Yuba County Biographies

M. G. CALVIN

A worthy representative of one of the early and prominent pioneer families of Yuba County is M. G. Calvin, a native of this county, where his entire life has been passed. He was born at Camptonville, August 23, 1866, the sixth of nine children born to David and Kate (Budden) Calvin. David Calvin was born in Missouri and crossed the plains to California in 1850, engaging in mining at Horseshoe Bar on the American River. Later he settled in Camptonville, where he married Miss Kate Budden, born in Illinois, who accompanied her parents to California when six years old. Her father was Dr. James Budden, pioneer physician, who owned and conducted a drug store in Camptonville in the early fifties. David Calvin was successful in his mining operations in Yuba County for many years; later he bought the Camptonville Water Works, which he carried on until his death, when the business was continued by his sons. He was a Mason, a member of Gravel Lodge, No. 52. He passed away at the age of sixty-five years, his widow surviving him until 1910, when she passed away at the age of seventy-two.

In pursuit of an education, M. G. Calvin attended the Camptonville public school. At the age of sixteen he began to drive a freight wagon through the mountains; and afterward for five years he worked for the Meek Mercantile Company, driving a team from Marysville to the mountains. He is well known for his expert handling of horses, over the rough mountain roads of Yuba County. Mr. Calvin conducted a stage line from Camptonville to Downieville for four years, making trips in midwinter through snow and over ice on the mountain grades, encountering dangers and hardships unknown to the present generation. During the winter of 1890 the snow reached a depth of twenty feet. Later he was associated with his brother in the operation of the Camptonville Water Works, which they continued until 1919, when the business was sold.

The marriage of Mr. Calvin united him with Miss Sarah Halkyard, daughter of Uriah and Martha Halkyard. Uriah Halkyard is now deceased; his widow survives him and makes her home at Camptonville, aged eighty years. Two daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Calvin: Irene, now the wife of Leonard Bishop; and Olive, now Mrs. Eugene Hays and the mother of one daughter, Dorothy. For eight years Mr. Calvin served as constable and deputy sheriff of Camptonville, and he has also served as school trustee of his district.

History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924

An enterprising and progressive man who has made good in California, and has contributed to Yuba County’s prosperity, is Sam Bradley Britton, the enterprising and accommodating local agent of the Hupmobile and Chevrolet automobiles. He was born in Nottingham, England, on July 6, 1883, and his parents were James and Maria (Swanich) Britton. His maternal great-grandfather, Mr. Cox, came to California in 1849, drawn hither by the lure of gold; later he returned East, to the southern States, where he served in the Confederate Army in the Civil War. Returning afterward to the West, he became the mayor of Phoenix, Ariz. Later he returned to England. James Britton was a millwright; and after arriving in Pennsylvania he built the first lace curtain factory in the United States, at Wilkes-Barre. After twenty-five years in the Keystone State he located in Berkeley, where he spent the remainder of his life. Both parents, pleasantly recalled for their sterling worth, and for all that they accomplished of benefit to others as well as to themselves, are now deceased.

Sam Britton began his education in the schools of England, and continued his studies in the schools of New York City, having come over to the United States as a boy of twelve; and he also studied for two years at the Philadelphia Textile School, working out designs for lace curtains. Then he joined the United States Army, and for three years was in the 2^nd U.S. Cavalry. From 1905 to 1908, he was with the Mounted Service School at Fort Riley, Kans.; he was clerk for the examining board, and also published a weekly newspaper in the Army.

In 1909, Mr. Britton came to California, and for five years was in the real-estate business at San Francisco. In 1914, he removed to Marysville and engaged in raising grain and cattle. He was food administrator for Yuba County during the World War. Later he took up the automobile business, in which he has been successful, his sales-room and shops at the corner of Third and C Streets being a popular headquarters for the motorist. He belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, and to the Rotary Club. In politics, he is a Republican.

At San Francisco, in 1909, Mr. Britton was married to Miss Georgette Day, a school teacher of Illinois; and they have two children, James and Doris. Mr. Britton is a thirty-second degree Scottish-Rite Mason, and a Past Commander of Marysville Commandery No. 7, K.T. He is fond of the great out-of-doors and devotes much time to golf.