Yolo County
Biographies
Isaac CHILES
The distinction which he enjoyed as a pioneer of 1849, and as one of the most talented men of his day, gave to Isaac Chiles a local prestige and prominence which caused his death to be deeply mourned, for on every side the statement was heard that not only had his untimely demise occurred ere he had attained the expected results of his sagacious endeavors, but in addition the community had lost a citizen of inestimable value to its permanent welfare. Early as was the date of his settlement in Yolo county, he was not the first member of the family to arrive here and to invest in property lying within the present limits of this prosperous section. It is a fact of historic interest that his uncle, Col. J. B. Chiles, crossed the plains during the summer of 1841 in company with Green McMahon. In those days the overland route had not been blazed and travelers were at a loss to decide as to the best roads for travel, hence he and his companion encountered many delays and many dangers happily escaped by later emigrants. Some time after his arrival in the west the colonel located the Los Putas grant in Yolo county and paid for the same, eventually giving a part of the tract to his son-in-law, Jerome Davis, the influential old settler in whose honor the village of Davis was named.
Born in Lafayette county, Ky., July 9, 1829, Isaac Chiles was the only one of fourteen children who claimed the blue grass state as his native commonwealth. Shortly after his birth the parents removed to Missouri, and there all of the other children were born. In Missouri the father owned a large warehouse, which he conducted for years. The eldest child in the family left school at the age of fourteen and afterward assisted in the warehouse until the spring of 1849, when he started across the plains from Independence, Mo., with wagons and ox-teams. Sacramento was reached in the fall of the same year, and from there he came to Yolo county, where he engaged as bookkeeper for Jerome Davis on the Davis ranch, covering the present site of the village of that name. During 1862 he bought five thousand acres of the grant, which he devoted to the raising of stock and grain.
In January of 1863, Isaac Chiles married Bridget Dee, a native of Ireland. They became the parents of two sons, J. F. and W. D. While still in the prime of his vigorous activities, Mr. Chiles died June 5, 1874, at the age of forty-seven years, ten months and twenty-six days. His success had been large, but it was the universal sentiment that had his life been spared he would have become in time one of the largest land-owners in Northern California, for his ability was great and his energy tireless. Fortunately, his ability and his energy, as well as his lands, have fallen to the inheritance of his sons, both of whom have become prominent citizens of Yolo county. The younger, William D., is represented elsewhere in this volume. The older son, James Franklin, born in November of 1863, has served in the state assembly from Yolo county and owns a large ranch devoted to the raising of grain and of stock, his specialties being thoroughbred horses and Durham cattle. By his marriage to Miss Buneman, a native of San Francisco, he has three children, Henry Gardner, Marjorie and John Preston.
Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: “History of Yolo County, California” by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 645 – 646.
William M. LOGWOOD
The old-fashioned prairie schooner was the popular conveyance for transportation at the time of Mr. Logwood’s removal to California, and he vividly recalls the incidents of the trip that brought him, when a boy of seven years, from the sunny southland to the land by the sunset sea. The recollections which he entertains concerning his native Texas (for he was born in Sherman county, that state, in 1845) are obscured by the mists that throw childhood into the realms of dreamland, yet he remembers the rugged farmers pausing in their toil to converse concerning the outcome of the Mexican war and the vast riches of the new California mines. The family home, too, was enlivened by discussions as to removal to the west, and his father, Thomas Y. Logwood, a native of Alabama and a descendant of an old southern family, eventually decided to take his wife and children across the country to California, with the hope of bettering his financial prospects. The year 1852 found them traveling via the southern overland route, and a tedious but uneventful journey found its termination in the Salinas valley of Monterey county, where land was secured and a home established. Death brought its own sorrows into the home within a few years after settlement had been made in the valley, for one of the sons, Thomas, passed away in 1856, and the following year the mother, Susan (Wyatt) Logwood, a Texan by birth and education, was taken from the home leaving the father with the care of four small motherless children, William M., Charles P., Edward L. and Mary E. The first-named was twelve at that time and thenceforth he practically made his way, although until the death of the father in 1881, he had the benefit of his practical agricultural experience and kindly counsel.
Having been trained to a practical knowledge of general farming it was natural that William M. Logwood should select it as his occupation in life. After a time he became especially interested in one of the most important departments of agriculture, viz.: the dairy industry. For a long period he conducted a dairy of four hundred cows on the site of what is now the village of Spreckels in Monterey county and became one of the most experienced dairymen in the entire state, gaining a wide reputation for skill in the industry. Indeed, it was this reputation which led to his selection for the important position he now fills. When the Henry Cowell Lime and Cement Company of San Francisco was searching for a man of intelligence and skill to act as foreman of their cattle ranch, commonly known as the old R. S. Carey property, they invited him to fill the position and he consented, the result being that he has been retained in that capacity ever since 1896. His long retention is proof of the high character of his services. The ranch of which he has charge comprises sixty-two thousand acres, and there is usually kept in the vast pastures from one thousand to fifteen hundred head of cattle. The tract lies in the vicinity of Davis, Yolo county, and is owned by the San Francisco firm, who conduct the extensive stock business. To the management of the business Mr. Logwood devotes his entire time and has not had the leisure for participation in politics or in fraternal affairs, although when he was living in Monterey county he held active membership with the Salinas Lodge of Masonry.
During 1885 he married Miss Irene Robbins, a native of Illinois, and since coming to Yolo county he and his wife, with their two children, Leslie and Yewel, have made their home on the large ranch of which he acts as foreman.
Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: “History of Yolo County, California” by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 646 – 647.