Monterey County Archives - Page 4 of 8

Biography of Edward B. Breschini of Blanco California

History of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, California Volume 2 Title Page

Breschini’s Emporium in Blanco, is one of the well known and thriving mercantile concerns of Monterey county. In 1888 John Breschini came from Switzerland and settled in central California. For several years he worked on dairy farms in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, and then bought a ranch near Blanco. In 1900 he gave a turkey shoot and raffle at his ranch, the first of its kind in this section of the state. Since then the annual event of this character is one of the “big doings” of the county. Frequently five thousand people are in attendance and from a … Read more

Biography of Joseph W. Hand of Carmel California

Decidedly among the most interesting, as unquestionably among the most honored of citizens of Carmel-by-the-Sea are Mr. and Mrs. Joseph W. Hand, of Ocean avenue, who have resided here so many years that they may well claim to be a part of the historic art colony. Mr. Hand was born at Lynn, Massachusetts, July 29, 1845, and in the still colorful days of ’61, he came west, and while yet a lad of eighteen, he was a pony express rider on a branch line that ran from Virginia City to Humboldt. He later met his “beloved Mollie,” who was then … Read more

Biography of Henry M. Claussen of Gonzales California

Henry M. Claussen, proprietor of the Alpine Dairy at Gonzales, was born at Point Reyes, Marin county, California, August 15, 1892, a son of Henry M. and Clara (Wallengren) Claussen. The father was a native of Schleswig-Holstein and the mother of Stockholm, Sweden. The subject of this sketch is the third to bear the name, his father and grandfather both having been christened Henry M. The Scandinavian countries have been celebrated in song and story for the skill and bravery of their sailors. The father became a sailor at an early age and when twenty-one held his certificate as master, … Read more

Biography of Henry Veach of Bradley California

Anyone who loves stories of adventure will be interested in this brief sketch of the life of Henry Veach, owner and proprietor of the “Zoo,” at Bradley, California. He was born on October 8, 1862, where the town of Thornton now stands. His father was a native of Ohio, and his mother was born in Missouri. In 1849 they came to California with an emigrant train, in which the wagons were drawn by oxen, being six months and six days on the journey. They first located at Placerville, but removed to the site of Thornton and later to Paraiso Springs, … Read more

Biography of William T. Kibbler of Carmel California

William T. Kibbler, the efficient and popular mayor of Carmel, living on Eighth street, near Ocean avenue, is a native of Boston, born May 12, 1856. There he attended both the grammar and the high schools, and afterward clerked in a drug store. In 1874 he came to the Pacific coast, settling in San Francisco, where he clerked in the drug store of Judson & Company. Then going to Los Angeles county, he engaged in wheat farming for four years. In 1885 Mr. Kibbler returned to San Francisco and established himself in business by opening a drug store at the … Read more

Biography of Luther R. Holman of Pacific Grove California

Californians have never failed to accord proper esteem and praise to those sturdy, progressive forerunners who did so much to lay the foundations broad and well for all who should come after, nor will the Golden state soon forget such men as the late Luther R. Holman, who passed away April 20, 1909. He was born at Underhill, Vermont, and there was educated. It was in the eventful year of 1850 that he first came to California, sailing around the Horn. He remained in San Francisco for some time and then returned east. On again coming to California he brought … Read more

Biography of W. F. Beasley of King City California

W. F. Beasley, veteran California hotel man is senior member of the firm of W. F. Beasley & Son, proprietors of the widely known popular Hotel el Camino Real in King City, Monterey county, pronounced by competent judges and the general run of the tourist population of this section of the state to be the most up-to-date and the best equipped hotel in the county. He is a native son of California and has been a resident of this state all his life, engaged in the hotel business since the days of his young manhood, for his father was one … Read more

Biography of Frank Ripley Prewitt of Soledad California

A few years before the Mexican war Green Prewitt of Mississippi left his home in that state as a young man, to ascertain what the great west might contain. After spending some time in Texas and the present state of Oklahoma, the war with Mexico came to an end and a large tract of country, including California, came into the possession of the United States by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. That same year found Mr. Prewitt in the new territory. The discovery of gold failed to excite him as it did thousands of others. He was in … Read more

Biography of Grant Stewart of Watsonville California

The experiences of life on the western frontier are thoroughly familiar to Grant Stewart, who followed mining and railroading in the early days and is now engaged in the cement contracting business at Watsonville. His activities along construction lines have brought him a wide acquaintance in northern California, and his is the record of a self-made man whose life from early boyhood has been one of unremitting industry. He was born March 18, 1868, in the old mining town of You Bet, high up in the Sierra mountains, in Nevada county, California. His father was one of the pioneer miners … Read more

Biography of John B. Hickman of Salinas California

John B. Hickman is the efficient and accommodating county horticultural commissioner of Monterey county, with headquarters at the Farm Advisor’s office, on Main street, Salinas. A native of England, he was born in Oxford, January 18, 1848, but was reared and educated in Buffalo, New York, his parents having come to the United States when he was three months old. In 1868 Mr. Hickman came to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He was locomotive engineer on the Central Pacific during the building of the road through Nevada, and he worked on the construction of the Sacramento Valley … Read more