Alameda County
Biographies
HIRAM BAILEY.
The life record of Hiram Bailey is interwoven with the history of Livermore and the valley. He is, indeed, one of the true pioneers of the county, having been one of the first men to locate in the valley where he still resides. He has now passed the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey, his birth having occurred in the state of New York, January 10, 1830.
He came alone to the west, making the trip by way of the Isthmus route and arriving in San Francisco on the l0th of March, 1852. He went to the San Ramon valley, where he spent the summers of 1852 and 1853, and later was for a time at Contra Costa. In August, 1855, he arrived in Livermore valley, at which time there were only two people in the immediate valley—Robert Livermore, the original settler, and a Scotchman by the name of Peter Wilson. Mr. Bailey took up carpenter work and his first job was the building of a house for Joseph Livermore. About 1865 he turned his attention to farming, settling on a ranch five miles northwest of Livermore, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for about eight years, cultivating a tract of two thousand acres. In 1873 he purchased another ranch of two thousand acres in Stanislaus county and operated the two ranches in conjunction for five years. His place was not used for grazing purposes, the greater part of it being under cultivation, and for several years he was farming approximately five thousand acres. He then retired and removed to Livermore, where he has since made his home, enjoying well earned and well merited rest from business cares during his later years. Throughout his active life he displayed sound judgment in the management of his business interests, was determined and unfaltering in carrying on his work, and through his persistency of purpose won most gratifying success.
Mr. Bailey was married in Livermore to Miss Casimira Livermore, a daughter of Robert Livermore, who settled in the valley about 1820 before the advent of any other white person. In 1914 Mr. Bailey was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in the month of April, leaving three of the eight children who were born of their marriage. These are: Josephine, now the wife of Dennis F. Bernal of Livermore; Rebecca, the wife of J. A. Segbers of Dawson, Yukon Territory; and Mamie I., the wife of W. H. Hupers, a merchant of Livermore.
In his political views Mr. Bailey has been a republican since the organization of the party and has been active in its support. When the law was passed making the office of township assessor an elective one he was chosen to that position and served for two years, while later he acted as deputy for a few years. He also served as supervisor of Murray township for ten years and for fourteen years was a trustee of the Livermore grammar school and for five years a trustee of the high school. He served during the twenty-seventh session in the state legislature, to which he was elected in 1886, with Judge Ellsworth, the speaker during that session being W. H. Jordan. Every public duty entrusted to him has been faithfully discharged and his record is most commendable. He is a member of Mosaic Lodge, No. 218, A. F. & A. M., and his life has been in harmony with the teachings of the craft. He has lived to witness notable changes during the period of his residence in the Livermore valley, covering almost six decades, and he can relate many interesting incidents of the early days when he was a pioneer in this district, which is now thickly populated and highly cultivated.
Past & Present of Alameda County, California – Vol II, S. J. Clarke Publ. Co., 1914
p. 424
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
FRED WALTER FOSS.
One of the most able, progressive and enterprising young men in public life in Alameda county is Fred Walter Foss, of Berkeley, now creditably serving as chairman of the finance committee of the board of supervisors. He was born in Lynn county, Missouri, on the 1st of August, 1871, and as a boy went to San Francisco, acquiring his education in the public schools of that city. He afterward entered the Commercial high school and, having obtained a thoroughly practical education, accepted a position as bookkeeper with the Central Lumber & Mill Company, with whom he remained from 1887 to 1889. In the latter year he became yard clerk, bookkeeper and salesman for the C. L. Dingley Company and from 1889 to 1893 did capable and loyal work in those capacities. He was then offered a position by the Pacific Lumber Company and accepted it, remaining in this connection until 1895 and winning during that time the confidence of his superiors and the respect and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. Having mastered the details of the lumber business thoroughly, he determined to engage in business for himself and accordingly came to Berkeley, founding the F. W. Foss Company, of which he has since been president. This position has called forth his executive ability, his organizing power and his keen grasp of business detail, and in his management of the affairs under his charge he has clearly demonstrated his possession of these qualities which have made his concern one of the well and favorably known business institutions in the community.
It is not alone along business lines, however, that Mr. Foss has done splendid work for Berkeley, for he has been identified with public affairs in the city for many years, his progressive ideas and the enterprising spirit which dominates all of his activities having proven helpful factors in community upbuilding. Mr. Foss is now a member of the county board of supervisors and as chairman of the finance committee has accomplished a great deal of important and constructive work. He has systematized and reorganized the affairs of the department, putting them upon a strictly business basis, and he has used his influence unfailingly on the side of fairness and justice, giving everyone an equal opportunity for legitimate competition in the awarding of public contracts and the expending of public funds generally. He has been especially farsighted and discriminating in his use of all moneys for improvements of a permanent sort and is recognized as a man whose undoubtful business ability has formed the basis of valuable work in the public service. Mr. Foss is especially interested in securing for Alameda county a first-class public hospital and has progressive ideas concerning its building and equipment which his own words best describe. He says: "I believe that a community with the wealth of Alameda county should have an up-to-date and first class public hospital. The institution should be sanitary in every particular, with advanced scientific medical appliances and conveniences and a credit to the county. I believe that this important measure should be submitted to the people for approval and provided for in a bond issue, the burden of which should be distributed among those who will have need of an institution of this kind in future years."
In San Francisco, in 1893, Mr. Foss was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Renwick, who passed away on New Year's day, 1910, leaving four children, Anita L., Lulu R., William R. and Elmer R. In politics Mr. Foss is a stanch republican and was the first president of the Lincoln-Roosevelt Republican League of Berkeley. He is a member of the Berkeley Elks; Lodge No. 1002, I. O. O. F.; and the Woodmen of the World, and he is past vice chairman of the Hoo Hoos of California. He is undoubtedly one of the most able and prominent men of Berkeley and in business and in politics has made tangible and substantial contributions to municipal growth and development.
Past & Present of Alameda County, California – Vol II, S. J. Clarke Publ. Co., 1914
p. 427
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler