Yolo County Biographies – H
[ HOME ] [ RETURN TO BIOGRAPHIES MENU ]|
James T. HADLEY James T. Hadley, a well-to-do farmer of Yolo county, and one of the best known and highest esteemed, was born in Clermont County, Ohio, October 26, 1835 and was but two years of age when his parents moved with him to Henry County, Illinois. In 1861 he came to California by water, landing at San Francisco January 14, 1862. Shortly he went up the Sacramento with his wife, two children and a sister-in-law, landing on the steps of the What Cheer House, when the ground was all under water. The next morning they started in a small boat across the country for Yolo. The swift current of the Sacramento was full of whirlpools and the oarsman failed to manage the boat. A fisherman near by saw the danger, hurried to their assistance and took the passengers back to Sacramento, except Mr. Hadley himself, who with the oarsman continued on their journey over fences and through orchards until they reached a barn belonging to the Gamble Brothers. After a few minutes rest they started out again, and the next point they reached was the Herald House, where they stopped over night. The next morning they reached Woodland, a very small place, and stopped over night, and the next day Mr. Hadley went on to Yolo, five and a half miles distant, but it seemed to him about twenty miles! Shortly after his arrival there he was engaged by C.S. White and George W, Park, and he was there employed until the fall of 1863. He then went to Cherokee Flat and followed mining there until 1864, when in May he returned to Yolo County. During the following February he visited Illinois with his family, and on returning purchased 160 acres of first-rate land in Yolo, and has since been a prosperous farmer and a favorite citizen. His parents were Harry and Sarah T. (Cooper) Hadley, the former a native of New York State and the latter of England. In 1857, in Illinois, Mr.Hadley was married to Miss Sarah A. Moore a native of Indiana, and they have five children: Lena M., William C., Julia E., Nellie E. and Walter P. Mrs. Hadley died in California in 1871, and June 11, 1874, Mr. Hadley was united in marriage, in Illinois, with Miss Addie Glissen, a native of Ohio, and by this marriage there was one child, Grace Lee. Julia died in 1881 and Walter P. was shot and killed March 24, 1889, probably by accident in taking a rifle from the shelf at his father's house when no one was a witness. He was a splendid specimen of young manhood, not only physically but also in qualities of heart and mind. He was born in Yolo County in the very house and in the very room where his handsome, manly form was laid out and prepared for burial. The afflicted family have the heartfelt sympathy of numberless friends in their great sorrow. Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,
Lewis Publishing Co., 1891 page 763 Charles Frank HADSALL The prominent citizen of Yolo county, Cal., whose name is above is
remembered as a man and as an official of the highest character, whose
record is dear to all who knew him. Charles Frank Hadsall was born April
3, 1869, at Wilmington, Will county, Ill., the only son of Frank and
Mercy Hadsall. The father died at Woodland, about 1900, the mother about
1890, and they lie at rest in Woodland cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Hadsall
came to Yolo county in 1879, when their son was about ten months old,
and the latter was educated in the Woodland grammar school and in the
Woodland Business College. Three months before the completion of the
course by his class in the latter institution he was offered by W. H.
Hampton a position in the Davis lumber yard. Mr. Hampton was manager
of the yard, and under his able and careful instruction for he took
a real interest in the young man Mr. Hadsall acquired his initial knowledge
of actual business. Here, as he had been at school, he was an apt pupil.
He was in the employ of Mr. Hampton until 1897, when he accepted an
appointment as deputy county clerk under Lane Duncan, who was then clerk
of Yolo county. Mr. Hadsall served as Mr. Duncan's deputy during the
last two years of the latter's first term, then was nominated on the
Republican ticket for county auditor and was elected and served four
years in that office. About the time of the expiration of his tern as
auditor he was nominated as county clerk, to succeed Mr. Duncan, and
was elected. In 1906 he was re-elected to the same office, and would
have completed his second term about two weeks after the date of his
death. He had decided to retire from official life in order to devote
his time entirely to his farm. As a citizen he had an impelling sense
of respect for every obligation, and in all his relations with his fellow
men he was just even to generosity and tolerant of the views of others.
As public official he was efficient, honest and painstaking. There was
no duty that he did not discharge with the utmost fidelity. He was not
affiliated with any church, but was an attendant upon the services of
the Methodist Episcopal Church South, of Woodland. Thomas HALL One of Madison's oldest and one of her best citizens is Thomas Hall.
He began life in Herkimer county, N. Y., October 6, 1828, and today
in Yolo county, Cal., his farthest past and his nearest present are
eighty-four years apart and the two places are separated by several
thousand miles of American continent. He lived in his native town until
he was fourteen years of age, when the family moved to Racine county,
Wis. Ten years afterward, in 1852, he found himself aboard a very crowded
steamer westward bound. The New Yorker landed in Yerba Buena (San Francisco)
safely and from there came on to Sacramento, where he went to work in
the spring of 1853. He began ranching on the river bottom, remaining
there until 1867, when he located on Cache creek near Madison, Yolo
county. There was plenty of land for the mere taking up and he took
up a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of government land, improving
his holdings and making additional purchases until he had four hundred
and fifty acres of land under high cultivation. There was not a tree
on the place. He set out groves and orchard, barnyard fences and buildings.
One fig tree now measures nine feet in circumference. George F. HAMEL Farming operations conducted upon an extensive scale form the basis
of the partnership existing between George F. and Henry J. Hamel, native-born
citizens of the Golden State of the west and members of a pioneer family
honorably associated with agricultural development and material upbuilding.
The property which came to them as an inheritance and which has been
increased through their own capable efforts yields to their keen supervision
an annual income that furnishes abundant proof of the fertility of the
soil as well as their own sagacious oversight. At this writing they
have charge of eleven hundred acres near Davis and two hundred and eighty-five
acres in the vicinity of Winters, the whole forming a vast tract whose
care and cultivation demands their diligent attention. Henry HAMEL Concede to be one of the largest land owners in the Davis section,
and ranking among its most able and highly respected citizens as well,
was the late Henry Hamel. He was born November 5, 1832, in Hesse-Cassel,
Kur-Hessen, Germany, where he received his education, later taking up
farming with his father. He continued this until he left the home land
for the United States, taking passage on the Harriet in May, 1851. His
parents, George and Elizabeth (Schneider) Hamel, were also native Teutons,
and among the foremost farmers of their vicinity. Upon arriving in New
York Henry Hamel proceeded at once to La Salle, Ill., where his brother
John had settled some years before, but in 1852 he came to California
as a gold seeker. Joining an ox-team train, he crossed the plains and
after five months reached Hangtown, later re-christened Placerville.
For a short period he tried his luck in the mines, but meeting with
indifferent success left this occupation and established a freighting
route embracing several mining camps, Sacramento being the supply station.
In 1862 he opened a meat market in Placerville and built up a large
business in that village. During his residence there he took an active
part in the local fire company, of which he was a charter member. After
a residence of five years in Placerville he disposed of his interests
there and located in Solano county, where he purchased land which he
improved and developed to farming and stock-raising. From time to time
he added to the original purchase until he finally had fourteen hundred
acres. His home was situated one-quarter mile south of Davis, in Solano
county, near the line of division, and his lands were included in both
Yolo and Solano counties. Though he devoted a portion of his estate
to agriculture, most of his attention was directed toward stock raising,
cattle dealers throughout the west considering his Durhams the best
of their type. Not without patient labor and keen foresight did he accomplish
the miracle which appears to the eye beholding the beauty and fertility
of the well-conducted farm, representative of the highest citizenship
of our country, and among his wide circle of acquaintances not one stands
forth to speak aught of the man who made the best of every opportunity
presented to him. David HAMILTON It was sixty-three years ago, on the 3rd of April, 1849, that twenty-nine men started from McDonough county, Ill., enroute to California. Of that party probably only two are now living, David Harris, now of San Francisco, and David Hamilton, the subject of this sketch. He was born December 25, 1825, at Rushville, Muskingum county, Ohio, the son of Alexander and Hannah (Gabriel) Hamilton, the former of Pennsylvania and the latter of Ohio. The father died in 1828 and the mother in 1840. Alexander and David were their only children. When he was quite young David went to Miami county, Ohio, where he learned the trade of blacksmith. In 1848 he located in Macomb, Ill., where he remained about a year, thence coming to California, as above mentioned. The trip was made overland with ox teams and required six months and was attended by many disagreeable features, which, however, were speedily forgotten by the travelers upon reaching their destination. From Shingle Springs, Cal., where the little company separated, Mr. Hamilton went to Coloma, where he mined a short time. In October he purchased an ample stock of living necessities and made his way to Amador county, Cal., where he spent the winter mining. The following March he again changed his residence to Calaveras county, and after two months took the trail for Sacramento, where he conducted a combination feed store and blacksmith shop. In October, 1850, he moved to Yolo county and took up his abode on a ranch three miles south of Knights Landing, and today he is one of the oldest living settlers in this county. Stock-raising was his next venture, but after two years he left his farm to engage in hauling freight from Colusa to the mines of Shasta. In the fall he returned to his ranch and continued operations there until the year 1857, when he again took up teaming between Davisville and Sacramento. One of the notable events of that summer was the hauling by Mr. Hamilton of a large threshing machine from Yolo county to Carson valley, Nev., ten mules being used, six for hauling the machine, and four for hauling the hops and feed. The trip was a success in spite of the hills and bad roads. This was the first threshing machine hauled into Nevada and Mr. Hamilton did the first threshing there that fall, pay at that time being every tenth bushel. Soon after this he sold his outfit and returned to his ranch. The winter of 1858-59 he spent at the Fraser river mines, this proving another wild-goose chase attended with much danger, three men of the party being killed in Indian fights. Mr. Hamilton returned to his farm in the spring of 1860. Mr. Hamilton's marriage occurred June 15, 1861, to Phoebe P. Brownell, who with her brother, W. W. Brownell, came to California from their native town, New Bedford, Mass., in 1857, via Panama. In 1862 Mr. Hamilton purchased a quarter section of land one and one-half miles west of Knights Landing, and for some years engaged in stock-raising and farming with great success, frequently adding to his land holdings, until he became the owner of four hundred acres of excellent land which he sold to great advantage in 1892. Woodland was the home of Mr. Hamilton for the next three years, when he bought a ten-acre tract one-third of a mile west of the city limits, where he has a large residence with the necessary improvements. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton, Eugenia Forest, passed away when seventeen and one-half years of age. Leaving bereft not only her parents, but her many friends as well. Her education had been carefully conducted, primarily at Knights Landing, and later at Mrs. Perry's Seminary in Sacramento. In December, 1909, Mrs. Hamilton followed her daughter "over the bar," leaving the husband and father to wait and hope for the reunion which will one day be theirs. Mr. Hamilton adheres to Republican principles and first voted for president in 1852. Broad-minded and sympathetic, he has always enjoyed many friends who attribute his success to his generous heart and his conscientious devotion to duty. Transcribed by Bea Barton Albert Johnson HANNUM One of the best known and most successful cattle dealers in Yolo county,
and an enterprising citizen as well, is Albert J. Hannum, of Woodland,
whose birth occurred near Cacheville, Yolo county, March 3, 1871. His
parents were Warren W. and Priscilla (Hill) Hannum. The father was a
school teacher in Moniteau county, Mo., until the gold excitement, when,
in 1850, he came west with ox-teams and experienced the usual features
of that long and wearisome journey across the plains. Settling in Placer
county, he mined for a time, and also served ably one term as sheriff
of that county, going thence to Yolo county, where he secured a grant
of land near Woodland. In 1854, however, he purchased a farm three miles
north of Cacheville, where he conducted a general farming business until
his death in 1885. He was a charter member of Cacheville Lodge, F. &
A. M., and in religion was a member of the Christian Church. His first
wife, formerly Eunice Mattier, left three children at her death, as
follows: Charles H., an immigration officer at Sumas, Wash.; Mattie,
Mrs. Mitchum, of Harrington, Wash.; and James A., who went to South
Africa to serve in the Boer war, this being the last that was heard
from him. In 1870 Mr. Hannum married Miss Priscilla Hill, a native of
Missouri, and the eldest of their three children is Albert J., the others
being Warren H., of Sebastopol, and William C., of Seattle, Wash. W. W. HANNUM W. W. Hannum, deceased, formerly a farmer near Cacheville, was born April 23, 1828, in Robertson County, Tennessee, a son of Miffin Mayppen and Nancy (Pitt) Hannum, natives of Tennessee. The senior Hannum was a farmer and remained in Tennessee until his death. Mr. Hannum, our subject, was brought up on a farm, and at the age of twenty-one years he went to Morgan County, Missouri, where he was employed most of the time as a farm hand until he came to California in 1850. He came overland, with ox teams, being about three months on the road. Until 1853 he followed gold mining in El Dorado County and vicinity, and then went down to the valley in Yolo County and commenced agricultural pursuits upon land he had purchased two miles from Cacheville. He sold this out and in 1879 rented land until his death, which occurred in 1885, when he was fifty-seven years of age. He was a member of Yolo Lodge, No. 81, F. & A. M., for twenty-six years. The mention of his name revives tender memories and kind recollections among all who were acquainted with him. August 18, 1857, he married Mrs. Eunice Mateer, a native of Illinois,
who died May 6, 1866. By that marriage there were four children, three
of whom are now living: Charles H., Martha E., wife of A. G. Mitchum,
and James A. Mr. Hannum was again married May 24, 1870, to Miss Priscilla
Hill, a native of Missouri, and by this marriage there were also four
children, namely: Albert S., Eunice C., Warren H.. and William C. After
the death of her husband, Mrs. Hannum came down into the valley and
purchased her present home, in 1887, consisting of twenty-eight acres,
two miles south of Woodland. It is principally devoted to the production
of alfalfa, which is here a very profitable crop. She also has a small
vineyard, and manages to support herself, with the aid of her children.
Their home is one which shows neatness and comfort. H. J. HANSEN Back to the period when authentic history is lost in traditional lore
the Hansen family lived in Denmark and followed the sea as sailors.
The geographical location of the peninsula where they were born and
reared attracted them to an ocean life as a means of livelihood, for,
brought up within the sound of the sea and familiar with sailors from
their earliest recollections, for generation after generation the men
of the family gave their preference to work on shipboard. Always starting
in very lowly capacities, some of them rose to be masters of vessels,
while others occupied more humble rank, yet filled their positions with
the same fearlessness characteristic of the higher officers. Nor was
Peter Hansen less brave than his progenitors, and many a time in his
seafaring expeditions he encountered great peril with calmness. Although
fond of the sea he was not averse to the quiet pursuits of the landsmen,
and when his ship rounded the Horn in an early day, a desire to see
the west led him to give up his work and join a throng of gold miners
in Trinity county. The mines not proving profitable, he removed to Butte
county and took up land near Chico, where he spent the remainder of
his life. After he settled in California he married Elizabeth Boydstun,
who was born in Arkansas, and crossed the plains with members of her
family at an early age. Joseph H. HARLAN Joseph H. Harlan, a farmer five miles southwest of Woodland, is one of the worthy citizens who have amassed a fortune by the cultivation of the soil, and stands at the front of the class. He was born May 9, 1829, in Boyle County, Kentucky, a son of George and Johanna (Hilm) Harlan, both natives also of that State. His father, a farmer, in 1853 moved to Cooper County, Missouri, and continued as a farmer and stock-raiser there until his death, in 1845, when he was about forty-seven years old. His wife died in 1852, at the age of fifty years. He brought up six sons and three daughters. Joseph H. was reared on his father's farm. At the age of twenty-one he struck out in the world for himself, working and trading, allowing no opportunity to make an honest dollar to escape. In 1853 he came to California, with ox teams and other livestock, being only three months on the road and the journey being pleasant. The train did not camp out twice in the same place. On arriving in this state, Mr. Harlan first stopped in Sierra County, on the head-waters of the Feather River, to recruit; he then was in Colusa County twelve months, and another twelve months in Butte County, where he had located to remain, but his claim was found to be a grant land, and he went to Solano County, having a similar experience; and in the autumn of 1860 he settled on 160 acres of Government land in the western portion of Yolo County, known as the Buckeye ranch. At that time the land was all a bare plain, visited by elk, antelope, deer and bands of Spanish cattle. In 1863 he moved again upon a ranch three miles and a half northwest of Woodland, where he remained until 1872, when he purchased his present place, five miles southwest of Woodland, where he built a handsome residence in 1873, and has a fine home. He owns 2,820 acres in Yolo County, on which he carries on general farming raises livestock; and he also has 1,800 acres in Fresno County, devoted also to general farming. Mr. Harlan is a practical farmer, a wide-awake citizen and a generous neighbor. He has given employment to many deserving men. He was married November 15, 1855, to Miss Grace H. Barnes, a native of Missouri. Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,
Lewis Publishing Co., 1891, Page 735 E. HARLEY a farmer of Yolo County, was born in 1815 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about thirty miles north of Philadelphia, where his parents also were born. The name Harley is English, and the first emigration to this country was that of a Mr. Harley who was an Englishman, and his wife, who was a German woman; and it is said that their descendents in this country now number 300. The father of the subject of this sketch changed his residence several times in Pennsylvania, and in 1827, probably, he moved to Stark County, Ohio, and several years afterward to Montgomery County, same State, and in 1840 to McLean County, Illinois, at which time he had six sons. In 1850 the youngest son, Aaron, and the subject of this sketch, in company with others, crossed the plains to California, with a mule team, stopping first at Diamond Spring, near Hangtown (now Placerville), August 9. Until the fall of 1851 Mr. Harley, our subject, was in the mines, and then with others settled in Yolo County, engaging in agricultural pursuits. At that time there were very few settlers in this region, and there was neither town nor village west of the Sacramento River in that county except Fremont, merely an initial point at the mouth of Feather River. Mr. Harley's first wife passed away in 1847. In 1877 Mr. Harley, for
his second wife, married Miss Powell, also a native of Pennsylvania,
and they have one son, nearly twelve years old. Their home is in a very
fine part of Yolo County, probably as good a section as any in the State. Emerson B. HARLEY A lapse of sixty-one years since the original identification of the
Harley family with Yolo county has witnessed a remarkable transformation
in the aspect of the region and a gratifying development of the native
resources. The founder of the family in this vicinity was an honored
pioneer, the late Elias Harley, a descendant of English and German ancestry
and the possessor of rugged qualities admirably qualifying him for the
difficult achievements demanded of a frontiersman. Born in Montgomery
county, Pa., in 1815, he followed the tide of migration toward the then
undeveloped regions of Mississippi valley and about 1840 took up land
in McLean county, Ill., where he made his home for ten years. Meanwhile
the death of his first wife in 1847 left him somewhat alone in the world
and thus in a position to respond to the call to the west coincident
with the discovery of gold. Micajah Oglesby HARLING M. O. Harling, County Clerk and Auditor of Yolo County, State of California,
was born in Monroe County, Kentucky, April 30, 1845, the son of Calvin
Harling and Eliza A. Harling (nee Welch) also natives of that State.
The Harling and Welch families came from North Carolina in 1797, settling
in Monroe County, Kentucky, about forty miles from Bowling Green, the
nearest town to their place of settlement. Mr. Harling's mother's family
were of Welch and Crawford ancestry, the latter of Scotch descent, and
the former of Welsh descent. Herbert E. HARRISON No decade has passed since the far-distant days of the discovery of
gold that has not witnessed a large influx into California of the sturdy
and energetic young men from the east, who, attracted to the western
coast through the opportunities here afforded, become integral factors
in local advancement and promote the enviable reputation enjoyed by
the commonwealth as a center of progress and prosperity. The men of
Yolo county have been no less patriotic and progressive than those in
other portions of the state, and it is to their development of natural
resources, aptitude in business, their integrity in action that the
county owes its wealth and prestige. In the attainments that form the
index of ideal citizenship, Herbert E. Harrison, the county assessor,
has not been surpassed by others associated with the local upbuilding,
and popularity among the voters is indicted by his long retention in
his present position. S. M. HARRIMAN a prominent citizen of Winters, was born April 30, 1814, in Kanawha
County, West Virginia, a son of John and Nancy (Morris) Harriman, both
of whom are also natives of Virginia. They trace their ancestry back
to Wales. One of the grandfathers was a pioneer of West Virginia, and
was in the noted battle of Point Pleasant. He was afterward shot off
his horse by Indians while sheriff of the county. John Harriman, the
father, was a farmer and lived and died on the same farm where he was
born. He was born April 29, 1790, and died July 18, 1840; his widow
died in 1865, in the same place; she was born January 7, 1791. Mr. S.
M. Harriman, our subject, was brought up on a farm. At the age of twenty-one
years he married Miss Eveline G. Spurlock, a native of Virginia, and
in the spring of 1839 he moved to Ray County, Missouri, where he remained
until 1861, engaged in farming and mercantile business. He then started
for California, with an ox team. On Raft River he and his party were
attacked by robbers, with whom they had a desperate battle for thirteen
hours, and they were finally overcome and robbed of everything. They
were then obliged to complete their journey to California on foot, arriving
at Sacramento September 19, 1861. He at once proceeded to Yolo County,
took up land and began farming in Buckeye Township; and this he improved
for twenty-two years, when he sold out and removed to Winters. At that
place he owns and rents considerable property. Mrs. Harriman died May
6, 1886, at the age of sixty-nine years and six months, leaving three
children: Thomas B., Nancy (wife of J. C. Campbell), and Nellie (wife
of John Hansford); and there were six others, now deceased. Mr. Harriman
is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Baptist Church, being
baptized as early as May 15, 1833. He was ordained in the ministry,
in Ray County, Missouri, in 1859, and filled the pulpit for over thirty
years in Missouri and California. At present he is living with his children,
a retired life. He preached the first series of sermons ever delivered
in Colorado, at Boulder City. He has been a very active man during his
life, and is still active. His residence is on Russell street, in the
enterprising town of Winters. Chester L. HATCH The American family of Hatch is of Welsh extraction. Two brothers of
the name came early to the American colonies. One of them married and
was the progenitor of the family, at least this is the statement of
one genealogist. Chester L. Hatch, of Woodland, Yolo county, was born
in Sacramento, a son of Roscoe G. Hatch and a grandson of Mark Hatch,
born in Washington, Me. Grandfather Hatch left the Pine Tree state in
September, 1849, on board the bark Gold Hunter and, rounding Cape Horn,
landed at San Francisco in March, 1850. By trade a contractor and builder,
he entered the employ of the United State government at barrack building
at Benicia and elsewhere in California, but after a time went to Slate
creek to try his luck as a miner, making the journey on horseback. On
the return trip to Maine in 1852, he took passage on a vessel bound
for the Isthmus, but in the course of the voyage the craft was wrecked.
However, Grandfather Hatch and others were saved, but were sequestered
on an island in mid-ocean, from which they were eventually rescued.
He was taken to Panama, whence he was soon able to return home. He wanted
to return to California, but his wife could not reconcile herself to
moving so far from her native Maine. He had a farm and bought a store
which he operated till 1857, when he sold out and came to California
by way of Panama, locating at Jenny Lind, Calaveras county. There Mr.
Hatch bought a farm, on which, in 1859, he was joined by his son, Roscoe
G. Meanwhile Grandfather Hatch continued contracting and building. His
first wife having died in Maine, he married Eliza Herold in 1861 and
was soon after joined by the remainder of his family. He lived at Virginia
City, Nev., in 1863 and 1864, then came back to Calaveras county. In
1867 he moved to Sacramento, where he was employed as a foreman of railroad
carpenters till he died, aged sixty-six years. Roscoe G. Hatch was born
in Noblesboro, Me., August 8, 1841, but was reared at Bangor and Charleston,
Me., where he attended the public school and the local academy until
he was seventeen years old. In 1859 he came to the Pacific coast by
way of the isthmus, landing at San Francisco, from the old boat Sonora,
March 2. He came to Calaveras county and ranched two years in the vicinity
of Jenny Lind. During the next two years he was employed by the Table
Mountain Water Company, then he bought an interest in the Bunty claim
and constructed a tunnel and mined there with success for five years.
After that we went to Sacramento, in 1866, and engaged in the grocery
trade on J street. He sold out two years later, however, and was for
five years employed in carpentering in railroad construction and repairs.
His next venture was the purchase of a ranch at Latrobe, Eldorado county,
which he devoted to grapes, horticulture, farming and stock-raising.
This ranch he sold ten years later, and in 1882 he bought property in
Woodland, where he brought his family in 1883. As a contractor and builder
he has been actively engaged in building and has erected many residences
in Woodland and vicinity. Associated with Chester L. Hatch, he has built
several houses which he still owns. George Pierce HATCHER Three generations of the Hatcher family have lived and labored in Yolo
county and are still contributors to the material upbuilding of the
region, the oldest generation having its representative in William Hatcher,
an honored pioneer of 1853 and still an influential citizen of the locality
he has assisted materially to promote. Probably none of the early settlers
enjoys conversing in regard to frontier happenings with a keener zest
than does this well-known pioneer. Possessing an excellent memory, he
has a large fund of incident pertaining to early times and can give
particulars with unusual accuracy. Seldom indeed is his splendid memory
found to be at fault, hence he is consulted often when any question
arises concerning the occurrences of the '50s. It is his proud claim
that he has raised one more crop in this county than any other man now
living here and it is also a matter of pride with him that he is still
living on the land where he first settled. It was here that he suffered
the hardships incident to transforming raw land into a productive estate.
Here he enjoyed the sociability of other days and the friendships of
other pioneers. On this farm he reared his children and trained them
to be useful members of society. The improvements bespeak his intelligent
labor and the cultivated land shows a keen supervision. William HATCHER This gentleman is an early resident of Yolo County, and one of its
representative wheat growers and stock raisers. He has lived a busy
and eventful life, experiencing many toils and hardships, but always
actuated by the manly resolve to make the most of every opportunity,
and to deal fairly by his fellow men. Mr. Hatcher was born February
6, 1828, in Sevier County, East Tennessee, and is the eldest son of
John and Eliza (Taylor) Hatcher. His parents were not wealthy as the
world regards wealth, but possessed what is better than lands or gold,
namely, rectitude of life and energy of purpose, traits of character
fully inherited by their son. They came from good family, also, the
father being English and German descent, and the mother of German and
Scotch ancestry. They were married April 15, 1827, and for two years
lived at Wear's Cove, where their son was born. Afterwards they moved
to Monroe County, Tennessee, among the Cherokee Indians, remaining there
four years. The next move was to Callaway County, Missouri, where they
arrived November 11, 1834. Here his father occupied a position as overseer
for Captain Boone, a nephew of the celebrated Daniel Boone. After a
residence there of three years, the family removed to the northern part
of Missouri, settling in what is now known as Linn County, but which
was then, inhabited by the Sioux Indians. There Mr. Hatcher grew up,
being brought up to the life of a farmer, but ready to turn his hand
to any kind of honest labor, and working at times at tanning leather,
making shoes, weaving, knitting, sewing, school teaching, etc. It was
at this period that he was married to his estimable wife, who has been
a true partner in all his ups and downs, and is now peacefully enjoying
the evening of life with her worthy husband, and surrounded by children
and grandchildren. Her maiden name was Sarah Frances Mullins, and she
was born in Howard County, Missouri. Her grandfather, Thomas Rawlings,
settled in Missouri at an early day, and was well known throughout the
west as "Old Uncle Tommy." Mr. Hatcher married his wife March
27, 1849. They continued to live in Missouri until the spring of 1852.
They determined to set out for California, setting out with ox teams
upon the long, hard journey across the plains on April 20th of that
year. They had one child with them, Columbus W., now a man of forty
years of age, residing on a farm of his own of eighty acres adjoining
that of his father. He himself is the father of three children, one
boy and two girls. The family arrived in Amador County after the tedious
trip, on the first day of September. They had made the journey by the
central route, and Mr. Hatcher had been much impressed by the beauty
and possibilities of the country through which he passed, and resolved
to become the owner of some of its fertile soil, but like most of the
early pioneers he must first take a turn in the fascinating lottery
of hunting for gold in Nature's rock-bound repositories. Accordingly
he went mining in Amador County, and for six months spent in that employment
returned from the scene the richer by $150. In the spring of 1853, Mr.
Hatcher went to gardening with good success, and coming to Yolo County
on September 5, 1853, he bought for $750 the magnificent property where
he still resides. When he located there thirty-six years ago, there
were only fourteen women between his place and the town of Washington,
opposite Sacramento, and just children enough to organize a small school.
He was a prime mover in putting up the first small school building in
that large section, where are now flourishing high schools and colleges.
Mr. Hatcher's ranch is a fine tract of 200 acres, devoted chiefly to
the raising of grain and stock. Mr. Hatcher has had seven children,
of whom four are living. The names of those living are: Columbus W.,
Hannah, now the wife of J.D. McLeod; George Pierce and Asa B. Of those
deceased: Mary E., John D., and Nancy H., wife of J.T. Nimmo. Mr. .Hatcher
has also six grandchildren, four boys and two girls. George P. has two
sons, and Nancy H. one. Hon. Nicholas A. HAWKINS The genealogical records indicate that the Hawkins family became established
in Virginia during the colonial era of our national history. Following
the example of so many pioneer Virginians, who crossed the mountains
to found homes in the beautiful "blue-grass" country of Kentucky,
Thomas Hawkins took up government land in the vicinity of Lexington
and aided in the development of that picturesque region. The next generation
was represented by Nicholas, born on the plantation near Lexington,
and reared in the same locality. Through his personal fearlessness in
hardships, he established the family still further beyond the then confines
of civilization. Taking up government land in Marion county, Mo., he
engaged in tilling the soil there for fifteen years. Subsequently he
spent five years as a farmer in Crawford county, the same state. George HAYES One of the earliest pioneers of Yolo county, having been identified
with the development of that section for the past thirty-eight years,
Mr. Hayes fully merits the esteem and prosperity which he enjoys today,
his name being synonymous with courage and honor. A native of Illinois,
he was born in October, 1855, near St. Louis, Mo., where he remained
with his parents until he came to Yolo county. Here he first engaged
in farming, in connection with which he successfully conducted a genera
wood business. Subsequently he was joined by his father, a wheelwright
by occupation. Eli HAYS One of the best known and highly respected citizens of Yolo county
was Eli Hays, who was born October 7, 1835, in Kentucky and died October
6, 1897, on his ranch in Yolo county. In 1856 he crossed the plains
with ox-teams, experiencing many adventures with the Indians, and located
in Yolo county, where he purchased a quarter section of land five miles
south of Woodland and engaged in farming and stock raising. To this
he added from time to time until he had six hundred and forty acres
in a body. His father, Jacob Hays, was a native of Virginia, but lived
for a time in Kentucky, before going to Missouri, where he operated
a grain and stock farm. In 1865, after the death of his wife, Nancy
(Good) Hays, who was a Kentuckian, Mr. Hays took his children to Oregon,
where they lived about a year in the Williamette valley. In 1866 they
drove south over the mountains to Yolo county, where Eli Hays was already
well established. Securing a farm of three hundred and forty acres,
Mr. Hays again resumed agricultural pursuits, also dealing in stock.
All of his nine children grew to maturity, but only one daughter is
now living, Mrs. Jane Enyart of Woodland. William HAYS WILLIAM HAYS, a prominent farmer near Madison, Yolo County, was born in Monroe County, Kentucky, in 1838. His father Jacob Hays, was all his life a farmer, and is still living, in Woodland; and his mother, whose maiden name was Nancy Rhiraid, died in Davis County, Missouri, whither the family had moved in 1847. In 1855 Mr. Hays went to Iowa, remaining there ten months and then started for California without a dollar, working his way through by driving cattle, and reaching Sacramento in September, 1856. He at once went to Sonoma County and worked at odd jobs for a year, and similarly in other counties until 1860, by which time he had two horses. He then rented a piece of good farming land in Yolo County, and cultivated it until 1868, when he came to the place where he now resides, three miles west of Madison, and where he has 620 acres of well-improved land and raises grain and livestock; has some very fine horses. He was first married in Yolo County in 1867, to Miss Albinia Cloyed,
and they had four children, all of whom are living. By his second marriage
Mr. Hays was united with Miss Melissa White, in Yolo County, in 1878,
and they have had one child, now deceased. The children living are Albertie
and Albert, twins, Alice G. and Inowa N. Mr. Hays is a member of Madison
Lodge, No. 135, F. & A.M. G. H. HECKE It is to men of superior ability and scientific knowledge that the
various horticultural sections of California owe their present prosperous
condition and wonderful state of development, and in particular is Yolo
county fortunately and scientifically equipped in her horticultural
commissioner, G. H. Hecke. This busy and useful official was born in
Hamburg, Germany, where after leaving the high school of his native
city he was employed several years in a large nursery. He left that
establishment to enter a German agricultural college, in which he took
a course in horticulture and viticulture. After a year of study and
practical work in France he further fitted himself for his chosen profession
by special study at the Royal Botanical Gardens, at Kew, near London,
England, where he remained two years (1890-91). This is the only government
institution of its kind in England, and its graduates supply the British
colonies with trained horticulturists. After passing his examinations
Mr. Hecke looked around for a location and chose the Pacific coast country
as a fair field for future operations and selected California as the
most suitable district for his purpose. Accordingly he arrived here
in 1892 and entered the employ of the Kern County Land Company at Bakersfield.
The next year he decided to seek a more desirable field for his special
experiments and found it in Yolo county, where he accepted a position
on the Byron Jackson ranch two miles south of Woodland. In the course
of time Mr. Hecke became the owner of this beautiful ranch. Under his
intelligent and careful management it could not be other than what it
is a rare garden of plant, vine and tree and one of the show places
of Central California. Within its limits are a raisin vineyard of eighty
acres, a prune orchard of fifty acres and an apricot and olive orchard
of about twenty acres. "The Yolanda" is the fitting and poetical
name Mr. Hecke has given his home, and its one hundred an sixty acres
of park-like cultivation and arrangement could not have been more appropriately
named. The ranch is adorned with a beautiful residence, in perfect keeping
with the place, and has drying houses, packing houses, stables and other
necessary buildings. Here its cultured owner lives and gathers the plant
products of a wonderful farm. A two-hundred acre tract near Esparto,
also belonging to this estate, is devoted to the cultivation of grain
and alfalfa. In a county of such agricultural possibilities as Yolo
it is no wonder that within its territory a grower like this trained
horticulturist has found his natural field. Lorenz HEINZ (#2) Lorenz Heinz, a farmer northwest of Davisville, in Yolo County, was born January 9, 1828, in the Kingdom of Wirtemberg, Germany, a son of Franz and Margaret Heinz, natives of Germany. He was brought up on a farm in the old country; his father being a blacksmith he learned the same trade, and at the age of twenty, being the only son and his father over sixty years old, he was exempt from further army service. In 1849 he sailed from France to America on the vessel Havre, and was thirty-six days on the voyage. Landing at New York he remained there for a short time and went to Philadelphia, and engaged at farm work near by in Chester County, in the employ of a man named Robert Brown, for one year at $87. He then was employed at his trade, blacksmithing and boiler-making, in Philadelphia until the fall of 1852, when he sailed from New York on the steamer Uncle Sam for California, by way of the Isthmus, on the Pacific side taking the steamer Cortez, and landing in San Francisco January 6, 1853. In that strange city he endeavored to find employment for a month, but in vain, and as he was without means he became sadly discouraged. Board was $13 a week, even for the plainest kind. At length he obtained a position in a manufactory of iron doors and shutters, at $5 a day; but in a month he concluded to go with some friends to Australia and gave up his situation; but the trip was given up and his occupation gone. He went to Sacramento and then started to the mines near Colusa on a steamer, which broke a shaft on the way, and while it was lying to for repairs Mr. Heinz met some miners returning who gave discouraging accounts. He returned again to Sacramento, heart-sick and discouraged. He went to the mines again, only to meet further discouragement, and even opposition. After hunting around for some time for employment, he was engaged by Wallace Barnes, at $50 a month, and he worked for him six months, but never received a cent of money for it! Next he engaged in a manufactory of iron doors and shutters at Sacramento; next in a vegetable garden for Mr. Muldrow until spring, when he again went to Sacramento and engaged in the manufacture of iron doors and shutters for Radcliff & Company. Thus he was employed until the fall of 1854, by which time he had accumulated about $400. Placing this in the bank, he struck out for the mines at Iowa Hill, where he worked for awhile, only for poor returns. In the spring of 1855 he went again to Sacramento, only to find that the bank had failed and all his hard-earned money gone! This almost uninterrupted series of disasters were enough to drive any common man insane, but Mr. Heinz still held up his head, and hired himself to a Yolo County man named Alexander Manor for the summer. He worked for various parties until the fall of 1860, when he with a band of sheep, located where he now lives, upon a half section of land, which he obtained of a squatter, at a cost of $800; and three years later he bought it a second time with school warrants of the State of California. He has, however, continued courageously on until long since he has made a fine home. His farm is one of the best kept in that section of the county, and comprises 337 acres. What an example we have, in the sketch of such a noble citizen, of patience and perseverance! Mr. Heinz was married December, 1862, to Miss Caroline Weimer, and
