in 1870, to Miss Harlen, a sister of J. H. Harlen, one of the most prosperous farmers in Yolo County. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have a daughter, named Leonora. Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,
Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 page 762-763 George L. BARNES The native sons of the Golden West did not have the distinction of "coming the plains across" as did their pioneer fathers and mothers. The children grew up with the country were a part of it from their earliest times, a product of the soil. Nathan Barnes, a native of Ohio, left St. Louis, Mo., in 1852 and crossed the plains to California with ox-teams. The large train disbanded at Sacramento and Mr. Barnes some years later located in Solano county, not far from Denverton. He was there married to Miss Elizabeth Brock, a native of Wisconsin, who came to California with her mother, via Panama, about 1854. The father was accidentally killed in a runaway in 1884, but the mother is still living, at the old home place near Denverton. The eight children born to these parents were as follows: Ross, Maurice, Henry C., Benjamin O., Fred S., George L., Anna and Maud. George L. Barnes was born in Solano county December 25, 1866, and therefore is eligible to membership in the Native Sons of the Golden West. He was educated in the public schools and afterward followed farming until 1892, when he removed to Winters and assumed the management of the F. B. Chandler Company lumber yard. This enterprise was established in 1876 and has continued to do business at the old stand ever since. George L. Barnes married Miss Nellie V. Humphrey, a native of Berryessa valley, and a graduate of the schools of Winters. Their four children are Paul, Helen, Lowell and Virginia. Paul and Helen are pupils at Winters. Like other residents of that remarkable fruitful locality, Mr. Barnes has his orchards near his home town, and for several years past has gathered splendid crops of fruit from his trees. His time, however, is devoted principally to the lumber business, which has grown to be the largest in this end of Yolo county. Mr. Barnes is a member of several fraternal organizations, being a charter member of the Foresters and of the Woodmen of the World. For a number of years he has been a member of the board of trustees of his city, and at present is president. During this time the sewer system has been built. For six years he was also clerk of the board of school trustees. With his wife Mr. Barnes is a communicant of the Christian Church. He has always been a Republican in politics, of the progressive and independent variety, and this progressiveness has characterized all his life. His lumber establishment is one of the enterprising business features of Winters, as its proprietor is one of its most enterprising citizens. Transcribed by Bea Barton H. T. BARNES & Son No modern development in the building business has affected more vitally the permanent character of such work than the introduction and increasing use of cement, which, utilized in foundations or for entire structures as well as in sidewalks, bridges and vaults, has proved an indispensable factor in the industrial growth of every community. The firm of H. T. Barnes & Son, organized in 1906, represents the results of years of activity on the part of the older member of the concern, who for thirty years or more has engaged in cement work in Woodland and vicinity. Meanwhile he has had charge of the building of practically all of the sidewalks in the town, has erected cement dairies in the country and has built vaults and walls in the cemetery, besides erecting a fine monument of reinforced concrete in the city cemetery. The first concrete foundation in this part of Yolo county was put under his residence at No. 524 Walnut street, Woodland, and since then as almost universal adoption of such foundations has followed. Many of these have been put in place under his supervision, including the foundation for the Odd Fellows' Building. A superior quality of cement always has been used. In earlier days much of this was imported from Germany, Belgium and England, but more recently the product manufactured in Solano and Napa counties has grown in popular favor and its practicability has been proved by actual experience. About twenty-seven years ago Mr. Barnes built a reinforced culvert bridge with steel rods, being the first resident of the entire county to attempt such work. Ten years later reinforced work was patented. As early as 1894 he erected at the Yolo Orchard a reinforced concrete packing house, 50x100 feet in dimensions and two and one-half stories high. Although on two different occasions fire has broken out in this packing house and threatened its destruction, its walls are still standing firm and substantial as when first erected. Besides his work in this locality he has had contracts at Suisun, Solano county, and in other counties. The joint bridge between Yolo and Solano county, of which he was the inspector and which was built in 1906, has three spans, each one hundred and twenty-five feet long, and merits especial mention on account of being the largest bridge of its kind west of Kansas City. In 1911 he was inspector on the facing of levees two and one-half miles long in the Lisbon district; and reinforced facing would equal an area of twelve and one-half acres. In it were used over twenty thousand barrels of cement, and it is considered the largest space covered continuously in the United States. Of Canadian birth and parentage, Henry Thomas Barnes was born near the city of Toronto April 14, 1857. At the age of fourteen years he lost by death his father, John Barnes, and then went to Michigan, where he served an apprenticeship under a merchant tailor. The occupation proved too sedentary for his health and he sought outdoor employment, thus having his attention called to the cement business, in which he as been unqualifiedly successful. After he came to California in 1879 he endeavored to resume tailoring, but a short period of work proved too confining and he left San Francisco for Woodland in 1882. In the marble yard of H. P. Martin he found employment congenial to his tastes and suited to his physical demands. Here he began to interest people in cement work. His predecessors had been so unsuccessful that would-be buyers were suspicious of the industry, but Mr. Barnes soon proved that he thoroughly understood the proper proportions of sand and cement necessary for permanent results. Sidewalks laid by him years ago are as solid today as when first laid. Forming a partnership with J. O. Shaffer in 1883 he opened marble yard and plant for the manufacture of cement products on Main street, opposite the Pacific hotel, but when his partner died a year later he discontinued the marble business, since which time he has devoted his energies to the erection of concrete bridges, culverts, foundations, fence posts, water troughs, tanks, houses, business structures, and indeed, the many purposes to which cement is applicable. When he came to Woodland in 1882 Mr. Barnes was unmarried. November 5, 1884, he married Miss Mollie Cosby, a native of St. Charles county, Mo., and a daughter of Josiah Cosby of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are the parents of two children, Cosby H. (his father's partner) and Ruth. Fraternally he holds membership with the Woodland lodge of Masons, chapter and commandery, and with the lodge and encampment of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World. For many years Mr. Barnes was a member of the board of trustees of the Odd Fellows' Hall, besides having served as noble grand master and two terms as district grand patriarch of the encampment. In the Rebekahs, to which he and his wife belong, the latter has served as noble grand, and they are also both members of the Order of Eastern Star. The Methodist Episcopal Church South has received their earnest support, and Mr. Barnes for years gave the most efficient service as superintendent of the Sunday school. As a member of the First Rifle Team he accompanied his command from California to the meet at Seagirt, N. J., the government defraying all expenses. For seven years he was a member of the California National Guard and retired with the rank of sergeant of Company F, Second California Regiment, to which his son and partner also has belonged for the past five years or more. The junior member of the firm, Cosby H. Barnes, is a native son of Woodland, born June 1, 1886. After completing his education he was for a time employed with the Wells Fargo Company. Having learned the cement business from a youth, in 1906 he joined his father in the business and since then has been actively interested with him. He was married in Woodland, December 30, 1906 to Miss Hazel Irene Roberts, who was born near Woodland, and to them have been born two children, Virginia Elberta and Elwood Henry. For six years he has been and still is a member of Company F, Second Regiment of California, and served with the regiment at the San Francisco fire in 1906. In 1911 he was a member of the team that won the regimental cup and also the lodge state cup. He holds membership in Woodland Lodge of Masons and encampment of the Odd Fellows, in which he is a past grand, and he is also a member of the Woodmen of the World. Transcribed by Bea Barton Watson BARNES Watson Barnes, an agriculturist in the northwestern part of Yolo County, was born January 2, 1844, in Boston, Massachusetts. His father, Silas P. Barnes, a native of New Hampshire and a farmer and stock-raiser by occupation, came to California in 1854. He was engaged in farming and stock-raising after 1851; previous to that he was engaged in the mercantile business in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, for some thirty years. The mother, whose maiden name was Olive Chapman, was a native of the State of Maine. Both parents were of English ancestry. Mr. Barnes, senior, arrived in Salt Lake City in July, 1851, and three years later came on to California, soon locating in Yolo County, where Black's is now situated, and died April 11, 1888, leaving four children, and property worth about $100,000. Mr. Barnes, the subject of this notice, owns 525 acres of finely improved land about five and a half miles northwest of Black's. He was married in Woodland, July 15, 1880, to Miss M. J. Houx, who was born in 1854, in California. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 Otto J. BAUMANN The qualities of accuracy and skill, without which permanent success
cannot be attained in any line of enterprise, are no less important
to the building industry than to other avocation. As leading characteristics
of Otto J. Baumann they have been indispensable factors in the commendable
degree of success which he has secured as a contractor and builder.
While he is of Swiss lineage and nativity (born in September of 1879),
he allows none to surpass him in loyal devotion to American institutions
and in his work he displays the American traits of energy and progressiveness,
combined with the thrift and economical management usually seen in people
who claim Switzerland as their native country. Still in early life,
with a long period of usefulness lying before him, it may be predicted
that he will enjoy a growing reputation for efficiency in his chosen
occupation. R. H. BEAMER There are but few, if any, names more familiar to residents of Woodland and Yolo County, than that of the Beamer family, after whom are named the Beamer Block and Beamer's Addition to Woodland. The father of the subject of this sketch, a Virginian by birth, who had settled in Missouri when a very young man, was a California pioneer of 1849, and for twenty-five years was a resident of Yolo County, where he accumulated a handsome estates, and died universally respected and regretted by all classes, in November, 1879. The only son of this gentleman, Richard Henderson Beamer, is a native of "old Missouri," and was born on the 29th of July, 1849, at the time his father was delving for the precious metal in California. The elder Mr. Beamer continued at mining until 1852, and in that year, attracted by the fertility of the soil and the salubrity of the climate of Yolo, he came here and was engaged for two years in farming, having acquired the ownership of a piece of land near the ranch now under the management of R. H. Beamer. In 1854, this gentleman, having decided on making Yolo County his future home, returned to Missouri, and brought his family back with him, consisting of his wife, his son, R. H., and a daughter, now the wife of Mr. F. M. Brown, of Woodland. The journey across the plains was accomplished with the aid of the traditional team of oxen, and the little party duly arrived in Yolo County, of which R. H. Beamer has since been a continuous resident, if we except the time spent at an Eastern college in putting the finishing touches to his education. He had the advantage of the best educational facilities afforded in the locality, and being a bright, quick-witted youngster, with both the desire and ability to excel in his studies, he successfully passed through the different grades of the public schools with credit. His desire to still further continue his studies was encouraged by his father, who was himself a well-read, intelligent gentleman-one of the founders of the Hesperian College-who thoroughly appreciated the benefits of a higher education. "Dick" Beamer, as he is known to his friends and familiars, attended the Hesperian College, and subsequently, in 1868, accompanied his father to the Eastern States, visiting among other places the State of Kentucky. Mr. Beamer was then a young man of nineteen, a susceptible age, and the young gentleman was very much impressed by the scholastic opportunities afforded by the Blue Grass State, its many natural beauties, and possibly by the charms of the fair daughters of the sunny South. Infatuated by the inducements offered by the University of Kentucky, at Lexington, he entered the School of Arts therewith connected, and while worshiping at the shrine of Minerva became acquainted with Miss Mary E. Hodgen, of Lexington. Completing his collegiate studies Mr. Beamer returned to his Yolo County home, but in a few months again went East, and married the lady above named in Lexington, December 20, 1870, a few months after he had arrived at his majority. This gentleman brought his young wife to California, and has since been a resident of Woodland and vicinity, where they were afterward followed by the father, brother, and other relatives of Mrs. Beamer. R. H. Beamer is a thoroughly practical and experienced agriculturist, and has for many years been extensively engaged in that industry, having 1,500 acres of rented lands near Black's, under cultivation, and a half section under his management near the city, on which stands handsome, commodious and comfortable suburban residence. He owns, in addition to the above, 800 acres of choice lands in Shasta County. Entering the political arena at a very early age, this gentleman has filled several public positions of honor, trust and responsibility. In 1872, when in his twenty-third year, R. H. Beamer was elected Auditor of Yolo County, at which he served two years, and filled the position so creditably to himself and so satisfactorily to the citizens of Yolo that he, on the expiration of his term, was nominated and elected to the County Assessorship, which responsible office he held for four years. A short time after his retirement from the office his father deceased, and he again assumed the management of the old farm and home place, continuing thereat until 1885, when he was elected Sheriff of Yolo, and served that year and the following as such. "Dick" Beamer was also nominated by the Democracy in joint convention to represent the Senate district which embraces Yolo and Napa Counties. This nomination was made in the face of the fact that he had emphatically assured his political friends that it would be impossible for him to accept. The nomination was equivalent to election, and the compliment was a handsome one. It furnished striking evidence of the high estimation in which he was held; but business connections and other circumstances obliged him much against his will to decline the honor. Mr. Beamer has been one of the school trustees for the past nine years. He has always affiliated with the Democratic party, with broad views in politics. He is still a young man, not having yet entered upon the fifth decade of life, and belongs to the progressive element which favors advancement and development. He is opposed to the slow-going, old fogy class of men whose Silurianism has been so detrimental to the progress of Yolo, and endorses and heartily supports all movements having the welfare of this wonderful section in view. He does not favor a "boom," but believes in encouraging immigration of the desirable kind, and in the dividing of large tracts into small holdings. The magnificent property known as the Beamer Addition consists of 100 acres, which has been subdivided into lots for residence purposes, and was recently sold to a syndicate and placed upon the market by R. H. Beamer, who retains an interest therein. The land lies at a considerable elevation above the city, and admirably located as it is it will of necessity become a favorite for well-to-do Woodlanders. Mr. Beamer has had six children, two of whom have been taken away by death. The eldest living is a young lady, highly accomplished, and the youngest a bright and handsome boy just beginning to walk, and the sunshine of the household. Personally Mr. Beamer is of engaging address, quick and incisive in manner of speech, and possessed of pleasing conversational powers. In disposition he is genial and sociable, and having lived here as a boy, youth and man for thirty-five years, has had a large circle of friends and acquaintances. The following further particulars concerning the senior Mr. Beamer are taken from a history published several years ago. R. L. BEAMER, deceased, of Yolo County, was born February 29, 1816, in Carroll County, Virginia, where he lived until he attained his majority, when he removed to the State of Missouri. He was married to Miss Rebecca Anderson, April 15, 1847, in Livingston County, Missouri. They continued to live as loving husband and wife until death separated them, in 1879. The issue of the marriage was Mary E., aged thirty-one years; Tena R., aged twenty-five years, and Richard Henderson, aged thirty years, still living. Five children are deceased, viz.: Parthena, Asenath, Irene, Hope, and Charity. In 1849 Mr. Beamer, or "Uncle Dicky," as he was almost universally known among his acquaintances and friends, made the long and toilsome trip across the plains to this coast, in search of the glittering treasures that California's mountains held. Finding a healthful and salubrious climate in the great Sacramento Valley, he secured a fine farm in 1852, and in 1854 went back to his Missouri home, and the same year returned to this State by land with his family by ox teams, and settled in Yolo County, at the present family homestead. He was a cabinet-maker by trade, but, after his advent to this State, worked very little at that vocation, devoting his attention principally to agricultural pursuits. He also, for a number of years, was one of the owners of a toll-road and bridge in Placer County, which brought in a handsome monthly revenue, until the completion of the railroad superseding the teaming interests. "Uncle Dicky" was a man of great force of character, and although not possessed of a thorough education, was a man of quite extensive reading and great natural mental powers. For a number of years prior to his death, he was a warm and persistent advocate of the Bible, and was a prominent member of the Christian Church at Woodland. Peculiar as he was in many of his characteristics, yet no one ever impeached his honesty, his integrity, or his full belief in his religious professions. He was an enterprising man, and whenever the wants of the community demanded contributions of the part of the citizens thereof, "Uncle Dicky's" name was generally to be found among the list of subscribers. In church matters he was particularly liberal, giving generously to the good cause whenever called upon. In the building up and establishing of Hesperian College, he was one of the foremost men, and never flinched from the tasks imposed upon him until the institution was put upon a permanent, self-sustaining basis. As a farmer, he was not entirely so thorough as some, yet, with the help of his estimable wife, succeeded in accumulating a very handsome estate before he was called away. From the effects of a fall received about two years prior to his decease, he was never well, and November 5, 1879, was called to his final account, regretted by all classes of the community in which he had so long resided. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 Richard Henderson BEAMER The development of the Sacramento valley, no only from the standpoint of financial stability, but also from the side of commercial growth, has been fostered through the sagacious leadership of the First National Bank, formerly the Farmers and Merchants Bank, an institution well known in Woodland and in all of the surrounding country. As a financial concern it has achieved a wide reputation for conservative spirit, local pride, keen supervision and an important list of depositors. Its officers are without exception men of fine mental attributes and ability as financiers. Guarding the investments of their stockholders with wise caution, they yet have proved of the utmost importance to the permanent advancement of their home city through their judicious extension of credit to men hampered by want of capital, and in every instance the wisdom of their confidence has been proved by actual results. Coming into the office of president, some seven or more years after the organization of the Farmers and Merchants Bank, Mr. Beamer soon impressed upon the institution the influence of his strong, virile personality. The results of his executive management permeated the community with a distinct effect upon its permanent upbuilding. The valley has achieved a prosperity more vital and lasting than would have been possible without the presence of the bank, working through its officers for the benefit of the entire region, and its president has been particularly helpful in establishing for the concern a position as sound, reliable and conservative. At the time that he was chosen president, November 9, 1901, F. Miller was selected for the office of vice-president, M. O. Harling was re-elected cashier, and J. M. Day was made the accountant. At the report of September 1903, the capital stock was shown to be $200,000, the assets were large and the surplus increasing. Since then the capital has been equally divided, and it is now the First National Bank and Home Savings Bank of Woodland, with equal proportions of the capital stock and surplus. On January 20, 1910, Mr. Beamer resigned as president of the bank to take the position of state bank examiner, which he filled during the administration of Superintendent of Banks Alden Anderson. The Farmers and Merchants Bank of Woodland was established September 26, 1892, with the following directorate: David N. Hershey, C. G. Day, Col. D. M. Burns, W. G. Hunt, M. Diggs, Thomas Ross, Richard H. Beamer, L. B. Adams, George H. Jackson and D. R. Clanton. The concern was incorporated through the work of a special committee comprising Messrs. Adams, Day, Diggs, Ross, Beamer and Burns. Vacant property was bought at the northwest corner of Main and First streets in 1893. September 26 of that year the work of building was begun with J. J. Hall as architect and D. McPhee as contractor. The building, which is three stories in height and built of Arizona red sandstone, cost $31,205, exclusive of interior fittings and furnishings. The first floor is occupied by the bank and the other suites are utilized for office purposes. The building is heated by steam and lighted by gas and electricity, while a fireproof room enables customers to deposit valuable papers in a vault constructed by the Diebold Safe and Lock Company. Modern conveniences enable the occupants of the building to transact business with dispatch in the midst of comfortable surroundings. Born in Missouri, July 29, 1849, Richard Henderson Beamer is a son of Richard L. Beamer, a native of Virginia. Primarily educated in local schools, he later was sent to the Hesperian College and then attended the University of Kentucky at Lexington. December 20, 1870, he married Miss Mary E. Hodgen, a native of Kentucky. The young couple enjoyed a wedding tour that brought them to the west and they settled in Yolo county, where for years Mr. Beamer engaged in ranching. He platted Beamer's addition to Woodland, comprising eighty acres. He built his comfortable home on North Third street, where he resided with his family. His wife died at the age of forty-nine years, and two of their children died when young. The other members of the family are Dr. Richard F. Beamer, a dentist in San Francisco; Daisy Irene, wife of C. B. Hobson of Berkeley; Blanche H. of Woodland, and Joseph, assistant collection teller of the First National Bank of San Francisco. Staunchly devoted to the Democratic party, Mr. Beamer has been prominent in the local councils of the party. From 1872 to 1874 he served as county auditor, after which he held office as assessor four years. During 1885 he was chosen sheriff, and that office he filled with courage and energy. His party nominated him to represent Yolo and Napa counties in the state senate, but he declined the honor, although the nomination was equivalent to an election. For a long period he rendered efficient service as a member of the state board of equalization and for one term he held office as mayor of Woodland, in which position he promoted the progress of the city by his intelligent sympathy with all movements for the general welfare. Since he retired from the state bank examiner's office he has devoted his attention to his varied interest and is serving as the representative appointed by the supervisors of Yolo county to secure the state highway for the west side of the Sacramento river. Fraternally Mr. Beamer is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. He is one of Woodland's most dependable citizens and is always giving of his time and means to promote the commercial importance of his community and county. Transcribed by Bea Barton Richard L. BEAMER From the time of his arrival in the west during the eventful year of
1849, until his death thirty years afterward, the honored pioneer, Richard
L. Beamer, was identified with the material development of California,
and during the greater portion of the long period he engaged in ranching
in Yolo county. Nature qualified him admirably for the difficult task
of the frontiersman. A robust constitution and sturdy physique enabled
him to endure hardships without detriment to his health. Toil made little
impress upon his trained muscles. Work, that open sesame to success,
was the lodestar that guided him to an ultimate prosperity neither insignificant
nor unworthy of a man of ability. Religion had assisted in the formation
of his character and he gave of his best to promote churches and also
to advance educational interests. All in all, he was a man of well-rounded
character and attractive personality. William E. M. BEARDSLEE One of the most interesting as well as one of the most important phases
of the development of our western country relates to the reclamation
of the arid lands and the saving of other lands subject to overflow.
Few are more closely associated with the progress of this important
work in California than is Mr. Beardslee, trustee of the Yolo basin
drainage district, which was organized by state enactment to investigate
the practicability of reclaiming the lands lying in the Yolo, Solano
and Colusa basins on the Sacramento river. Aaron BECK A native of Wurtemberg, Germany, born in 1847, Mr. Beck received a
thorough education in the public schools of that section. Later he learned
the shoemaker's trade, in which, upon his immigration to America in
1866, he engaged in Newark, N. J., serving in a shoe factory ten years.
He then came to Capay, Yolo county, Cal., where he remained a similar
period. In 1866 he located in Woodland, where he worked at his trade
until the purchase of his present twenty-acre ranch in Willow Oak Park,
in 1890. F. M. BEE F. M. BEE, a farmer of Yolo County, is the son of Frederick and Katherine (Mawell) Bee, natives of the State of New York. The mother died at the home where her only son, the subject of this sketch, resided, August 18, 1889; and the father is now at San Francisco, acting as Chinese Consul. The farm, belonging to both father and son, is now managed by the latter. Born in New York State, he was brought to California when an infant by his parents, who came by way of the Isthmus. On arrival in this State, the family was first located in Hangtown, where the elder Mr. Bee engaged in mining and in the management of a provision store, employing a large number of men in the former industry. Arriving at the age of sixteen years, Mr. F. M. Bee attended a boarding-school at Oakland and quit at the age of eighteen, intending to follow bookkeeping; but his health failed and he began work upon his father's ranch in Sonoma County, near Petaluma. Two years afterward, November 1, 1888, he came to his present ranch, intending to remain faithful in the service and care of his father, as he had already done for his mother up to the time of her death. She was fifty-eight years old when she died. Mr. Bee is yet unmarried, and is the only child. Upon the Range of 140 acres of well-improved land, he is engaged principally in the raising of wine and table grapes. Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,
Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 Dean C. BEEMAN The desire to find a location entirely satisfactory cause Mr. Beeman
to travel extensively throughout the United States. Reared in the Mississippi
valley, he had been familiar with that region from his earliest memories
and his travels therefore took him into other directions. Twice he went
to the northwest, but what he desired was not there. Then he began to
investigate California and he did not cease his journeys until he had
traversed the entire length of the Pacific coast at a point of contact
with our own country. A careful estimate of the extent of his journeyings
in search of a location gives the mileage in one year as seventeen thousand,
but he does not regret the time and money spent in these expeditions,
for they gave him a broad acquaintance with the United States and also
convinced him that Yolo county is without a superior in its possibilities
for the earning of a livelihood out of the soil. Thomas J. BELSHE A native of California, his birth having occurred in Woodland, Yolo county, February 9, 1856, Mr. Belshe is widely know as a most practical and enterprising citizen, and by his well-directed efforts has contributed largely to the development of the community. His parents, William G. and Leah (Morris) Belshe, natives of Germany and Kentucky, respectively, crossed the plains from Missouri in 1849, and in Yolo county, Cal., they took up a ranch near Woodland. After five years Mr. Belshe took his family to Geyerville, Sonoma county, where he resumed farming, actively conducting his duties until his death in 1859. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Belshe, the latter of whom now makes her home in San Diego county, six children were born, as follows: John M. and Robert F., deceased; Thomas J.; William P., who resides in Orange county, and two daughters who died young. In 1864 Mr. Belshe returned to Yolo county with his mother, who settled on a farm near Madison, where she purchased two hundred acres of land. Mr. Belshe was educated in the public schools there, after which he followed farming on his mother's place until his marriage. For some time thereafter he followed horticulture, but is now engaged in viticulture at Cottonwood. Year by year his vineyard increases in both value and production, the record for the season of 1911 one hundred tons. The ranch is counted one of the leading properties of the county, none presenting a more highly cultivated or more beautiful appearance than the Belshe vineyard. Thomas J. Belshe was united in marriage in 1876 to Miss Johanna Toelle, a native of Sacramento. The three children born to them are William A., Mary I. and Cora B. In the death of his wife in 1899 Mr. Belshe lost a devoted companion and the children a kind and affectionate mother. Politically he has always supported Democratic principles and has at all times maintained an active concern in public enterprises of merit, being especially interested in the cause of education. Transcribed by Bea Barton Mrs. Agnes BEMMERLEY proprietor of a farm in Yolo County, is the widow of John Bemmerly,
deceased, who was born in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1824, and came in
1852 to California, crossing the plains with oxen and settling in Yolo
County in 1853. He died August 8, 1872, a man well and favorably known
throughout a large community. He left to his wife and five children
6,000 acres of land. He was married in this county, October 14, 1860.
The children are Mary E., John F., Jr., Agnes H., William A. and Ernest
A., all natives of this county. Ernest BEMMERLY A worthy representative of one of the early and prominent pioneer families
of Yolo county Ernest Bemmerly is upholding the record for genuine worth
and stability borne by his predecessors, and Woodland has no more dependable
citizen than "Sam" Bemmerly, as he is known and addressed
by his most intimate friends. He was born near Blacks Station, Yolo
county, March 10, 1873, the youngest of five children born to his parents,
John and Agnes (Wimmer) Bemmerly. Both of the parents were natives of
Germany, the father born in Wurtemberg, February 24, 1824, and the mother
in Baden, February 2, 1833. From the time that he came to California
in 1852, until his death, August 8, 1872, the father was a resident
of Yolo county, and here, too, the mother has been a continuous resident
since 1859. An interesting sketch of this worthy couple may be found
elsewhere in this volume. John BEMMERLY Prominent among the pioneer ranchmen and sheep growers of Yolo county
was the late John Bemmerly, who settled on land lying three and a half
miles of Yolo more than half a century ago, on the homestead now owned
and occupied by the widow. Squatting on Knight's grant, he helped his
neighbors to fight the claims of the Knight heirs and gain the victory
over them which perfected the titles to their own homes. A man of great
determination and perseverance, he was at the same time progressive,
patient and tactful, a farmer who in other environments would have developed
into a splendid business man. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, February
24, 1824, and was reared and educated in his native city. In 1847 he
came to the United States and worked in New York as a farm hand until
1852, when he came to California. For several months he mined, but with
no marked success, and so he squatted on land in Yolo county that he
had recently bought from the United States government. Industrious and
far-seeing, he labored courageously and became in the course of time
an extensive land owner and a citizen of influence. He raised excellent
crops and as fast as he made money he invested it in contiguous land
until he had a home ranch of eight hundred acres, as well as a sheep
ranch near Dunnigan comprising thirty-six hundred acres. He divided
his attention between farming and sheep raising, and at the time of
his death had one of the largest flocks of the county. His passing,
which took place August 8, 1872, was regarded as a sad loss to the community
and an irreparable one to his family. He had been reared in the Lutheran
faith and in his political affiliations was a stanch Republican. Harvey E. BENDER Harvey E. Bender, an alert business man who is proprietor of the Woodland Steam Laundry, was born in Longford, Clay county, Kansas, December 23, 1891, and was a lad of nine years when his parents removed with their family to Oklahoma, where he spent his time upon the home ranch to the age of sixteen. He then journeyed to the northwest, with the Willamette valley of Oregon as his destination, and settled near Salem. He attended the district school at Silverton and afterward again went to Oklahoma, becoming a student in the high school at Stillwater. For a time he worked as a delivery boy and later turned his attention to the laundry business, which he followed in Boise, Idaho, in Idaho Falls, Pocatello and other cities of that state at different periods. He thus gained an intimate and accurate working knowledge of the business in all of its phases. In the fall of 1918 he went to Pendleton, Oregon, where he conducted a laundry, and in 1923 he arrived in Woodland, purchasing the Woodland Steam Laundry, then in a run-down condition. He at once began the task of building it up, installed new machinery throughout the plant, and today has one of the best equipped and most modern laundries in the valley. The plant is supplied with all modern appliances necessary for turning out excellent work, and something of the increase in the business is indicated in the fact that when Mr. Bender took charge there were only nine employes, while today there are forty-five, and he utilizes six delivery trucks. His trade extends throughout Yolo county and he also has many customers in Solano, Colusa and Glenn counties. Mr. Bender was married to Miss Grace Waggoner, a native of Oklahoma, and they now have two children, Stanley and Beverly Jean, both born in Woodland. Mr. Bender finds recreation in the game of golf and he belongs to the Yolo Fliers Club, the Lions Club, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is a progressive citizen, supporting all movements that tend to advance the welfare of community and commonwealth, while as a business man he has ever been dependable and reliable, thus gaining the trust and confidence of those with whom he has had dealings. He belongs to the California State and National Laundrymen's Associations and he deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and for the success which he has attained. Source: History of the Sacramento Valley, California, By Mj. Jesse
Walton Wooldridge Page 45-46, The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co.,
Chicago (1931) M. S. BENTZ The business interests and commercial progress of Woodland receive
the constant co-operation of Mr. Bentz, who since coming to this city
during 1906 has identified himself with movements for the local upbuilding
and has proved the high value of his capable citizenship. Such success
as he has achieved and it is by no means insignificant results from
his own determination and unaided efforts. As a boy he had little opportunity
to advance in the world, but, sturdily resolved to secure an education,
he paid his own expenses as he was attending various institutions in
the east. The result was that he acquired a varied knowledge and also
gained what is even more to be desired, viz.: an abundance of self-reliance
and independence. A member of an old Pennsylvania family, he was born
in York county, that state, April 11, 1851, and was next to the youngest
in a family of ten children, five of whom are still living. The parents,
George and Nancy (Grove) Bentz, were born in York county, lived upon
farming land there and remained in the same locality until death. Charles T. BIDWELL The enterprising spirit that led Mr. Bidwell to seek a location in
the newer regions of the undeveloped west formed the nucleus of his
subsequent success, whereby, through an intimate identification with
varied lines of commercial activity, he had become one of the influential
citizens of Woodland, contributing personally to the permanent prosperity
of the place and occupying an honorable position in the annals of the
local history. For years he was one of the leading grain-buyers in Yolo
county, but later he abandoned that field of commercial activity and
entered the real-estate arena, in which through his thorough knowledge
of land values he has risen to prominence. Besides the close attention
to all business details, he has found leisure for the management of
a large vineyard and has studied grape culture exhaustively, so that
he is considered an authority on the subject. Added to other duties
he now fills the office of city trustee, to which he was elected in
April of 1911 for a term of four years. That office he regards as a
trust from the people and it is his endeavor so to discharge its duties
as to secure for the citizens needed benefits, substantial reforms and
practical improvements. Urias BITZER Urias Bitzer, farmer at Woodland, was born March 11, 1826, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a son of John and Elizabeth (Royer) Bitzer, natives of Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer all his life, and died in the same house where he was born, in 1877, at the age of eighty-one years. The subject of this sketch remained at his parental home until he was twenty-six years of age. He then followed farming four years in St. Clair County, Illinois, and then, in 1856, came on to the Pacific coast by the Nicaragua route, sailing from New York April 8, on the steamer Orizaba, and on the Pacific side on the Sierra Nevada. They lay four weeks at Granada, then General Walker's headquarters. Out of 558 passengers on board, 138 died. Mr. Bitzer landed at San Francisco June 6 and proceeded immediately to the mines at Iowa Hill, but in a few days went on to Grass Valley, and a few days after that to Marysville, near which place he engaged in a harvest field; next he spent a month in Plumas County, then a few days in Nevada City, and then worked during the month of August in a harvest field in Napa County; next chopped wood three months on the Norris grant, near Sacramento; January 27, 1857, he went to Shingle Springs, El Dorado County, where he remained until 1877 engaged in mining and in a vineyard. In mining he was reasonably successful. Then he went to the Black Hills, but in three days started back to Sacramento; and then he set out to find a location and after traveling around a good deal, he settled in July, 1877, in Woodland, near which point he purchased five acres of land, and he is now making that place his home. At present he has twenty acres, just outside the western limits of town, and he has 200 acres of farm land five miles west of Black's Station. On his ranch he raises principally grain and hay. Twenty acres of the home place is in grapes and clover; seven acres of this vineyard are in Flaming Tokays, nine acres in Zinfandels and one in raisin Muscats. He is a characteristic old-timer who is always found busy, as the character of the improvements upon his premises demonstrate. In 1871 he visited the East, after an absence of about twenty years, and he returned to his California home more contented than ever. He is a member of the O.C.F. July 31, 1877, he was married to Fianna Palmer, a native of Ohio, and they have one daughter, named Mary. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 James J. BLACK JAMES J. BLACK, a farmer at the town of Black's, Yolo County, is a son of Thomas G. and Margaret (Morrison) Black, the father a native of Georgia, and the mother of Illinois. His father, born in 1809, became one of the early gold hunters of California in 1849, returned East in 1851 and came to the Golden State in 1852, bringing with him his family and locating in Sacramento County, where he lived until 1856; he then came to Yolo County and settled where the town of Black is now situated. In 1866 he moved to Colusa County, and died there August 1, 1868. Mr. James J. Black was born December 22, 1857, in Scott County, Illinois,
and was with his parents until they settled in the place where Black's
now stands. Then, May 1, 1869, he married Miss Margaret Tennis, a native
of Illinois, and shortly afterward purchased 160 acres of land, in the
center of which Black's is now located; from him the town is named.
He was engaged in mercantile business from 1885 to 1887, when he sold
out. He is now keeping a warehouse. He has been a dealer in grain ever
since the town was started in 1875. He is a member of the orders of
Chosen Friends and Odd Fellows at Galesburg, Illinois. His children
are: William B., born September 21, 1865; Clarence O., October 17, 1870;
James L., November 13, 1885; and Ida J., February 3, 1887. Frank Williams BLANCHARD In a region remote from his native commonwealth and interested in affairs
radically different from the seafaring exploits of his boyhood days,
Frank W. Blanchard is passing the maturity of his resolute, purposeful
existence and is enjoying the rewards of commercial and social prominence
tendered to those who surmount life's hardships with undaunted perseverance.
Chance brought him to the shores of California and at once he was so
pleased with the country and the climate that he resolved to remain,
severing the ties that bound him to the home of his childhood and to
the occupation of his youth. Nor has he had reason to regret the decision
that bound him to the west as a permanent citizen, for the passing of
the years has but deepened his devotion to the land of the setting sun. Melvin White BLANCHARD Backed by a life experience of more than usual interest, Mr. Blanchard
enjoys in his closing years not only precious memories which serve to
fill many a quiet hour, but also the contemplation of many important
changes which have taken place recently and which point to a wonderful
future for the west. For the past fifty-two years he has lived and labored
with other pioneers of the Woodland section, and it is a source of the
utmost joy to him to be able to realize many of the hopes which he has
cherished so long. Chris F. BLICKLE A citizen of the most dependable qualities was Mr. Blickle, who passed
away at his ranch home, four miles from Woodland, July 11, 1906. Thoroughly
trusted by his associates, who sorely missed his companionship and advise,
as well as his hearty support in all worthy public measures, he was
a man whose influence was always most helpful upon the community in
which he maintained an active interest during his residence therein. William A. BOOTS A citizen of Yolo county since the end of the year 1870, William A.
Boots was born in Indianapolis, Ind., January 21, 1847, a son of Jacob
and Mary (Bowles) Boots. His father was born near Frankfort, Ky., became
a farmer in Indiana, and died at Indianapolis, Ind., in 1861. Mary Bowles,
born near Lexington, Ky., came to California to spend her declining
years and died at the home of her son William, aged seventy-eight. She
bore her husband six sons and four daughters. Three of the former and
two of the latter are living. Of these children William was fifth in
order of nativity. He was brought up as a farmer's boy, and obtained
in the public school near his boyhood home such education as was available
to him. In 1863 the family moved to Charleston, Coles county, Ill.,
where Mrs. Boots bought a farm which they worked until 1870, when they
came to Yolo county, Cal. Locating in Hungry Hollow, they farmed there
two years In 1872 Mr. Boots moved to Woodland and built the first house
on Fifth Street, before the street had legally been laid out. That has
been Mr. Boots' home ever since except during twelve months spent in
Washington. He has given his time to house-moving and to farming. As
a farmer, he is perhaps as well known as any in the county. His farming
has been done in the vicinity of Woodland, where it would not materially
interfere with his more important occupation. It is often said of him
that he has moved more buildings than any other man in Yolo county,
and he has also done house-moving in Solano, Colusa, Glenn and Sacramento
counties. His equipment for handling structures, large and small, of
all classes is unsurpassed in completeness and efficiency by that of
any other house-mover in the county. Francis Lafayette BOURLAND Driving an ox-team across the plains for his board, or herding cattle
along that same route, has been the method by which many a young man
has come to California, especially in the early days, and this was the
way Francis L. Bourland got here. He was born during the year 1833 in
the old "Chickasaw Purchase," Mississippi, and lived there
with his parents until 1853, when they moved to Fort Smith, Ark. His
father had a mail-carrying contract between Fort Smith and other points
in the state, and young Bourland on his mule, conveying the letter bags
through the wilds, often had exciting adventures. When his mail route
was discontinued the young man worked at carpentering and wagonmaking
until he had a chance to start for the golden west. He provided his
own pony and played the part of cowboy all the way across in Capt. Boliver
Bennett's train, getting his board for the service; his lodging he got
in his saddle generally. There were twenty wagons in the train, and
a portion of the herder's work was to hunt for the travelers. One day
he shot a buffalo cow, and her calf followed him to camp. The youngster
thrived in its orphanage, grew quite tame, and Bourland sold it for
$20. John G. BOWER (#1) a successful, prosperous farmer of Yolo County, is the son of William and Elizabeth (Ghusler) Bower, natives of Pennsylvania. His father, who was a mechanic and tanner, followed his trade until he moved to Illinois, where he became a farmer and also ran a tanyard. On immigration to this country he first located in Ohio and lived there sixteen years, and then, in 1840, he moved to Illinois, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in Pike County in 1872; his wife had died there previously, in 1860. John G. was born in Pennsylvania in 1823, and was a small boy when his parents settled in Ohio. In 1849 he came overland to California, with an ox team, and spent the most of two years in the mines. In the fall of 1849 he built a cabin on the banks of the Sacramento River, about four miles east of Shasta, and wintered therein. In the spring he went to Trinity and Scott River valleys, and remained there until fall. Returning to Illinois he remained there until the spring of 1852, when he came again to California, with ox teams, and stopped at Hangtown, then at Sacramento, and then at Putah Creek, and finally on Cache Creek, where he now lives, in the garden spot of California, devoting his attention principally to agricultural pursuits. He ahs 160 acres of as fine land as can be found in the county; wheat and barley are his specialties. For his wife he married Susan Crowder, who was born in 1821, in Tennessee,
and they have two sons: James W., who is now farming in Tehama County;
and John G., Jr., who resides at the old homestead. He was born in Pike
County, Illinois, in 1849, and was brought to this State by his parents
in 1852. John Gusler BOWER (#2) The tendency of the people to drift toward the west and the resultant
increase in prosperity and population of the vast regions beyond the
mountains find exemplification in the family history of the German race
represented by the gentleman above named. Induced by alluring tales
concerning life in the new world, William Bower bade farewell to the
friends of his boyhood in Germany and crossed the ocean to New York,
thence proceeding to Pennsylvania and there selecting a suitable location.
A home was established in the Keystone state and among the children
born there was a son, John G., father of the gentleman whose name introduces
this article and himself a pioneer of the vast west. Later the home
was transferred to the newer country of Ohio. From that state, John
G., Sr., went to Illinois in young manhood and identified himself with
the pioneers on the then frontier of Pike county. At that time he was
a rugged young man, stalwart of frame and industrious in disposition,
without home ties to bind him to the east, the type indeed of the class
of men qualified for pioneer work. William BRAY (#1) One of Yolo county's pioneers, now deceased, was William Bray, who was born in Monroe county, Ky., February 23, 1832, and passed away in Woodland March 25, 1894. When he was in his nineteenth year, in 1850, Mr. Bray left his home in the south for the great west and his journey across the plains with ox teams, in company with a number of other immigrants, was fraught great dangers from the savage red men, who more tan one attempted to overpower the travelers. However, they made the trip in safety, after which they separated, Mr. Bray mining a short time at Dutch Flats, after which he took up a quarter section of land in Yolo county, two miles south of Woodland, on which he located and built a cabin, and ever afterward he continued to make improvements. He carried on general farming, making a specialty of raising grain, alfalfa and stock. Here he made his home until his death. In front of the modest little home which he built years ago stands a modern residence, and the great cottonwood trees which he planted still surround the property which he labored so patiently to improve. His wife, formerly Harriet Eakle was born in Tennessee, and accompanied her mother and sisters westward in the early '50s. Her death occurred on the home place near Woodland in December 1907. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bray: Alexander, deceased; John E., deceased; Sarah A. and Lucy Jane, who share the eighty acres left by their parents; James R., whose wife before her marriage was Ida Butterfield, and who has one son; William H., deceased; and Mary C., who is now Mrs. William Gould, of Woodland. Mr. and Mrs. Bray were both devout members of the Christian Church
in Woodland and were mourned by a large number of friends who knew them
well. William BRAY (#2) William Bray, a farmer near Woodland, was born February 23, 1832, in Monroe County, Kentucky, a son of Richard and Annie (Woods) Bray. His father, a farmer by vocation, was a pioneer of that county, and died there at the age of sixty-two years. The genealogy of the family is traceable to Germany. In their family were five sons and one daughter. Mr. William Bray was brought up on a farm in Kentucky, and was but nineteen years of age when in 1852 he came overland to California, with ox teams, starting March 10 and arriving August 14. His first stop was among the mines on Hopkins Creek, in Onion Valley, where he followed mining until about the middle of November, when he went to Yolo County and located 160 acres of land, which has ever since been his home. It was then perfectly wild, the country being overrun with antelope, wild horses, and grizzly bears, etc. in the mountains, but he has long since made it a model residence. He also in early day followed mining in Grass Valley, Nevada, (County?) and on Feather River, with moderate success. The place at present comprises 340 acres, three miles southwest of Woodland, where Mr. Bray followed general farming, stock raising, and raises what fruit is needed for family use. He is a practical farmer and reliable citizen. He was married March 4, 1860, to Miss Harriet Eakee, a native of Jackson County, Tennessee, and of their seven children six are now living: Alexander C., John E., who died January 22, 1878, aged fifteen years, four months and twenty-five days; Sara A., Lucy J., James I., William H. and Mary C. Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,
Lewis Publishing Co., 1891, Page 735 - 736 Miss Agnes BREEN In no respect does the remarkable transformation of the past century
exhibit its results more successfully than in the increased opportunities
for women. The advancement made by the sex, educationally, socially
and from a business standpoint, is little less than amazing, and it
has been proved repeatedly that the qualities which enable them to preside
over the homes of the country with simple grace and to train for their
coming responsibilities the future statesmen and men of commerce also
enable them to discharge the duties of the most complex forms of business,
the highest departments of education and the most cultured circles of
society. Practically every line of business is now open to their interested
and successful participation. From the largest municipalities to the
most humble villages they are to be found, not only self-supporting
and self-reliant, but also promoters of civic growth and conservators
of municipal funds, loyal to community interests and well informed concerning
local needs. August BRINCK La Orilla Rancho (which is Spanish for The Brinck ranch), located on the banks of Putah creek and commanding a fine view of the coast range, is the property of August Brinck and represents the tangible results of his splendid judgment and tireless industry. The eye of the stranger at once is attracted to the modern residence, completed in 1911 and embodying the principal features of the bungalow type of architecture. Two sides of the house are surrounded by a commodious veranda finished with native cobble-stones and floored with tile. Another attraction for the stranger is the great orchard filled with fruit of every kind and boasting fig trees that were planted in 1851 by John Wolfskill. Some of these trees have grown to such magnitude that they now measure thirteen feet in circumference and four feet in diameter, being not only the largest trees of the kind in Yolo county, but also, as far as know, in the entire state. The owner of La Orilla rancho is of Alsatian birth and ancestry and was born October 15, 1860, into the family of Henry and Elise (Kline) Brinck. The father, who was a farmer and baker in France, spent his last years with his sons near Winters and the mother died in New York City. Four children of the parental family are now living and August is the youngest of these. When nine years of age he left Alsace with his parents and crossed the ocean to New York City, where he lived for three years. During 1872 he came to California and early began to work for his older brothers, who were orchardists in Pleasant valley, continuing with them until some years after he had attained his majority. While first working under them as an apprentice he learned every detail of horticulture, so that they paid him fair wages after he was twenty-one and thus he was able to lay aside a small sum to aid him in getting a start for himself. With his twin brother, Charles, he purchased forty acres from Buel R. Sackett in Yolo county and later added another tract of equal size. In a few years Charles died, leaving a little daughter to inherit his property and through the wise judgment of her uncle in planting the acreage in fruit trees and carefully tending the orchard her inheritance was materially increased. Upon the division of the property in 1911 Mr. Brinck retained his portion, which he managed together with forty acres in the De Vilbiss tract one and one-half miles west of Winters. The latter place he sold in 1911. Meanwhile, in 1908, he had purchased the old De Vilbiss homestead of one hundred and sixty-seven acres one and one-half miles west of Winters, one of the old orchards of the district. With his other holdings this now gives him the title to two hundred and seventeen acres, all of which is in an orchard, with the finest quality of apricots, peaches, plums, prunes, almonds and figs. The product is packed and shipped either as ripe or dried fruit, and to aid in the work Mr. Brinck erected a packing house and drying sheds, as well as installing an electric plant, by which means water is pumped and the whole ranch lighted. The entire equipment is up-to-date. A system has been adopted that secures the largest results with the smallest possible expenditure of capital and labor. In his knowledge of horticulture he is backed by years of successful experience. His judgment concerning fruits is often sought by men in his line of business. As an expression of his high standing in the fruit industry he was selected to serve as horticultural commissioner of Yolo county and for five years he filled the position with the greatest efficiency. In addition he has been chosen a director of the Winter Dried Fruit Company and the Geraldson Fig Company. The limit of the activities of Mr. Brinck is not represented by horticultural interests. The public school system has in him a firm champion. For years he has contributed to the educational progress of his locality and at this writing he still serves as a member of the board of education of the Apricot district and as a member of the Winters union high school board. The Citizens Bank of Winters has his name upon its roll of stockholders and directors. Near Old Buckeye, Yolo county, November 8, 1890, Rev. Henry Culton officiating, he was united in marriage with Miss Dora Wurth, a native of Yolo county and a daughter of that honored pioneer couple, John and Gertrude (Koch) Wurth. Three daughters blessed the union, Elsiedora, Pearl and Grace, the eldest of whom is now a student in the University of California, while the two youngest are attending the Winters high school. The family have their religious home in the Presbyterian Church at Winters. During young manhood Mr. Brinck was made a Mason in Buckeye Lodge No. 195, F. & A. M., at Winters and he still is identified with that organization, besides being with his wife associated with the work of Yosolano Chapter No. 218, O. E. S., also at Winters, where in addition he holds membership with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Republican party has received his stanch support ever since he cast his first ballot and he has been a firm believer in the efficacy of its platform as adapted to the promotion of national prosperty. Transcribed by Bea Barton William BRINCK One of the most prominent citizens of Winters is William Brinck. This Yolo pioneer was born in Bichweiler, Alsace, France, October 20, 1849, living there until 1869, or until nineteen years of age. With his parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Klem) Brinck, natives of the same place, he came to this country, locating in New York City, and after three years' sojourn there the subject of this review, in company with his brother, Henry Brinck, struck out for the west. Fortune evidently went with the two young Alsatians, because they landed in one of the garden spots of this garden of the world Pleasant valley, Solano county. They immediately settled upon a tract of two hundred and ten acres and began to prosper. It was hard work clearing land for cultivation, but that made no difference to them, or to their neighbors, and that is the reason Pleasant valley blossoms as the rose. William married Miss Mary Keene, a native daughter of the Golden West, and from that union was born, thirty-one years ago, a son, William, Jr., whose marriage to Miss Daisy Manning resulted in the birth of two sons, William G. and John M. After the death of his first wife, William Brinck married Josephine Bernier, a native of Kentucky. This even took place sixteen years ago, and the couple have two daughters, Gladys I. and Elizabeth E. Mr. Brinck, true to his native France, at first planted grapevines, but when his vineyard, with those of his neighbors, became diseased, he grubbed it up and planted the land to peaches, apricots, plums, prunes and pears. In the year 1903 he dissolved with his brother and divided the places. About eighteen years ago he located on his present place and set out an orchard on a tract of grain land, now having one hundred and twenty-five acres in one big orchard of different varieties of fruit. He has sixty acres of peaches and twenty-five acres of almonds. The yields of all his orchards for the year have been enormous. He lives in a splendid ten-room residence, fully modern and up to date, set in the middle of beautiful surrounding grounds planted with orange trees and rare fruits for family use. The ranch is well equipped with suitable packing and drying houses, etc. Mr. Brinck was made a Mason in Buckeye Lodge No. 195 at Winters, and himself and wife are identified with the Order of the Eastern Star. He has always taken a keen interest in the educational affairs of his neighborhood and has repeatedly served as trustee of the district and of the Winters union high school. For several years he has been vice president and a director of the First National and Savings Bank of Winters, and is also a director in the Winters Canning Association and the Winters Dried Fruit Company. In politics he affiliates with the Republicans, but does not stick close within party lines when the personal character of the candidate is in question. He is closely attached to his family, is a loving father, a helpful neighbor, and, in all, a good citizen of the republic, like the many immigrants the Republic of France has sent to this country. Transcribed by Bea Barton Charles A. BROWN Charles A. Brown, real estate, insurance and collection agent at Woodland, was born in Lexington, Kentucky, December 29, 1839. His father, H. C. F. Brown, was born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and moved when he was a small child to Ohio before it was a State; and when a young man he went to Lexington, Kentucky, where he married Hannah Stainton, a native of that State. He was a contractor and millwright by trade, and died in Kentucky in 18--. His wife is still living in Bloomington, Illinois, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years. In their family were six sons and four daughters, of whom three sons are the only ones now living. The subject of this sketch, the only member of the family in this State, was raised in Lexington, and in 1855 he came to California, by way of Atchison and Salt Lake, packing through the Sierra Nevadas, and arrived in Sacramento August 2. After a residence of six or seven years at Grass Valley he came to this county. He followed mining there and also in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties. Most of the time since 1862 his home has been in Woodland. In 1864, in the spring, he went to St. Helena, Napa County, and remained there about six months; and was in Nevada during the mining excitement at Washoe, a year, engaged in mining and other kinds of business. Most of the time in that State he was Lake's Bridge, where Reno now stands. For the past twelve or fifteen years he has been engaged as already noted, being one of the most active citizens of the place, thorough-going and reliable. Having been thrown upon his own resources ever since he was sixteen years old, and constantly mingling with strangers, he has obtained a practical education in the ways of the world. Politically, Mr. Brown is a Democrat, and has been influential in the various campaigns. He was married in 1862 to Fannie M. Ingram, a native of Virginia,
and by that marriage were three children, of whom two daughters are
now living. The parents were separated by a divorce, and Mr. Brown,
for his present wife, married Clara Leman, a native of St. Louis, Missouri;
she was born February 12, 1851. They have four children living and two
deceased. Demarcus Nevarro BROWN A lifetime of active identification with the ranching interests has
given to Mr. Brown an intimate and far-reaching knowledge concerning
this portion of California. Ever since he was five years of age he has
made his home in this state, hence his information has been acquired
through personal experience. It has been his privilege to witness the
gradual development of the country and its transformation from raw land
into remunerative ranches, and it has been his further privilege to
acquire for his own home one of the most valuable of the alfalfa ranches
located in the vicinity of Woodland. While he has resided here for a
brief period only (having arrived at the ranch February 29, 1911), he
has won a large circle of acquaintances and well-wishers. Through uniform
courtesy and high principles of honor he has won the confidence and
good-will of associates, all of whom unite in wishing him a prosperous
management of his forty-acre alfalfa farm. George Washington BROWN (See: John Pende WELCH.) J. W. BROWN J.W. BROWN, blacksmith and wagon-maker at Woodland, is a son of Hanford and Keziah (Penn) Brown. His mother, a native of Virginia, is a grand-niece of the celebrated William Penn, and is now living in Ralls County, Missouri, at the age of eighty-four years; and her mother lived to the age of 101 years, and her grandmother to the age of 104 years. For eight years the latter was blind, but four years before her death she recovered her sight so that she could see without glasses. Mr. Brown's father, also a native of Virginia, was a blacksmith by trade and moved to Ralls County, Missouri, in 1828, where he died, in February, 1875. The subject of this brief mention was born in New London, Missouri, March 18, 1838. He arrived in California August 12, 1887, and November 7 following he opened his present shop. His oldest son, William P., is now a partner in the business. Mr. Brown married Melinda Caldwell, in New London, September 26, 1859, and their children are William P., George A., James H., Eliza L. and Ruth C. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 Jackson BROWN Jackson Brown, a farmer of Yolo County, was born in Otsego County, New York, August 8, 1828. His parents, Amos and Eliza (Tubbs) Brown, were natives of the same county. His father died in New York, after which his mother moved to Minnesota, where she died at an advanced age. Jackson Brown came to California in 1854 via the Nicaragua route and landed in San Francisco May 4. From there he came directly to Yolo County, where he engaged in farming; he owns 480 acres of land, all under cultivation. He devotes his attention exclusively to grain and stock raising. He was married, April 12, 1852, to Miss Anna Eliza Hubbard, a native of Otsego County, New York. She came to California in 1856, having remained in New York the first two years that he husband was in California. She died in 1858, leaving two children, a son and a daughter. Robert S., the eldest, is married and lives on his father's farm, with whom his father makes his home. Anna Eliza, the daughter, was married to Edward Broad. They reside in Sacramento. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 Warren A. BROWN WARREN A. BROWN, a farmer on Oat Creek in Yolo County, is a son of James and Mary (Banister) Brown. His father, a native of Rhode Island, removed to New York State, and in 1837 to Lake County, Ohio, where he died in 1840. His oldest brother then took the family to Illinois. Their mother was a native of Vermont. Mr. Brown, of this sketch, began to work for a family about forty-five miles northwest of Cleveland, where he continued four years; he then went to Illinois and remained with his brother one winter and in the spring was employed on the farm for Mr. Wattling, and continued with him three years; then worked one summer season for a neighbor at $16 a month; next he chopped wood on the Mississippi River for the winter, making his home at Galena; in the spring of 1851 he ran a ferry-boat at Tete Desmore for a man by the name of Greer for one season, and in the spring of 1852 came with horses overland to California. He made his home in Pine Grove, Placer County, until 1868, when he went to Yolo County and settled in Cache Creek Canyon, where he rented land until 1888; and finally he purchased 320 acres in Fairview Township, on Oat Creek, where he is now flourishing as a prosperous agriculturist. He was married in Placer County, in 1857, to Miss Mary E. Towner,
who died October 29 of the next year; and for his present wife, Mr.
Brown married, January 24, 1867, Miss Elizabeth J. Stanton, a native
of Missouri, who was brought to California when six years of age. By
the last there are the following children: Mamie L., born May, 1868;
Warren A., September, 1870; Caswell C., May 1872; Harry R., May, 1874;
and Josie H., August, 1879. Robert W. BROWNING To the pioneers of western civilization who suffered all manner of
hardships and baffling failures, yet who were sustained throughout this
trying period by their splendid faith in their ultimate victory over
the problem presented by this new and untried land, too much credit
cannot be given. The pleasant and convenient conditions of life in our
modern day so strongly contrast with existence in the last century that
the bravest of us would not feel sufficient courage to attempt, for
any compensation, to live and work and suffer under the circumstances
that surround our forefathers. William M. BROWNING The name of Browning has been associated with the material upbuilding
of Yolo county ever since the period when agriculture was in its infancy
and the possibilities of the soil wholly unknown. The founder of the
family in this valley and indeed in the west itself, Robert W. Browning,
a member of the resolute pioneer band of the '50s, still survives to
enjoy in the twilight of his useful existence the fruits of years of
assiduous labor. While many of those early settlers migrated from county
to county irresolutely seeking after new opportunities, he was content
to remain in the same place and the fixedness of purpose visible in
long identification with one section became evident also in his permanent
continuance in ranching pursuits. Not long after he had crossed the
plains in 1854 he took up a raw tract of land four miles southwest of
Woodland and there he still remains, meanwhile having brought about
a complete transformation in the estate, which now ranks among the most
productive properties in the county. Further mention of this honored
pioneer appears elsewhere in this volume and clearly indicates his admirable
character as well as his intimate connection with the advancement of
his locality. William Y. BROWNING William Y. Browning, a farmer near Woodland, was born March 15, 1829,
in Tennessee, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Crawford) Browning. His
father, a native of South Carolina, was a farmer by occupation and moved
to Kentucky in early day, locating upon land which he purchased in Monroe
County. In 1854 he came overland to California, with ox teams and a
small drove of cattle, and settled in Yolo County, where he remained
until his death, which occurred in 1861, when he was sixty-two years
of age. His surviving wife died in 1882, aged seventy-nine years. They
brought up a large family of children. William Y., our subject, left
home at the age of twenty years, resided in Missouri a portion of 1849-'50,
and in the spring of the latter year came to California, with ox teams;
returning to the East, he came again in 1854 and 1856. On his first
arrival in this State he followed mining on Dry Creek, near Drytown.
In the spring of 1851 he mined at Gibsonville, and ever since 1852 he
has been engaged in farming and stock-raising. He now has 540 acres
of choice farming land, his residence being two and a half miles from
Woodland, on a splendid gravel road. He is a member of Woodland Lodge,
No. 156, F. & A. M. Judge Robert H. BUCKINGHAM As long as Washington, or Broderick (or whatever the pretty riparian
town on the bank of the Rio Sacramento just opposite the state capital
may be called), exists, Judge Robert H. Buckingham will be remembered.
As a fisherman on the river, as a fish commissioner on duty throughout
the state of California, as a justice of the peace in his township and
as an all-around citizen of Yolo county he made good. The earliest thing
that occurred in his life was his birth at New Haven, Conn., in 1834.
