A FEW MORE NAMES
EBERHARD- Jacob Eberhard was born in Germany in 1837 and migrated to this country in 1852 and learned
the leather trade in Illinois. He came to California in 1858, and Santa Clara in 1865. After settling down he purchased a tannery said to date back to 1846. Eberhard built the plant up to a million dollar a year industry, with exports all over the world. His plant was located across the street from The University of Santa Clara. The plant was torn down in 1953 to make way for University Engineering and Library buildings.
EMORY- Emory street was named for a Methodist bishop and he never saw the street that bears his name. The story goes like this: What is now called The University of the Pacific was started in Santa Clara as Californian Wesleyan College in 1851. By the early 1860's the school needed money. The trustees decided to take drastic action, they purchased 435 acres of the old Stockton rancho, set aside 20 acres in the middle of the tract, and subdivided the rest to sell. This tract is still called College Park.
The boundaries of the tract were the Guadlupe River on the east, The Alameda on the west, Newhall street on north, and Polhemus street on the south. (In the 1960's Polhemus street's name was changed to Taylor street.) When they had to lay out streets they took the names of six Methodist bishops: Asbury, Emory, Hamline, Hedding, McKendrie and Morris (Morris was changed Vermont because there was concern that people might confuse it with the Morse Street.)
FALLON- Captain Thomas Fallon (1818-1885) One of San Jose's most historical figures and prominent capitalists. He was born in Ireland and learned the saddlers trade in London. Captain Fallon came to the United States in 1836 and fought in The Texas War of Independence. He came overland in 1843 and opened a saddlery in Santa Cruz. At the height of the Mexican War, he led a company of men across the Santa Cruz Mountains and on July 14, 1846, he raised the American flag over the Pueblo of San Jose. He became mayor in 1859 and built a beautiful mansion on San Augustin Street.
FATJO- Antonio Fatjo was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1828. As a young man, emigrated to Santiago, Chile, where he clerked in a dry-good store. Excited by the reports of the California Gold Strike he came here in 1849. He later moved to Santa Clara where he and his sons Antonio, John and Luis established a store and a bank.
FISHER- William Fisher (1810-1850) was an Englishman by birth and became a seafaring man early in life. He first settled in Massachusetts. In 1830 he left as mate on a vessel bound for the West Coast with a load of hides and tallow. He admired the land and in 1845 he returned and purchased Rancho Laguna Seca (Dry Lake)embracing over 20,000 acres. It stretched southward from Coyote to Morgan Hill, some places as wide as four miles. He paid $6,000.00 for the entire tract.
FORBES- James Alexander Forbes was born in Scotland in 1804. He first arrived at Yerba Buena (San Francisco)in 1828. He later returned as a British Consul stationed at Mission Santa Clara at the time that Califonia became part of The United States. Forbes was extremely well educated and spoke six languages. He built a beautiful home in Santa Clara with the first modern conveniences, first stove, first plow, first carriage, etc. Built a $180,000.00 stone flour mill in Los Gatos, the lower story still visible. He was also one of the original owners of the New Almaden Mines and with Father Nobli helped establish Santa Clara College in 1851. (Now University of Santa Clara.)
GALLAGHER- Andrew Thomas Gallagher was born in 1831 in New York and came to California in 1849 via Cape Horn. He was a miner before running a freight schooner from Alviso to San Francisco. In 1853 he bought 160 acres near Alviso, and planted 40 acres in orchard, also raising strawberries and tomatoes, all irrigated by five artesian wells.
GIANNINI- Amadeo Pietro (A.P.) Giannini may be the greatest banker of modern times. He was born May 6, 1870 on the site of the old Swiss Hotel. (71 N. Market) He founded The Bank of Italy in 1904 and opened his first out of town branch in San Jose in 1910. Today there is a plaque on Market Street where he was born, and branches of his bank, Bank of America all over The Valley, even though the bank is now managed by a company in another state.
GILROY- John Gilroy, real name John Cameron, deserted his ship, The Isaac Todd, in Montery in 1814. Fearing capture,he took his mother's maiden name. He married the daughter of Ygnacio Ortega, owner of the Rancho San Ysidro and fell heir to one third of the estate, 4,460 acres embracing much of the present Gilroy area. He liked to gamble and in later years became improvident, lost his land and died a pauper.
GOODYEAR- Miles Goodyear bought 30.56 acres in San Jose in 1848. He was a merchant who loved the wilds. He is now buried in Benecia on a hilltop overlooking the bay.
HAMLINE- Hamline street was named for a Methodist bishop and he never saw the street that bears his name. The story goes like this: What is now called The University of the Pacific was started in Santa Clara as Californian Wesleyan College in 1851. By the early 1860's the school needed money. The trustees decided to take drastic action, they purchased 435 acres of the old Stockton rancho, set aside 20 acres in the middle of the tract, and subdivided the rest to sell. This tract is still called College Park.
The boundaries of the tract were the Guadlupe River on the east, The Alameda on the west, Newhall street on north, and Polhemus street on the south. (In the 1960's Polhemus street's name was changed to Taylor street.) When they had to lay out streets they took the names of six Methodist bishops: Asbury, Emory, Hamline, Hedding, McKendrie and Morris (Morris was changed Vermont because there was concern that people might confuse it with the Morse Street.)
HARRY- Harry road was named for the Harry family. They were Cornish miners who settled in The Alamaden Valley. Descendants are still around the area.
HAMILTION- The Reverend Laurentine Hamilton was a pioneer preacher and one time Superintendent of Schools. On a mountain surveying expedition with William H. Brewer and Joseph Whitney (United States Geological Survcey) in 1861, Hamilton was first to scramble to the summit of the mountain thus to bear his name, Mount Hamilton. with an altitude of 4,209 feet, later to bear, what was for a time, the world's largest observatory.
HEDDING- Elijah Hedding was a Methodist bishop and he never saw the street that bears his name. The story goes like this: What is now called The University of the Pacific was started in Santa Clara as Californian Wesleyan College in 1851. By the early 1860's the school needed money. The trustees decided to take drastic action, they purchased 435 acres of the old Stockton rancho, set aside 20 acres in the middle of the tract, and subdivided the rest to sell. This tract is still called College Park.
The boundaries of the tract were the Guadlupe River on the east, The Alameda on the west, Newhall street on north, and Polhemus street on the south. (In the 1960's Polhemus street's name was changed to Taylor street.) When they had to lay out streets they took the names of six Methodist bishops: Asbury, Emory, Hamline, Hedding, McKendrie and Morris (Morris was changed Vermont because there was concern that people might confuse it with the Morse Street.)
HELLYER- Hellyer Avenue was named for George Washington Hellyer who moved the The Valley in 1853. They owned the land where Silver Creek High School is today. He tried mining first, but soon turned to farming. There are still descendants around the area today.
HENSLEY- Hensley Avenue off of North First Street in San Jose was originally the driveway to the Hensley estate. It was built by Samuel J. Hensley who was a pathfinder, a major under Fremont during The Bear Flag Revolt, a gold miner and a merchant. He died a millionaire at the age of 49 in 1866.
HENWOOD- Joseph Henwood and his family sailed through the Golden Gate in 1861, and quickly setteled in the Almaden Valley. He worked in the quicksilver mines and later went in to ranching, real estate and operating a transportation business. His son married Elizabeth Jane Harry (Harry Road).
HESTER- Hester avenue was named for Craven P. Hester who came here in 1849. He was a successful member of the bar and a landowner.
HILL- Andrew Putnam Hill was born in Ohio in 1853, and came to California via the Isthmus in 1867. He became one of California's foremost artists and photographers. His life and fortune were devoted to his beloved California Redwoods. Hill founded the Sempervirens Club and
was the prime leader in the movement to maintain the famous beauty of the Big Basin in all of its magnificence.
HOBSON- George Hobson came to The Valley in 1847 and bought his first land in 1861. He became San Jose's first milkman. He later owned the land where Valley Medical Center is today.
HOPPE- Jacob D. Hoppe was born in 1813 in Maryland. He came to California at the age of 33. He was interested in establishing a newspaper, which later became
the Alta Californaia. After a short interval of mining he became the first American Postmaster. Soon after American occupation, Hoppe acquired Rancho Ulistac, 2217 acres in the Agnew-Alviso territory from the original Indian grantees, Marcello, Pio, and Cristobal. Hoppe lost his life, along with several other prominent San Jose pioneers, in the explosion in 1853 of the San Francisco bound steamer Jenny Lind in the Alviso Channel.
HUFF- James A. Huff was born in Ohio in 1832, and was the second son of Amos Huff. On April 6, 1863 he, his wife, and their two children left for California. The journey took five months, and both of the children died along the way. The remaining members of the party arrived in Mayfield, now part of Palo Alto in September 6, 1863.
In 1864 he purchased his first farm, consisting of 97 acres on Sterlin Road. He raised watermelons, corn and other vegetables. He built a temporary house where he lived until 1878, when his permanent home was completed. The new home was near the corner of Plymouth and Huff Avenues in the present day city of Mountain View. Huff purchased other properties and ended up owning 450 acres of land.
Huff also found time to serve his community. He served as the Clerk of the Board of Trustees of the Whisman School, and donated to the Christian Church. He also served as a director of the Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Mountain View. He passed away in 1915. (Those of us who have lived in this area for a while will remember when Arrow Development, the company that made all of the good amusement park rides, was located on Huff Avenue in Mountain View.)
JONES- No one is sure when Zacharia Jones, who was known to his friends as Buffalo Jones, was born or when he died. What is known is that he came overland to San Jose in 1846 and became owner of the town's first hotel, The Half Moon House. In 1848 Jones had one of the first prosperous sawmills on the Arroyo De Los Gatos close to the vanished town of Alma, near or under what is now Lexington Dam.
JUSTER- Dollcraft / Globetrotter Doll Company was created in 1943 by Elise and
Maurice Juster, who moved the fledgling company, and themselves, to Santa Clara in 1948. The move made sense, for the Justers were using the Kerr & Hinz tile factory furnaces to fire the bisque clay bodies of their dolls. Kerr & Hinz was located for years near the corner of Lafayette and Martin, where the firm produced ceramic wall and flooring tile for customers all
over the Western U.S.
The Justers located in the area of Santa Clara just South of El Camino Real, near the Moonlight Shopping Center. In those days the entire area was surrounded by orchards of every type fruit, but especially plums, apricots and cherries. Since they had invested all of their personal capital in buying their first, and only home, the Justers did not have a car, and had to find a building suitable for painting and dressing the dolls. They set up business near the corner of Kiely and El Camino, right across the avenue from Cope & McPhetres, the longtime Santa Clara sporting goods firm. Elise and five employees set about creating the six, seven and eight inch high dolls which were to become very popular all over the U.S. during the late ?40?s through the late ?50?s. The firm produced more than 120 different individual dolls, including the Storybook line, including Snow White, Little Bo Peep, etc., and the Globetrotters, with dolls dressed in authentic native garb from virtually every country in the world.
One of the biggest customers of the firm was Cal-Neva lodge, located in North Lake Tahoe. During most of the ?50;s, there was a grand display of the Justers? dolls, each cased in a heart shaped bottle with the Cal-Neva logo displayed on the lid, adorning one of the walls in the main casino. When a customer hit a certain slot machine jackpot, they would be given their choice of a doll.
In the late ?50?s Dollcraft was sued for patent infringement by a much larger company, Nancy Ann Dolls. The Superior Court of San Francisco found the suit specious, and without basis, but only after the Juster?s had spent all of their capital trying to fight off the action. Maurice took a position as warehouse foreman for Central Scientific Company, located near the Kerr & Hinz tile plant, where he worked for the next 14 years.
Elise, having graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in the early ?30?s, began making wedding and prom dresses for young ladies from all over The Valley. She also designed and created the cheerleader and pom pom girl costumes for San Jose State, Santa Clara University and a number of high schools in The Valley for many years.
Dollcraft Company did not exist very long, compared to the giants of The Valley, but the Juster?s creations are still sought after by doll collectors all over the U.S., and will be remembered by many brides who cherish the gowns which Elise made for them.
JULIAN- Julian Hanks came to the Pueblo of San Jose in 1845. He attended the first state constitutional convention in 1849. He later spent his time farming and operating a mill.
KEESLING- Thomas B. Keesling was born in Pennsylvania in 1827 and came to The Valley in 1850 via The Isthmus. He was a miner, later employed at Almaden Mines for 15 years. In 1866 he bought 200 acres on Almaden Road and built a distinguished residence.
KELL- Martin D. Kell was born in Canada in 1840. His mother was Margaret Murphy, daughter of Martin Murphy of the famous Murphy-Townsend 1846 expedition across the plains. He was prominent in local politics holding several offices. With his wife and seven children he owned 80 acres on the Almaden Road.
KENYON- James Monroe Kenyon was born in Ohio in 1817. He came by ox team to California in 1849 as a miner. He was a squatter on Homestead Road, later purchasing 240 acres and 180 acres near Saratoga. He sold this 180 acres for the then fabulous sum of $27,000.00.
Some of the resources used to put this page together
© 1997 to 2007 by John D. Casey Jr.