Butte County
Biographies
CHARLES EDWARD TOVEE
A patriotic citizen whose civic interest and enthusiasm have found their effective expression in his devotion to the local fire department is Charles E. Tovee, Chief of the C. V. F. D., who was born at Maldon, Essex County, England, and came to California in 1901, being the first and only one of the family to visit America. His father, Capt. Edward Tovee, was a master mariner and shipowner, and still resides at Maldon, the outlet of the Chelmsford Canal. The Tovees for generations were a family of navigators, shipowners and shipping men, and as such have interesting historical associations. Captain Tovee was lost in the wreck of the Competitor, in the North Sea, thirty-one or thirty-two years ago. His wife, who was Josephine Miller before her marriage, was also born in Maldon, the daughter of Captain Charles Miller, a vessel-owner and master mariner on coastwise and river vessels. She died in England.
Charles Edward Tovee, the oldest of the family, was educated at a boarding school and a military academy, completing his education after his father died. Then he served two years, under his uncle, Ernest D. Tovee, in the salvage department of the Robert and William Paul Company, where he was acting first officer of the committee boat, the Harwich, during the Harwich Regatta in 1893. This was the boat that received the Prince of Wales, who afterwards became King Edward. After that he went to sea to get the square-rig drill, expecting to put in the four years necessary to qualify as a master mariner; and three years of that time he served on the good ship Clackmannanshire, of the Shire Line, under Captain Thompson. The boat ran from Ipswich to Calcutta, by way of the Cape of Good Hope; then to the Island of Mauritius, famous for its zoological gardens, known as the Garden Pampolumoosa, on the east coast of Africa; then to Pitcairn Island, for water; and thence to Portland, carrying a cargo jute for Balfour, Guthrie and Company.
The wish of Mr. Tovee’s grandmother had always been that some Tovee might be buried on land; and this he recalled when, on coming to Portland, he was captivated with the beautiful coast country. He decided to quit the sea, although he then had a certificate, secured by examinations, as second engineer. How lucky this decision was may be judged from the fact that the Clackmannanshire, on which he was then serving, was lost with all on board within a year from the time that he said good-bye to the service.
For a while he followed mining in the service of the Hazel Gold Mining Company in Hornbrook, Siskiyou County, Cal., working for over three years as their engineer; and it was during his first year there that he married Miss Lena Maude Day, born in Kirwin, Kans., of English parentage. He also engaged in the hotel business with his father-in-law, W. G. Day, who was proprietor of the Miners’ Home Hotel. When the mine closed down, however, he came to Chico in 1901 and engaged in business there.
Sometime in January, 1906, Mr. Tovee joined the fire department, becoming a member of the Deluge Hose Co., and later he was made assistant foreman to fill a vacancy. Then he was elected assistant foreman for a year, and then foreman, after which he was chosen second assistant fire chief. After two years as a second assistant fire chief, he was elected first assistant chief, a position he filled two terms of one year each, and on May 3, 1916, he was elected chief of the fire department, which position he is so ably filling that his administration meets with general satisfaction.
The Chico fire department is one of the best in the state, and includes in its service two hundred eighty-seven active and exempt firemen. Engine Company No. 1 was organized on April 25, 1873; Deluge Hose Company was formed in January, 1874; and besides these there are two other companies, Engine Company No. 2 and the Western Hose Company. The hose companies are allowed thirty active men, while the engine companies have sixty active men. The companies are maintained by dues of three dollars a year. Residence in the city for a year is one of the requirements for admission, and on admission an additional fee of one dollar is assessed. Western Hose Company is maintained by fines. The department owns a cemetery plot; and an investment of fifteen hundred dollars pays for its perpetual care. Its trustees are: William Peter Jackson, from Engine Company No. 1; Fred Mathews from Deluge Hose Company; B. I. Tabor, from Engine Company No. 2; and S.C. Salisbury, from the Western Hose Company. Fred Lightner willed the money for the first engine. There is one charter member of the department still living, a Mr. Peck, now an aged gentleman.
The department’s equipment, at present, is four thousand feet of 2 ˝-inch hose; three hundred feet of 3 ˝-inch hoses; one hook and ladder; six hose carts in commission; one chemical combination engine, motor driven; and one La France fire engine, with a pumping capacity of seven hundred fifty gallons a minute. The old Fred Lightner engine is out of commission. The new type S Seagraves engine has a capacity of one thousand gallons and is equipped with thirty-three hundred feet of hose, the whole being one of the most modern engines, motor-driven, on the entire coast. There is also none larger in California. The department has a Gamewell fire-alarm system, instituted nineteen years ago. It consists of twenty-five boxes, four indicators, a tapper, and a big bell of eighteen hundred pounds. The Western Hose Company’s house is at Fifth and Cedar Streets; Engine Company No. 1 own their own building on Second Street, between Main and Wall, and rent it to the city; Engine Company No. 2 is located on Eighth, between Broadway and Salem; Deluge Hose Compnay is located on Main Street, between Fourth and Fifth. The city is well-equipped with hydrants, and the pressure is such that, with the aid of the engines, the water is forced up over the highest buildings.
The board of trustees of Chico showed their appreciation of Mr. Tovee’s services to the city in his untiring devotion to the building up of the fire department, and his never-failing zeal in forwarding the city’s interest, by appointing him city marshal on September 6, 1918, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of M. H. Goe.
Two children bless the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tovee: Juanita Josephine and Trillis Ann, who, with their parents, enjoy the Tovee residence built by Mr. Tovee at 418 Orient Street. Mr. Tovee is a charter member of the Eagles, a member of the Foresters of America, and a charter member of the Business Men’s Association. He belongs to the Episcopal Church. At Oroville, in March, 1906, Mr. Tovee was made a citizen by Judge Gray. In politics he is a Democrat.
Transcribed
by Roseann Kerby.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1093-1095, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Roseann Kerby.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies