Tag Archives: family

Evergreen Founders

April 13, 2016Artwork, Historical Researchbusiness, evergreen people, family, generations, KR Smith, settlers, townshipevergreen

Let’s straighten out a couple facts before we discuss the Town Founders. Antonio Chaboya, son of Marcos Chaboya and brother of Pedro Chaboya, was granted over 24,000 acres of land known as Rancho Yerba Buena. This is the area we know as Evergreen. Before Spanish and Mexican colonization, there were Native Ohlone people here, whom we’ll discuss after we talk to our first person references. The Chaboyas would sell Rancho Yerba Buena after European immigrants squatted and fought for rights to their homesteads. It wasn’t violent but it wasn’t pretty.

After the Chaboyas let go of their greatest investment, Evergeen the Town or Village was built up centered about modern day San Felipe Road and Aborn Road. In fact, we’ve discussed previously that Aborn was once called Evergreen Road, connecting with King Road and then to the City of San Jose. This map is from 1863. This first generations of Evergreen Smiths were born in Germany in the 1830-40’s. As you can see from the map above, the Smiths were some of the first Europeans to settle in Evergreen.

Charles C. Smith moved in first. After coming to Santa Clara County in 1859, Charles would develop a farm and do a little blacksmithing on the side. He would later go on to be successful in real estate in Downtown San Jose with the firm Phelps & Smith. Charles had diverse business holdings. Charles and his wife had 10 kids.

Next door, in 1868, brother Francis Joe Smith and he would open the General Store off San Felipe Road. This was Evergreen’s very first business. Shortly after, Francis would also open a winery, though not Evergreen’s first. Francis Joe Smith would become the Town Post Master in 1870 when Evergreen got a Post Office. Francis Joe would also begin to diversify his investments with mining and other ventures.

Francis and wife, Catherine, would have a daughter who would never marry but would embrace Evergreen with both arms wide open. Katherine, Katie, R. Smith would be a teacher than the principal of the Evergreen School. The School District, founded in 1860, would name a school after her over 100 years after the first school was built. KR Smith Elementary School was the second school opened in Evergreen. She would’ve attended and taught at the original school, then facilitated its moving further down San Felipe Road then to Fowler Road. Katherine R. Smith would live to over 100 years old and continue to be involved in the School District. She also held the record of oldest San Jose State graduate for a number of years.

Though their historical restoration and preservation has not been determined as of yet, the Smith Residences from the 1860’s still stand in Evergreen today off of San Felipe Road, obscured by once renowned, now overgrown, orange orchards. It’s described as a Gothic Classic Revival farmhouse. The stores along San Felipe burnt down. Then again, their houses weren’t this close to the road back then. San Felipe has been revised and straightened out.

The Smith families, both large, would marry into other Evergreen families and take over their fathers’ investments. They appear in several maps at various times, creating a redundancy. Descendants of the Smith Family still live in Evergreen today. Don’t confuse James Franklin Smith Elementary School for the same Smith Family, however. I have an interview with that involve Evergreen administrator coming up. Here’s the artwork we’ve prepared to celebrate the Smith Family in our timeline.

Redundant Theme – Orchardists

An overwhelming motif of Evergreen is our orchards. You’re going to see a lot of trees in rows portrayed throughout the Evergreen Mural Walk.

My parents would tell tales of moving in across Stevens Lanes from apricot orchards. In creating the artwork for this project, everyone asked why there weren’t more apricots and prunes. This theme is plain as day to those of us who remember fruit stands and vineyards. Our newer residents may not understanding what was here before we moved in.

Our Evergreen entrepreneur and agriculturalist, Luis Pellier, hatched a plan in 1847 while gold panning to bring the seeds, plants and clippings from his native France and forever change the fruit industry of California. The cost of a single apple was $1.50 at the time, which in 1849 dollars was cost prohibitive. Without our guy, there wouldn’t be the awesome economy in San Jose during the 1800’s. He’s really the father of California’s wine and fruit industries. The Pellier family still lives in Evergreen today.

