Alameda County
Biographies
WILLIAM J. BACCUS.
William J. Baccus, serving in a creditable and able manner as commissioner of streets of Oakland, has demonstrated his ability during a period of nearly ten years in the public service, rising rapidly to his present place in official circles. He was born in San Francisco, November 17, 1869, and is a son of Benjamin Baccus, one of the pioneers in California, who came overland by team to the coast in 1851. The father worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad and was afterward engaged in the plumbing business in San Francisco.
William J. Baccus came to Oakland when he was ten years of age and acquired his education in the public schools of this city. Following the completion of his studies he engaged in the teaming business with W. H. Parrish and later learned the bricklaying trade, which he followed for several years. Recognizing, however, the greater opportunities which were to be found in the contracting business, he turned his attention to this line of work and soon met with excellent success in it, for he had a thorough knowledge of general construction work, acquired through practical experience, and the insight, integrity and ability necessary for success in any field. By virtue of these qualifications and his thoroughness and promptness in filling his many large contracts he has now become one of the foremost men engaged in this line of work in Oakland, many of the most important structures in the city being built by him. His most recent contract was for the reconstruction of the Syndicate building and he was also identified with the reconstruction of the Kahn Brothers building.
Mr. Baccus began his public career in 1903, when he accepted the nomination on the republican ticket for member of the city council, receiving the indorsement of the union labor forces, with whom he is closely affiliated. He was elected by a large majority and afterward served four terms by reelection, during four years of which he was chairman of the street committee. He has always been a hard and consistent worker for better streets in Oakland and has accomplished a great deal of valuable work along this line, as it has been largely through his efforts and influence that the number of paved streets has been so greatly increased. So acceptable was Mr. Baccus' record on the city council that when the primary law went into effect he was nominated by direct primary vote for the office of commissioner of streets under the new charter and was elected by a large majority. He has continued his intelligent and constructive work in this office and is regarded today as one of the most able men in the service of the municipal government.
In San Jose, California, in 1896, Mr. Baccus was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Muir, daughter of an early pioneer in this state. They have become the parents of three children: Volma, William J., Jr., and Robert. Mr. Baccus is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West; Council No. 7, I. O. R. M.; the Loyal Order of Moose, and other fraternal orders and clubs. In all essential respects he is a self-made man, the foundation of his success being plain, honest hard work. Most of his opportunities he has himself created, and he has utilized them in an intelligent and capable way, being ranked today among the men of worth and substance in the city where he makes his home.
Past & Present of Alameda County, California – Vol II, S. J. Clarke Publ. Co., 1914
p. 19
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
JUDGE JOHN ELLSWORTH.
Judge John Ellsworth, who in January, 1913, declined to be a candidate for reelection to the position of judge of the superior court of Alameda county, which he had filled with credit and distinction for twenty-four years, has had a long and varied career in public service, his worth and fidelity in positions of trust and responsibility being indicated by the widespread confidence and esteem in which he is held today. For forty-six years he has resided in Alameda county and may be termed the dean of the legal fraternity of the county. He is now engaged in the general practice of law in Oakland.
Mr. Ellsworth was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, on the 7th of January, 1842, a descendant of one of the old and prominent families of New England, who settled in Connecticut in 1646. He is a son of Abner Moseley and Lucy W. Ellsworth. His early labor was that of the farm boy and the public schools of his native community afforded him his first educational opportunities. He was afterward a student in Phillips Academy, but he responded to his country's call for troops in the great Civil war, enlisting in the Twenty-fifth Connecticut Regiment, and proceeded to the south. He served nine months under General Banks in Louisiana and was present at the surrender of Fort Hudson, which had been besieged for six weeks. After his honorable discharge from the army he returned to Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, and there pursued such studies as would prove advantageous to his subsequent study of law, as he had decided to devote himself to that profession. He was graduated in 1864, but although he had fitted himself for Yale University financial conditions prevented his going there, so after spending one year in Williams College at Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he took senior work, he began to study law, entering the law office of Hubbard & McFarland in Hartford, Connecticut. He read there for two years, winning his admission to the bar in October, 1867. In the same year he came west to California, establishing his residence in Alameda county, his home being at Alameda and his office in San Francisco, where he engaged in a general legal practice until 1876, when he moved his office to Alameda. The same year he became city attorney of that community. This position he resigned in 1886, after ten years of able and effective service, in order to accept a seat in the state assembly, to which he had been elected. After two years of progressive work in that capacity he was elected in 1888 and in January, 1889, took his seat as judge of the superior court of Alameda county and by reelection he served four terms, holding the office in all twenty-four years and accomplishing during that period a great deal of constructive, beneficial and far-reaching work and leaving the impress of his personality and ability upon the judicial history of this section of California. His last term expired on the 5th of January, 1913, and he declined to be a candidate for reelection, turning his attention to the general practice of law in Oakland. He is known in this city as a strong and able practitioner, well versed in underlying legal principles, able in his appeals before the court and concise in his presentation of a case.
On the 17th of April, 1892, Judge Ellsworth was united in marriage to Miss Ada L. Hobler, of Alameda, and both were well known in social circles of this city until April 15, 1906, when the wife died. Fraternally Judge Ellsworth is identified with the Odd Fellows, the Masonic order and the Grand Army of the Republic, and he is a member of the Athenian Club. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, which he has served capably and well throughout his entire connection with public life, upholding always its principles and policies, in which he firmly believes. Throughout a period of residence in Alameda dating from 1867 he has securely entrenched himself in the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens, his public career having been varied in service and faultless in honor, and his professional and personal life beyond reproach. It has been said of him that "He has established a record that few public men can equal, not only for continued public service, but for the able and faithful manner in which he has performed the duties entrusted to him."
Past & Present of Alameda County, California – Vol II, S. J. Clarke Publ. Co., 1914
p. 20
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler