Yolo County Biographies – D
[ HOME ] [ RETURN TO BIOGRAPHIES MENU ]|
William DAHLER The strong, sterling qualities that made members of the Dahler family
desirable citizens in every locality in which its members settled lost
noghting in transmission to William Dahler, a well-known resident of
Woodland. He is a son of Elisha and Mary (King) Dahler, both native
of Germany and early settlers in Merrimack, Sauk county, Wis. Settling
there as pioneers they cleared a farm in the oak openings and it was
there that the earth life of the father came to a close. The mother
came to the west and passed her last days in Woodland. Of the six children
born to these parents, William, the youngest, was born in Merrimack,
Wis., June 14, 1878. He gained a good public school education in that
state and came to Woodland in 1895, when he was about seventeen years
of age. For about four years he was employed in a grocery store. In
1902 he was employed by the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company
as repair man and rose to be wife chief of the Woodland Exchange. Associated
with Mr. Roberts, in 1909 he established the Electric Garage Company,
which was incorporated in 1912 under that name and Mr. Dahler was made
president and manager. Under his guidance it has advanced to the first
place among similar institutions in the county and to prominence among
those of Northern California. The business was begun on Third street,
where its quarters proved too restricted for its growing demands. In
1911 it was removed to its present quarters at Third and Main streets,
where it occupies a building with a floor space of 44x190 feet. The
machine shop is one of the most complete of its kind, being equipped
with all modern machinery and appliances, and the garage is equipped
for charging electric machines and also has a vulcanizing department.
In this establishment may be found for sale a complete line of standard
automobiles and motorcycles. All in all the enterprise is both large
and comprehensive and no the least that may be said of it is that it
is growing both steadily and rapidly. G. M. DAMERON G. M. DAMERON, a farmer and stock-raiser of Yolo County, was born in 1832 in East Tennessee the son of Felix J. and Mary (Damarel) Dameron. His father, a native of North Carolina, and a horse-trader by occupation, died in 1848, in Cobb County, Kentucky; and his mother was a native of East Tennessee. The Damerons were French Huguenots and came over in the same ship with the Dupuys, Tribins and Clays, settling in Virginia and North Carolina in 1700. Mr. Dameron's mother was from Scotland. The subject of this notice came overland to California in 1854, with a party of friends, some of whom are still living in his neighborhood. He worked his way by driving stock. Stopping first in Marysville, he followed mining and lumbering in that vicinity and in Butte County for two years and in 1856 he settled upon his present place, where he took up 160 acres of the best land. He now has 640 acres of well improved land, whereon he raises grain principally and some live-stock. In 1864, in Woodland, he married one of the ladies who came across
the plains with him, Miss Mary Browning, a native of Monroe County,
Kentucky, and they have two children living: Rowena and Charles F.;
Montie B. died in 1879. Russell DAY RUSSELL DAY, a Yolo viticulturist, was born April 27, 1817, in Auburn, New York, a son of Lot Day. The father, a native of New Jersey and a tanner by trade, moved to Hamilton County, Ohio, where Cincinnati now stands, in 1817; in 1820 to Wayne County, Indiana; in 1830 to St. Joseph County, same State, where in 1842 he was elected sheriff of the county and served two terms, or a total of four years. During his second term he was appointed State Marshal for the northern part of the State. In 1847 he was elected State Senator by his district, and he served two years; and in 1850 he came across the plains to California. He was a resident of Stockton until 1860, when he moved to Woodland and remained there among his children until the fall of 1872; then, at the age of eighteen years, he went to Nevada and located a claim twenty-five miles south of Halleck's Station; but his health failed and he died there in March, 1874, at the age of eighty-three years. His remains were brought back to Woodland and laid at rest in the cemetery there. He had always been a prominent man in political circles, and energetic in all of his business relations. Mr. Russell Day was brought up to the tanner's trade and followed the same until 1840, when he entered the brick trade and began contracting for buildings, and continued in the same until 1851. He then was engaged by the Chicago & Springfield Railroad Company, to superintend the construction of a branch road running from Chicago to Springfield, and was engaged therein until 1852. April 20, 1853, he left South Bend, Indiana, for California, and crossed the plains with his father, who had returned from California. He located his present property September 10, 1853, taking the land from the Government, and he has been a resident thereon until the present. He converted the wild and desert-like place to the neat, attractive and fertile farm that it now is. He also has run a fine dairy, but is now turning his attention more especially to the raising of wine grapes, and is a stockholder in the Yolo Winery. His farm is now all a vineyard. It is situated thirty miles southeast of Woodland, a good gravel road existing between his vineyard and the town. He is a member of Woodland Lodge, No. 111, I.O.O.F., and is next to the oldest member of this order; he is also a member of the Encampment. He once visited the spot where Woodland is now located with the view of taking a portion of it for a home, but he gave it up and located where he now resides. For his wife Mr. Day married Miss Abia Russell, a native of the State of New York. Their children have been: Lot, who was born December 18, 1875 and is now deceased; Russell T., born June 26, 1881. Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,
Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 William J. De FRIES, M.D. WILLIAM J. De FRIES, M.D., a physician and surgeon of Woodland, is a son of John William and Susanna (Hergenga) De Fries, natives of Monroe County, New York. His father was born August 31, 1816, graduated at Leyden, Holland, Europe, when twenty-two years of age; was a physician by profession, and died in Paineville Center, New York, in 1817; and the subject's mother, who was born September 15, 1818, died in 1871. Dr. De Fries was born February 5, 1841, in Monroe County, New York, and at the age of twenty-one years graduated at the Leyden Medical College of Holland. He then went to Tippecanoe, Indiana, where he entered the service of the Second Indiana Cavalry, in 1863, enlisting as a surgeon. Serving until 1866 in this capacity, he entered the corresponding department in the regular army. While in the volunteer service he was shot several times. His nervous system at length becoming somewhat affected, he was transferred to the position of Veterinary Surgeon, and served as such from 1867 until 1880. He then practiced his profession as surgeon on the Sandwich Islands three years, and in 1884 he located in Petaluma, California, for one year, when he finally came to Woodland, where he enjoys a supremacy in the surgical practice of the county. He takes great pride in his profession. June 15, 1882, in the Sandwich Islands, the Doctor married Miss Valmena
Boremann, a native of Bremen, Germany, born there in 1861, and they
have had five children, viz: John William, born in 1883, and died the
next year; Wilhelmine M., September 20, 1885; Fredie L., February 17,
1887; and Bertie, December 21, 1888. J. L. DENNIS J. L. Dennis, street sprinkler, was born in Yolo County, March 6, 1864. His parents, B. S. and Elizabeth (Smith) Dennis, the former a native of Georgia and the latter of Missouri, have both died in Yolo County. Since the year 1887 Mr. Dennis has been running an engine on a dredging machine on the Sacramento River, building the levee; and for the last two years he has been engaged in his present occupation. He has a fine little cottage on Fourth street. In 1887, in Woodland, he was united in matrimony with Miss Nellie Powers, also a native daughter of this county. Her father is at present a night watch of Woodland; and her mother died when she was very young. Mr. and Mrs. Dennis have one son, born May 9, 1888, and named Ray W. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 John A. DeVILBISS Among the men of Yolo County who have taken a conspicuous and active part in its development, the above mentioned gentleman must be placed. The hotel which bears his name, located at Winters, and which will receive due attention in the proper place in this article, is a monument to his enterprise, which alone entitles him to something more than passing mention in this volume. The following sketch of his life and career is hence given with more than the ordinary detail, though necessarily brief to conform it to the place and scope of the work. Mr. DeVilbiss was born in Lewis County, Missouri, at Canton, a pretty little city on the western bank of the Mississippi River, the date of his birth being November 19, 1841. His father, Alexander DeVilbiss, was born in Allegany County, Maryland, not far from Hagerstown, and his parents also were American born, his father being a native probably of Pennsylvania, and his mother of Baltimore. The DeVilbiss family, however, are originally of French extraction, their history in this country dating from 1735, when three brothers of that name settled on the Atlantic coast, one of them being the direct ancestor of John A. DeVilbiss. The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Rebecca Brown, was born near Bardstown, Kentucky, who, somewhere between the ages of twelve and fifteen years accompanied her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Brown, on their removal to Lewis County, Missouri. There she grew up and was married. Her husband had come out from Maryland to Canton, where he followed the business of an architect and contractor. When John A. was but eleven months old his father died, leaving his wife a widow before she had reached the age of seventeen years. So, until he was six years old he lived with his grandfather, John DeVilbiss, on his farm. There, his mother having married Walter Ferguson, he lived with them until he had reached the age of sixteen years, being reared to farm life. About 1858 he went to live with an uncle, by name Henry DeVilbiss, who also resided in Lewis County, making his home there until 1861. He then entered the service of the Confederacy, enlisting in Company E, Eighth Missouri Mounted Infantry. He served with all the valor of the young men of Southern blood and birth, being with General Price in his famous campaigns, and only left the ranks when in the fall of 1862 he was picked up bleeding and wounded on the battle-field of Kirksville, and made prisoner by the Federal troops. Being taken first to Palmyra, he witnessed there the execution of the prisoners under McNeill, and shook hands with the boys when they went out to be shot. After having been imprisoned about two months at Palmyra, he was taken to Alton, Illinois, where he was kept about four months in confinement. He was then exiled from the Southern States, and released on condition that he should live north of Mason and Dixon's line and east of the Illinois Central Railroad. In accordance with this undertaking, he went to McLean County, Illinois, where he worked at farm work and made his home until the fall of 1864. While there he met his wife, whose maiden name was Esther Cunningham, and on the 18th of November, 1864, they were married. In January, 1864, they went to Lewis County, Missouri, and there made their home with his mother until the following spring. Then, as a member of a train, containing twenty-five wagons from that neighborhood, they started for California. They passed through Bloomfield, Iowa, the day after President Lincoln's assassination, and there received the first news of that event. They crossed the Missouri River at Plattsmouth, and thence proceeded up the South Platte by way of Julesburg, crossed the Platte at the old emigrant ferry, north of Denver, passed near the present site of Cheyenne, thence through the Black Hills and across the Laramie Plains, and thence by the Bitter Creek route and Forts Bridger and Halleck, through Utah, stopping at Salt Lake City about a week. Then they took the old stage route, leaving Church Hill to the left, thence to the sink of Carson, what was then known as Ragtown, and thence on to Virginia City, Nevada. That place was then alive with the Comstock excitement, and consequently Mr. DeVilbiss concluded to remain there. He went to work in the mines, and remained there until the fall of 1868, his oldest son, John S., being born there meanwhile, and his oldest daughter, Mary, in Washoe City. In the fall of 1868 he went to Reno, where he took the cars, with his family, for California. He went to Sacramento by rail, by stage to Danville, thence by cars again to Elmira, and from there by private conveyance to the ranch of his uncle, John DeVilbiss, near Vacaville. He first went to work in California as a farm hand, but after being so engaged about a year he went to Putah Creek and rented land from Greene McMahon, and went to farming for himself. He rented from him for three years, and then moved upon his present homestead, which was then owned by Theodore Winters. When the town of Winters was started he purchased from his landlord 303 acres. He had accomplished this much by determination and pluck, and after a time purchased an additional 135 acres, to which he later added 348 acres more, both of the last mentioned tracts being purchased from D. P. Edwards. Nothing but grain had been raised on this land, and Mr. DeVilbiss set out its improvement in a systematic way. He erected the necessary buildings in a substantial manner, and in 1878, having come to the conclusion that the future advancement of that region must come from other products than grain alone, he commenced planting fruit. To the trees planted that year he has since added regularly until he now has a fruit acreage of 100 acres, about a third of which is in bearing. The trees are pears, apricots, peaches, plums, figs and almonds, while about ten acres of the amount is in table grapes. For the land on his ranch he paid $40 an acre straight through, but of the entire tract he has sold off 600 acres, all his fruit land, however, being in the amount retained. This of course has become very valuable, as Mr. DeVilbiss takes an unusual degree of pride in the quality of the product turned out of his orchard, his dried fruit, especially, commanding the highest price in the market. He shipped his first car load of fruit in 1890, during the week ending July 5, the consignment being made to Loomis, of New York. His shipments for 1890 from twenty-two acres of apricots were over a ton of dried fruit to the acre. Foreseeing that Winters had a substantial future before it was a town, and would be the center of the fruit-handling industry, and recognizing the need existing of first-class accommodations for travelers and others in order to reap the full benefit of the coming trade of Winters, Mr. DeVilbiss set about the selection of a suitable site, and in October, 1889, commenced the erection of THE HOTEL DE VILBISS Work on the structure was pushed with commendable vigor, and on July 15, 1890, the house was finally opened to the public. So well does this enterprise deserve the commendation of the citizens of Winters and the general public, that a brief description of the house is an essential feature of this connection. The Hotel De Vilbiss is a handsome and imposing brick structure of two stories in height, while the ground dimensions are 80 x 120 feet. The architect, Mr. Cook, of Sacramento, having drawn the plans after the suggestions of Mr. DeVilbiss, has arranged within these dimensions a hotel second in convenience to none in the entire section of the State known as Northern California. The first story comprises a commodious and handsome office, an elegantly appointed bar, a dining-room 56 ½ x 27 feet in extreme dimensions, a spacious kitchen 22 x 32 feet in area, fitted with a Montague Patent French range, while a hall-way runs the entire distance from office to kitchen. The outlets to the floor above are a handsomely ornamented staircase leading from the office, while the entrance to the ladies' stairway is at the rear of the dining-room. The first story also contains two elegant business rooms, the superior of which are not to be found in Yolo County. A prominent feature is the great plate-glass windows in the front, which are 87 ¾ x 96 inches in dimensions, manufactured in Indiana with the utmost care and from the finest materials. The second floor contains, besides necessary store-rooms and closets, forty airy and elegantly furnished sleeping-rooms, a noteworthy feature being the splendid light afforded each room, bringing out in a clear manner the excellence of the plans. On this floor is also the roomy and handsomely appointed parlor, a fitting adjunct to such a home. The furnishings of the house, as regards the wood-work, is in California redwood and ash, and the design excellent. The house is supplied with its own gas machine, and the dining-room is lighted by two chandeliers of four lights, while the bar has one of four lights, and the office two of two lights each. The halls above are illuminated by globe lights. The entire structure is crowned by a tower which rises to the height of seventy-two feet at the corner of Main street and Railroad avenue. Just beneath the apex of the tower is a large open space containing a number of lights for night illumination. The opening of the hotel was made the occasion of a great gathering and joyous festivities participated in by a host of prominent people from the vicinity and from abroad, and the event will long be remembered as a bright one in the history of Winters. The enterprise of the builder was commended by all, and congratulations poured in upon him for the progressive spirit he has shown. Mr. DeVilbiss has an interesting family of six children: John S., the eldest, is in business in San Jose; the eldest daughter, Mary, is visiting the old home and friends in Missouri; Charles L. is attending the college of Notre Dame, near South Bend, Indiana; and the remaining three - Esther, Helena and Annie - are at Notre Dame College, San Jose, California. The children exhibit great natural artistic ability, which has been developed under competent training, and many evidences of their ability in their direction have received due acknowledgement at public and private exhibitions. Mr. DeVilbiss is a man of generous impulses, honest to a degree, and
his success in life has been due entirely to his own efforts. He enjoys
the confidence and respect of the entire community. Lorenzo DEXTER LORENZO DEXTER, deceased, formerly a farmer near Winters, Yolo County,
was one of the old and respected farmers of that locality. He was born
April 1, 1813, in Herkimer County, New York, the son of Samuel and Anna
(Fargo) Dexter. Samuel, a farmer, moved to Michigan in 1833, where he
lived until his death. Being one of the earliest settlers in that State,
he found the country an unbroken forest, through which he had to cut
fifteen miles to find his claim. Lorenzo, the subject of this notice,
was brought up on a farm in such a county, and when he was twenty years
of age he struck out for himself, continuing as a farm hand. In 1850
he came to California, with horse teams, being four months on the route.
His first stop in the Golden State was at Hangtown, where he was engaged
in mining for six years, being moderately successful. During the last
two years of that period he was superintendent of water ditches and
reservoirs for mining companies. In 1856 he went into Yolo County, purchased
a squatter's title to a tract two miles northeast of Winter's and settled
upon it, thus becoming one of the first settlers in that part of Yolo
County. At length he increased his land possessions to 440 acres, which
he improved from barren plains to a comfortable home, which he enjoyed
in the evening of life. He was married June 20, 1837, to Miss Sarah
M. Phelps, a native of Ohio, who still survives him. Of their four children
two are now living, namely: Mason S., of Monterey county, and Ida L.,
wife of J. P. Trumbull. Mr. Dexter was a member of the blue lodge and
chapter of the Masonic fraternity at Woodland. He died in 1881, on the
sixty-eighth anniversary of his birth-day, suddenly falling prostrate
in the front yard at his home. Mrs. Mary DEXTER-HENSHALL Yolo county is fortunate indeed in possessing many representatives
of old American families. The early pioneers who settled here were principally
descendants of those who left their European homes in the previous century
and became the founders of this republic. August DIENDONNI AUGUST DIENDONNI, a farmer residing in Woodland, is the son of Joseph and Mary (Darras) Diendonni, natives of France. The father died at Knight's Landing, Yolo County, in 1879, at the age of seventy-four years; his mother died in France, in 1854. August was born in the Province of Lorraine, France, and in 1853 came to California around Cape Horn, all the way on a sailing vessel named Sacramento. He at once went into Yuba County and mined for two weeks on Foster Bar; thence he went to Marysville, and from there to Sacramento, where he remained three years, employed as a gardener; he then came to Yolo County, settling in the sink of Cache Creek, where he lived one year. Then he purchased a ranch on the Sacramento River, which he occupied until 1879, when he moved to Woodland, in 1883, and purchased his present place, adjoining the ground of the Catholic seminary. He still has five acres there and ten acres between Woodland and Cacheville, in grapes. He married Mary Alexander, who was born in Sacramento, and they have
seven children: Eugene, Josephine, Edmond, Frank W.E., Louis, Mary M.
and Charles A. Louis DIETZ Louis Dietz, of Woodland, was born in Bavaria, Germany, March 13, 1830,
the son of John Frederic and Louisa (Schorm) Deitz <sic>. At the
age of eighteen years he emigrated to the United States, landing at
New York; and his first work in this country was for a farmer about
three miles above Auburn, between the Erie Canal and Hudson River. During
the one month he was employed there he earned $8, and continued his
journey on toward Cleveland, Ohio, where he had relatives living, and
which place was his original destination. There he went to harness-making,
an art that he had begun to learn in the old country. In the fall of
1851 he went to St. Louis, Missouri, and worked at his trade until spring,
when he came on overland to California. Starting from that city with
a mixed train of horses and oxen, he passed Independence when the weather
was bitter cold and wet, -- the ice an inch thick. No other event of
importance occurred until the reached the Little Blue, where they found
the cholera raging. At Raft River, Mr. Dietz and two companions separated
from the train and came on with two packed ponies and traveled on foot.
Arriving at Carson Valley they sold their ponies and walked over the
mountains without any provisions; but at the summit Mr. Dietz distanced
his companions and came on alone to Volcano, then in El Dorado County,
but now in Amador. D. P. DIGGS D.P. DIGGS, a rancher of Yolo County, and a worthy old pioneer of '49, has had a life-history of more than usual variety and interest, and it is with great pleasure that we give the biography a prominent place in the pages of our work, as is due to its historical importance. Mr. Diggs was born April 8, 1827, in Montgomery County, Missouri, and is the son of Captain _________ and Jane (Pace) Diggs. Captain Diggs, his father, was born in the State of Vermont, while his mother was a native of Madison County, Kentucky. The father served his country throughout the war of 1812, being in command of a company of soldiers. He was a farmer by trade, and was one of the earliest as well as most respected settlers in Missouri. The subject of this sketch was brought up in Montgomery County, and received his education in the schools of the section. In 1848 he went to New Mexico, in connection with the Mexican war, but returned to Missouri in 1849, and set out at once for California, crossing the plains with ox teams. He went directly to Coloma and found work for six months, driving a team at Sutter's celebrated mill, being employed by the owners of the mill at $350 a month and board. Mr. Diggs built the corral that stood beside the old warehouse in those early days. On the Fourth of July, 1849, Mr. Diggs and others, did honor to the day by hoisting a home-made American flag on the gable end of their cabin. It was constructed out of red, white and blue shirts, with oak leaves for stars. In 1850 he went to Yolo County, there being then just three settlers on Cache Creek, when he went there. He is now the owner of 350 acres of exceedingly fine land, all well improved and under fences. It lies five miles northwest of Woodland. In conclusion, we should say that Mr. Diggs is a type of our best American citizen, diligent, progressive and prosperous. He is married to Miss Janet E. Hines, who was born in Ray County, Missouri, in 1837. They have six children, as follows: Mary A., Elnorah A., Irvine P., Sarah S., Maria H. and Marshall M. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 Charles Edward DINGLE It is the belief of many that no profession is more important and no
responsibilities more weighty than those associated with the preparation
of the children of our great country for the duties awaiting them in
life's vast fields of labor. To such work Professor Dingle has given
the entire period of manhood's activities and with a success that is
recognized wherever he is known. Any record of his life is in many respects
also a history of the gradual development of the Woodland schools, with
which he is connected as supervising principal and to which he has devoted
the most fruitful era of his eventful career. As an educator he has
been characterized particularly by a progressive spirit, a far-seeing
discrimination, an intelligent of present opportunities and a comprehensive
insight into future needs. Throughout the entire period of his association
with the Woodland schools he has labored conscientiously to raise the
standard of education and to secure for the young people of the city
the very best possible opportunities to prepare for lives of patriotic
citizenship and intelligent helpfulness. John DINSDALE JOHN DINSDALE, a general farmer near Woodland, was born December 26,
1852, in Woodland, California, a son of Owen and Sarah (Middleton) Dinsdale.
Owen was a native of England who came to New Orleans about 1846, went
to St. Louis and finally in 1860 crossed the plains to California, locating
two miles east of Woodland. He was a farmer all his life, his death
occurring July 12, 1889, when he was seventy-four years of age; his
wife died in California, October 1, 1873, at the age of fifty-four years.
Of their eight children John was the fourth. He was brought up on a
farm, and now occupies the ranch east of Woodland consisting of 320
acres of choice farming land, whereon he is a producer of grain and
also rears live-stock. He is a practical man, a representative of his
class and is well and favorably known from his long residence here and
the high order of his conduct as a citizen. I 1884 he married Sophronia
Wallace, a native of Indiana, and they have one son, Ralph J., and two
daughters, twins, Nora and Nina. T. F. DOPKING a farmer near Woodland, is a son of D. and Hannah (Daniels) Dopking. His father, a native of New York State, came to California in 1863, with two brothers, Joseph and Ira, and his mother is a native of Canada. He was born six miles east of Buffalo, and was but one year old when his parents moved with him to Canada. At the age of thirteen years he went to Van Buren County, Michigan, and in 1850 came across the plains and mountains to California, with one of his neighbors. He started without a cent of money, and worked his way through. Going to the mines, he was satisfied with fair success, remaining there until 1863. In 1860 he purchased a ranch of 240 acres about two miles east of Woodland, and settled upon it in 1863, when he quit mining. He has been improving a portion of this ranch, of which he now owns sixty-five acres, in good condition. February 20, 1871, in Capay Valley, on Cache Creek, Mr. Dopking married
Miss Mary E. Evert, a native of Iowa, who died in February, 1875. For
his present wife he married Mrs. Ann Barnhart, in Woodland, December
5, 1875. She is a daughter of Jonathan and ------ (Buttolph) Pierce.
Her father is a native of New York State and her mother of Massachusetts.
They have living with them a grandchild, named George Hopkins. James Achilles DOUGLAS The Douglas family are of Scotch origin. The great-grandfather of our subject, James Douglas, came from Scotland to the United States long before the Revolutionary war, and after the war settled in Abermarle County, Virginia, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, five miles from Charlottesville, and near what was afterward known as the residence of Thomas Jefferson. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and he also had two brothers in the war. The Douglas family continued to make that section of Virginia their home until 1839, when the grandfather, with a part of his family, emigrated to Missouri, two of the sons locating in Cooper County, and a daughter also in that county, while the grandfather, James and William J., the father of our subject, and John J. Douglas, located in Howard County. William J. and John J. were in the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of New Orleans. Thomas Douglas, one of his grandfather's brothers, went from Virginia to Tennessee in the early settlement of that State and remained there. Beverly Douglas, his grandfather's brother, also at an early date settled in Kentucky. William J. Douglas, his father, was a farmer in Missouri, and raised hemp and tobacco, and died in Howard County in 1875, at the age of eighty-seven years, and his father was ninety-four years old when he died, never having had a day's sickness during his life, never eating more than two meals a day and some days but one meal; he was strong and active, never lost a tooth, and at the time of his death did not have a gray hair in his head. In William J. Douglas' family there were three daughters and one son. The mother of the subject of this sketch, whose maiden name was Ann Bridgwater, was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia; and her family is probably of German descent. She died in Virginia in 1827. James A. Douglas, the subject of this article, was born in Albermarle County, Virginia, on the old plantation, near Charlottesville, March 24, 1827, and therefore was a babe when his mother died. His father, being a farmer and a slave-owner, gave James into the care of a favorite black nurse, who cared for his wants, etc. His father and grandfather moved to Missouri in 1839, while young James was left behind and went to school in Virginia until 1842, when he also went to Missouri. At length he served an apprenticeship of two years and nine months learning the saddlery business, becoming a competent journeyman. He did all the fine work of the shop, some of which was placed on exhibition and drew the first premium in St. Louis; but he soon abandoned the trade, went to St. Louis and took a position on a river steamer as second clerk, and at the same time began studying the science of river piloting. He was promoted through clerkships to the position of pilot, where he commanded a salary of $250 a month. At the end of five years he bought a drove of mules in Missouri and drove them to Texas and sold them at a profit; and while he was in that State he saw the first gold dust from California, brought there in a goose-quill, and he immediately resolved to come to the mining region here. Returning to his home in Howard County, he found his train had been gone eight weeks; he started in company with John Lowrey, now of Sonoma County, and hurried on until they overtook the train this side of Fort Hall, in Montana Territory. In Mr. Douglas' mess were nine men, all young and unmarried, and full of life. They landed at Sacramento, August 14, 1849. During the following autumn they built a cabin at Hangtown and followed mining there that winter. In the following spring the company divided, several of them going over on the Middle Yuba at Washington and mining there during the summer. In October Mr. Douglas went down to the bay with a brother-in-law who came a little later, and another gentleman named Lewis Walker. His brother-in-law, Allen Rains, disliked this country, and started back to the East. While waiting for the steamer at San Francisco, and on the very day it was to sail, the subject of this sketch was tempted also to buy a ticket and go with him; and all three went back together. On board the vessel Mr. Douglas was taken sea-sick, and at Acapulco they all three left the ship, bought mules and started across Mexico, a distance of 700 miles; while at the city of Mexico they stopped ten days, and hired a guide to take them all over the old battle-grounds. At Vera Cruz they boarded a little schooner, which took them and thirty-seven other passengers to New Orleans, being seventeen and a half days on the way. In February, 1851, Mr. Douglas left New Orleans again for California, visiting en route his people in Missouri and coming by way of ship to Acapulco, at which place he and another party bought a hotel and conducted it for seven months, making considerable money - $14,000. Coming on to Yolo County he spent the ensuing winter on Cache Creek. In March he and three other men went to German Bar on the Middle Yuba, where they had a fine supply of water and followed mining; and while thus engaged news reached them of a new place called the Minnesota Diggings, whither 5,000 people congregated within ten days after the discovery of gold there. In 1852 Mr. Douglas quit mining, came down to the valley and again entered the mule trade. He again went back to the Atlantic States in October, and in the spring of 1853 brought a drove of horses and mules across the plains to California. In 1854 he went to Oregon for the purpose of mining, but changed his mind, and, in company with another man, went to packing, making journeys from Crescent City, in Oregon, to Jacksonville, and at that time there was a hostile Indian behind every tree on the trail. Although he made considerable money in this business, yet it was accomplished by much hard work and exposure, and within five months he returned to the Sacramento Valley. In 1855 he was elected Sheriff of Yolo County, and served four years, and on October 24, 1860, he married and settled on Cache Creek; but his place there he at length sold, and he bought a quarter section of land a mile northwest of Woodland, put up a fine, large residence on it and made it his home for about seven years. He sold out again, at a good advantage, and moved to Woodland, in 1878, where he has since resided. His homestead on Third street consists of five acres. His residence, which he put up in 1884, cost $10,000, including the ground, and is one of the most elegant in the city. Mr. Douglas is a true type of a Southern gentleman, - hospitable, genial, social, and a good financier. In politics he was a sound Democrat. He was arrested April 5, 1865, as a citizen prisoner by sixty United States soldiers and taken to Fort Alcatraz in the bay of San Francisco, and wore a ball and chain twenty-four days for expressing his Constitutional rights and was released on May 4, 1865, without any trial by court either martial or civil, and without any charges being preferred against him, or without taking the iron-clad oath. O, justice, what a jewel! October 24, 1860, is the date of Mr. Douglas' marriage to Sallie A.
Moore, who was born in Platte County, Missouri, March 24, 1842, and
came to California in 1853, with her parents. They settled first in
Sacramento County, and moved to Yolo in 1857. Mrs. Douglas died May
24, 1889, the mother of four daughters, the youngest of whom is deceased.