they had two sons - Charley and Theodore. Mr. Heinz was married again
in the fall of 1871, to Miss Lucia Kuehnel, a native of Germany, and
they have three children, namely, Julia, August J. and Lucia. Lorenz HEINZ (#2) An example of fortitude amid discouragements is afforded by the career
of the late Lorenz Heinz. The pathway of his early years was rugged
and thorn-strewn. Had he been easily depressed the weary obstacles between
him and success would have daunted his courage. With a youth's bright
hope for the future he had come to the new world, only to find little
to encourage him in his early prospects. Still optimistic of the future,
he had sought the far west and here he found employment difficult to
secure, wages sometimes held back from him and eventually, when he had
accumulated a little capital by the most arduous exertion, the bank
failed in which he had deposited his precious earnings. Notwithstanding
these hardships and many other discouraging circumstances, he exhibited
a tireless patience and an unflagging perseverance and in the end he
worked his way out of difficulties into independence. George W. HEMENWAY Postmaster at Winters, Yolo County, is a son of Henry B. and Eunice (Guild) Hemenway, the former, a native of Massachusetts, born in 1813, and died March 17, 1875; the latter, born in 1815, in Vermont, is still living in Wheaton, Illinois. George was born at Wayne, Illinois, thirty miles west of Chicago, June 17, 1842; graduated at the Commercial College at Wheaton, learned the trade of printer, and from the age of twenty-seven years to about thirty-six years he was a book-keeper in Chicago. In 1877 he moved to Lyon County, Kansas, and purchased a farm of 240 acres, which he improved until 1887, when he came direct to his present place of residence. On coming to California, he did not dispose of his Kansas farm, lest he might wish to return to it; but he is more than pleased with the Golden State, and his intention is to remain at Winters, where he has purchased a fine home and two stores occupied by A. Hazelrigg. He is at present Postmaster of the village, and ere this sketch is printed he will have established also a stationery store. In 1869, in Chicago, he was united in matrimony with Anna P. Filer,
a native of Illinois, and they have five children: Walter, born in 1817;
Ella, 1873; Fred, 1875; Harvey, 1879; Jessie, 1887. Hiram HENIGAN The present efficient recorder of Yolo county, Cal., Hiram Henigan,
of Woodland, was born near Massena, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., June
20, 1876, and when but seven years old accompanied his parents, Eli
and Eliza (Miller) Henigan, to California. The family located in Woodland,
where the father died four years later. The mother reared the children,
fitting them as well as she was able for the duties and responsibilities
of the best citizenship, and lived in the old home until her death,
which occurred March 7, 1911. F. N. HENRICK F. N. Henrick, proprietor of a packing house and manufacturer of ice
at Madison, Yolo County, is one of the enterprising and leading business
men of that county. Hard work and good management have brought him to
his present business standing and financial status. He was born in Cziernach,
Germany, March 17, 1848, the son of Philip F. and Barbara (Fredner)
Henrick, natives of the same town; his father was born in November,
1817, was a butcher by trade and dealer in live-stock, and finally died
in his native country, in 1859. His wife, born May 11, 1822, is still
living, at the old home. The genealogy of the family is traceable back
for three centuries, in Cziernach. Jacob HENRY Jacob Henry, late a prosperous farmer of Capay Valley, Yolo County, was born March 13, 1818, in Fairfield, Ohio, a son of John and Elizabeth (Wykerd) Henry, both natives of Pennsylvania, who moved to Virginia and then to Ohio, where the father died; the mother died in Michigan. At the age of eight years young Henry was "bound out" to Samuel Trexell until he was seventeen years of age. He then went to Wayne County, Indiana, was there two years, and then worked two years for his brother, John H., in Montgomery County, Ohio, then they moved to Indiana and continued together two years longer; then Jacob and a younger brother, Joseph H., went to farming for themselves. Two years afterward they bought 280 acres, which they cultivated together for sixteen years. Jacob then disposed of his interest and bought 120 acres in Illinois, which he occupied and cultivated until 1875, when he sold out and came to California. He bought a place in Capay Valley, which now contains seventy-six acres and constitutes a pretty little home. He was married in Michigan, April 26,1849, To Miss Caroline Conradt,
a native of Germany, and they have eight children, namely: Emeline,
born August 3, 1850, now the wife of H. H. Smith; George W., born August
30, 1852; Mary, born February 21, 1857, and now the wife of J. C. Duncan;
Andrew J., born March 12, 1854; Schuyler C., born June 7, 1859; William
A., September 30, 1868; Ira M., April 1, 1870; Alma V., born October
13, 1862, is now Mrs. R. B. Cranston. Mr. Henry died in 1890. MRS. MARY DEXTER-HENSHALL See: Mary Dexter-Henshall in the "D" section. Cyriak HERMLE Through years of identification with Yolo county, to the development
of which he has contributed materially, Mr. Hermle has become well known
as a man of unquestioned honor and enterprising spirit, his good judgment
and rare business ability having placed him among the most influential
citizens of Woodland. Hon. David N. HERSHEY (#1) During the half century with which he was identified with the history
of Yolo county Mr. Hershey held an influential position as a farmer,
cattle-raiser, land-owner, banker and public official, his versatile
talents enabling him to successfully carry forward interests of a widely
different nature. By virtue of his recognized ability he was called
from the quiet life of the agriculturist into the busy career of a man
of public affairs; and, as he had been progressive and prosperous in
the one calling, so he proved himself equal to every responsibility
awaiting him in the field of finance, in the management of large properties
and in the service of the people. |