Merced County
Biographies
HUGH K. LANDRAM
Among Merced's native sons is attorney Hugh K. Landram, a man endowed with a large amount of vim and energy, who has won for himself a notable position among the lawyers of this prosperous city. He is a son of an esteemed pioneer family. His father, Carter Landram, was a prominent citizen of Merced, born in Macon County, Mo., April 13, 1840. After a long and useful life he passed away on March 2, 1924. The mother of our subject passed away in 1896.
The birth of Hugh K. Landram occurred on January 1, 1885, and he was reared and educated in Merced. After completing the grammar school course he entered high school, from which he was graduated in 1903; then he went to Lebanon, Tenn., where he attended the Cumberland University, from which he was graduated in 1907, with the degrees of B. S. and LL. B. He took one year of postgraduate work at the University of Michigan; then returning to Tennessee he took the bar examination and was admitted to practice in July, 1908. The following fall he returned to California and was admitted to the bar of California in October of the same year. It was but natural that his thoughts turned to his native city in which to begin the practice of his profession, and in Merced he became associated with F. G. Ostrander. The association was carried on successfully until 1912, when Mr. Landram, on account of failing health, retired and discontinued the practice of law for three years. In January, 1915, he again opened offices in Merced and one year later became associated with J. J. Griffin; this association was terminated at the death of Mr. Griffin in December, 1921. On July 1, 1919 Mr. Landram was appointed district attorney of Merced County to complete the term of C. W. Croop, who resigned, and this appointment covered a period of two and a half years.
The first marriage of Mr. Landram united him with Miss Rubye Keck, a native of Tennessee. She passed away in 1912. In 1919, Mr. Landram was married the second time, Miss Charlotte Stockird, a native of Merced, becoming his bride. Fraternally, Mr. Landram is a member of the Masons and the Elks; he belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Rotary Club. Since 1919 he has served as a trustee of the Merced High School. Mr. Landram actively supports all measures that advance the interest of the people of his native county.
History of Merced County, California – Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1925
page 864-865
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
WILLIAM E. BAILEY
As the proprietor of a cement contracting business in Merced William E. Bailey has built up an important trade in his line. The business was inaugurated by Elton F. Bailey, the father of our subject, in 1911, and one year later William E. took over the active management of the business, which has steadily increased with the passing of the years. His birth occurred in San Francisco, Cal., on May 12, 1885, a son of Elton F. and Emma (Conklin) Bailey. The father is also a native son, born in Placerville, Cal., and a son of a very early pioneer, who located in that section of California. Both parents are still living, Elton F. being associated with his son in the cement works.
William E. Bailey attended public school in San Francisco and, as his father before him was a cement contractor, he began to learn the business at an early age and has grown up in it. During the World War he was employed as a mechanic in merchant marine work; after the war he returned to Merced, having previously located here in 1912, and resumed his cement contract work. He had the contract for the cement work on the Doyle Garage, the Gateway Garage, the postoffice building and the building adjoining, the warehouse of the Merced Hardware Company, the Merced Creamery building, the Galen Clark School, the Keystone Hardware building, the John Muir School, and the Livingston High School. He did the cement work on the cafeteria, the manual arts building, and the auditorium of the high school, and the creamery floors at Atwater. Mr. Bailey guarantees all of his work to be first class in every particular and employs only high grade workmen.
The marriage of Mr. Bailey united him with Miss Pauline Miller, a native of Ohio. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Fraternal Brotherhood of Merced and in politics votes the Republican ticket.
History of Merced County, California – Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1925
page 865
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
THOMAS BURTON STRIBLING, JR.
Agriculture has been the life occupation of Thomas Burton Stribling, Jr., for he was only fourteen years old when he determined to make this line his life's work. In 1911 he established the Stribling Nursery which he operated alone for ten years; then in 1921, he became associated with Ivan Lilley and the firm now operates under the name of Lilley & Stribling Nursery, and they have succeeded in building up a prosperous business. Mr. Stribling was born at Granite Spring, Mariposa County, Cal., on August 28, 1895, a son of Thomas Burton and Mary Lavina (Halstead) Stribling, both natives of California, and still living. The grandparents of our subject crossed the plains to California in an early day.
Thomas Burton Stribling, Jr., attended the public schools in Mariposa, Merced and Stanislaus Counties, with three years in high school. During vacation periods he worked in a nursery and started his own business in 1911 in Merced.
The marriage of Mr. Stribling united him with Miss Eugenia Inez Cabral, and they are the parents of three children: Willis Anthony, Burt Lee and Ivan LeRoy. Mr. Stribling served for three months during the World War and is a member of the local American Legion Post; he is also affiliated fraternally with Merced Lodge No. 1240, B. P. O. Elks, and the Red Men of Le Grand; he also is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Farm Bureau. In politics he is Independent.
History of Merced County, California – Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1925
page 866
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
MISS IVA E. TRUMBELL
That the credit for progress and the amelioration of the condition of humanity is due to the male sex entirely has never been for a moment conceded, even by the most prejudiced. In some lines it must be admitted that the work of women has far overshadowed anything that man has been able to accomplish. One of those lines is nursing and caring for the sick, and one who is a worthy exponent of that line is Miss Iva E. Trumbell, proprietor of the new Mercy Hospital in Merced.
The daughter of Charles and Alpha (Brooks) Trumbell, she was born on July 9, 1893, on a farm near Belmont, Iowa. Her father was a farmer and is now living in Stockton, Cal. Her mother has passed away. Miss Trumbell's education began in the public schools of Iowa and was completed in the Iowa Methodist Hospital Training School for Nurses in Des Moines, from which she was graduated in 1917. Afterward she was night superintendent of the same institution from 1917 until June, 1919. She then did post-graduate work in the Teachers' College of Columbia University in New York. From there she was called to Iowa as the superintendent of the Congregational Hospital in Des Moines, where she remained until 1922, when she came to California and for ten months conducted a hospital at Oakdale. On November 20, 1923, she came to Merced to take charge of the newly constructed Mercy Hospital.
This building was erected by the people of Merced and is most modern in construction and is equipped with every up-to-date appliance for the care of its patients and the convenience of the attending physicians and nurses. The heating, lighting and cooking are all done by electricity. The hospital has eleven private rooms and four wards and has a total bed capacity of thirty-five. There are six graduate nurses besides the other attaches of the place. The building is located in a square of ground comprising four blocks and overlooks the new park. With its fine lawn and surroundings it is ideal in its location and a very valuable adjunct to the city.
Miss Trumbell is a member of the American Nurses Association and the National League of Nursing Education, which has its headquarters in New York City. She is also a Red Cross nurse and a member of the Rebekahs of Merced. Politically she votes the Republican ticket.
History of Merced County, California – Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1925
page 866-867
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler