Alameda County
Biographies
E. D. Block
Emanuel D. Block, of Oakland, is now the pioneer merchant of Alameda County. He is a native of Bavaria, but came to the United States when very young. In 1852 he reached California from New York, and soon sought out a desirable location in which to commence merchandizing. His natural sagacity soon convinced him that his side of the bay would rapidly develope, and he selected San Leandro as the most desirable and central place in which to locate in the newly formed County of Alameda. There, then, he established himself in the year 1853. He was young; so was the county; and both had a bright future before them. Both have now absolutely realized that future. San Leandro soon became the county seat, and business flourished. The store occupied by Mr. Block in San Leandro is the one now occupied by Mr. Ferdinand Meyers.
In 1863 Mr. Block opened a dry-goods store in Oakland, still carrying on his general store in San Leandro. The place he first occupied at the present county seat was in Valdez’ block, on the east side of Broadway, between Fifth and Sixth streets. His next move was to Delger’s old block, on the opposite side of the street, and there he continued, gaining customers and increasing his business, till October, 1869, when he removed to the then new block on the corner of Broadway and Ninth streets, “away up town.” Here his business so increased that the aid of a desirable partner became necessary; and in 1871 he admitted Mr. Andrew Barnes Bennison, a young gentleman who, by his address and tact as a dry-goods clerk, had won very favorable opinions, into partnership with him. Since then the business has gone on increasing in a remarkable manner. In 1874 it became necessary to build an addition of forty feet to the store, and now its full length of 100 feet is shelved and filled to the ceiling with all kinds of seasonable fancy and staple dry goods, the stock on hand at present being very extensive. Twelve persons, including the principals, are employed in this mammoth establishment, and it is enlivening to behold the stream of richly dressed ladies that are constantly entering and departing. It is encouraging to see a pioneer thus prosperous.
Centennial Yearbook of Alameda County, California - Oakland, Calif., 1876 Pages 547-548
Transcribed by Peggy Allen, April 21, 2006
James Buskirk Larue
In 1850 Brooklyn, now East Oakland, was only known as the embarcadero of San Antonio, so named after the Peralta rancho. Unlike Oakland it consisted of rolling ground, and was “out of the woods.” It commanded beautiful views and presented a handsome site for a town, mayhap a city. Vessels of considerable size were able to sail up to it and load and discharge freight.
The late Jas. B. Larue was the first man to fully appreciate the advantages of this beautiful location. In 1851 he moved from San Francisco, bought land from Antonio Peralta, and settled there with the determination of building a town and establishing a commerce. There is no grander spectacle in our civilization than of those daring, persevering men going forth to subdue the wilderness and build up communities. Who that has not passed through it can appreciate the ordeal of labor, anxiety, suffering and disappointment that they have to endure? Mr. Larue is recognized as the pioneer of Brooklyn, and as such he is treated here.
He was born in Bergen County, New Jersey, on the 6th day of February, 1800, and died in Brooklyn, in this county, on the 7th day of January, 1872, after a protracted illness of several months. Mr. Larue was “a man of affairs,” as the French say—always planning some new enterprise or perfecting some old one.
In his native State he was engaged in the manufacture of paper; but feeling that the boundless West offered opportunities and openings for his active enterprise and unlimited energy, he set out for Michigan in 1836 and settled there. He entered largely into the business of lumber-making in that State, and pursued it successfully for a period of years. But a crisis came; lumber was a drug in the manager, how able a financier, how shrewd a calculator, disaster from depression of business will overtake the best, and in this way Mr. Larue had to succumb to misfortune. He behaved honestly, and gave all he had up to his creditors. While a resident of that State his worth and wisdom were appreciated, and at one time he was put forward as a candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, but was defeated because the party that nominated him was defeated.
He started for California in 1849, in company with a number of others. He worked a short time in the mines, then returned to San Francisco for a while, and in 1851 permanently located on the bright side of the bay at San Antonio. Here he kept store, sold lumber and dealt in real estate. He owned the whole of the land on the south side of the hollow and a good deal on the other. In the year 1857 he became associated with a number of persons in establishing an opposition ferry line between Oakland, Brooklyn and San Francisco, believing, as he did, that the rates of fare and freight then charged were excessive and detrimental to the interests of this side of the bay. Upon the formation of the company, which was called the “Oakland and San Antonio Steam Navigation Co.,” he was chosen President. The steamer Confidence was bought. Out of her was built the steamer San Antonio, which commenced running in April, 1858. The rate of fare was reduced to 25c., one-half the former rate, while the rates of freight were reduced, in many instances, two or three hundred per cent. In the Fall of 1858 the steamer Oakland was built, and during the following Summer a very lively opposition was kept up between the old and the opposition lines, during which time the steamer Contra Costa, of the Minturn line, was blown up and several lives lost. The enterprise did not pay as well as its promoters anticipated, and a large majority of them were anxious to sell out. The California Steam Navigation Company bought quite a large amount of the stock and tried very hard to get a majority of it. Thus he was forced to buy a sufficient amount to control the whole business or allow the whole scheme to fail; and, in doing so, he became largely involved. In 1862 the Oakland and San Francisco Railroad and Ferry line was established, and the steamers were sold to that company. But the great object which he sought to establish, viz.: frequent and rapid communication with San Francisco, with low fares and freights, was accomplished. The large amount of real estate which he then owned he retained, and since has largely increased in value.
Very few men were possessed of a better judgment of “men and things” than James B. Larue. In matters of law his judgment was superior to many professional lawyers. One instance may be cited to show what faith he had in his own judgment and how persistently he followed it up. When the opposition ferry line was established, the Contra Costa Steam Navigation Co., Charles Minturn, agent, was supposed to have the exclusive right to run and maintain a ferry between Oakland and San Francisco, under a contract with Carpentier and others, and suit was commenced against the opposition company. Many lawyers said it would be useless to resist, for Minturn undoubtedly had an exclusive right. The suit was finally decided, in the U. S. Supreme Court, in favor of the opposition company. One of the best lawyers of the San Francisco bar once said: “If I could beat J. B. Larue in a law-suit, it would be a big feather in my cap.” He was warm-hearted and genial in his nature, and beloved by his family and by all who knew him intimately. He gave freely to all public institutions of the town. He presented the lots on which the Presbyterian church is built; also, the Episcopal; also, the lot for the engine-house, besides being the largest contributor to buy a fire engine. He was a member of the Legislature of the State of Michigan before his departure, and of the State of California subsequently. He was possessed of fortitude to a remarkable degree, which, coupled with his great financial ability, always enabled him to extricate himself from the troubles to which his enterprise sometimes subjected him.
Before his last and fatal illness he commenced the erection of the most elegant residence in East Oakland, but which he did not live to see completed, much less enjoy.
He left, besides his wife, a family consisting of four sons and one daughter, all well-known and respected members of the community. His son James, who succeeded him in business, displayed his father’s shrewdness and enterprise, and continues to devote his best energies to the advancement of his adopted home—beautiful Brooklyn.
After Mr. Larue’s death, his widow, who was also his cousin, returned to the old family homestead at Bergin, where the Larues and Buskirks are long remembered, and made a protracted visit. The old pioneer pair are now no more, for she followed her husband to the better land last year.
Centennial Yearbook of Alameda County, California - Oakland, Calif., 1876 Pages 548-551
Transcribed by Peggy Allen, April 21, 2006