Obituaries - Thompson & West History 1883

JAMES VAN NESS
Pages 381-382
Life is indeed an impenetrable secret. We see it in
all its outward phases, with its hum and noise and
unrest, and even in its contemplative mood, ever
wandering on the extreme and slippery edge of a prec-
ipice, beetling over the dark, unfathomable gulf of
death. It pursues its course utterly heedless of the
manifold dangers with which it is momentarily environed,
until it hears the splash and death wail, which seems for
an instant only to arrest its attention, and to cause it to
reflect upon the slight and gossamer-like tenure of its
existence.

The subject of the present article, who but a few days
ago walked among us in the full enjoyment of all his
faculties, is now no more. He died in San Luis Obispo
on the 28th day of December, 1872, in the sixty-fifth year
of his age. He was born in Vermont, of which State
his father was Governor, and afterwards, under the
administrations of Madison and Monroe, United States
Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain.

James Van Ness entered Yale at an early age, and
graduated when he was only nineteen. After leaving
college, he emigrated South, and attended, during two
sessions, the law school of the celebrated Judge Tucker,
at Winchester, Virginia. Among his fellow-students
were J. M. Mason, Henry A. Wise, Chas. J. Falkner,
and Uriah Wright. He was admitted to the Bar of
Virginia in 1828, and during the same year went to
Georgia, and engaged in the practice of law. He sub-
sequently practiced at Montgomery, Alabama, whence
he removed to New Orleans, where he was engaged in
editing the Picayune.

In 1849 he came to California, and settled in San
Francisco. In 1854 he was elected Supervisor from the
Eighth Ward, when he introduced the celebrated Ordi-
nance which bears his name. And in 1856, his friends,
recognizing his eminent administrative capacity, gave
him the nomination for Mayor of San Francisco, to
which office he was elected. In 1861 he came to this
county, to pass, as he observed to his friends, the
remainder of his days in the quiet, unostentatious retire-
ment of a country life, but at their earnest solicitation,
in 1871, he consented to enter the canvass for the unex-
pired Senatorial term of Lieutenant-Governor Pacheco,
and was elected State Senator from this district by an
unprecedented majority.

There is an awful sublimity about death which almost
hallows it in the eyes of mankind. It commands the
respect and awe of the entire world. Let its victim be
of high or low degree, we can never feel indifferent,
never wholly withdraw our attention from the most
noticeable, if not the most momentous, epoch in the
life of man. It is the scene in the drama of life which
we contemplate with greatest interest, as being the point
reached whence to mortal eyes there is no beyond.
Hence it is that during the life of an individual we
bestow, generally, only passing glances at his career, but
when he disappears forever we then revert back, and are
apt to review his past life through all the changeful
periods of his existence with a more critical eye, and to
consider it as a whole, in short, as a completed work,
with its acts and scenes systematically arranged.

James Van Ness had almost reached man's allotted
time. He died, we may say full of years, honored by
his friends and respected by his foes.
He performed well his part in life, and has left the
impress of his genius in his writings, and in the legisla-
tion which he accomplished, whether for San Francisco,
this county, or the State at large.

Previous to the passing of the Van Ness Ordinance,
the question in regard to the proper disposition, by the
city of San Francisco, of its pueblo, or outside lands,
gave rise to much debate and great acrimony of feeling.
Some of the settlers upon these lands claimed pre-emp-
tion rights; others again contested the validity of such
claims, so that these disputes often led to acts of vio-
lence and bloodshed amongst themselves, and at times
they were even arrayed in hostile attitude against the
authorities. At this juncture the Van Ness Ordinance
was introduced, which regulated the disposition, by the
city, of the pueblo lands, and also recognized the equi-
table rights of the actual settlers then upon them.

The principles laid down in the Ordinance by its
author were subsequently admitted tobe correct by the
action of the Legislature of the State, and also received
the approval of the Congress of the United States.

