Santa Clara
EPHRIAM BALSBAUGH
Cement Contractor of Palo Alto
An
enterprising likable business man of Palo Alto is Ephriam Balsbaugh, a cement
contractor who can be depended upon to do honest and excellent work. He was born on his father's farm near
Harrisburg, PA, October 13, 1859, a son of George and Susan (Moyer) Balsbaugh,
who were both natives of Pennsylvania.
The BALSBAUGH family were pioneers of Pennsylvania, coming from Germany
and settling there in 1747. EPHRIAM
received his education in the public schools of his native district and helped
his father with the farm work, and also became handy with the saw and
hammer. When eighteen years old he left
home and went to Mattoon, Ill., and was employed doing farm work; then went to
Western Kansas and continued to do farm work and in time purchased his own farm
there.
Mr. Balsbaugh's marriage occurred at Stockton,
Kans., and united him with Miss Minnie Culler, a daughter of George and
Catherine Culler, her father a native of Pennsylvania and her mother of Ohio. In 1887 he and his family removed to
Colton., Cal and he was employed in the Stover Mountain Marble Works and held
that position for three and a half years and then he followed gold mining in
the Searchlight section for two and a half years. Mr. and Mrs. Balsbaugh are the parents of one daughter,
Mary. In 1904 the family removed to
Palo Alto so that their daughter might have the advantages of a university
education. She was graduated from
Stanford University and received the degrees of A. B. and A. M. and later was
united in marriage with John Deirup, and attorney of Chico, who passed away in
that city. They were the parents of two
children, Maryle and Torbin.
Mr.
Balsbaugh is the leading resident cement contractor of Palo Alto and has done
most of the street curbing of that
city; and laid many of the sidewalks; at present is doing the concrete work on
the new Schmidt Block on Emerson Street.
He keeps from three to ten men busy in his business, building
foundations and chimneys for residences throughout the county; he also does
considerable fancy work in cobblestones and concrete and erected the beautiful
cobblestone posts, costing $5,000, for the portal of Mountain View, which is
one of the finest pieces of cobblestone art work in California; he has also
done much of the same kind of work at Camp Curry in the Yosemite Valley, where
he worked steadily for a period of seven moths; the Mason cobblestone chimney
in the Big Basin was also built by Mr. Balsbaugh and is a fine piece of work. His art work is beautiful and substantial
and has a peculiar individuality that attracts attention.
Mrs.
Balsbaugh came from an excellent eastern family and with her mother is a member
of the Christian Science Church; her mother, Mrs. Catherine Culler, is
grandmother of Mr. John G Niehardt, the poet laureate of Nebraska, author
of "Three Friends,"
"Hugh Glass", "Epic of the Northwest" and other celebrated
poems. "Three Friends"
secured him the prize for the best poetry written in America for 1919. Mr. Balsbaugh was brought up in the United
Bretheren Church and is now a member of the Congregational Church. A man of the highest principles and
unquestioned integrity, he and his family are held in the highest regard in the
community.
Transcribed by Carolyn Feroben, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California, published by Historic Record Co. , 1922.