Naturally other things occurred there during his seventeen years' residence
in the old Nutmeg State, but they will not be recorded here. When he
left his native city he was on his way to gather some of the gold he
heard was to be found in distant California. The steamship Daniel Webster,
a historical old Atlantic liner, carried him and about eight hundred
of the west-bound tourists down to Greytown, making their way by Lake
Nicaragua to the Pacific side. It cannot be told how many of that number
reached San Francisco, but the subject of this sketch landed safely
December 1, 1851. After trying his "'printice hand" at mining,
however, without accumulating much of the yellow mineral, he found himself
where he is at present in Washington, in 1852. Salmon were running freely
in the clear waters of the Sacramento then, and the young man from Connecticut
went after them, and during many following years he hauled in numberless
nets full of the noble quinnat. In fact, he has been connected with
that industry nearly all his California life. It was a profitable business
when fish sold from the boats at forty and fifty cents per pound, and
a big salmon could produce many marketable pounds of the delicacy. When
the fishers packed for the mines they used ice that had been shipped
around the Horn all the way from Maine or Massachusetts, and sold here
at fifteen cents a pound. Later on the ice was brought from Alaska.
H. C. BUFORD H. C. BUFORD, dairyman near Woodland, was born in July, 1840, in Kentucky,
a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Shropshire) Buford, natives of Kentucky.
Thomas was a farmer and turfman, and died in Kentucky in 1876, at the
age of about seventy years. The subject of this brief notice was reared
on a farm. At the age of twenty-one years, in 1862, he entered the Confederate
service (although his father was a strong Union man), and served three
years. Afterward he lived in Kentucky, until 1879, engaged in farming
and mercantile business and trading in live-stock. He then moved to
Marion County, Kansas; and then to Cowley County, and remained there
until 1887. In December, this year, he came to California and located
in Yolo County, one mile from Woodland. His dairy is the second in extent
in the county. He intends to purchase land in Yolo County and make his
permanent home there. His increasing patronage comprises the best citizens
of Woodland. He is a member of Crab Orchard Lodge, No. 420, F. &
A.M., of Kentucky. He was married in 1883 to Miss M. Berry, a native
of Virginia, and they have had one child. By the two former marriages
Mr. Buford had five children. The names of the children are: Bessie,
Thomas K., Kennedy, Clara L., Fannie M. and Chelsea C. W. G. BULLARD W. G. Bullard, merchant and Postmaster at Davisville, dates his birth
June 20, 1831, in Monroe County, New York. His parents, Benjamin and
Eleanor (Weaver) Bullard, were natives respectively of Vermont and New
York. The father, a shoemaker by trade, but chiefly a farmer by occupation
through life, moved in 1836 to Oakland County, Michigan, settling near
Walled Lake, upon land which he purchased there. In 1849 he sold out
and moved to Fredonia, Calhoun County, same State, where he remained
until 1853, and then he came to California with his family, overland,
being five months and two days on the route, ending at Sacramento. He
was interested in a hotel there until 1870 and then he was a resident
of Davisville until he died, in December, 1884, at the age of seventy-nine
years. In his family were three sons and five daughters. Edmond G. BURGER Edmond G. Burger, a farmer near Black's Station, Yolo County, was born in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, April 10, 1826, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Schoch) Burger, natives also of that State; the father was the most of his life in the gold and silver watch dial business. Edmond was seven years of age when he went with his parents in their change of residence to New York, where he served his time in the same trade, working at it until 1849, when he sailed for California, landing at San Francisco. From July to September he followed mining on the Yuba River, and next until the fall of 1851, he was at Shasta City; then he visited the valley, and soon afterward settled upon the place where he now resides, about three miles from Black's Station, and where he has been a constant resident ever since 1852. At present he has 160 acres, which is well improved. He was married in Philadelphia, February 16, 1860, to Miss Susan Schoch,
a native of Pennsylvania, born February 16, 1842, and they have had
eight children, six of whom are living; Lynford E., born in 1861; Joseph,
deceased, born in 1862; Clara, born in 1866; William, 1863; Nellie,
1868; Howard, 1872; Edna, 1883; and Edmond, deceased, born in 1865. Clarence W. BUSH Clarence W. Bush, one of the most prominent business men of Woodland,
and at present cashier and manager of the Bank of Yolo, has been in
the banking business for twenty-five years. He was born August 28, 1848,
in Copiah County, Mississippi, a son of J.P. Bush, one of the pioneers
of that section and a physician, but now deceased. Mr. Bush's mother's
maiden name was Nancy Quick; she was a native of Texas and died in 1854,
when the subject of this sketch was a small boy. When seven years of
age he lived one winter in Michigan, then was in New York State and
Massachusetts, attending school up to his thirteenth year, principally
at Great Barrington. Then until the age of sixteen years he was clerk
in a country store in Central New York. He then entered the banking
business, first taking a position in the First National Bank of Cando,
Tioga County, New York, upon the organization of that institution, and
he was elected assistant cashier before he left it. In the spring of
1868 he came to California and remained in San Francisco until the organization
of the Bank of Woodland, when he was elected cashier, which position
he sustained for thirteen years; then, upon the organization of the
Bank of Yolo, he was elected to his present position, and it is by his
effort and influence that this institution has been brought up to the
high standing which it now enjoys. Mr. Bush is a member of the A.O.U.W.
and of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was married October 16, 1872,
to Miss Lucy, daughter of Camillus Nelson, an old resident and prominent
citizen of Yolo County, and they have two children, - Camillus and Florence. Judge Edwin Rice BUSH Judge Edwin Rice Bush, of Woodland, was born in Copiah County, Mississippi, October 17, 1846, son of Dr. J. P. Bush, a pioneer of California of 1849. The latter commenced practicing his profession in San Francisco about 1851 or 1852, and so continued most of the remainder of his life, but died at Woodland, at the age of seventy-six years. At the age of nine years the subject of this sketch removed with his brothers and sisters to Western Massachusetts to attend school, and then the subject of this sketch attended for several years San Lake Collegiate Institute, in New York State, situated ten miles east of Albany; he also attended school at Geneseo, Livingston County, in said State. After attending for a term the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, he entered the office of the Hon. Scott Lord, at Geneseo, New York. Judge Lord at the time of his death was one of the most prominent attorneys in the United States, and was at one time the law partner of Hon. Roscoe Conkling, at Utica, and was elected to Congress from that Congressional district. Judge Bush remained in Judge Lord's office about two years, and then, after studying in other offices a short time, went to the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville, Albemarle County, in said State, and graduated in the law department in June, 1869. In August, that year, he came to California and sojourned in San Francisco until the spring of 1870, when he came to Woodland, where he has since resided. Here he entered into partnership, for the purpose of practicing law, with C. S. Frost, which business relation was broken by the election of Mr. Bush to the office of County Judge. Shortly after his arrival at Woodland he was elected to the office of Public Administrator for two terms. In the fall of 1875 he was elected to the office of County Judge, as above mentioned, and assumed the duties of that office on the first day of January following, holding that position for four years. At the close of his term, under the new State constitution the county and district courts were consolidated, and named the Superior Court; and at the first election thereafter Mr. Bush was chosen the Superior Judge and served a term of five years. Since that time he has been engaged in the private practice of the law. Politically Judge Bush is a Democrat. He has belonged to Pythian Lodge No. 43, K. of P. for several years. The Judge was married, June 14, 1876, to Mary J. Yerby, a native of California, and they have three sons. Transcribed by Kathy Sedler, July 2004. Charles E. BYRNS The original association of the Byrns family with the state of California
dates back to the memorable year of 1850, when there crossed the plains
as driver of a large herd of cattle a young man bearing the name of
John Byrns. The discovery of gold in the west had attracted him from
the quiet environment of Jefferson City, Mo., where he had been born
and reared. With characteristic energy he determined to come to the
coast country and to bring with him a drove of stock, which plan he
carried to a successful consummation. The cattle were disposed of in
Sutter county and during the summer of 1851 he returned to his old Missouri
home, only, however, to make immediate preparations for another expedition
to the coast. After having brought another large drove of cattle through
in safety, in the autumn of 1852 he arrived in Sutter county, where
he embarked in the stock industry. At first he was prospered, but the
flood of 1862 proved so disastrous that he was led to remove to the
northern part of Yolo county. Here in 1864 he lost heavily on account
of the severe drought. The succession of floods and droughts had discouraged
him in stock-raising and he turned his attention to general farm pursuits
on his large tract near Woodland. Establishing his home in Woodland,
he embarked in the livery business and finally started to erect a large
building for hotel purposes. Unfortunately his death occurred March
25, 1883, before the completion of the building. Later when it was made
ready for use, it was called the "Byrns Hotel" in his honor.
Always he had been a patriotic citizen, a loyal upbuilder, a man of
generous impulses and the sturdy resolution so necessary to successful
pioneer effort. For more than a quarter of a century he was survived
by his wife, Cornelia (Reynolds) Byrns, who was born in York state and
died September 29, 1911, in Eldorado county. |
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Peggy B. and Patrick Perazzo 
Copyright 1996- - All Rights Reserved.