Colusa
County
Biographies
WILLIAM
HENRY WEST
WILLIAM
HENRY WEST. One of the extensive landed [sic] proprietors
in Colusa county, and a leading grain-grower in the vicinity of College City,
the subject of this sketch is widely and favorably known in this locality, not
only for his instrumentality in developing its superior agricultural resources,
but also for his untiring activity in forwarding the interests of public
education. Born near Marshall, Saline county, Mo., September 8, 1848, his father, John B. West, who
was a prosperous farmer, gave him excellent educational advantages, sending him
to the public schools and to McGee College, College Mound, that state. He was engaged in farming in Missouri until
1873, when he came to California with the idea of sharing in the unprecedented
prosperity then open to settlers upon the coast. He and his brother, C. E. West, invested in
implements necessary to carry on a large business and leased over one thousand
acres located near College City, which they turned into grain fields with
profitable results. This partnership
continued until 1886.
Two years previous Mr. West leased
on his own account the Glascock ranch, lying about seven miles southeast of
College City and three miles north of Dunnigan, which
has ever since constituted his home property.
But this ranch alone, which contains considerably more than a thousand
acres, was far from being sufficient to gratify his restless ambition,
consequently, as opportunity permitted, he secured nearly double that amount,
and jointly with his wife’s relatives, the Suggetts,
he has owned eleven hundred acres or more.
July 12, 1905, he bought them out, and is now cultivating the property
with profit. To a man of his
perceptibility the grain-growing industry is an open
book. His ample knowledge as to the best
manner of preserving the natural fertility of the land, together with the
energy and good judgment he exercises in the way of improvements, are
accountable in no small measure for the success he has attained. The first fourteen-foot-cut Hauser improved
combined harvester, which he introduced in 1884, was replaced in 1898 with a
machine of a more modern type known as the Haynes harvester, which is capable
of making a cut from sixteen to twenty feet wide, and is operated by twenty-six
mules. Aside from the cultivation of
grain he is quite largely engaged in the raising of stock, including cattle,
hogs and mules.
Mr. West’s natural ability and
decided progressive tendencies have been called into service by his political
associates in the Democratic party, which he has ably
served as a member of the county central committee, and he was formerly for a
number of years deputy county assessor.
But the general welfare of the community has best profited by his active
interest in increasing the facilities for public education, as he was mainly
instrumental in organizing the Pierce Joint Union high school, now the
thirteenth district, of which he was the second president, and he retained that
position for five years, until positively refusing to accept another
re-election. He was also at one time a
trustee of the twelfth school district.
He was made a Mason in Tyrian Lodge No. 284, F. & A. M. of which he
is a past master, and has still further advanced in the Masonic order, being a
member of the Royal Arch Chapter in Colusa.
At College City, September 19, 1877,
Mr. West was united in marriage with Miss Fannie K. Suggett,
a native of Montgomery county, Mo., daughter of Volney
and Ann (Holman) Suggett. Her father, who was a native of Louisville,
Ky., was a son of John Suggett, who went from
Virginia to Kentucky and from there to Calloway county,
Mo., where he spent the rest of his life.
Mrs. West’s maternal grandfather, Henry Holman, who was of Scotch
descent, also went from Virginia to Calloway county,
Mo., as a pioneer. Her parents came to
California in 1875, settling on a farm in College City. Her father died here at the age of sixty-five
years. Her mother is still living and
resides in Berkeley, this state. Volney
and Ann (Holman) Suggett had a family of twelve
children, of whom Fannie K. was the sixth.
Eleven of them grew to maturity, ten came to California, and eight are
living. Mrs. West was educated at the Pierce
Christian College and possesses many rare accomplishments. She is a member of the Christian Church.
Mr. and Mrs. West have three
children: Boletah, who was educated in Irvington,
Cal., married B. C. Hughes and resides near Dunnigan;
Herman Brandford, a graduate of the College City high
school, married Clara Willman; and Russell Cleveland is a student in the dental
department of the University of California.
Transcribed by
Doralisa Palomares.
Source:
“History of the State of California and
Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley, California” by J.
M. Guinn. Pages
618-619. Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1906.
© 2017 Doralisa Palomares.
Golden Nugget Library's Colusa County Biographies