Butte County
Biographies
SAMUEL A. VANDEGRIFT
SAMUEL A. VANDEGRIFT.—Among those who are entitled
to be called real pioneers of Butte County is Samuel A. Vandegrift,
a man of resourcefulness and one who is always in the lead in things that spell
progressiveness. Mr. Vandegrift was born in
Washington County, Pa., September 28, 1867. His father, Robert C. Vandegrift, was born in Virginia, and came to Pennsylvania
at the age of sixteen. It was here that the elder Vandegrift
met Mary Jane Frazee, who later became his wife.
Samuel A. Vandegrift’s
great-great-grandfather, Col. David Frazee, was born in England. He came to
this country and settled in the state of Maryland, and from there came with a
friend by the name of Philo Paul to western Pennsylvania, where they took up
farming lands. They marked the boundaries of their farms in truly frontier
fashion, blazing the lines on the trees with Indian tomahawks. Final Paul
located to the east, across what is now known as Paul’s Run;
and Colonel Frazee went to the west, to what is known as Brushy Run. The lands
they took up constituted good-sized farms, measuring three miles long by one
mile wide. Strange to say, neither Philo Paul nor Colonel Frazee were aware of the peculiar formation of their lands, which
later proved to be rich in bituminous coal. Three generations of the Frazee
family have had their birthplace on the old Frazee homestead at Washington
County, Pa., as Mr. Vandegrift was born there as well
as his mother and his grandfather, Andrew S. Frazee. Mr. Vandegrift’s
characteristic perseverance is a trait bequeathed to him from his father’s
family, who were of Holland-Dutch descent. His grandfather, Andrew S. Frazee,
was a soldier with the Union armies in the Civil War. He was a good soldier and
a loyal citizen. The family still have a letter
written by him to his wife, during those dark days.
As is the case with many men who have
attained success, S. A. Vandegrift did not have the
best educational advantages. In order to attend school he walked two miles, and
while attending school took care of four horses, eight cows and one hundred
sixty sheep. When he was seventeen he began to read law under Thomas Hughes, at
Washington, Washington County, Pa. In 1887, when he had reached the age of
twenty, he bought the first through ticket ever sold from Washington, Pa., to
Los Angeles, Cal. Upon his arrival here he worked at the carpentering business
for one year, at the end of which time he went back to his old home in
Pennsylvania; but the West had too great a hold on him, and the year 1888 saw
him in Seattle engaged in the manufacture of bricks after the Seattle fire. He
operated an extensive plant at Lake Bay, Washington, on Puget Sound, shipping
his product to Seattle on scows. Although Mr. Vandegrift
attained marked success while near Seattle, yet he went back to Washington,
Pa., again. While back there this time he married Miss Margaret E. McClay, of Canton Township, Washington County, a daughter
of David and Mattie J. (Paxton) McClay, and a cousin
to Rev. John G. Paxton, the celebrated divine of New York City. After their
marriage, Mr. Vandegrift engaged in the raising of
vegetables for the city markets for about three years, and met with success in
this venture, as he had with his former undertakings. During this time his wife
died, leaving him with two small children, the younger of whom was five months
old. Mr. Vandegrift’s father had died some time
previously, and his mother had moved to Pomona, Cal. After the death of his
wife, Mr. Vandegrift took his two children and came
to Pomona. Here he engaged in the orange-packing business as foreman for F.
Swan and Son, and later worked for the Waters Cannery and the Pomona Canning
Company, where he learned fruit and vegetable canning. He remained in Pomona
some years.
In 1899, Mr. Vandegrift
married Miss Evalina Reynolds of Pasadena. Miss Reynolds
was born at St. Joseph, Mo. When a babe of three months, she was taken by her
parents to Columbus, Ohio, where she was reared to young womanhood, and
completed her education at Notre Dame College. She came to Pasadena in 1898,
where she resided until her marriage.
In June, 1899, Mr. Vandegrift
decided to see something of California; so, taking his family in a camping
wagon drawn by two mules, he left Pasadena and drove overland to Butte County,
taking in all the points of interest on the way. They finally reached Magalia
Ridge, between Feather River and Butte Creek. Here they made a settlement, and
Mr. Vandegrift began placer-mining on Mosquito Creek.
It was due to his patience and perseverance that he succeeded, as he worked for
three months and used eighty dollars’ worth of provisions before he took out
any gold. He still has the first pieces of gold that he took out, having had
them made into a stickpin. He developed the Bon Ton Mine, on the Big Nimshew Creek, which he later sold. In November, 1902, he
went to work for the Diamond Match Company, and became their first foreman of
construction work in Stirling City. Mr. Vandegrift was the pioneer on Magalia Ridge. He was here
three years before the Diamond Match Company located their plant; and it was but
natural, when they wanted a man to look after their interests, and one who was
familiar with the country, that they should select him. He worked a gang of
sixteen men from November till January, when the snow necessitated their
shutting down, to clear off the land for the town site. The camp was called
Brush Camp, and no one was any the wiser as to the nature of the project, for
the work had been done in secret up to that time. He lived in a cabin at Doon, and walked over the trail to and from his work. As
the business of the company developed, Mr. Vandegrift
was promoted from time to time. He became the official timber cruiser, and
remained in this position for six and one-half years, during which time he
cruised the land from the North Fork of the Feather River to Digger Creek,
covering some one hundred thousand acres. This work completed, he went back to
Pomona and erected two bungalows, in one of which his mother lives.
The fame of Mr. Vandegrift
as a timber cruiser was the means of his securing a position with the Madera
Lumber Company, of El Paso, Texas, and, in 1912, he went to Madera, Mexico. The
Mexican revolution put a stop to their operations, and in September, 1913, the employes (sic) of the lumber company were forced to leave.
Mr. Vandegrift came out with a party of eighty
Americans, most of whom were women and children, and sixty Chinese. More than
once the party, on their way from Chihuahua, had to rebuild their road to
enable the train to pass. While in Mexico, Mr. Vandegrift
became acquainted with Huerta, Villa, Rojas and Blanco, and with others who
were and are active in Mexican affairs of today.
Once more in California, Mr. Vandegrift came back to Stirling
City in the spring of 1914. He bought the old Buzzard Mine, now known as the Zig Zag, one of the oldest and
richest quartz pocket mines in Butte County. This he still owns and operates;
and he also owns the Beauty Placer Mine, fifteen miles north of Stirling city.
Of the two sons who
blessed the marriage of Mr. Vandegrift and his first
wife, one, S. Lucian, died at Boise City, May 21, 1918. Rolland A.
is a law student at the University of California at Berkeley. He served his
country on the Mexican border, and has again answered the call and is a Second
Lieutenant at Camp Fremont. Both sons graduated from Chico High School.
Mr. Vandegrift is a member of Table
Mountain Lodge, F. & A. M., at Cherokee; of Chico Chapter, No. 42,
R. A. M.; of Chico Commandery, No. 12, K.T.; and of Islam Temple,
A. A. O. N. M. S., at San Francisco. He belongs to Stirling City Lodge, No. 178, I. O. O. F, of
which he is a charter member and a Past Grand.
Always active in the furtherance of
progressive movements, Mr. Vandegrift has uniformly
stood for law and order. In April, 1917, he was appointed a deputy under Sheriff
Riddle, and he was elected constable at the same time. The moral conditions in Stirling city are better now than they have ever been
before. He has been instrumental in having the mountain streams about Stirling City stocked with mountain trout, and there is not
a better fishing ground to be found in the state than around Stirling City. Mr. Vandegrift’s
optimism and his refusal to look on the dark side of things have served as
assets in the attainment of his present position and success in life. He is
considered one of Butte County’s most prominent and public-spirited citizens.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
01 July 2009.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages
1194-1196, Historic
Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte
County Biographies