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Kraft Family - Tehama County Millionaire

The Kraft Family were pioneer Tehama County residents active in retail and banking activities.

Herbert Kraft was one of the wealthiest men in Tehama County in the late 19th century. He was born in Wurtemberg, Germany on March 15, 1831 and was a banker, farmer and politician. He owned some of the primest real estate in the County for farming and timber, most of which he eventually sold. He also owned the Bank of Red Bluff, and was a major shareholder in the Mutual Savings Bank of San Francisco.

His parents came to the United States when he was ten years old. At eighteen he left home without his father's permission after having learned the tinning trade. When he left home his worldly wealth amounted to $9. He arrived in Placerville (then Hangtown) on August 2, 1852 and worked in the tinning business for one month and then left for Sacramento, where he found employment and saved his money.

In 1854 he headed north, on foot and alone, traveling through southern Oregon and northern California, in search of a permanent location. He ended up in Red Bluff and opened a small tin-shop and continued to save his money. Before long he had the largest hardware and tin business north of Sacramento, which he operated for twenty-one years. Kraft married Elizabeth Krauth on March 15, 1861 in Louisville, Kentucky, the home of her parents. They had eight children, all born in Red Bluff: George H., Edward C., Augustine, Elmer, Nettie and Gertrude.

Edward Kraft created a scholarship fund in his will in 1920, which to this day provides scholarships primarily to freshman college students from the counties surrounding Tehama County.

The Kraft family plot is one of my personal favorites at Mountain View, with the beautiful crypt and adjoining markers. The attention to detail is magnificent.

Charles Henry Holt - Tractor Pioneer

[Gravesite photo by Michael Colbruno; Tractor photo from Sacramento Public Library]

Plot 33

Charles Henry Holt was born in London, New Hampshire. He went to school in Boston, where he subsequently studied accounting. After periods working in his family's business, and then in the accounts department of a New York shipping company, he embarked on a ship in 1865 and sailed to San Francisco. For two years he worked as a teacher and a bookkeeper in the North Bay, saving $700 and returning to San Francisco.

His family was in the timber business back in Concord, New Hampshire. They specialized in the supply of hardwoods used in the construction of wheels and wagons, so Charles Holt established himself, as C. H. Holt & Co, by buying timber from his father and selling it to Californian wagon and boat builders. There was considerable demand for this service because of the scale of developments then taking place in California. One of his brothers, Frank, also moved out to California and established a branch of the business to produce wheels and their respective components. This was not entirely successful as the wheels made in the wetter atmosphere of the east were not suitable for the much drier western summers and frequently failed.

To try to overcome this problem, wood was shipped to California and seasoned before being made into wheels, but this, too, was not wholly successful and the brothers looked for a place where the climate was more suited to their particular needs. They settled on Stockton, 150km/90 miles inland lr from San Francisco and formed the Stockton Wheel company.

After around 60 years of successful manufacture of steam engines, and some of the first viable crawlers, the Holt and Best companies merged to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company in 1925. In 1931 the first Diesel Sixty Tractor rolled off the new assembly line in East Peoria, Illinois, with a new efficient source of power for track-type tractors. By 1940 the Caterpillar product line included motor graders, blade graders, elevating graders, terracers and electrical generator sets.

Twombly-Burchard

[Twombly angel photo by Michael Colbruno]

Plot 13

Charles "C.H." Twombly was a San Francisco capitalist who in May 1875 was one of the founders of Oakland's First National Gold Bank. He was an active member of the Oakland Lodge of Masons and the Oakland Commandery, Knights of Templar. Twombly's wife Mary was from the Burchard family, who are also buried in the crypt.

Rev. John L. Burchard moved from Missouri to Marysville, California, remaining there four years, followed by six years in Stockton and four in Gilroy. After returning to Marysville he was appointed Indian agent at Round Valley. In 1872 the family removed to Oakland, in order to afford their children better educational advantages.

Abraham Powell (1828-1895) - Politician and Master Joiner

[Gravesite photo by Michael Colbruno]

 Plot 12

Abraham Powell was born on January 24, 1828 in Philadelphia, Pa. As a youth he was employed in the Philadelphia Navy Yard and learned the trade of ship-joiner and civil engineer. He made numerous sea journeys in his youth, traveling to the West Indies and Europe.

In 1849, Powell joined the rush to California and boarded the ship "Oseola" in Philaelphia with sixty-four of his fellow pioneers. The ship went around Cape Horn and arrived in San Francisco on August 5, 1849. Upon arrival Powell entered into partnership with a fellow traveler as builders and joiners. Together they constructed numerous houses and buildings around San Francisco.

In 1850, Powell returned to Philadelphia. He was appointed Master Joiner at the Mare Island Navy Yard in 1854. Until 1858 Powell had full control of the yard operations on the Island. He was also Naval Constructor during this period, but continued as Master Joiner down to 1864.

In 1865 Powell entered into the private sector and became general manager of the Puget Sound Lumber Company. He first established a retail yard in Vallejo and then extended his operations by building yards in Napa, Suisun, Colusa, and in Yolo County. He also owned a redwood mill at Stuarts Point in Sonoma County. Powell was active in the Masonic Order, both in Philadelphia and California.

