The ability that Fred
Almond has manifested in his agricultural operations in Contra Costa County
has placed him among the representative farmers in his locality. Mr. Almond
is a native of England, and was born on July 26, 1869. He is a son of James
and Hannah (Busfield) Almond, both natives of England. At the age of eight
years Mr. Almond came to this country with the parents and located in
Allegan, Michigan, where his father took up farming. Fred acquired his
education in Allegan, and assisted on the home place until he was nearly of
age, when he went to Kalamazoo, Michigan, and worked in a hospital for
nearly three years. In 1892 he came to San Francisco, where he worked for
the City Railway Company for a period of seventeen years, and up to the time
of the last strike, in 1907, at which time Mr. Almond left his employment
with the road and never went back to take up his old position. In 1909 he
removed to Contra Costa County and purchased with his brother, John, the Los
Lomas ranch, which has been highly improved and set out largely to fruit and
grapes. Mr. Almond was united in marriage to Lillie Westerberg, a native of
San Francisco, June 10, 1896. To this union there have been six children -
Irving W., born May 2, 1897; Lloyd J., born August 27, 1898; Frederick V.,
born May 24, 1908; Veronica W., born September 4, 1910; Ellis B., born June
30, 1912; and Hester Virginia, born February 21, 1914. Mrs. Almond's
parents. Amanda and Frederick Westerberg, were among the early settlers in
San Francisco. Her father owned and operated the schooner "Ringleader." Mr.
and Mrs. Almond have recently erected a new home on a conspicuous spot
having a fine view of the surrounding country.
Source: "The History of Contra Costa County, California,"
Elms Publ. Co., 1917, p. 609.
Transcribed and submitted by Sally Kaleta, December, 2006.
Among the prominent physicians of the Bay
Counties is Doctor Ursa S. Abbott, who for many years has practiced in
Richmond with ever-increasing success. He is a native of Ohio, being born at
Clearport on June 3, 1873. He is the son of Lafayette and Mary E. (Lysinger)
Abbott. His father was a native of Vermont, and his mother a native of
Pennsylvania. His father was a successful merchant, and was numbered among
the representative men of his locality. His death occurred in 1895, and
Doctor Abbott's mother died in 1897. In the parents' family there were ten
children, of whom seven are still living. Doctor Abbott, the seventh in
order of birth, received his education in the public schools in Clearport,
Ohio. He attended Heidelberg University at Tiffin, Ohio, for two years. He
then entered the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, but owing to
ill-health in his senior year was obliged to discontinue his studies there.
In 1898 he entered the Ohio Medical University at Columbus, where he
remained one year, spending the following year in Chicago, where he entered
the College of Physicians and Surgeons. On account of failing health he was
obliged to seek a different climate, and went to Denver, Colorado, where he
entered the Gross Medical College. Later Doctor Abbott came to California
and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in San Francisco
in 1902. He received a position as physician on a German steamship, and
sailed in December, 1902, for Hamburg, Germany. The trip covered seventeen
thousand miles, calling at various ports in Central and South America, Cape
Verde and Canary Islands, France, England, and Germany. Returning to New
York, Doctor Abbott took a postgraduate course at the New York City Board of
Health in 1903. Here he continued until the following fall, when he removed
to Colorado, locating at Grand Junction, where he remained for a period of
five years. In 1908 he returned to Richmond and began practicing his
profession, forming a co-partnership with Doctor C. L. Abbott in 1909.
Doctors C. L. and U. S. Abbott are constantly in touch with the most
advanced medical thoughts of their profession, and their personal
characteristics have gained them the warm regard and friendships of many,
while in professional lines they have attained that eminence which comes
only in recognition of merit and ability. On September 7, 1904, Doctor U. S.
Abbott was united in marriage to Miss Rose Carolyn Keller, of Lancaster,
Ohio, daughter of John B. and Elizabeth (Hartman) Keller, both natives of
Germany. In his political views Doctor U. S. Abbott is an ardent Republican.
He holds membership in the Knights of Pythias, Woodmen of the World, the
Elks, and is a Royal Arch Mason. He is a medical examiner for the Woodmen of
the World, the New York Life Insurance Company, and various other insurance
companies. He served as president of the Contra Costa Medical Society in
1914-15. He is a member of the Phi Chi Fraternity of Ann Arbor, Michigan,
and the Union League Club of San Francisco. Doctors C. L. Abbott and U. S.
Abbott are local surgeons for the Santa Fe Railroad, the Pullman shops, the
Atlas & Giant Powder Company, and are also on the medical staff of surgeons
for the Standard Oil Company. They have just completed and moved to the
Abbott Building, 912 Macdonald Avenue, Richmond, one of the most modern
buildings in the city. Mrs. U. S. Abbott is prominently identified with the
social affairs of Richmond, and has served on the Woman's Board of the
Panama-Pacific Exposition. She is now actively engaged in the work of the
Red Cross.
Source: "The History of Contra Costa County, California,"
Elms Publ. Co., 1917, pp. 609-610.
Transcribed and submitted by Sally Kaleta, December, 2006.