Her death is a very great loss to the family, - a severe one in every
sense of the word. C. W. DOW C.W. DOW, is manager of the Ecadanti Hotel at Woodland. This hotel
was erected in 1889 and furnished December 19 that year, and is ably
conducted by the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this brief
notice, who took charge the nineteenth of that month, opening by a large
ball, for which two special railroad trains were run. Mr. Dow was born
in 1855 in New Hampshire, has traveled a great deal, been manager of
several hotels in the United States, and is therefore well qualified
to attain the popularity he enjoys in this community., His hotel is
owned by a company in Woodland. In 1875 he was united in marriage with
Miss Pauline Avery, and they have a family of four interesting children,
named: Harry D., Arthur S., Helen L,. and Alice A,. Mr. Dow is a member
of the Union Lodge, No. 79, F. & A.M., at Bristol, New Hampshire. John Craig DRUMMOND As fall the ripened fruits and the autumn leaves upon the somber earth,
there to receive burial beneath a white shroud of snow, so pass the
pioneers from the darkness of life's night into the gracious memory
of the past. Few still remain of the rugged youths who were allured
to the west by thrilling tales concerning the discovery of gold and
who nobly performed their part in the upbuilding of a great commonwealth,
whose present prosperity may be attributed largely to their labors during
the formative period of western civilization. An honored place in the
annals of Yolo county was filled by the late John C. Durmmond and his
memory remains green in the hearts of family and friends, while his
wife, who came across the plains in girlhood and has witnessed the remarkable
expansion of local resources, remains to receive the kindly hospitality
of old-time friends and the sympathetic reverence of a younger generation
of workers. Lewis Craig DRUMMOND Probably no citizen of Davis, Yolo county, was more sincerely mourned
than L. C. Drummond, whose demise occurred April 23, 1882. His influence
among his many friends and acquaintances who were fortunate enough to
know him well was both permanent and uplifting. Mr. Drummond was born
February 2, 1828, in Rahway, N. J., where he was educated and spent
his early life. At the age of fourteen he accompanied his parents to
Monmouth, N. J., and seven years later found him on his way to the Golden
West, via Panama, in quest of a goodly portion of the pot of gold to
be found "at the end of the rainbow." Youth and hope are bosom
friends, therefore the young emigrant gave no thought to the hardships
and failures to be met in his great venture. But, like all brave hearts,
he endured his trials with quiet perseverance and courage, recognizing
them as an important part of the woof of the character that was one
day to crown his life. M. H. DRUMMOND (#1) M. H. Drummond, a merchant at Davisville, was born May 1, 1859, about
seven miles southeast of that village, on a ranch where he lived until
he was fifteen years old. He then moved into town, attended school,
and finished his education at Sacramento, at the age of twenty years.
In 1882, in partnership with E. W. Brown, he started in the hardware
business in Davisville; and nine months afterward he sold out his interest
in that business and bought an interest in the hardware and grocery
trade of D. F. Liggett, and they carry a stock of about $20,000, doing
a large and prosperous business. Malford H. DRUMMOND (#2) One of the best erstwhile citizens of Davis, who has contributed largely
to the progress of the locality, is Malford H. Drummon, who now resides
in the Sandwich Islands. A son of L. C. Drummond, deceased, he was born
on his father's farm near Davis, May 1, 1859, and was educated in the
public school of Davis, later taking a course in Atkins Business College
in Sacramento. At the age of twenty-three he engaged in the hardware
business in his hometown in partnership with E. W. Brown, but less than
a year later sold his interest and became a member of the hardware and
grocery firm of Liggett & Drummond. His efforts in behalf of this
venture proved most successful and business steadily prospered. B. F. DUNCAN B. F. Duncan, an extensive rancher of the Capay Valley, was born February 2, 1840, in Vigo County, Indiana, and the son of John I. and Margaret (Toler) Duncan, natives of Virginia. The senior Duncan followed agricultural pursuits all his life. At one time he was judge of this district. In 1842 he removed to Missouri, where he remained until his death, which occurred when he was seventy-four years old; his wife also died in that State, in 1849. Mr. B. F. Duncan, our subject, was raised on the farm in Missouri. At the age of twenty-one years he enlisted in Company G., Captain Curry, Eighth Regiment, Colonel Mitchell, Parson's Brigade, Cavalry, and was six months in the service. He was mustered out at Shreveport, Louisiana, after a service of three years and three months. Was wounded four times, twice in one engagement. Was taken prisoner at Cassville, Missouri, but a week afterward escaped, in company with others, crawling out under the floor. After the war he remained in Missouri until 1870, when he came to California and settled near Cottonwood, Yolo County, on land which he purchased. He remained there until 1878, when he sold out and purchased his present place two miles west of Capay, in the celebrated Capay Valley. This ranch consists of 737 acres of choice bottom land, on which Mr. Duncan carries on a general farming business, and is preparing to establish himself in the fruit industry next year (1891). He is a very practical man and enterprising. He has two brothers in this county, whose sketches will be found elsewhere in this volume. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 W. G. DUNCAN (# 1) W.G. DUNCAN, a farmer near Capay, Yolo County, was born October 1, 1828, in Amherst County, Virginia, the son of John I. and Margaret (Toler) Duncan, natives also of that State, who moved to the northern part of Missouri when their son was a small boy. Remaining with his parents until 1850, the subject of this sketch, in company with his brother, William H., came overland to California, with Dr. Lane, who supplied the penniless boys with the necessaries of the journey, in consideration of half their earnings for a year. They followed mining at Mud Springs for three months, but with little profit, and Dr. Lane agreed to release them with three months' work for him, which proposition was accepted and the work done. The brothers then followed mining again, until the spring of 1853, when they took up a tract of land two and a half miles from their present place. In 1869 they disposed of that farm to Mr. Woodard. During the previous year they had bought the place where they now reside, a mile from Capay, where they now have 7,300 acres, besides eighty acres near Woodland. Mr. Duncan was married in Woodland, March 13, 1879, to Miss Mary Franklin, a native of California, and they have one child, who was born in 1883 and is named Elvira G. Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California,
The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891, Pages 619-620 Wyatt Godfrey DUNCAN (#2) Sixty years or more have brought their remarkable series of changes
to Yolo county since first Mr. Duncan arrived in this portion of California
and in this great task of material upbuilding he has borne an honorable
and influential part, so that now in the afternoon of a successful and
busy career he is enabled to enjoy the comforts resultant from his own
industry. It has been his privilege to witness much of the development
of this commonwealth. Coming hither during the era of mining excitement,
he found a cosmopolitan population few of whom discerned the great agricultural
possibilities of the land. From the first he was interested in ranching
and stock-raising. The results of his intelligent labor manifest themselves
in a large and growing prosperity and in the kindly regard entertained
for him by the people of his community. To his friends here as well
as in the east he is known as Doc, a name first given to him by other
members of the parental family and afterward adopted by acquaintances.
As a child he displayed a great regard for physicians and nothing pleased
him more than to play he was a doctor riding an imaginary horse and
diagnosing the serious illnesses of imaginary patients. In that way
the nickname came to be used which, from being considered merely a joke,
rose to the dignity of an appellation of affection and regard. D. DUNPHEY D. Dunphey, a blacksmith of Woodland, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1835, the son of A. Spencer and Eliza (Wing) Dunphey. His father, a native of New York State and a millright by trade, died in Cook County, Illinois; and the mother, who was born in Canada in 1811, died in Illinois. When Mr. Dunphey was but two years of age the family removed to Cook County, Illinois, and subsequently to Jo Daviess County, same State. April 13, 1852, he came overland with ox teams to California, and for five years was employed at Sacramento in the trade of blacksmithing. He then went to Cottonwood, now Madison, where he worked at his trade for seven years, and then he settled in Woodland, where for twelve years he has been conducting a prosperous business. He worked for Mr. Knox three years and has now resumed business for himself in Woodland. He is a man well known throughout the county and has many friends. He has a neat little home on Third street. June 2, 1860, in Cottonwood, Yolo County, Mr. Dunphey married Lydia
Willard, the daughter of A. H. and Mary A. Willard. Her father was born
in 1812 in St. Louis, Missouri, and her mother in 1823 in Vandalia,
Illinois; they had seven sons and seven daughters. Mr. Dunphey has eight
children, the following being their names and ages: Spencer, twenty-nine
years; Charles, deceased at the age of fifteen years; Lydia, aged twenty-five,
and now the wife of R. A. Patterson of San Diego County; Eliza, twenty
one; Dexter, twenty-three; Lizzie, died at the age of eight years; Willard,
sixteen; and Minerva, twelve. Mrs. Barbara DURST MRS. BARBARA DURST, manager of a farm near Madison, Yolo County, was
born in Switzerland, in 1836, daughter of Boldsaer and Anna M. (Swerl)
Schengler, natives of that country. Her father in Switzerland was engaged
in the manufacture of woolens in several establishments for twenty-one
years, and then he emigrated to the United States and settled in Wisconsin,
where he followed farming until his death in 1870. Her mother died in
1876, near Cacheville, Yolo County. In 1859 the subject of this sketch
was married in Wisconsin, to David Durst, also a native of Switzerland.
In 1869 they came to California and located at once on Cache Creek,
where Mr. Durst died January 13, 1884, leaving three children, namely:
John J., who is now aged twenty-seven; Willie B., twenty-five and Annie
M., twenty-two. In October, 1887, Mrs. Durst changed her residence to
her present place, four miles from Madison, on the main road to Woodland.
The ranch there contains 160 acres of land, and she also has another
adjoining on the southeast, containing 240 acres. The principal product
of these farms is grain. Fredoline DURST One of the distinguishing characteristics of California is the fact
that it has attracted men from all parts of the world. Here the Teutonic
element finds an acceptable place for the exemplification of its traits
of industry and perseverance; the French are attracted by the opportunity
to develop their national trait of thrift; here are to be found the
English with their firmness of will, the Irishmen with their cheery
wit, the Scotch with their lofty principles of morality and religion,
and the Italians with their love of the warm sunshine and genial air
so like their own native land. Nor are there wanting industrious and
successful Swiss in this fortunate region and many of them here, as
their ancestors for generations in Switzerland, are distinguished by
the manufacture of butter and cheese of unexcelled quality. |
[ TOP OF PAGE ]
Peggy B. and Patrick Perazzo 
Copyright 1996- - All Rights Reserved.