He served as Mayor of Vallejo for eight years and was a member of the board of Supervisors of Solano County

Governor Henry Huntly Haight (1825-1878)

[Monument photo by Michael Colbruno]

Plot 11

Henry Huntly Haight was born in Rochester, New York, on May 20, 1825. He graduated from Yale University in 1844, studied law, and then joined his father in a law practice in St. Louis, Missouri. Eventually he moved to San Francisco, where he prospered and earned a reputation of his own.

In 1859, Haight became chairman of the California State Republican Committee, however he later returned to the Democratic Party. On September 4, 1867, he was elected California's 10th governor, and on December 5, 1867, he was sworn into office. Haight ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1871, and left office on December 8, 1871.

During his term, the transcontinental railroad was completed, the Golden Gate Park was designed, and the San Jose Teachers College was established. The state debt was reduced under Haight's administration, and the State Board of Health and the University of California were established, both of which had only been in the planning stages prior to Haight's term. After his defeat, he returned to his law practice, and served as a member of the board of trustees of the University of California.

Haight was elected to the 1878 state convention, but died before taking his seat

Though commonly thought to be true, San Francisco's Haight Street is not named in his honor, but rather that of his uncle, the pioneer and exchange banker Henry Haight (1820-1869)

John Augustus Bohn, Sr. (1911-1986) - Noted Attorney

[Family mausoleum photo by Michael Colbruno]

Plot 11

John Augustus Bohn was the chief architect of Guam's legal system and co-editor of the Alaska state code.

John Bohn graduated from Stanford University and the law school of the University of California at Berkeley. In 1951, he was asked to draft Guam's legal code in the territory's transition from Navy control to civilian status.

He set up Guam's court system, served as counsel for the territory's Legislature and practiced law. In 1976, he filed suit on behalf of Guam to recover land he charged had been taken by the Navy with only minimal compensation. Mr. Bohn went to Alaska while it was preparing to become a state in the late 1950's and served as co-editor of its state code.

Andrew Jackson "A.J." Stevens (1833-1888) - Builder of Locomotives

[Statue and plaque photos courtesy of Dennis Evanosky; Gravesite photo by Michael Colbruno; letter and locomotive photo from Sacramento Public Library]

A.J. Stevens was born in Vermont Sep. 14, 1833. In 1869 he was hired by Leland Stanford, President of Central Pacific (parent organization of Southern Pacific) as Master Mechanic. He was responsible for many locomotive inventions until his death in 1888.

Perhaps Stevens is best remembered for having built "El Gobernador," which at the time was the largest railroad locomotive in the world. Sadly, this engine appears to have largely been a victim of impatience on the part of the railroad's president, Leland Stanford. A locomotive this size had never been constructed before and proved to be a unique engineering challenge. As soon as Stevens was able to figure out a part, Stanford would order it built and installed on the new engine, without giving any proper time for testing. Stanford also apparently kept the other members of the The Big Four (minus Mark Hopkins, who had died several years before) in the dark about the project as well.

Once, while Stanford was away, Charles Crocker came through the locomotive works on a tour of inspection and saw the partially completed El Gobernador under construction. Having not been told about the project, he angrily demanded to know what they were up to. When told by A.J. Stevens that they were attempting to build the largest engine in the world, Crocker ordered all work stopped immediately. Meanwhile, Stanford returned to find that no new work had been done on the engine and when informed of the events that transpired, Crocker's orders were reversed.

William Walkerley (1818-1887)

In 1887 William Walkerley died in East Oakland leaving an estate valued at $650,000*. He left a young widow to whom was born a son shortly after her husband's death. Numerous claims against the estate were made and the case landed in the California Supreme Court. The issue at hand was whether a trust could be made in perpetuity. Numerous heirs were paid off in an out of court settlement and the widow reportedly received $500,000.

The son, Willie Walkerley, died at the tender age of six.

* The value of his estate has variously been listed as anywhere from $650,000 to $40,000,000.

Hooker Memorial - Members of High Society

Charles (left) and Osgood Hooker (right) (Photos from SF Call)

Family mausoleum photo by Michael Colbruno]

Plot 18A

C. Osgood Hooker was a native of California, born in 1860, and was the son of Charles G. Hooker, a prominent hardware merchant of California, who came to this State in 1852. He lived and owned a business in San Francisco. His company, Truman, Hooker & Co. were the manufacturers and dealers of agricultural implements, hay presses, baling presses, wagons, buggies, steam engines, threshing machines and hardware.

John Hooker (1838-1911) and his wife Katharine Putnam Hooker (1849-1935) were important figures in the early days of West Adams high society, between 1886 and 1911. John, born in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, was a hardware and steel-pipe millionaire. John went to California in 1861, living first in San Francisco. In 1869 he married Katharine Putnam of San Francisco.

John D. Hooker paid for one of the telescopes at the Mount Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Charles Hooker (1821-1905) was born in Hillsdale, Massachusetts in 1821 and came to California in the 1850s. He opened up a hardware store in Sacramento, but left the city after the flood of 1861. He moved to San Francisco and opened up Hooker & Company on California Street. 

Sources: San Francisco Call, Berkeley Gazette