Sacramento County
Biographies
HON. HUGH McELROY
LaRUE
HON. HUGH McELROY LaRUE. Across the
vistas of the fast-fleeting years the thoughts of this prominent pioneer often
revert to the memorable year of 1849, with its exciting journey across the
plains and its train of experiences in the mining camps of the far west. Of the countless thousands who braved the
unknown dangers of the deserts and mountains in an effort to reach the great
mines of the west, he is one of the comparatively few that now survive; by far
the larger majority have gone upon another journey out into the silent sea of
death. Their ears are dull to the
memories that span the voiceless past; their eyes are blind to the beautiful
pictures Nature has painted for the art of man to emulate; and their lips are
forever stilled to words of praise and honor.
Fortunate it is that some still remain to receive the admiring affection
of a younger generation and to enjoy the blessings of a twentieth-century
civilization. The long-distant days of
ante-statehood history seem to be brought nearer when it is remembered that
these men, still active factors in our commercial and agricultural activities,
were witnesses of that remote period of our history.
The La Rue
family was so prominent in a certain portion of Kentucky
that one of the counties of that state was named in
their honor and for generations they lived and flourished in that
locality. The county seat of the country
was named for a Mr. Hodgen, a grandfather of H.M. LaRue, and near this town of Hodgenville
Abraham Lincoln was born on a farm owned by Mr. LaRue’s grandmother.
In the neighboring county of Hardin,
same state, Hugh McElroy LaRue was born August 12,
1830, being a son of Jacob Hodgen and Sarah Cummings
(McElroy) LaRue.
As a child he roamed through the forests and over the plains of his home
locality and by outdoor life gained the robustness of health which has blessed
his entire life. When nine years of age
he accompanied the family to Missouri
and settled in Lewis county, which then was considered
at the westernmost boundaries of civilization.
Indians still roamed across the untilled plains and the fertile soil
awaited the pioneer’s hand to bring forth rich and varied crops.
When only
fifteen years of age Mr. LaRue began to talk about
crossing the plains. Though gold had not
been discovered yet and little was known of the regions beyond the Rockies,
he was fascinated by their unknown possibilities. In 1849, before news of the discovery of gold
had been received in his neighborhood, he joined a party made up for the west,
the leaders of the expedition being V.A. Sublette and Dr. Conduitt. As soon as the opening of the spring made
traveling safe they gathered together provisions and other necessities and
started on the long journey, crossing the Missouri river at Boonville and
starting from Independence April
29, of the eventful year of ’49. Independence
was their last point within the limits of civilization. Beyond that lay the unbroken plains, the
parched desert and the snow-capped mountains. Emigration had as yet scarcely begun toward
the west, and the vast region they traversed had no inhabitants save the
treacherous savage. The route which they
followed took them along the Platte river and through
South Pass, thence via Sublette’s cut-off and the Oregon trail. As they neared their destination they came to
the Truckee river, which they crossed twenty-seven
times in the short distance of thirty miles.
The journey came to a safe termination about the 12th of
August, when the party reached the Bear river
mines at Steep Hollow.
It was at this
place, during the ensuing six weeks, that Mr. LaRue
had his first experiences as a miner, and next he visited the mines of Grass
valley, Nevada, and Deer
creek. With other white men he built one
of the very first cabins in what is now Oleta, Amador
county, and there he worked the first mines of the
camp. Oleta
was in those days known as Fiddletown, its name originating through the custom
of several violin-players from Arkansas
then in camp near by. The winter being
too wet to render mining pleasant or safe, violin-playing became the favorite
recreation, and the first sound to be heard by the approaching traveler was
that of the fiddle. In this way
Fiddletown gained its first prominence.
From that place Mr. LaRue went to Willow
Springs, four miles west of Drytown, and they bought
a small restaurant, which he conducted until early in March. After a short sojourn in Marysville, in the
spring of 1850 he made a trading expedition to Shasta with groceries and
provisions, which he sold from the wagon to merchants and miners at
remunerative prices. Flour he sold at
forty cents per pound. Pork, ham,
coffee, potatoes and rice brought from $1 to $1.25 a pound. Whisky and brandy were sold at about $8 a
gallon, and other articles in proportion.
After making a
second trip to Shasta, in June of 1850 Mr. LaRue came
to Sacramento and began to follow the trade of blacksmith and wagonmaker. The
cholera epidemic of that year obliged him to seek other employment, and he then
rented a part of Rancho del Paso on the Norris grant, where first he raised
vegetables, and later became a grain-farmer.