He possessed an original but an eminently practical
mind, and the perspicuity of his reasoning upon difficult
questions was remarkable. Unhappily, his views of
human nature were too often directed to its dark side,
which frequently led him into serious errors of judg-
ment, in spite of his fine discriminative qualities, which he
so clearly exhibited in his delineations of character when
he gave his mind its full scope. He had strong preju-
dices, but was a man of high and generous spirit. And
admitting, as we must do, that his attachments were few,
they were remarkably lasting. Nay, even to his declared
enemies, he was not vindictive. And if we cannot con-
cede to him in its full measure the virtue to forgive,
nevertheless he frequently treated his bitterest opponents
with great magnanimity. Doubtless the clearest view of
his character was obtained by observing the natural play
of his mind in the ordinary walks of life. Possessing
unaffected felicity of expression, his brilliant description
of men and things of his time, his clear comprehension
of universal truths, the acuteness and refinement of his
reasoning, the keen shafts he would playfully throw out
at intervals, gave to his conversation a peculiar charm.
He was without vanity, and the principles of charity and
kindness were deeply imbedded in his nature, and were
frequently manifested in his general intercourse with
society, and more particularly with his inferiors. To the
assemblage of so many natural gifts in one mind, it
might have been reasonably expected that ambition
would have entered. But such was not the case. He
seemed to have been entirely devoid of the desire for
distinction, as the public offices which he filled with so
much credit were thrust upon him by the persistive
importunity of his friends. He rejoiced when their
terms expired, and returned to the shades of private life,
which he loved so well.

The evening of his life was reached in the place of
his own selection, and he passed away from earth quietly
and apparently without the sensation of pain.

Don Ricardo Durazo died in San Luis Obispo of heart
disease, August 6, 1869, aged thirty-nine years. He was a native of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, came to California in 1849, and was a resident of this county since 1854. Senor Durazo was known as an upright, industrious and honorable citizen, and was highly respected by all classes of people. .

Mrs. James Mathews died at her residence near Cambria August 6, 1869, aged sixty-eight years. This lady was one of the pioneer settlers of that region, and was much esteemed by all who knew her.

After a long illness, caused by child-birth, Joseta
Amesquita de Bosquiz, wife of Don Jose Amesquita de Bosquiz, and mother of twenty-one children, died January 5, 1869. Both she and her husband were good and estimable people.

On February 23, 1869, Dr. J. W. Frame died of
diphtheria. Dr. Frame was a native of Scotland. He
was a thoroughly educated professional man, and a resident and practicing physician in the town of Cambria, from which place he was known as the correspondent of the San Luis Obispo Pioneer. He had many warm friends who sincerely regretted his untimely end.

James Mathers died of old age on the 6th of April,
1870 at his rancho near Cambria. The deceased was
an old pioneer of California, and was a twelve-year resi-
dent of San Luis Obispo County. He was born on
March 15, 1790, emigrated from the State of New York
in 1819, and settled in Elkhart County, Indiana; thence re-moved to Will County, Illinois, in 1832, and from thence came to California in 1846, settling in Santa Clara
County, whence he removed to this county in 1858.
Mr. Mathers was an honest man, a good neighbor, and
an excellent citizen.

At the Cayucos on the 2ist of April, Dona Serafina
Espinosa de Villavicencio died, aged eighty-nine years. This old lady was the mother of Mrs. Pico, Rafael Villa, Jose Antonio Villa, Isador Villa, Joso Maria Villa, of the Corral de Piedra. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren would form a sufficient number to populate a village. She was born at the Mission Dolores in 1781. The cause of her death was old age, and she
passed away quietly and suddenly, without pain and
without fears. She was a good woman.

In December, 1873, James Wilks Gaylord died. He
was a member of San Simeon Lodge, which placed on
record expressions of appreciation of his many virtues, deploring the loss of a beloved brother with feelings of
sincere regret, softened only by the confident hope that
his spirit departed from its earthly tabernacle to the mys-
tic lights of the Grand Lodge above, to participate in the
companionship of those who, having fought the good
fight here below, are enjoying their reward. In token of
esteem, the lodge was draped in mourning for thirty
days.

In San Luis Obispo on February l0th of consumption,
Jose de la Guerra died, aged eighty-six years. The
deceased had been ailing for many years, and was an
old man of pleasing and affable demeanor and of good
feeling. We do not believe that he had a single enemy
in the county. He was formerly Sheriff of the county
of Santa Barbara. Few men of his age left a larger
circle of sincere friends to mourn his loss.

On the 12th of February, 1872, Mrs. Mary Rector died
at Old Creek, aged ninety-two years. The subject of the
above notice was born in the county of Marion, State
of Virginia, in the year 1780. She came to California
in 1857. During a life of nearly one hundred years, she
enjoyed uninterrupted good health, having had no sick-
ness of any consequence during that long period.
She was the mother of W. Rector, a resident of this
county, and the grandmother of the wife of a fellow-
townsman, Henry Francis. She is the mother of nine
children. Her life was not terminated by sickness, but
nature had become worn out, and the old lady passed
away as quietly as if she were falling asleep. The friends
of the deceased returned their sincere thanks to the Rev.
A. B. Spoons for his kind and faithful services and at-
tendance during the funeral.

Page 382

John M. Pierce died at the Osos Rancho on the 2ist
of September, 1878, in his eighty-second year. Mr.
Pierce was born in Rappahannock County, Virginia, in
the year 1797. He removed to Missouri in 1837, where
he remained until 1869, at which time he came to Cali-
fornia. He came to San Luis Obispo County in 1876.

John Scott
The Bar of any county seldom has an abler member
than the gentleman whose name heads tins paragraph.
Mr. Scott was a native of Virginia, born in Fanquier
County in 1845. In 1880 he came to San Luis Obispo
and entered into the practice of his profession in company
with Judge Venable. He was already afflicted with
symptoms of consumption and sought this mild climate
in hopes of relief from the dread disease. He died
November 6, 1882, at the residence of Judge Venable,
receiving the unremitting and kindest attention of the
family of his devoted friend to the last. A meeting of
the Bar was held and the following resolutions were
adopted:-

WHEREAS, It has pleased an All-wise Providence to
take from us, by death, our late brother, John Scott, Esq.,
a member of the Bar of this county and State, we, the
members of the Bar of San Luis Obispo County, Cali-
fornia, now assembled in tlie Court House of said county,
for the purpose of taking some action in the commemora-
tion of and respect to the character and memory of our
deceased brother, do now

Resolve, That we have learned with unfeigned grief of
the death of our late brother, John Scott, Esq., of San
Luis Obispo, a member of the Bar of California, who
departed this life in the city of San Luis Obispo on the
6th inst. at 11 o'clock p. M., at the early age of thirty-
seven years.

Resolved, That we shall ever cherish the memory of
our deceased brother as a gentleman in the largest and
fullest sense of the word; as a man imbued with the
highest attributes of our nature; as a lawyer of unblem-
ished character and reputation, possessed of a clear
logical mind of great force and quickness, whose law
scholarship in our opinion has rarely ever been excelled in
our State by one so young in years.

Resolved, That we, as members of the same noble pro-
fession, with and daily associates of our late brother,
recognize the great and irreparable loss the community
has sustained by his untimely end, and we profoundly
sympathize with the different members of the family of
the deceased, whose keener and more crushing sorrow it
has been to lose him from their midst and companion-
ship.

Resolved, That the Chairman and Secretary cause these
resolutions to be suitably engrossed, and when signed by
them to be forwarded to the family of deceased.
Resolved, That another copy of these resolutions be
presented by tlie Chairman of this meeting to the
Superior Court of this county at its next session, with a
request that they be spread upon the minutes of that
tribunal.

Page 385

In Cambria, May 7, 1879, Gen. Edward Cole died,
aged eighty-seven years. His whole life, both civil and
military, was one of self-denial, benevolence, integrity,
and moral worth. General Cole was born in Washington
County, New York, December 22, 1793. He was of
Scotch and Welsh parentage, and a direct descendant of Robert Bruce. At the age of twelve he entered
enthusiastically into the study of military "tactics, and
when but eighteen years of age was commissioned Lieu-
tenant of a company in the 150th N. Y. Infantry, for
bravery in the four days' battle of Lake Champlain, in
1814, in which the British were so disastrously defeated.
He was made Captain of an Artillery Company, after
this, for the faithful discharge of duties In 1824 he
fitted out a company at his own expense, to receive
Lafayette on his visit to .this country, at which time the
Marquis was privately entertained at the house of
General Cole. At the breaking out of the war with
Mexico he was commissioned Adjutant of the 4th
Indiana Regulars. He was afterwards placed in com-
mand of the arsenal at Keokuk, Iowa, where he remained
until the close of the war. He became a member of the
Masonic Fraternity in 1816, and remained in good
standing to the time of his death. While in Keokuk he
was for twelve years City Recorder and Police Judge,
and held the same position in Petaluma for a number of
years. Of his family of nine children, Mrs. M. E. Ivins,
of Cambria, is the only one living. His whole life, both
civil and military, was one of self-denial, and the testi-
mony of his friends shows his great benevolence, integrity, and moral worth.

On Paso de Robles Ranch, San Luis Obispo County,
on the 23d of April, 1879, I. H. Fine died, aged fifty-
eight years. Mr. Fine was a native of Kentucky. He
came to California in 1846, and to San Luis Obispo
County in 1870, where he resided until the time of his
death. He was highly respected by all who knew him.

Joseph Zumwalt, of the well-known Zumwalt ranch
near the San Juan, was accidentally killed at Kern Island,
Kern County, on the 14th of August, 1878, by his horse
falling upon him. Mr. Zumwalt was a native of Illinois,
and was a resident of San Luis Obispo County for nine
years preceding his death, during which time he was held
in the highest respect by all who knew him.

Valentine Gaxiola, a native of California and a veteran
of the Mexican War, died suddenly of heart disease in
San Luis Obispo, April 29, 1876. He was aged and
infirm, and, while sitting on the steps leading from the
street to the Mission Church, expired without a groan or
pang. The crowd that gathered from the church and
on the street were spell-bound in the face of this sudden
death, by the solemnity of the officiating clergyman, who,
clad in his vestments, stood over the dead offering up
prayers for the peace of the departed soul. Mr. Gaxiola
served as a drummer in the ranks of the native troops in
defense of his native country.

Dr. N. W. Shareg died in San Luis Obispo, August 1,
1876, in his twenty-fourth year. Death to most people,
even in its calmest and most peaceful aspects, is ghastly
and awfully impressive. But when it comes sudden and
unexpectedly, cutting down its victim in the morn of life
without premonition or foreknowledge of his doom, it
strikes a double terror, creates a deeper horror than it
otherwise would. N. W. Shareg, dentist, was working in
his laboratory when a spirit lamp exploded, covering him
with liquid, burning alcohol. He was taken home as soon
as he safely could be, where he lingered in great agony
until the following day when his tortured soul was
released from its earthly tenement and went to its eternal
home.

Page 384

Laxane Landeker was assassinated by a clerk in his
store at Ukiah City, Mendocino County, California,
on the third day of April, 1879, aged thirty-seven years
Mr Landeker was a native of Louisiana, but a resident ot
San Luis Obispo for many years. His remains were
brought by steamer to Port Harford, and from thence by
railroad, under the escort of committees from the Masons, Odd Fellows, Jews, and fire companies. The several lodges and companies were formed in procession in front of the City Hall, and took up their march under the command of Mr. P. A. Forrester. The procession was over half a mile in length, there being nearly one thousand people on foot, followed by a long line of carriages. Two bands of Mexicans had positions in the procession, and played alternately during the march. Burial ceremonies were performed at the grave by the Jewish and Masonic fraternities. San Luis Obispo had never before seen so large a turn-out of fraternal societies, and the large attendance at the burial showed in what universal respect Mr. Landeker was held.

Wm. A. Rector died, November 3, 1880, at his home
on Old Creek, of heart disease, in the seventieth year of
his age. He was born in Anderson County, East Ten-
nessee, December 15, 1809, was married June 10, 1830, and came among the earliest pioneers to this coast, coming to San Luis Obispo County in August, 1876. Mr. Rector was a man of fixed principles and sterling worth. He was a member of the Baptist Church, of forty years' standing. .

After a protracted illness Mr. Silas B. Call, in the forty-
third year of his age, died in San Luis Obispo, May 26,
1880. Mr. Call came to that city nearly twenty years
ago being among the earliest settlers after the admission of the State into the Union. By his industry and frugality he accumulated a valuable property. He was regarded among business men as a thoroughly upright and straightforward man in all his dealings, one whose word was as good as his bond.

Mrs. Lydia M. Smith on December 20, 1880, wife
of E H Smith, Esq., died at San Luis Obispo in the
ninety-third year of her age. Mrs. Smith for the last
thirty-three years of her life was an invalid, and totally
deprived of the power of walking. During this time she
crossed the plains in an ox-wagpn, accompanying her
husband and their four children, remaining dunng the
winter of 1852 in that region where the town of Gold
Hill, Nevada, now stands. In 1868 she found a perma-
nent home in San Luis Obispo.

Gilbert Huntington, aged forty-eight years, died at
Orange, Los Angeles County, February 26, i88i.
Deceased formerly resided in San Luis Obispo, a promi-
nent citizen, highly respected by all.

Dr. W. D. Aylett died at Paso Robles Springs, June
12 1881, aged fifty-three years. Doctor Aylett was one
of'the pioneers of California, and took a prominent part
in the political affairs of the State in its early days. He
was twice elected to the Assembly from Shasta County,
and was resident physician, of the State Marine Hospital
in San Francisco, for four years also resident physician
in charge of the Insane Asylum at Stockton. Doctor
Aylett was an accomplished gentleman of the olden
school. Affable in his manners, kind-hearted and genial
in his disposition, hospitable to the verge of prodigality
in the entertainment of his friends, he was respected and beloved by all who knew him.

Page 384

William Henry Francis died in San Bernardino, Cali-
fornia, February 21, 1876, of consumption, in the forty-
third year of his age. Deceased was born in Troy, Oak-
land County, Michigan, July 27, 1833. He came to
California in 1850. He was candidate for Sheriff in San
Luis Obispo County in 1872. Mr. Francis married a
daughter of William Rector, a pioneer of 1846, after
whom is named Rector Canon.

In San Luis Obispo, on the l0 th of June, 1876, Dona
Encarnacion Carrillo died, widow of Capt. Thomas M.
Robbins, of Santa Barbara, a pioneer of 1823. Mrs.
Robbins was born in the year 1814, and was the daughter of Don Carlos Antonio Carrillo, at one time Governor of the Department of California, under the Mexican regime. The presidio of Santa Barbara was at that time a military post, under the reign of Carlos Septimi, King of Spain, at which place she was born. It was fitting that her last hours should pass away under the roof of the old mission, now a century old. As she had lived she died, a Christian mother.

Died, in San Luis Obispo, June 21, 1876, Benjamin
Grable, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. Mr. Grable
was associated with King David's Lodge during its ex-
perience as a lodge. The church of which he was a de-
voted worshiper loses a pillar of strength, and Masonry a bright examplar.

Mr. L. T. Musick died at his home on the Huasna, in
San Luis Obispo County, October i, 1876, of apoplexy.
Mr. Musick was a well-known character in the commu-
nity, being of so kindly a disposition that he was endeared to every one who knew him. His remains were followed to their last resting-place by a large concourse of sincere mourners.

J. P. Lewelling, in the city of San Luis Obispo, died,
November 13, 1876, at the age of forty-five years. Mr.
Lewelling was born in Indiana in 1831; came to Califor-
nia in 1850, and to San Luis Obispo in 1856, where he resided until his death. He held several important offices
in the community, covering a term altogether of seven
years.

At Las Tablas, San Luis Obispo County, March 10,
1877, W. J. Cocke died. The funeral rites were con-
ducted by the Independent Order of Odd F'ellows, mem-
bers of Laguna Lodge, of which deceased was a member,
joining with Chorro Lodge in paying the last tribute of
respect to their departed brother.

In San Luis Obispo, December 27, 1878, Harvey B.
Blake died, aged forty-seven years. Mr. Blake was born in Massachusetts in the year 1831, came to California in
1849, and was married in 1854. He first stopped at
Santa Barbara, where he filled different offices of trust.
In 1860 he moved to the Temetate Canon, on the Santa
Maria Rancho, where he remained until 1862, when he
removed to Santa Ynez, where lie engaged in farming
and stock-raising. In 1863, he went to the Reese River
mines with many others, and his investments there prov-
ing a failure, he was compelled to return home after
having remained there four years. During his stay in
the mines he filled the office of Notary Public to the
satisfaction of the miners. In 1868 he was traveling
agent for a San Francisco house, and in 1869 he returned to Santa Barbara. Soon after, he wrote a book entitled " Southern California," and went East with a view of publishing the same. On his way home, and while at
Chicago, he lost his trunk, manuscript, clothing, and in
fact everything he had, by the memorable fire which laid
Chicago in ashes. The loss he sustained at this time so
discouraged him that he never undertook to rewrite his
book, and for years after he gave up all active business
pursuits He returned to-Santa Barbara, and with his
family removed to Newsom's White Sulphur Springs in
San Luis Obispo County, and in seven months after
settling there lost everything he had by fire. From the
springs he moved to San Luis Obispo, where he
remained until the time of his death. Mr. Blake was a
man of a marked degree of ability, and had it not been
for the repeated losses sustained by fires in different por-
tions of the country, would have left to the world evi-
dence of that fact. As it is, he was well and widely
known; was respected by all for his integrity and truly
honorable character. Those who knew him most inti-
mately are those who mourn his loss most deeply,

Page 383

At Morro Creek, in San Luis Obispo County, of old age,
on the 3d day of March, 1872, Filomena Valenzuela, a native of Santa Barbara, died, aged over eighty years.
The deceased outlived successively two husbands, by
the second having become the mother of Josse Antonio, Jose Ramon, Vicente and Nicolas Feliz, beside others living near the Morro. She has been a resident of San Luis Obispo County for more than twenty years.

In San Luis Obispo, March 17, 1872. of consumption,
Mrs. Ramona Tomaso Pico, daughter of Don Jose de
Jesus Pico, died, aged twenty-eight years. This young
lady was well-known and appreciated in this community
for her many good qualities. She was amiable and re-
fined in her manners. She leaves a gap in the interest-
ing family of which she was a member, which will never
be filled, and her untimely demise in the freshness of youth with her life yet unfilled, leaves behind it, upon all who knew her, a sadness which time only can heal.

Mr. Whiting R. Humfreville died in San Luis Obispo,
June 18, 1873. He was one of the I. 0. 0. F., the lodge
tendering their sympathy to the family of the deceased,
and assuming the usual mourning for thirty days.

In San Luis Obispo, Edward H. Smith, a native of
New York, died August 21, 1870, of heart disease,
aged thirty-six years. He was a beloved member of the
I. 0. 0. F.

Ex-Sheriff De la Guerra, familiarly known as El
"Chato," died at his residence in this county, October
23, 1874, of diabetis. His sickness had been lingering,
resulting from a fall from his horse, which happened late
in 1871. This gentleman was the son of J. H. la
Guerra y Carrillo, of the Alamos Rancho, Santa Bar-
bara County, also lately deceased, and was a nephew of Don Pablo, the late District Judge. He filled the office
of Sheriff of this county from March, 1866, to March,
1871. He had lived in San Luis Obispo County since
1853; was married to the eldest daughter of the late Don Miguel Avila, and was always a prominent man among the native Californians. He was a man of natural good heart, a sincere friend, and of frank and generous impulse. His relatives and compatriots all mourned his
loss, and Americans as well. Those who were opposed
to him in politics, as those who profited by Ins adherence to their party, felt tliat a friend had gone whom they would not willingly have lost.

Wallace Jerome, a native of New Jersey, aged forty-
one years, died in San Luis Obispo, October 15, 1874.
He was an industrious, useful, and honest man, and was buried under the auspices of King David's Lodge, F. and A. M.

October 26, 1874, at the Arroyo Grande, in San Luis
Obispo County, died of pneumonia, Mrs. Irene Musick,
wife of L. T. Musick, Esq., aged sixty-four years. Mrs.
Musick was of good, old stock. Her maiden name was
Middleton, and her mother was the niece of Daniel
Hoone, the great pioneer hunter of Kentucky. She came
to this State with her husband from Moniteau County,
Missouri, in 1862. She was an exemplary wife, mother,
and neighbor, and all who knew her speak of her in the
highest praise.

On Torro Creek, San Luis Obispo County, November
6, 1874, Juan Gelbez died, at the age of forty-eight years. Mr. Gelbez was a native of Chile, and had been a resident of this county for twenty years. He was a kind, obliging neighbor, and a loyal citizen. He was buried under the auspices of the Catholic Church.

Page 383