Gunless lawman and California statesman, Charles White, came to America in 1833, but his son was a popular orchardist and businessman. These are Charles E. White’s orchards to the right.

John Tully would own and operate many orchards throughout Evergreen, as would H.L. Stevens. From the 1850’s forward, Evergreen would blossom with orchards.

The East Side Fruit Growers Association opened in 1893 off Tully Road and McLaughlin Road, serving as a trade association for local farmers across Evergreen and East San Jose. They would join a larger sales organization in 1899.

Otis B. Whaley would also make our list of well-known, well-liked orchardists of Evergreen. Also having served on the Evergreen Elementary School Board of Trustees for 27 years, he would cultivate his orchards in Evergreen from 1911 until he passed in 1947. The third school opened in the Evergreen School District would be named in his honor in 1963.

When railroads off Monterey Road became popularized in shipping fruit back east, the fruit industry would shift focus downtown towards the rails. The East Side association, like others in the Santa Clara Valley, would be acquired by the Santa Clara County Fruit Exchange, a dried fruit co-op opened in 1892, once known as the California Prune and Apricot Growers Association. The plant was located across the street from Del Monte’s Canning Plant. California Prune and Apricot would become Sunsweet and can here until 1915. The Fruit Exchange wouldn’t disband until 1916 after the plant burnt down while leased.

Popular companies like Sunsweet, Del Monte, Sun Garden and Valley of Hearts Delight, Richmond-Chase, would ship Evergreen fruit, dried and canned, around the world. Railroads and later Reid-Hillview would play major roles in exporting Evergreen’s produce. Santa Clara County as a whole was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight, but Evergreen owns the copyright as its owners still live in town. The town and community of Evergreen would identify as an agricultural hotspot well into the 1950’s.

I have a personal relationship with Evergreen orchards picking fruit and pumpkins from the Cortese fruit stand and orchards. My mother and I made a habit of getting cherries there that never made it home, being snacked on between stoplights. Vincent Cortese would immigrate from Sicily in 1917, and work in the orchards. Vincent would eventually marry an Italian-American lady, purchase his own farm in Evergreen and raise his family with an orchardist tradition and one of civil leadership. The orchards in Evergreen would give way to Evergreen Valley College, but John Cortese, also a lawyer, maintains orchards today. This is a tradition that still bears fruit today.

My continued affections for orchards existed in the various fruit trees in my own backyard as a kid. A love of blossoms and blooms enchanted my childhood. Pies and jams of all kinds came out of our Evergreen kitchen. Apple sauce is a tradition. Our backyard gave us peaches in the Spring, Plums in the Summer and Apples all Fall and Winter long. Lemons, and therefore lemonade, are in abundance at my house. To say I’m drawing from experience would be an understatement.

Orchards have always been in my life as a native of Evergreen. Below are pieces that have and haven’t made the cut, but all include our redundant theme of orchards.

Pellier Roots

December 30, 2015Artwork, Historical Researchagriculture, apricots, business, evergreen, evergreen people, family, generations, mining, mirassou, orchards, pellier, prunes, Valley of heart's Delight, vineyards, vintner, winemakerevergreen

The Pellier family and their descendants have been long time Property and Business Owners in San Jose and Evergreen since the late 1840’s. Though one of the murals is designed specifically for the descendants of the Pelliers, I have another mural for what I’m calling the “Pellier Contribution” to San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley.

Mini-History lesson: The Spanish Missions ran the agricultural business and mostly did business with the local naval bases that protected them. The Indians were the farmers and the monks participated as well. However, when California became Mexican Territories, the missions closed down and the Indians were displaced. The vineyards and orchards went dry and much of the valley turned to cattle pasture.

Louis Pellier (1817-72), son of winemakers outside of Bordeaux, had plenty of experience keeping the family farm. At the age of 32, Louis left France during the French Revolution and traveled around Cape Horn to arrive in San Francisco in 1847-8. Louis sent for his brother, Pierre, and they found success gold mining in Weaverville. Pierre served in the French Army during the revolution and came to California in 1849.

Louis quickly realized that there were going to be a flood of people coming to California for the Gold Rush and American Dream. The price of the limited produce was extremely high. With family in France and experience he gained on the family farm, Louis could get into that business. Pierre came to California in 1849 in search of gold, but the Pellier brothers returned to their native country several times in search of a different kind of gold.

On their 1850’s journeys, Pierre brought back his long lost sweetheart, Henriette Renaud. Louis realized his business plans. Louis, Pierre and Jean, the Pellier brothers, stretched out across France, looking for fruit and vegetable varieties to repopulate the rich soil of the Santa Clara Valley. Not all of the plants would arrive alive when traveling by boat. There was a fair amount of learning taking place in the process. In steamer trunks and barrels, the brothers brought seeds, small potted plants and clippings to propagate once back in California.

The brothers improvised when water ran low, presumed to be due to underestimation on the first journey. They kept the clippings alive by inserting them into potatoes for moisture, which worked well.

The Pellier brothers brought some other notable names, the very young Delmas brothers, to California with them. The brothers made considerable amounts of money and bought large plots of land in San Jose and east of San Jose. Unfortunately, the Pelliers sold all their stock of seeds off the dock of Alviso, which meant they had nothing to plant for themselves after the first voyage. This created the necessity of return trips to France, possibly crossing through Panama by train on their way back to California.

Louis Pellier founded City Gardens Nursery in 1850 with Pierre, at the present day corner of St. James Street and San Pedro Street. The Pellier prune clippings were grafted on to wild Californian prunes, and arranged into rows making the first California prune orchards in 1856. City Gardens was open to the public for picnics and for the nuns to pick freely. The prune was a success, and City Gardens was a cultural hub of Downtown San Jose. The California Prune Industry and Valley of Heart’s Delight radiated outward from the Downtown Pellier orchards. This, however, will be a forgotten garden. The Pellier’s other pride lies east of San Jose in the 1860’s.

Louis and Pierre bought land in Evergreen, which was once part of the Chaboya Land Grant or Rancho Yerba Buena. When Louis sold his portion to Pierre, it became one of the largest ranches in the township of Evergreen.

Louis Pellier had a spat with his brothers, presumed to be due to the sale of all the plants or the neglect of their orchards on one of his journeys to France. Pierre took his horticultural skills and expertise to his ranch and vineyards in Evergreen. Louis stayed downtown. Louis took a wife, a woman of French heritage, who wasn’t well suited for him. She quite possibly drove him mad, possibly creating the wedge between brothers.

Don’t worry. There was a lot of love there between the Pellier brothers, even towards the end. Pierre even named his first son after his brother. In 1872, Louis died in a state hospital, due to a nervous breakdown after the separation with his wife. He and his wife had no children. His brother, Pierre, took care of the estate, and the family decided to pay-off the widow with proceeds of the Downtown property. There was a Will in place, but the greedy widow kept coming back for more until a cash settlement was reached.

Louis’s amazing business venture wouldn’t reach its height for many years. In 1929, California would cultivate 171,330 acres of prune orchards. The La Petite D’Agen from France grafted onto the wild prunes proved to be perfect for California. It was fruitful or meaty enough to be dried, making the prune easy to export all over the country. The growth of the railway system made the export possible. Pierre Pellier brought back the Black Burgundy, French Colombar, Chasselas, Fontainebleau, Pinot Noir, Madeline and others from France. With these new varieties, Louis and Pierre Pellier founded the Valley’s French wine industry at City Garden Nursery.

Pierre Pelliers’s vineyards and orchards a few miles east of San Jose would get passed down to his five children, who later became vineyard owners and winemakers themselves, following in the Pellier’s footsteps, even through Prohibition. The descendants of the Pellier brothers would, in fact, become one of, if not the, most famed business out of Evergreen. The family still has living descendants in family house in the neighborhood. They deserve their own mural in my humble opinion.

Here’s a look at the artwork I have planned for the “Pellier Contribution.”

Down White Road

December 26, 2015Historical Researchbusiness, evergreen, evergreen people, family, generations, leadership, orchards, rancho, Rancho Pala, State Capital, statehood, street name, territory, whiteevergreen

So, there’s a main artery of Evergreen North to South down White Road. In fact, a couple locations I scoped out were on White Road. One of my quests was for “White”. Why this name for an important road? Why on my maps from the 1850’s forward? This was an important person back then and today.

Some of my historical references mention a C. E. White in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Was this my Mr. White, namesake of White Road?

Turns out no. I searched property grants and maps from the area checking for the first occurrence of the name. That wasn’t that hard. It was actually one of the first grants in the area and one of the first European names that occur in Evergreen.

Charles White – C. E. White’s father – came to Santa Clara Valley in the 1840’s. Chas. White bought Rancho Pala, just Northeast of Rancho Yerba Buena. His wife, Ellen, and children were granted the properties later on. Rancho Pala is actually a very small part of Evergreen. What White accomplished during his short life was incredible. And the manner in which he died was rather fantastic as well, though I chose not to use it within my artwork.

Charles was born in 1808 in Ireland. He came to the United States with his wife and two kids, and crossed over land through Missouri, Oregon Trail style.

The White Family quickly became some of the most well liked people in the Pueblo de San Jose. Mr. White served many years as an aclade, or magistrate, similar to a modern day judge. Mr. White was critical part of California’s Statehood and then participated in the “Legislature of a Thousand Drinks”, which made California’s first State Capitol Pueblo de San Jose.

Charles White was also a crucial player in San Jose’s creation of downtown, by selling smaller plots and raising funds for the City treasury. Charles White died on board Steamboat Jenny, which exploded after leaving port at Alviso in 1853.

C. E. White, a well-known businessman and orchardist, was Charles White’s son. Through the early 1900’s. Ellen owned Rancho Pala until she passed away in 1887.

They are no known direct relatives of this branch of the White Family. The only way I was able to verify that this was the same Charles White in all the different accounts was through another related White family. Charles and White are both pretty popular names. Charles White referred to in every possible configuration.

The Legacy of Antonio Chaboya

November 4, 2015Artwork, Concept, Historical Researchantonio, cattle, Chaboya, evergreen, evergreen people, family, generations, horses, indians, livestock, mexican, natives, new Spain, Ohlone, pedro, period, ranching, rancho, Rancho Yerba Buena, territoryevergreen

Antonio Chaboya’s name isn’t really well known throughout San Jose but his land holdings certainly are today. Rancho Yerba Buena, parts at least, stayed in the Chaboya family for over a hundred years. From all accounts, they were exemplary citizens predating the European or American immigrants.

Antonio Chaboya, born in Mexico in 1803, obtained one of the first land patents from the Mexican Government, post-Spanish rule. Antonio and family probably came to the Santa Clara Valley with father, Marcos Chaboya, to colonize the area during the late Spanish Period. With Mexican Independence shortly after, the Spanish Missions were decommissioned and their large land tracts were up for grabs. The Missions once were the source of agriculture for the Spanish. Antonio Chaboya enjoyed one of the largest tracts of land afterwards.

Rancho Yerba Buena raised a huge herd of cattle, hundreds horses and various crops. Antonio Chaboya and his family enjoyed a fairly untouched version of Evergreen, not being able to cultivate it all. Rancho Yerba Buena’s rolling hills were populated with grasslands, creek beds, spearmint and oak trees. Yerba Buena translates to spearmint in Spanish. Rancho Yerba Buena was over 25,000 acres, making it a high maintenance property.

Antonio Chaboya was granted the land originally in 1833 by the Mexican Rule, but had to fight to keep it through the 1860’s in the United States. The Chaboyas and their ranch hands even fought and killed bears on their property. The family hosted an annual rodeo at Rancho Yerba Buena for the young horsemen they employ and of the pueblo. The Chaboyas traded a lot of cowhides with Americans and enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle. The property was left to Antonio’s descendants in his passing in 1865.

After the Mexican American War, Antonio Chaboya again was granted Rancho Yerba Buena by the US Government in 1858, one of the first real estate cases heard over “squatters’ rights”.

Antonio’s brother, Pedro Chaboya, served as one of the first lawmen in the area under Mexican Independence. Pedro Chaboya lead the fight when under Spanish rule to defend the ranchos of the Santa Clara Valley from Native Americans and create some peace for the ranchers. He would maintain a much smaller land patent west of Rancho Yerba Buena, near the present day fairgrounds.

We will discuss Evergreen’s land fights, though we didn’t focus much on it within the artwork itself. Rancho Yerba Buena was over 25,000 acres and hard to scout and watch at all times. As cattle grazed throughout Evergreen, it might have been years until someone came upon a new farm or Native camp popping up. The Chaboyas had to part with Rancho Yerba Buena in sections to provide newcomers the opportunity of the American Dream. With this realization, Downtown Evergreen on San Felipe Road and Aborn Road was the first area densely populated with new farmers.

The Chaboya family would maintain homesteads off of Quimby Road in the center of the former Rancho. Chaboyas would have the last names Shobolo, Shabolla, Chabolla and Chaboya, all being pronounced the same way. Chaboya orchards were a source of pride. The family would marry into other prosperous Mexican and American families. They were a well-liked, hard working bunch in Evergreen into the 1940’s. Then, the trail goes cold.

Little trivia: Yerba Buena and Evergreen are trying to communicate the same things about our community and land. Spearmint is super green, and again the forever green inspires the same. If you get a little mint in your yard, watch out. It’s a nuisance and a weed after a while. Spearmint will make itself quite comfortable in your Evergreen flowerbed, as I know from experience.

The Chaboya/Chabolla story is a crucial one in our timeline because it spans our Native American Evergreen to early California Statehood Evergreen into the 20th century. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that Americans started purchasing large lots of land from Rancho Yerba Buena. We find them so important, we’ve featured them several times in the Mural Walk. Here’s what I’ve designed to honor the Chaboya Legacy.

The Quest for John Tully

November 4, 2015Historical Researchagriculture, business, evergreen, evergreen people, family, generations, orchards, street name, tully, Valley of heart's Delightevergreen

So, my research takes me far and wide. A lot of it is as easy as Googling the right names and places, but not all of it. I have a few sepia toned photos of John Tully and his wife, Rose, Irish immigrants by way of Illinois. The Tully’s owned a considerable amount of land in Santa Clara Valley in the late 1800’s. They left large charitable gifts. I wanted to see if I couldn’t find a more personal tact to the Tully’s Tales.

I visited the Genealogy Museum nearby where I thought I’d find plenty applicable things. But no. I had entered a time warp.

This is a Microfiche something or other. No, not for looking at little fishies. But it’s like an original zoomy thing and a manual mouse. It was like if a computer and a Ouija board got married. The Microfiche was simple and intuitive to use.

But back to the Tully’s from Evergreen. Quite a popular last name and without a middle initial, I’m a little lost. Some references I knew were to my man, but I’m looking for pictures, not written documents. Specifically, I’d love to find portraits of my key players.

These items and references are in a bigger museum in Sacramento, so it’s just as well. I’m going to photograph their old residence, but it’s not in Evergreen. I called publications and sites that referenced them in articles to request a contact, but to no avail. The Tully trail has gone cold for now.

I may end up there at the Genealogy Museum in Sac, but I’ll have to settle for the imagery I already have for the Tully’s, pictured in the upper right with their Evergreen Eucalyptus trees on their ranch off Tully Road. It was already an artistic piece of photography.