Humboldt County Biography
Matthew Carroll
A prominent farmer and stockman in the vicinity of Arcata, Cal., Matthew Carroll has carved out for himself a farm from the forest land, where he now produces big crops on land which, when he first settled there, was mostly timber. He cleared the ground for farming, and still owns valuable timber land there, and has become known in that community as a liberal and public-spirited man, ready to help any project which has for its aim the upbuilding of the county where he has made his home.
On January 23, 1854, Mr. Carroll was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, the son of James, born in County Wicklow, Ireland, who came with his parents to Ontario at the age of five years, where he was educated in the local public schools, being engaged during the winters in logging in the woods, and purchasing property consisting of four hundred acres of raw land, which he cleared of beech and maple and improved for farming purposes. His wife was formerly Mary Rowley, a native of County Kildare, Ireland, who as a child removed with her parents to Ontario and is still living upon the old home farm in that province. Of her twelve children, only two are living, and Matthew Carroll was the second eldest in the family. He grew up on his father's farm, and attended the public schools of the vicinity, and at the age of sixteen years began logging in the woods with his father, driving ox-teams, etc., until over twenty years of age. In May, 1874, he came west to California, settling first at Eureka, in Humboldt County, where his knowledge of logging stood him in good stead, he being employed for about three years by Evans & McKay on Salmon Creek, being foreman of their road-builders. When this company failed, Mr. Carroll entered the employ of James Gannon at Arcata, as foreman and head road-builder, in which capacity he remained for a period of five years. In December, 1881, he made a return trip to his old home, the following January being married to Miss Bridget Whalen, a native of his home town, and daughter of Daniel Patrick Whalen, a pioneer farmer of the place. With his bride Mr. Carroll returned to Arcata in April, 1882, purchasing a small farm near that city, which he operated for three years, then selling it to homestead the present place. He began at once to improve his new property, cutting shingle and stave bolts, shipping the latter to San Francisco and selling the former to the shingle mill run by Harpst, Spring & Co. Having cleared this land, he purchased adjacent property, having now about three hundred seventy acres in all, of which one hundred fifty acres are cleared and under the plow, there still being about two hundred acres which are heavily timbered. Here Mr. Carroll engages in general farming, stock-raising and dairy business, milking a herd of seventeen cows, and besides raising cattle of Durham and Holstein strain, also engaging in the raising of fine horses. He is the owner of the English shire stallion Captain Tom, weighing fifteen hundred pounds, well known as a fine draft horse.
For about twelve years Mr. Carroll was a trustee of the Cedar Springs school district, and was one of the builders of the first school house in this vicinity, and continued as clerk and trustee of the school until turning over these offices to his son. In his political preferences he is a member of the Democratic Party. He is the father of eleven children, of whom the five youngest are at home with their parents: Mary, now Mrs. Thomas Dillon, of Eureka; James, who resides in San Francisco; Joseph; who lives in Arcata ; John, who died at the age of sixteen years ; Anna, a bookkeeper for the Humboldt Cooperage Co., Arcata ; ,Daniel, who lives in Montana ; Matthew, Peter, William, Oswald and Catherine.
History of Humboldt County California
History by Leigh H. Irvine: Historic Record Company
Los Angeles, Ca. 1915
Transcribed by: Martha A Crosley Graham
28 April 2006
Pages 1095 - 1144
Humboldt County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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