Colusa
County
Biographies
KING BECKER
KING BECKER. To the people of Colusa county Mr. Becker is known as an energetic and resourceful ranchman. Since 1894 he has made his home on a ranch of fifteen hundred acres one-quarter of a mile from Williams and owned by William Henry Williams, the large property being utilized for the raising of wheat and barley. In the cultivation of the land and the harvesting of the crops he uses five eight-mule teams and one combined harvester. From 1899 until the fall of 1904 he also operated the Pulsifer place of six hundred and twenty acres and the Stovall ranch of two hundred and sixty-five acres, the total of eight hundred and eighty-five acres lying in one body, but when the property was sold he relinquished his lease, since which time he has concentrated his attention upon his home place.
Originally of German extraction, the Becker family became established in America during the colonial period, and Ludvig Becker, a New Yorker by birth, served during the Revolutionary struggle, afterward removing to Canada, but eventually returning to New York, where he died. Next in line of descent was Philip L., a native of New York and a farmer of Ontario. By his marriage to Elizabeth Beckstead he had eight children, of whom the eldest, Jeremiah, is the father of King Becker and resides eight miles southeast of Williams, Colusa county. Further details of the family history will be found in his sketch presented on another page of this volume. Among his eight children (four now living) King was the youngest. He was born at Morrisburg, Ontario, March 16, 1861, and at eight year of age came across to California on one of the first trains that crossed the continent. On the Colusa county farm he aided in the work of cultivating and harvesting the crops, and when at leisure from such responsibilities he attended the common school of Central district. At twelve years of age he began to drive eight-mule teams for farm work and became a very useful assistant in the cultivation of the home place.
On starting out for himself in 1890, King Becker rented the Wemstock and Lubin estate of twelve hundred and ninety acres, in partnership with L. G. Manor. In the cultivation of the land, which was principally under grain, he used a combined harvester and two eight-mule teams. At the same time, as a partner of Thomas Kidd, he rented the Crocker property of four thousand acres fifteen miles above Colusa, where three combined harvesters and ten and twelve eight-mule teams were employed in sowing and harvesting the grain. Upon dissolving his partnerships in 1894 he came to the Williams tract adjoining the town of the same name and here he has since engaged in grain-raising. As a grain farmer he is more than ordinarily successful. Careful in attention to details, yet comprehensive in his view of large affairs, he possesses qualities that adapt him for successful work in any occupation he might choose to enter. As a citizen he is public-spirited, but not active in politics, in which he takes no part whatever aside from voting the Republican ticket.
In Bear valley, Colusa county, Mr. Becker was united in marriage with Miss Birdie Epperson, a native of Sutter county, and they are the parents of a daughter, Mildred. Very early in the history of California B. C. Epperson, Mrs. Becker’s father, crossed the plains from Illinois and established his home in the then sparsely settled farming community of Sutter county, but later took up the stock and general farm business in Bear valley. Eventually he retired from agricultural cares and removed to San Francisco, which continues to be his home. The interest which Mr. Becker maintains in educational affairs led him to accept a position as school trustee in Williams, where he renders faithful and intelligent service in behalf of the public schools. In fraternal relations he is identified with the Independent Order of Foresters; also belongs to the Williams Lodge of Odd Fellows, in which he is past grand, and is further connected with the Encampment at Arbuckle, and with his wife is a member of the Rebekahs.
[Inserted by D. Toole.]
King Becker
1890 Sep 27, The Record-Union, P5, Sacramento, California
Married
Bar[sic] Valley, Colusa county, September 23 – By Rev. Mr. Eastman, at the residence of the bride’s parents, King Becker to Miss Bertha Epperson, both of Colusa county.
1894 Jun 10, San Francisco Chronicle, P15, San Francisco, California
For the Convention
Republicans Select Their Delegates
<snipped>
Colusa, June 9 – The Republican county convention nominated E. W. Jones for Sheriff, F. W. Willis for Clerk and Recorder, A. A. Thayer for Assessor, J. E. Myers for Tax Collector, Dr. J. P. Gale for Coroner, Ernest Weyand for District Attorney, King Becker for Auditor, J. W. Kaerth for Surveyor, J. Viney for Treasurer and Fred Monsen and William Struckmayer for Supervisors. <snipped>
1903 Sep 23, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
King Becker and L. Zumwalt came down from Williams this morning.
1904 Jul 31, The San Francisco Call, P38, San Francisco, California
Now that the school children have been garnered in from the woods and fields and seashore the migration thither of the “other people” has begun. And there is much philosophy in awaiting the evacuation of the children and their accompanying friends, for during vacation the resorts are crowded to the full limit and as for quiet and seclusion, it might as well be sought in a brass foundry. As for the little ones – bless them – God made them, even as the young of other animals, to be frisky and frolicksome and noisy, and thus should the countryside be yielded to them during the six weeks of their respite from books. It belongs to them. But now is the grown-ups’ time to shine
<snipped>
At Bartlett Springs:
<snipped>
From Williams – King Becker and wife, Miss M. Becker, Miss F. Chandler, J. O. Banks, Virginia Banks, Miss Amelia Grassher.
<snipped>
1905 May 27, San Francisco Chronicle, P14, San Francisco, California
First New Crop Grain
The first lots of the new crop of Wheat and Barley arrived in the city on Thursday. One lot of 425 sacks of rather dark feed Barley shipped by D. Levy from the ranch of King Becker, near Williams, in the Sacramento valley, to the Moseley Bresse Company, was sold to W. A. Starr at $1.21 1/4. Another lot of 260 sacks of light shoepeg Barley, grown at Bethany, Contra Costa County, was sold by Somers & Co. to the San Francisco Milling Company at $1.30. The first of the Wheat crop consisted of 150 sacks shipped from Bethany to Somera & Co.; it was badly shrunken and $1.30 was the best bid made on it.
1905 Jul 28, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
King Becker came down from Williams Thursday afternoon and returned today.
1906 Aug 27, Woodland Daily Democrat, P2, Woodland, California
King Becker and family, formerly of Williams but now of Sacramento, are spending the season here. Miss Mildred Becker is an expert at croquet.
1910 Sep 30, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
King Becker, Bert Warren and W. D. Castle arrived from Willows in their automobile this morning on their way home to Sacramento.
1915 Jun 10, Oakland Tribune, P16, Oakland, California
Children Contesting for Valuable Ranch
Colusa, June 10 – Judge Ellison of Tehama county is presiding at the hearing of a contest for share in 830 acres of valuable land in Colusa county, a part of the estate of the late Jerry Becker, King Becker of Sacramento. Mrs. C. D. Henderson of Colusa, Mrs. Sarah Worsley, Mrs. C. Stovall, Mrs. W. C. Tully, and Mrs. Helen Becker, all of Williams, Colusa county, are suing Mrs. Viva Sutton and Mrs. Mamie O’Rourke for a distribution of the property. All are children of the late Jerry Becker. Becker, shortly before his death, deeded the land to his wife, who at her death devised it to Mrs. Sutton and Mrs. O’Rourke, her children.
1915 Jun 11, Oakland Tribune, P17, Oakland, California
Battle to Obtain Land is Colusa is Lost
Colusa, June 11 – Judge Ellison of Tehama county, presiding in the local superior court, dismissed, on the ground of non-suit, the action instituted by King Becker of Sacramento, Mrs. c. D. Henderson of Colusa, Mrs. Sarah Worsley, Mrs. C. Stovall, Mrs. W. Tully and Mrs. Helen Becker, all of Williams, against Mrs. Viva Sutton and Mrs. Mamie O’Rourke to have deeds for 830 acres of Colusa land set aside and distributed among the contestants. The contestants are children of the late Jerry Becker, who prior to his death deeded the land to his wife, Mrs. Delia Becker, now deceased, who gave the property to her two children, Mrs. Viva Sutton and Mrs. Mamie O’Rourke.
1920 Jun 20, San Francisco Chronicle, P8, San Francisco, California
Miss Mildred Becker and Wallace Mason were quietly married at the home of the bride by Rev. W. E. Harrison of Westminster Presbyterian Church. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. King Becker. He served in the engineers’ corps of the Rainbow Division during the war and had the rank of Major. He is president of the American Legion and is a member of the Hermitage Club, where he made his home. Mr. and Mrs. Mason will make their home here on their return from Lake Tahoe, where they are passing their honeymoon.
1924 Mar 27, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
King Becker, who has many friends in this city, was operated upon Friday at a Sacramento hospital. Latest reports from the hospital indicate that he is improving satisfactorly[sic].
1924 May 4, Woodland Daily Democrat, P8, Woodland, California
B. C. Dunlap of College City is recovering from appendicitis. He was visited here today by his uncle, King Becker, of Sacramento. Mrs. Becker has been in the hospital for five weeks but is now convalescing.
1927 Nov 22, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
Worsley Burial Set at Williams
The body of Mrs. Sarah M. Worsley, who died in this city Monday morning, was removed from the Krellenberg parlors Monday evening and taken to the family home in Williams. J. D. McNary and Son, of Colusa, will have charge of the funeral arrangements. Mrs. Worsley was born in Canada on January 17, 1858, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Becker, who are also residents of Williams. The Beckers have been residents of Williams ever since 1869. Deceased is survived by a son, Everett Worsley, who conducts a general merchandise store in Williams; two daughters, Mrs. Virgil Forsythe and Mrs. E. Miller, of Williams; two sisters, Mrs. Ellen Becker of Sacramento and Mrs. D. C. Henderson of Colusa, and one brother, King Becker, of Sacramento.
1936 Apr 19, Oakland Tribune, P33, Oakland, California
Important among departments of the California Society of Daughters of the American Revolution is that of genealogical records, which for the term just ending has been under chairmanship of Mrs. Scott Rountree, Piedmont. “The Department of Genealogical Records,: explains Mrs. Scott Rountree, “collects heretofore unpublished material to add to the genealogical libraries in Washington, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Between 1849 and 1905 there was no State law requiring the filing of vital statistics, so there are about wo generations of Californians whose records are hidden away in family Bibles or not recorded at all. These statistics are copied from Bibles, tombstone, old deeds, wills, and even samplers, and are bound into volumes. The State Society of the D.A.R.,” continues Mrs. Rountree, “has undertaken the copying, indexing and binding of the First State Census of California taken in 1852 and packed away in files of the secretary of state, where it remained until about 1926. When it was discovered some of the papers were rotting. Still nothing was done about it until the Fall of 1933 when the copying of it was undertaken by the California Daughters under Mrs. Frederick F. Gundrum of Sacramento; who was then State regent. Mr. King Becker, chapter chairman of genealogical records in Sacramento, was in charge of the copying. This work is now being carried on by the State committee of genealogical records, assisted by Mrs. Elizabeth R. Chapman. Many names are obliterated, as the paper has disintegrated, but nevertheless many names and records are being preserved for posterity.
1940 Dec 28, Sacramento Bee, P14, Sacramento, California
Folk Arrange for New Year in Pasadena
New Year’s Day in Pasadena is the aim of scores of Sacramentans who plan to be among the throng of spectators for the Tournament of Roses in the morning and with the rooters for the Rose Bowl Game between the Stanford University and University of Nebraska football teams in the afternoon. <snipped> Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Mason, Miss Harriet Mason and Wallace Mason, Jr., departed for Pasadena yesterday with the idea of stopping at different places of interest before returning to their home late Thursday.
1942 May 19, Sacramento Bee, P11, Sacramento, California
Miss Harriet Mason arrived home from Stanford University for a visit last week with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Mason, at 901 Forty Fifth Street.
1943 Jun 15, Sacramento Bee, P13, Sacramento, California
Miss Harriet Mason Will Leave for East to Enter College
Miss Harriet Mason, who graduated from Sanford[sic] University a few days ago, is looking forward to entering Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Mass. She will leave here June 29th for the Radcliffe class opening on July 5th. Miss Mason will be an attendant at the wedding of her classmate, Martha Ann Caff, and Charles Bragg in Los Angeles this Saturday evening. She will return here to be with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Mason, before her departure for the East. Mr. and Mrs. Mason and Mrs. King Becker, Miss Mason’s grandmother, were present at the Stanford graduation exercises.
1944 Sep 27, Sacramento Bee, P4, Sacramento, California
Wallace A. Mason, Jr. is Killed on Guam
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace A. Mason, Sr., of 901 Forth Fifth Street today announced the receipt of word their 19 year old son, Wallace A. Mason Jr., a private first class in the marine corps, was killed in action on Guam July 22nd. Private Mason entered the service of the marine corps July 13, 1943, and left for the Pacific theater of war four and a half months later. He was a member of the 3rd Marine Division.
High School Graduate
Young Mason, who was born in Sacramento April 22, 1925, was a graduate of the Sacramento High School and was a student at the Sacramento Junior College when he joined the marines nearly 15 months ago. While in high school, Mason was a member of the Eunoia Club and until he entered the military service he was active in directing the work of Sacramento Troop No. 45, Boy Scouts of America, in which he held the rating of Eagle scout. His father had a long military career until his retirement in 1938 as a major general with the Purple Heart decoration for exceptional and meritorious service during World War I.
Father Enlisted in 1916
General Mason enlisted in the California National Guard in 1916 to engage in the conflict on the Mexican border. During World War I he saw service in five major and four minor engagements at the conclusion of which he held the rank of major. In 1925 he organized and became commander of the 184th Infantry, 40th Division, California National Guard, and in 1930 he was promoted to brigadier general and placed in command of the 79th Infantry Brigade of the guard, a post which he held until he retired as major general. In addition to his parents, Private Mason is survived by a sister, Harriet Mason, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. King Becker, all of Sacramento, and his paternal grandfather, Charles G. Mason of San Francisco.
1945 Nov 19, San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, P8, San Luis Obispo, California
Births
Mason – Born to Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Mason of Pismo Beach, a daughter, on Nov. 17, 1945, at the Mt. View hospital.
1948 Nov 8, Sacramento Bee, P19, Sacramento, California
Harriet Mason Reveals Troth to Bay City Man at Informal Tea
An informal tea Saturday in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wallace A. Mason at 901 Forth Fifth Street, was the occasion for the announcement of the engagement of their daughter, Harriet, to Robert A. Wertsch. The bride elect was graduated from the Sacramento High School and Stanford University. She is a post graduate student in the personnel management course at Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Mass. Her affiliations include the Sacramento Junior League, Inc., and the American Association of University Woman. Her fiancé, whose parents are Mr. and Mrs. Herman Wertsch of San Francisco, was graduated from the University of California and Boalt Hall. He is affiliated with the Alpha Sigma Phi and Phi Phi Fraternities. He is practicing law in San Francisco. Both are descendants of early California settlers. The future bride is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. King Becker of 1010 H Street who resided in Colusa County for many years.
1950 Oct 10, Sacramento Bee, P16, Sacramento, California
Couple Wed 60 Years Live in Same House 45 Years
Mr. and Mrs. King Becker moved to Sacramento from Colusa County 45 years ago, and during that period have lived in the same house at 1010 H Street. The couple celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary September 23rd. Their daughter, Mrs. Wallace Mason of 901 Forty Fifth Street, took them to San Francisco to spend the day. A party was held at the home of a grandchild, Mrs. R. A. Wertsch, in San Francisco. Prior to living in Sacramento the couple operated a ranch in Colusa County. Becker is 90 and Mrs. Becker is 81. Almost every day Becker walks to the movies. Attending theaters is his favorite pastime. Mrs. Becker still is active around the house.
1955 Sep 23, Sacramento Bee, P2, Sacramento, California
Longtime Residents Observe 65th Anniversary of Wedding
Mr. and Mrs. King Becker of 741 47th Street today quietly observed their 65th wedding anniversary – she with her garden chores and he with his baseball broadcasts. Sunday the Beckers will formally celebrate their anniversary, however, with an open house party in the home of their son-in-law and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Mason of 901 45th Street. The Beckers were married September 23, 1890, in Bear Valley, Colusa County, where Becker operated a farm until they moved to Sacramento in 1905. Becker is 94. Mrs. Becker is 86.
She Sums It Up
Mrs. Becker summed up the 65 years of their marriage. “We farmed. We lived regular lives. We have been happy,” she said. “Nothing very eventful has happened to us. But we have seen a lot of changes in the 65 years.” The Beckers lived at 10th and * streets for 47 years before the city took over their property for municipal parking. They have lived at the 47th Street address since. Both are still alert. Mrs. Becker has her hobbies and her garden, and Becker, as faithful a baseball fan as they come, has followed Sacramento’s Solons and his favorite major league teams for years. He does not get out to the park any more, but he rarely misses a broadcast of a Solon game, or of his favorite major league team.
Active in Clubs
Mrs. Becker was active in the Tuesday Club and in the Daughters of the American Revolution. Becker has been a member of the Odd Fellows lodge for 50 years. The Beckers have one daughter, Mrs. Mason. They also have a grandchild, Mrs. Harriet Wertsch of San Francisco, and two great grandchildren, Janet and Robert Wertsch. “Congratulations on your anniversary,” a Bee reporter said in a telephone interview with Mrs. Becker. “We’ll call you again, on your 75th anniversary.” “That will be nice,” said the woman who refused to pose for a picture on their 50th anniversary and still remains adamant on that subject. “And when you come in 1965 don’t forget, bring a diamond with you.”
GenealogyBank:
1956 Mar 5, Sacramento Bee, P29, Sacramento, California
King Becker
Last rites will be held tomorrow at 2 PM in the East Lawn Cemetery chaped[ic] for King Becker, 94, a retired Williams, Colusa County, farmer who had lived in Sacramento since 1905. Entombment will be in the East Lawn Mausoleum. Becker died Saturday in a hospital. He was born in Morrisburg, Canada, and would have been 85 March 16th. In 1872 he and his mother came to California to join his father in Grimes, Colusa County. King Becker lived in that community for many years and then farmed near Williams until 1905 when he retired. He was a member of the Sacramento Odd Fellows Lodge. His wife, Birta, resides at 741 47th Street. He was the father of Mrs. Mildred Mason of Sacramento, grandfather of Mrs. Harriet Wertsch of San Francisco and great grandfather of Janet and Robert Wertsch.
Findagrave Memorial:
King Becker
Birth: Mar. 16, 1861
Ontario, Canada
Death: Mar. 3, 1956
Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Family links:
Spouse: Birta Clay Epperson Becker (1869 - 1966)*
Children: Mildred Imogene Becker Mason (1891 - 1980)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial: East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Created by: Martha Shanahan
Record added: Mar 19, 2015
Find A Grave Memorial# 143929450
Findagrave Memorial:
Birta Clay Epperson Becker
Birth: Feb. 15, 1869
Sutter, Sutter County, California, USA
Death: Jan. 5, 1966
Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Family links:
Parents:
Brutus Clay Epperson (1830 - 1911)
Lucretia Imogene Lawson Epperson (1843 - 1936)
Spouse: King Becker (1861 - 1956)
Children: Mildred Imogene Becker Mason (1891 - 1980)*
Siblings:
Charles Brunk Epperson (1862 - 1900)*
Thurza Ann Epperson Dunlap (1864 - 1950)*
Mary Imogene Epperson Kidd (1866 - 1915)*
Birta Clay Epperson Becker (1869 - 1966)
*Calculated relationship
Burial: East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento, Sacramento County California, USA
Created by: Martha Shanahan
Record added: Oct 06, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 77726398
Findagrave Memorial:
Mildred Imogene Becker Mason
Birth: Aug. 9, 1891
Colusa County, California, USA
Death: May 22, 1980
Oakland, Alameda County, California, USA
Family links:
Parents:
King Becker (1861 - 1956)
Birta Clay Epperson Becker (1869 - 1966)
Spouse: Wallace Ashton Mason (1888 - 1976)
Children:
Harriet Mason Wertsch (1921 - 1996)*
Wallace Ashton Mason (1925 - 1944)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial: East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Created by: Martha Shanahan
Record added: Mar 20, 2015
Find A Grave Memorial# 143950919
Findagrave Memorial:
Harriet Mason Wertsch
Birth: Dec. 16, 1921
Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Death: Oct. 21, 1996
San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, USA
Family links:
Parents:
Wallace Ashton Mason (1888 - 1976)
Mildred Imogene Becker Mason (1891 - 1980)
Sibling:
Harriet Mason Wertsch (1921 - 1996)
Wallace Ashton Mason (1925 - 1944)*
*Calculated relationship
Note: Ref: Cemetery Records
Burial: East Lawn Memorial Park, Sacramento, Sacramento County, California, USA
Created by: Graves
Record added: Mar 29, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 87546391
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source:
History of the State of California &
Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A.
M., Pages 509-510. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Donna Toole.
Golden
Nugget Library's Colusa County Biographies