In 1857 he planted an orchard of seventy-five acres, mostly in peaches,
it being the first large one in the valley and one of the first that was
irrigated; in this he succeeded remarkable well until the floods of 1861-62
damaged his orchards. The failure of
Norris followed this catastrophe and Mr. LaRue
thereupon bought his orchards, but the floods of 1868 utterly destroyed this
tract. Meanwhile, in 1866, he had
purchased about nine hundred acres of land in Yolo county
and to this he added from time to time until the ranch aggregated two thousand
acres. After the floods of 1868 he sold
his interest in the Rancho del Paso and devoted himself exclusively to the
management of the Yolo property, making his home in Sacramento
in order that his children might have desired advantages, but spending much
time on the ranch. Under his oversight
one hundred acres were planted in grapes, one hundred acres in almonds, and
large tracts in grain. He made an
importation of jacks from Kentucky
and engaged in the breeding business. In
addition to having an average of two hundred and fifty head of mules and
horses, he had one hundred head of Hereford and Durham
cattle. The fine business ability which
he possesses made itself manifest in the capable supervision of the property,
which he continued for years, but eventually transferred to the care of his
son, J. E., LaRue.
Another son, C.L. LaRue, was given charge of a
vineyard of one hundred and forty acres at Yountville, nine miles above Napa,
which he had acquired by purchase in 1885 and with had been settled in 1846 by
Charles Hopper. The acreage in vineyard
has been increased under the father’s direction to three hundred acres in Yolo county and to one hundred and forty in Napa
county. He has relinquished the entire
care of the ranches to his sons, who are carrying on a successful business.
Any sketch of
the life of Mr. LaRue would be incomplete without
mention of his services in behalf of the people. Stanchly Democratic in affiliations, as early
as 1857 he was his party’s nominee for sheriff of Sacramento
county and was elected by about eight votes, but, the
case being contest in the courts, he lost the office. In 1873 he was again a candidate for the same
office and received a large and flattering majority. In 1883-84 he was a member of the lower house
of the state legislature and honorable served as speaker during both
sessions. As representative of the
second congressional district, in 1879 he served as a member of the state
constitutional convention. During his
legislative career he was a supporter of the bill for the erection of the
exposition building of the State Agricultural Association; also supported the
revision of the general railroad laws, the county government act, the bill
re-organizing the senatorial and assembly districts and the laws relating to
taxes. In 1888 he was the Democratic candidate
for senator and, though not elected, had the satisfaction of running ahead of
his ticket.
During the
long period since 1867 Mr. LaRue has been actively
associated with the State Agricultural Society, and three separate times, 1879,
1880 and 1882, was honored with the office of president, while since 1882 he
has been a member of the board of directors, also during the exhibitions has
been superintendent of the pavilion.
While president of the board, also while speaker of the assembly, he was
an ex-officio member of the board of regents of the California
State University. In 1894 he was elected railroad commissioner
from northern California and
served as president of the board four years, besides which he has held many
other official positions. As early as
1856 he became affiliated with the Sacramento Society of California Pioneers,
of which later he officiated as president and again in 1904 and 1905 was
honored with that position. At one time
he was honored with the office of master of the Sacramento Grange. Fraternally he has held membership with Sacramento
Lodge No. 49, F. & A. M., for a very long period of years, and his Masonic
relations are further enlarged through his affiliation with the Royal Arch
Chapter. By his marriage in 1858 he
became allied with one of the pioneer families of Colusa county, this state,
his wife, Miss E. M. Lizenby, being a daughter of
Thomas Lizenby,
well known in the pioneer history of Lewis county, Mo. Mrs. LaRue is a
half-sister of Rev. William M. Rush, D.D., of the Missouri
conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, also of
Hon. John A. Rush, formerly state senator from Colusa county, but later
attorney-general of Arizona. The union of Mr. and Mrs. LaRue
was blessed with five children, of whom the only daughter, Marie Virginia, died
in 1888, her death depriving them of one universally beloved and intellectually
promising. The four sons are as
follows: Jacob Eugene, Calhoun Lee, Hugh
McElroy, Jr., and John Rush. Mr. LaRue has raised fifty-four consecutive crops in California,
in Colusa, Yolo, Napa and Sacramento
counties.
Transcribed
by Kathy Porter.
Source: “History of
the State of California and Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley,
California” by
J. M. Guinn. Pages
385-387. Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1906.
© 2007 Kathy Porter.