Yolo County Biographies – S
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Buel Ruthven SACKETT Studying the genealogy of the Sackett family, to which belong the well-known
ranchers of California, Buel Ruthven Sackett, now deceased, and his
son, Harry E. Sackett, it is found that one of the name, supposedly
a native of England, served as a regimental surgeon in the Revolution.
His son, Rev. John B. Sackett, was born near Syracuse, N. Y., January
8, 1812, and in 1837 became a pioneer of Ohio, where he first taught
school, and later became a Baptist minister in Ashtabula and Knox counties.
As a student of the Bible he attained a widespread reputation, and in
an accurate knowledge of the Scriptures had few equals. In recognition
of his profound Biblical knowledge he was appointed corresponding secretary
of the Ohio Baptist convention, and in the discharge of his duties he
traveled throughout the entire state. His sudden death, December 24,
1870, closed a career of more than ordinary usefulness and honor. For
some years he was survived by his wife, Amanda (Bardeen) Sackett, who
was born in New York January 16, 1813, and traced her lineage to Scottish
ancestry. Harry E. SACKETT One of the most prosperous and well known places of Yolo county, Cal.,
and indeed of the entire state, is the Golden Star orchard, owned and
operated by Harry E. Sackett, whose able and efficient conduct of this
place has brought it to a high state of cultivation, so that its product
has gained world-wide fame for its particularly fine quality. George W. SANDERS A goodly number of competent judges assert that in his knowledge of
the nursery business Mr. Sanders is unsurpassed by any resident of Northern
California, but that gentleman himself accustomed modesty always disclaims
any skill beyond that possessed by any other nurserymen. Be that as
it may, certain it is that he has devoted years of laborious application
to the business and through unflagging devotion to its demands has risen
to a place of independence. It may also be stated that he is familiar
with every phase of fruit culture. Many discouragements have met his
ambitious endeavors to promote the industry in his own community and
often obstacles have appeared to retard his personal progress, but ultimately
a determined will and an untiring industry have enabled him to override
hardships that would have daunted many others. William SANDROCK Time has wrought manifold changes in the aspect and environment of
Yolo county since first Mr. Sandrock arrived in this portion of the
state. The vast tracts of land that then awaited the first turn of a
furrow now have been brought under cultivation. Villages have been transformed
into thriving centers of population and commerce. Schools and churches
betoken the mental and religious aspirations of the residents. Into
this work of upbuilding and development he threw the energies of middle
age and by his own painstaking industry, by his progressive spirit and
by his consistent uprightness he proved a valuable citizen to the community
with whose destinies his own fate had been sealed. Of late years and
indeed during the greater part of his residence in the county he has
been a business man of Blacks Station, where he still resides, occupying
a comfortable home, but now to some extent retired from the enterprises
that engrossed his energies and youth and early maturity. For a few years after coming to the west Mr. Sandrock remained a bachelor,
but in October of 1882 he was united with Miss Crona Rominger, who was
born in Germany, but grew to womanhood in California and received her
education in local schools. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Sandrock comprises
five children, namely: Freda, wife of Louis Schieman, a prosperous rancher
of Yolo county; Henry W., employed as a fireman on the Southern Pacific
Railroad; Arthur, bookkeeper for the Southern Pacific Railroad at Marysville,
Cal.; Annie and Lawrence. Ever since coming to California and attaining
his majority Mr. Sandrock has voted with the Republican party in state
and national elections. In local campaigns he gives his influence to
the men to whom he considers best qualified to discharge the duties
of the offices in question, without regard to their opinions concerning
the national problems. While at no time solicitous for office himself,
he has consented to fill positions of local trust, the most important
of these being the office of justice of the peace, to which he was elected
and in which he continued for a number of terms. On several occasions
the party organization has chosen him to act as delegate to county conventions
and in such gatherings his influence has been given to measures for
the benefit of the party in the county. No question interests him more
keenly than that of education and for some fourteen years he gave efficient
service to the district in the capacity of director, meanwhile striving
to promote the welfare of the schools and to surround the boys and girls
with advantages enabling them to prepare for the responsibilities of
active life. While not identified with any religious movement he contributes
to the Lutheran Church, to which his wife belongs and in which faith
she was reared. Many years ago he joined the lodge of Odd Fellows at
Davisville, but of recent years he has held membership with the lodge
at Blacks Station and has passed through the chairs up to and including
that of past grand, while his wife for a time was very active in the
work of the allied organization of Rebekahs.
Harry Russell SAUNDERS It is with pride that Harry Russell Saunders claims California as his
native commonwealth and proudly asserts that Yolo county, where he lived
most of the time since childhood and where now he is a influential citizen
and popular official, yields precedence to no other part of the great
west in its agricultural possibilities and exceptional resources. Himself
in the prime of manly strength (born September 8, 1864,) he is a native
of the neighboring county of Solano, having been born near old Tremont,
and his first recollections cluster around scenes and sights there and
in Yolo county. As he contrasts the activities and improvements of the
present day with the conditions of the past, he recognizes that such
results would have been impossible without a natural wealth of soil
and a vast undeveloped richness of resources. In official positions
he has proved efficient and prompt, attending to the duties connected
with the post in a manner indicative of his ability and trustworthiness. Franklyn G. SCHAEFFER One of those who the state of Pennsylvania has contributed to the Golden
State is Franklyn G. Schaeffer, who was born in Northumberland county
in the year which closed the Civil war, 1865. His father, P. D. Schaeffer,
a miller by trade, was also a native of Northumberland county, and his
mother, in maidenhood Rebecca Stitzel, was likewise a native of Pennsylvania.
When a lad of seventeen years Franklyn Schaeffer accompanied his parents
to Three Rivers, St. Joseph county, Mich., where for the ensuing eight
years he assisted his father in the maintenance of the farm. In 1902
he carried out a plan which he had long been cherishing and came to
the Capay valley, Yolo county, Cal., where soon afterward he purchased
that land that is now his bearing orchard. This comprises twenty-one
acres of land near Rumsey, all of which, aside from two and one-half
acres in alfalfa, is in prune and apricot trees. Otto SCHLEUR OTTO SCHLEUR, one of Woodlake's enterprising business men, now engaged in a bakery there, was born September 20, 1846, in Hanover, Germany; a son of William and Matilda (Struck) Schleur. His father was a merchant and passed all his life in Germany. At an early age Otto learned the baker's trade, and continued to follow it until he came to America in 1866. Landing at New York, he came almost immediately to California by way of the Isthmus. At first, in this State, he was engaged eighteen months in a bakery at Washington, opposite Sacramento, at $35 a month. In October, 1877, he established a bakery at Woodland, in which he has ever since been interested. His institution is a fine one, well patronized. Mr. Schleur is also a stockholder in the Yolo Brewery, and in the Buffalo Brewery at Sacramento, and he owns eighty acres of choice land near town, devoted in wine and raisin grapes. He is a member of Woodland Lodge, No. 111, I.O.O.F. He was married in 1873, to Miss Anna Dinzler, a native of California.
Of their eleven children, there are seven living, namely: Tillie, Eddie,
Willie, Annie, Ralph, Birt and a babe unnamed. Fred. SCHLIEMAN a well-known farmer of Yolo County, was born in Germany, December 15, 1825, a son of Fred and Helen Schlieman, natives of that county. At the age of twenty-one years he emigrated to Texas, landing at the port of Galveston, and served in the Mexican war. In 1850 he started with a mule team and came through Mexico and Arizona to California, arriving at San Diego September 17, 1850. Four months afterward he went to San Francisco and in a short time to the mines at Park's Bar, on the Yuba River; next to Doty's Flat in Placer County, where he was engaged in mining until 1856. He then spent a year at his native place in the East, and on returning settled in Yolo County at the place which he now occupies, containing three quarter-section of land. He is a prosperous farmer, and takes great interest in the welfare of his community and in the county. He was elected Assessor in 1879, served till 1884, was elected County Clerk in 1885 for two years; was also Justice of the Peace in earlier days. He was married, in 1857, to Caroline Kuntze, a native of Germany,
and they have two daughters and four sons, namely: William A., Harry
F., Ernest E., Adolph F., Louis F., Helen L. and Minnie C. SCHLIEMAN Brothers From the era of frontier history up to the present time of progressive development the name of Schlieman has been identified honorably and intimately with the agricultural activities of Yolo county, whither in an early day came a rugged and stalward (sic) young German, Ferdinand Schlieman, the descendent of a long line of Teutonic ancestors and the possessor in his own sturdy mentality of qualities inherited from worthy progenitors. While he had not been endowed with wealth nor had destiny bestowed upon him the qualities that bring a swift success, he had a large fund of energy and industry and was not easily disheartened by obstacles. Hence he was in a position to appreciate the advantages offered by Yolo county and to foresee the possibilities of the region as the result of careful cultivation. The pre-emption of a claim of one hundred and sixty acres gave the industrious young German his start in the new world and established him among the ranchers of Yolo county, where as a subsequent prosperity gave him financial standing and credit he was enabled to buy one-half section, thus giving him the title to four hundred and eighty acres in one body, situated near Blacks Station. Favorably impressed with the opportunities here presented to industry and thrift he resolved to establish a permanent home on his land and with that object in view he returned to Germany for the young lady, Miss Caroline Kuntze, to whom he had plighted his troth. A quiet wedding ceremony was followed by farewells to their friends and they then set sail for the new world, coming direct to California and beginning their married life upon the farm that is now owned by their children. Here they passed many busy and happy years and here their last days were passed. The only exception to their continuous residence upon the farm was during the period of his official service, when they made their home at the county seat. For one term he served as county assessor, for one term he filled the office of county clerk and for one term he held the position of county recorder. In each position he gave satisfaction to the people of the county. Since the death of this pioneer rancher and his devoted wife the old homestead has been occupied by Ernest E., and the daughter, Miss Helen. Adolph and Louis have built neat residences on other portions of the estate. The three brothers work in partnership and by wise and harmonious dealings they have gained prominence as farmers and stockraisers. The productiveness of the land proves their skilled cultivation. Alfalfa and grain raising are carried on extensively and they merit their splendid financial returns. Conservative and careful, energetic and enthusiastic, they possess the traits indispensable to successful agricultural operations and are wisely developing the interests inherited from their father. The oldest of the three brothers, Ernest E., is a member of Grafton Lodge No. 293, I.O.O.F., to which the youngest brother, Louis, also belongs. All have the sturdy traits characteristic of the Teutonic race, supplemented by the enterprise that is associated with the American race, and their high principles of honor have gained for them the respect of a large circle of acquaintances. Source: "History of Yolo County California with Biographical
Sketches of The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified
With Its Growth and Development From the Early Days to the Present"
page 515-519, by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company,
1913. Gustave Ernest SCHLOSSER Two spots, with the width of one-half the continent between them, have
furnished the environment for the energetic efforts of Mr. Schlosser,
and these locations are Hancock county, Ill., where he lived until he
had attained his majority, and Yolo county, Cal., of which he has been
a resident from the age of twenty-one up to the present time. The family
comes of German extraction, as the name indicates, and his father, Peter,
was the first representative of the family in the United States, crossing
the ocean to the new world and settling in Hancock county in 1848. The
land which he purchased was rich and fertile, but no attempt had been
made at cultivation and long years of effort were necessary before gratifying
returns could be secured. The country was sparsely settled at the time
of his arrival. A few years before he had become a resident of the county
the Mormons, who had built a temple at Nauvoo, were expelled from that
locality and sought refuge farther west subsequent to the killing of
their leader, Joseph Smith, in the Hancock county jail at Carthage. Chris SCHLOTZ In a comfortable residence on West Main street, two miles from the
city of Woodland, lives Chris Schlotz, who was born in Oberamt Schorndorf,
Wurtemberg, Germany March 13, 1874. His father, David Schlotz, a farmer
in Wurtemberg, is still living in his native land. The latter married
Christine Birk, who died in 1907, after having borne him ten children,
of whom seven are living and of whom Chris, fourth in order of nativity,
is the only one in California. Otto SCHLUER Sturdy principles that form the basis of all true success have governed
the resolute activities of Mr. Schluer and contributed to the commendable
degree of prosperity achieved by him. It is characteristic of his quiet,
home-loving temperament that he prefers old friends to new, familiar
scenes to the most beautiful that are strange to his eyes and the accustomed
routine work-a-day activities to the most thrilling adventures pen could
depict. Possessing such mental endowments, it is natural that he selected
a location more than forty years ago and has never removed therefrom;
natural, also, that he selected an occupation in boyhood and continued
at the same trade until he retired from all business activities. Almost
ever since he crossed the ocean he has made Woodland his home and among
the old settlers of this attractive city he has a large circle of stanch,
true friends. Oliver B. SCHOOLING In 1859, when he was eleven years of age, Oliver B. Schooling came
to California across the plains with his parents. Although this is not
a very early date as compared with the time of the old pioneers, the
family nevertheless had their share of hardships and adventures on the
great trans-continental trail before their train was disbanded in Marysville.
At the beginning of the journey the company consisted of five families,
but it grew larger as it proceeded and overtook other small bands of
immigrants, and presently was a twenty wagon train. They met the usual
bands of mischievous Indians with eyes on the travelers' cattle, and
it took all their care and watchfulness to prevent trouble and preserve
their three hundred head of livestock. Mr. Schooling relates an incident
along this line which is unusual and unique. The train seems to have
crossed the trail of a general buffalo migration, and these wild animals
occasionally were disposed to claim relationship with their kin, the
immigrants' cattle. In quite a sociable way they went through the train
and succeeded several times in stampeding the domestic herd. Of course
the men used their rifles freely, and not only had plenty of buffalo
meat as an article of diet, but captured a number of buffalo calves
whose mothers had fallen in the fights. John K. SCHUERLE In the loss of Mr. Schuerle, a successful and highly respected Yolo
county agriculturist, who passed away January 15, 1901, Woodland relinquished
one of her most able citizens, whose generous aid in the development
of that locality proved both well directed and permanent and clearly
attested his foresight and intelligent public interest. John K. SCHUERLEY JOHN K. SCHUERLEY, a farmer near Woodland, who is widely known for
his generous disposition, good humor and cordial sociability, was born
June 1, 1831, in Würtenberg, Germany, a son of Bernard and Mary
(Mains) Schuerley. His father, a farmer by occupation, died in Germany,
his native country in 1846, at the age of sixty years. John K, was accordingly
brought up to farm life, and was educated at a governmental agricultural
college, spending three years at the institution. The ensuing three
years he was foreman of a large estate in Switzerland, owned by a German
nobleman. In 1854 he emigrated To America from Havre de Grace, landing
in New York after forty-two days' voyage, and forty-two persons died
of the cholera on the way across the sea. He went to Cincinnati, Ohio,
and engaged upon a farm near by for two and a half years; then he was
employed in the city by a large lumber company, contractors and builders
until the spring of 1860 when he returned to New York city, and took
passage on the North Star for the Isthmus, and thence on the Golden
Gate for San Francisco. He first visited Coloma, where the prospect
was poor, and then went to Woodland, and soon found employment on the
farm of F. C. Ruggles near that place. In 1862 he started a brewery,
in company with A. Miller. The building was erected at a little distance
from where Woodland now is, and afterward moved to his present location
on Main street in the western part of town. Mr. Schuerley operated the
institution successfully until 1880, when he sold it and moved upon
his present property, consisting of 240 acres of choice land which he
purchased in 1877, adjoining the city limits; seventy-five acres is
planted to choice varieties of grapes. In 1875 Mr. Schuerley made a
trip to Europe, returning in 1876. He is yet unmarried, and his sister,
Bertha A. Weber, is mistress of his home. David S. SCOTT DAVID S. SCOTT, a contractor of Woodland, was born in West Virginia,
December 11, 1834, a son of Peter W. and Lucinda (Spielman) Scott, father
a native of Pennsylvania and mother of Maryland; his father was born
in 1803, and was a mason by trade. In 1853 Mr. Scott went to Dayton,
Ohio, and served his time at the mason's trade, learning it of Daniel
Richmond. In 1855 he traveled to some extent and finally located at
Leavenworth, Kansas, and from there he came to California, arriving
first in the southern part of the State in 1860; then came to Nevada
City; and in 1867 he went to Sacramento and worked upon the State capitol
during the summer. He then came to Woodland for a short time, returned
East on a visit, and to Woodland again in 1870; in 1874 to San Francisco
and was employed upon the Palace Hotel until the next year; was then
in Oregon until 1880, when he finally returned to Woodland, where he
has had the building of the best blocks in that beautiful town,-such
as the Opera House, Exchange Hotel, Bune's Hotel, Prior Block, Gibson
& Co.'s Block, J.S. White's residence, etc. He owns eight acres
of ground on Oak avenue, on which he has a comfortable residence. George W. SCOTT (#1) one of the leading agriculturists and one of the foremost citizens of Yolo County, is a native of Seneca County, New York, born near the town of Ovid, between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, October 19, 1828, his parents being Daniel and Sarah (Dunlap) Scott. The father, who was of a noted New England family, was born at Warwick, Connecticut, whence he removed to New York State, where he followed farming. The mother was born in Seneca County, New York. Of their family of fifteen children, twelve were boys, and eleven grew to maturity. Besides our subject, there are only two others of these now living, viz.: Charles, who lives by the side of his brother, George W., in Yolo County, and James B., a resident of Geneva, New York. The subject of this sketch grew up at his native place, under the watchful eye of his father, to the age of nineteen years, when he was allowed, in the fall of 1847, to take a trip to Wayne County, Michigan. It was not intended that he should stay longer than a few weeks, but the lake froze up, navigation closed, and he was good for an all winter's stay with his Western relatives. The mails in the spring brought him instructions to return by the first steamer, but he decided to strike out on his own account, and to make his own start in the world. Instead of taking the route homeward, he started west, and proceeded to Kalamazoo, thence to St. Joseph, and finally to Chicago. He was very fond of flat turnips, and, seeing a supply displayed in a grocer's establishment, he invested a shilling and got a half bushel of them. With these he filled the valise he carried, and all the available room in his pockets, and taking the few that remained in his hands he started to walk into the country in search of employment. He brought up in Columbia County, Wisconsin, 150 miles away, with $1.50 left of the $6 with which he had started, and six turnips out of the half-bushel. He secured work, and when his father learned that he was not going to return home he sent out another son, who bought for our subject 400 acres of land on Portage Prairie. There he remained until 1850, farming, and by that time he had the place in pretty good shape. He caught the California fever, however, and in the year mentioned he and two friends in Columbia County, named George Jess and E. K. Dunlap, together with another man started on the long trip to the Golden State. They had four horses hitched to a small, light wagon, and three saddle horses, and, taking only such supplies as they deemed absolutely necessary, the start was made. The result showed that their preparations were exactly right, and when the journey was finished all were ready to admit that they could not do better with all their experience. They crossed the Missouri River at St. Joseph on the third of May, and proceeded via Forts Kearney and Laramie, Sublette's cut-off, and down Humboldt River. At the sink of the Humboldt they left their wagon, and with their horses packed across the desert and into California, arriving at Placerville on the 21st of July, having stopped over twenty days and traveled sixty-two. Mr. Scott commenced mining there, but after a few weeks went to Spanish Bar, on the middle fork of the American River, and after a short time spent in search for gold there went up on the divide between the North and Middle forks, having been fairly successful in mining. He engaged in freighting between Sacramento and Yankee Jim's, employing a mule team and also one of oxen. In the winter of 1851 he sold his freighting outfit and came to Yolo County pitching his tent on Cottonwood Creek, about two miles from his present residence. He stocked the place with hogs, and also bought a few cattle and horses. After a few months he took S. M. Enos and Enoch Drew as partners. In the spring of 1852 he went back East, partly to visit his parents and brothers, and partly to buy stock, being accompanied by Mr. Drew. He arrived at his old home in July, and was congratulated by his father on having been successful in doing for himself. He remained there until the spring of 1854, being at that time the only one of the boys at home, and then started on the return trip overland. In southern Illinois he and Mr. Drew bought about 200 head of cattle, and started West, crossing the Mississippi River at Chester. They reached the ranch in Yolo County with 167 head. During his trip East Mr. Scott was married and his wife accompanied him on the trip. After arriving her Mr. Scott and his partner, who had accumulated jointly considerable property, dissolved partnership, he taking the stock and Mr. Drew taking the ranch. Mr. Scott took up a stock ranch at the head of Buckeye, and for years thereafter was extensively engaged in the cattle business. American cattle was then worth about $50 a head, and the resources of the country seemed so abundant that a large number of the settlers were soon heavily engaged in the cattle business. The year 1864 found everybody with big droves, and cattle fell to $5. That, together with the terrible drouth of that year, broke up nine-tenths of the cattle men. Mr. Scott gathered up about 600 head out of the 1,200 or 1,400 he had on hand, and took them to Nevada, placing the remainder on the tule lands. His cattle became fat in Nevada, and he sold them at from $20 to $30 apiece, making a good profit. His horses, which he took down to the tule lands about Rio Vista, also came out well. Mr. Scott is now extensively engaged in cattle-raising, but he and Mr. Love have in partnership between 7,000 and 9,000 head of Spanish merino sheep. They are also among the heaviest farmers in the valley, cultivating about 3,000 acres of land, and 10,000 used for grazing, which they own together, Mr. Scott having the sole charge of the business. He also has 1,000 acres on his home place, and 500 acres in his Buckeye ranch. He is also interested in oil wells in Ventura County, and at Half-Moon Bay, San Mateo County. At the latter place he and a partner have $10,000 invested in machinery, which is of the most improved pattern known to that industry. This business takes about all his time the year round. He has also about 1,000 acres at Banning, San Bernardino County. Mr. Scott is a stanch Republican in politics, and has taken a prominent part in the councils of the party, although he does not class himself in any sense a politician. He has, however, served his county in the Board of Supervisors, and was the Republican candidate for the Legislature in 1870, and again in 1880. Though unsuccessful on account of the long lead of the opposing party, he made a close race, and ran ahead of his ticket. He has always taken an active interest in public affairs, and the welfare of the community. While a member of the Patrons of Husbandry he was one of the most ardent workers for success. He took an active part in the building of the Vaca Valley & Clear Lake Railroad, grading the line at his own expense from Madison to Winters, and in all put about $18,000 into it without any returns. Mr. Scott is a man of iron will and great self-reliance, which qualities have made him what he is financially. He could, however, have been vastly better off had he not been ready at all times to lend a helping hand to those who asked his aid. His highest recommendation, however, is his honesty, and it is said of him that he is incapable of anything but pure and manly motives, his word being to him as sacred as life itself. His wife, to whom he was married in New York State, as previously
mentioned, December 13, 1858, was formerly Miss Emma Bloomer, a native
of the Empire State. Mr. and Mrs. Scott have four children, living,
viz.: Clarence, at home; Arthur, who lives at Banning; Elma, wife of
John H. Rice, of Dixon; and Charles Latham, at home. Two are deceased,
viz.: Addie and Stella. George Washington SCOTT (#2) One of Yolo county's earliest pioneers was G. W. Scott, who passed
away at his home near Winters, Cal., February 20, 1912, and who long
will be remembered by his countless friends and associates, more particularly
those who have lived and worked with him through his busy years in Yolo
county, as a man of exemplary qualities and conservative business judgment,
fully deserving of the honors which he enjoyed through the esteem and
confidence of his fellow citizens. J. Smith SCOTT As chairman of the board of supervisors of Yolo county Mr. Scott is
giving to his native region the benefit of his discriminating judgment,
superior mental powers and enthusiastic belief in the unrivalled resources
of the section. While all projects for the material development of the
county receive his earnest co-operation, in no department of progress
is he more interest in the building of good roads, and the people of
the county, more particularly the farmers, have been aroused to a realization
of the value of his suggestions concerning the highways. When first
he entered upon road construction in Woodland township, he advanced
modern ideas as to methods of work, and by means of a large traction
engine with plows attached he broke up the roads, refilled them with
gravel and finally oiled the highway, thus securing a permanent and
substantial road at a small cost to the county. The benefit of his services
in this one respect can scarcely be overestimated and in other avenues
of progress, while less prominent, he has been interest in an equal
degree. Levin N. SCOTT a citizen of Yolo, in Yolo County, retired from active business, is
a son of Robert J. and Charlotte Scott, the former a native of North
Carolina, and the latter of Maryland, who emigrated in early day to
Adams County, Ohio, where Levin was born, December 6, 1820. He was but
five years of age when the family moved with him to Illinois, where
they remained for twenty-five years, the father being a farmer most
of the time. In 1841 Mr. Scott, our subject, married Miss Wyatt, and
had one daughter, Jamima Ann. She died in Illinois, in February, 1843,
and in 1847 Mr. Scott married Miss N. A. Daughbetee, a native of Illinois.
In 1850 they came overland to this State, stopping first in Nevada County,
after a journey of six months and five days. Here Mr. Scott remained
about seventeen years, engaged in farming and merchandising about three
miles from Nevada City, on Rock Creek. He then moved into Placer County,
purchased a ranch and was engaged in its cultivation until 1889, when
he disposed of it and bought a fine large residence of fourteen rooms,
situated on a thirty-acre tract of land in Cacheville. There are now
four children in the family, and two have died. The living are George
H., Mary C., Edgar C. and James F.; and the deceased are Edward B. and
Nancy A. Mary C. is now the wife of J. P. Williams, and has one child,
named Mamie I. George, the eldest son, is now engaged in freighting
goods through the mountains from Lincoln and Auburn to Michigan Bluff,
Forest Hill, etc., and Edgar C. is attending the Commercial College
at Woodland. Elias SEABOLD ELIAS SEABOLD, a prominent farmer three and a half miles west of Madison,
Yolo County, has 465 acres there, upon which he raises wheat and barley.
He was born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany, October 5, 1827. His parents,
Nicholas and Elizabeth (Zindel) Seabold, natives of the father-land,
died when he was a small boy. At the age of twenty years he came to
America, landing at New Orleans, and at once went to St. Louis, Missouri,
where he remained a year and a half, then he spent six months at Quincy,
Illinois; and then he came to California, in 1850, stopping at Placerville,
having been four months and a half on the journey. He followed mining
for some time in the neighborhood of Placerville, spent three months
in Sacramento, then mined five months on the Salmon River, returned
to Sacramento again with the intention of going East; but on arriving
there he changed his mind, concluding that if other people could stand
it here he could. Accordingly, he bought a team in Sacramento and went
to freighting, following that business from October, 1851 to 1867; he
then entered Yolo County, where he has since remained, purchasing that
year the place which he still occupies. For his wife he married Ellen
Kegan, who was born in Ireland in 1837, their marriage taking place
in Placer County, January 29, 1859. Their children are: Elizabeth J.,
who was born in March, 1872, and Annie S., who was born in March, 1874. Henry SEAMAN HENRY SEAMAN, a prominent farmer five miles west of Winters, Yolo County,
was born October 12, 1826, in Prussia. His parents, Jacob and Catherine
(Jacobs) Seaman, natives also of Prussia, emigrated in 1837 to Cincinnati,
Ohio, and the next year to Indiana, where he died in 1845; he was a
farmer most of his days. Henry's mother died when he was very young.
As he grew up he was first employed in a general store, from 1837 to
1847. In 1858 he came across plain and mountain to California, with
ox teams, and for the first seven years he was a resident of Sacramento:
ten months of this time he was clerk in the Bee-Hive Hotel. In 1859
he purchased a ranch on Putah Creek, in Solano County. His place now
contains 2,000 acres, fifty acres of which are in orchard. He has also
been a very extensive stock-raiser. In 1890 he bought a nice residence,-a
house and four lots -in Winters, where also he is raising some very
fine fruit. Bernal H. SHARP At Castlewood, S. Dak., Bernal H. Sharp, manager of the Woodland station
for the Western Creameries Company, was born July 2, 1885, a son of
O. M. Sharp, who brought his family to California in 1903 and is one
of the successful farmers in the Woodland district. Samuel SHRYOCK engineer of the Woodland City Water-works, is a son of John and Mary
(Sheets) Shryock, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of
Rochester, New York. He was born in Hamilton County, Indiana, November
14, 1827, where he, on growing up to manhood, served his time as an
apprentice at the carpenter and joiners' trade. In 1853 he came to California
and was in the mines until December, 1855, when he went to Yolo County
and purchased a squatter's right near Woodland. Subsequently he purchased
an interest, with William Borden, in a general machine and blacksmith
shop in Woodland, and conducted it for three years. Next he was engaged
in the manufacture of syrups for two years; and then he started a machine
shop, and three years subsequently he and a man named Studenburg bought
the Woodland Flouring Mills and ran them two years. In 1868 he sold
out, went East on a visit, when he was married to Miss Rachel Williams,
a native of Indiana. Returning in 1874 to Woodland, he began running
a threshing-machine, and continued with it nine years, when he disposed
of that and was employed by the Woodland Water Company in his present
position. His wife died in June, 1875, leaving three children: John
J., born in May, 1869; Gertrude A., in 1871, and Josephine A., November
8, 1873. Mr. Shryock, when running his machine shop, furnished a great
deal of the material for the court-house at Woodland. Chris SIEBER Chris Sieber, proprietor of the Pacific House at Woodland, is an example
of those who came from a foreign land to young America and have attained
affluence under our benign institutions. He was born January 29, 1847,
in Germany, in the Kingdom of Wirtemberg, a son of Ludwick and Rosa
(Linck) Sieber. His father, a farmer, came to America and to California
in 1886, and died the next year, in Woodland, at the age of sixty-seven
years. The subject of this biographical mention remained at home on
the farm until he was fifteen years of age, when he commenced to learn
the tin-smith trade. After completing that he sailed from Liverpool
to New York city, where he remained a year working at his trade. In
1866 he came by the Nicaragua route to California, worked a year in
his vocation at Sacramento, and then two years at the same in Woodland,
when he engaged in a bakery and saloon, which he ran successfully for
three years. He then disposed of his bakery and continued the saloon
until 1881, when he purchased the Tackney House. He afterward changed
its name to the Pacific House, under which name he is now running it,
with magnificent success. He is also interested in the Woodland brewery,
the electric light system of the city, the Woodland street railway and
various other enterprises. He was elected in 1878 a member of the City
Council, and he served also as City Treasurer two years. He is a member
of Woodland Lodge, No. 111, I.O.O.F., and also of the O.C.F. Chris SIEBER (#2) The large hardware establishment of Chris Sieber & Co. is said
to be among the oldest stores of its kind in Yolo county and now occupies
a central location on Main Street, Woodland, where a commodious modern
building is utilized for the storage and display of the large variety
of agricultural implements, hardware, harness, etc., provide for the
selection and convenience of the customers. The firm represents the
John Deere Plow Company, also carried a full line of wagons and carriages
manufactured by Studebaker Bros., besides selling the Deering harvesters
and mowers and the gas engines manufactured by Root and Vanderworth.
In connection with other lines of activity the firm manufactures harness
and also provides facilities for the repair of harness brought to them
by their customers. Every department of the business shows the thrift,
energy and wise judgment of the owner, whose capable oversight is seen
in the smallest details as well as the most important orders of the
house. William SIMS WILLIAM SIMS, a prominent citizen near Winters, Yolo County. California is a wonderful land. Its inhabitants have become renowned the world over for a spirit of enterprise and perseverance that has never been witnessed elsewhere. It is indeed a land of gigantic undertaking and grand achievement, even in this country of great attainment, remarkable for the conspicuous success which the resources of the country so uniformly grant to them who are diligent in attention to business and adopt judicious methods. It is therefore a peculiar pleasure to write the history of the lives of Californians. A striking example is the gentleman whose name heads this article. He dates his birth July 14, 1832, in Fayette County, Virginia, of humble parentage. His early days were spent upon a farm. He left Virginia March 19, 1849, and located in Cass County, Missouri, expecting to begin the study of law with an uncle there; but the gold excitement of California drew him on as with a hurricane. May 7, 1850, he crossed the western line of the State of Missouri, his mind not full of adventure but of honest principle. Coming with an ox team, he met with the usual experiences of the route, and remained about eight days in Salt Lake City. The last 300 miles he came on foot, arriving at Georgetown, August 31, 1850. He began work in the American River mines at $7 a day, but worked only three days and a half when fever attacked him and held him to his bed for three weeks. Alone in a strange land and his means exhausted, not having even a "two-bit" piece with which to secure a scanty meal, he soon found a man with a heart that recognized his condition and took him in; but his exposure had caused a relapse and for nearly three years he was an invalid. He spent some time in a store as a clerk and book-keeper. In 1856 he went to Lake County, where he was engaged in farming until 1861; then he went to Yolo County and purchased a squatter's title, which he afterward sold, in 1863 for $400. Purchasing an outfit, he commenced teaming to the mines, and at the end of the first season he had $20 as the result of all his work! But with a remarkable degree of grit he continued in the same business the following season, and made sometimes as much as $100 a trip. In 1866 he put on another outfit and made as high as $700 a trip. From 1867 to 1876 he was engaged in running threshing-machines, in which business he was successful. In 1869 he took a contract to cut 900 acres of grain for $4,500. In 1870 he purchased his present property,-240 acres across three miles northeast of Winters,-upon which he built a large and elegant residence in 1887. He now has some 560 acres in Yolo County, on which he carries on general farming, and he also has some thirty-five acres in fruit. Thus, after the privations, failures and sickness already referred to, on his coming to California, we find him to-day enjoying prosperity in connection with a fine ranch and a comfortable home. He takes great interest in political affairs, but does not aspire to office, although he has often been asked,-even to fill some of the highest stations in the county and State. He voted at Murderer's Bar, at the first election held in California. He has been one of the School Trustees since 1862, and now nearly all the business in that relation is imposed upon him. He became identified with the Grange movement in 1873, in which he has taken a very active part. He is a large stock-holder in the warehouse at Winters, and also in the Bank of Winters, of which he has been vice-president since its organization. He is a member of Lodge No. 195, F. & A. M., of Dixon Chapter, No 48, R. A. M.; of Lodge No. 33, K. of P. at Winters, and for fourteen years of the I.O. G. T., of which he is now G. C. T. In 1857 he married Miss L. A. Sims, a native of Ohio, who was reared
in Virginia, and they have four children: George, Wilburn, Nora and
Fred. V. SLADE V. SLADE, a farmer near Winters, Yolo County, was born December 8, 1822, in Baltimore County, Maryland, a son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Pierce) Slade, natives of Maryland. The father, a farmer by occupation, remained a resident of that county until his death, which occurred in 1856; the mother died at the same place a few years later. Mr. Slade was brought up on a farm, working on the home place until he was thirty years of age. He then spent two years in Illinois as a farm laborer, and in 1859 he came overland by ox teams to California, the journey occupying the time from April to September. The first two years in this State he was in Solano County, and then for some time alternately in Solano and Yolo counties; and then he purchased land in Sonoma County, which he occupied for two years; then he sold out there, in 1875, and purchased his present property, three and a half miles east of Winters,. This is a very fine place; the residence is so situated that an observer there obtains a very fine view of all the country around. The farm comprises about 260 acres of choice bottom land, well set to vines and other fruits. He also raises a great many vegetables. He has packing sheds and all necessary equipments for carrying on the fruit business. He was married, in 1843, to Elizabeth Mathews, a native of Maryland,
and of their seven children two sons and three daughters are living. H. H. SLAVENS H.H. SLAVENS, a dry-goods merchant at Woodland, is the son of H. and Lydia (Goodman) Slavens. His father, a native of Kentucky, and a farmer and drover, died in Iowa in 1869; and his mother, born in Indiana, is still living in Ottumwa, Iowa. In 1855 Mr. Slavens, when seventeen years of age, came to California, landing first at Stockton, where he worked at odd jobs, mostly farm work, until he came in 1883 to Woodland, where he has since been successfully engaged in mercantile business. For several years he was on Main street; but the present year, 1890, he opened a dry-goods and clothing store opposite the old stand and near the Capital Hotel. The establishment is now known as the Star Clothing House, and they carry a large stock of fancy goods and are well known throughout the county. Mr. Slavens was married in 1881, to Emma Canion, who was born in Santa
Clara County, and their two children are: Harold, aged five years, and
Effie, one year. Hon. James Kerson SMITH Hon. James Kerson Smith, a grocer at Woodland, California, was born in Richmond, Virginia, June 10, 1831, son of William N. and Ann (Brown) Smith, who moved in 1839 from Virginia to Glasgow, Howard County, Missouri. The mother died in Virginia about 1833 or 1834, and the father survived until 1878, dying in Missouri. Mr. Smith was brought up in the latter State from the age of eight years to the age of nineteen. In 1850, with a party from his neighborhood, he started across the plains for California, arriving at Hangtown on the last day of August. He followed gold-mining, mostly in Nevada and Yuba counties, until 1868, when he came to Yolo County. While living in Nevada County he was elected to the Legislature, serving during the years 1857-'58, and while in Yuba County he was a member during the sessions of 1867-'68. On arriving in Woodland, Yolo County, he first engaged in furniture and undertaking for a number of years, and during that time served one term on the Board of Supervisors of this county, being elected in 1875. In 1880 he was elected County Clerk and served three years: on his election to this office he disposed of his furniture business. Being a candidate in 1883, he was defeated by M. O. Harling, the present county clerk. He then purchased the interest of C. B. Culver, who was in the grocery trade in partnership with T. S. Spaulding, and the firm became Smith & Spaulding. In 1885, having become a candidate, he was elected County Treasurer and served a term of two years; being renominated for the same position, he was defeated. He then bought the interest of M. O. Harling in the grocery firm of Harling, Frazer & Company. He is now a member of the Town Board of Trustees, having been elected in May, 1888, and is the only Republican member of the board. He has been a member of the Masonic order ever since 1854, and has been for the past three or four years the Masonic Inspector for the nineteenth district. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the A. O. U. W., in which latter order he is financier. Mr. Smith was married in 1859 at Nicholas, Sutter County, to Miss Abbie O. Gilman, a native of the State of Maine, but brought up in Illinois. She came to this State in 1854 with her brother-in-law, Dr. D. Ray, at one time a resident of Yolo County. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one son and five daughters. In 1887 Mr. Smith made a visit to his old home in Missouri, which after a lapse of thirty-seven years presented many remarkable changes, but the most extraordinary change witnessed on the trip was the difference in the mode of travel between the older States and the coast, the time being reduced from four or five months to as many days. During the Fraser River mining excitement, which began in 1858, Mr.
Smith was one of the many who repaired to that point, the journey being
exceedingly difficult. He went by steamer from San Francisco to Whatcom
on Puget Sound, and thence by pack animals crossing the Cascade Mountains.
At some of the points on the way he had to do considerable excavation
in order to make his road, being the pioneer over that route. It is
well known that nearly every one that went to that region returned without
finding anything of value. John H. SMITH The results of frugal saving of wages earned in the employ of others
eventually enabled Mr. Smith to invest in property for himself and during
1896 he became the owner of twenty acres in Willow Oak park, near Woodland,
since which purchase he has devoted his entire attention to the cultivation
and improvement of the ranch. The tract has been seeded down to alfalfa,
of which he has frequently cut six crops per annum, never cutting less
than five crops of the hay. It has been his experience that an alfalfa
ranch affords an exceptional opportunity for success in the dairy industry
and he still has his dairy, which, although small, is so well conducted
as to yield gratifying results. A family orchard adds to the value of
the property and furnishes an abundance of fruit for table use. John J. SMITH The proprietor of Alfa-Dune ranch in the Capay valley traces his lineage
to an old and honored family of Ireland, whose first representative
in America, Charles Smyth, first saw the light of day at Belfast in
County Antrim. During the early part of the nineteenth century he crossed
the ocean to Canada in company with a brother and settled near Kingston,
where his son, John, passed the greater part of his life. The spelling
of the name was changed to its present form during comparatively recent
years. Genealogical records show a Scotch lineage through some of the
ancestors and the evidence of Scotch blood has been manifest in the
traits of every generation, for they have been honorable in business,
religious in temperament and frugal in expenditures. At the same time
a considerable proportion of the family have possessed the wit and keen
sense of humor characteristic of the Irish race. |