Sacramento County
Biographies
HON. HUGH McELROY
LaRUE
Although death has stilled the voice and
terminated the forceful activities of Hon. Hugh McElroy LaRue,
it will be long ere his influence will be lost in the county of Yolo and long
too ere the power of his personality shall cease to be an effective factor in
the local upbuilding. Every line of advancement
felt the impetus of his splendid mind and energetic spirit, and, while he was a
pioneer of 1849 and very active in the early settlement of the west, he undoubtably will be less remembered by his accomplishments
during that era than by his activities of a later date. The ranch near
Davis which is now owned by his heirs and the nucleus of which he acquired as
early as 1866, comprises two thousand and sixty acres, of which one thousand
are under cultivation to barley, wheat and oats. All the grains produce
well in this soil and at times the barley has averaged as high as thirty-five
sacks to the acre. Fifty acres are in almonds and two hundred and twenty acres
in wine grapes form the largest vineyard in the entire county, producing from
six to seven tons per acre. Under a contract for ten years the vineyard
products are shipped to the California Wine Association. In grapes of the
white variety there are the Burger and the Green Hungarian, while of the reds
there are the Alicante Bouschet,
Caragnan, Serene, Beclan, Charbono and Mondeuse.
As an illustration of what may be grown on
the rich soil of the ranch, and indeed upon any ranch in Yolo county if properly
cared for, it may be stated that the LaRue ranch has
the following trees in full bearing: almonds, walnuts, oranges, lemons,
figs, persimmons, pomegranates, olives, pears, peaches, apples, apricots, plums
and prunes. Every acre of the tract is under an irrigation ditch and
there is also a private pumping plant operated by an engine of sixty-horse
power. Eighty head of horses and mules are required in the sowing of
seed, harvesting of crops and ploughing of the
ground, and such is the quality of the soil that it can be ploughed one day
after a heavy rain. Ever since the original owner of the property brought
an importation of jacks from Kentucky there have been fine mules raised on the
ranch, about forty having been the number for the past season. A
specialty is made of Holstein cattle and about two hundred and fifty head of
hogs are raised annually, besides which considerable attention is also given to
horses. For eighteen years Jacob Stihl has
acted as efficient overseer of the ranch, while the eldest son of the owner,
Jacob Eugene LaRue, was retained as manager until his
death in January, 1906, since which time another son, Calhoun Lee LaRue, has filled the position of superintendent with
intelligence and sagacity.
Tracing the genealogy of the LaRue family it is ascertained that they were so prominent
in Kentucky that the county in which they lived was named in their honor and
Hodgenville, the county-seat, was named for the maternal grandfather of H.M. LaRue. Near this same town 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. At the age
of nine years he accompanied the family to Missouri and settled in Lewis county near the Mississippi River. it
was not long before he began to talk about going west. The mysterious
unknown regions beyond the plains seemed to exercise a fascination over his
mind. In 1849, before news of the discovery of gold had reached the
neighborhood, he joined an expedition of emigrants under the command of V. A.
Sublette and Dr. Conduitt. They crossed the
Missouri river at Boonville and left Independence on the 20th of April,
journeying along the Platte river and through South
Pass, thence via Sublette's cut-off and the Oregon trail. In the short
distance of thirty miles they crossed the Truckee river
twenty-seven times. On the 12th of August they arrived at the Bear river mines near Steep Hollow. For six weeks the young
prospector remained in that locality, but later he mined at Grass valley and
Deer creek. With others he built one of the first cabins at Oleta,
Amador county, and worked the first mines.
In those days Oleta
was known as Fiddletown, the name originating in the
fact that some violin-players from Arkansas passed the long and wet winter
season at their favorite recreation and the first sound heard by the
approaching travelers was that of the fiddle. From that camp Mr. LaRue went to Willow Springs, four miles west of Drytown, where he carried on a small restaurant until early
in March. During the spring of 1850 he made a trading expedition to
Shasta and sold groceries from his wagon to merchants and miners. Flour
brought forty cents per pound, pork, ham, sugar, coffee, potatoes and rice from
$1 to $1.25 per pound and whisky and brandy about $8 a gallon. After a
second trip to Shasta in June, same year, he came to Sacramento and began to
work as a blacksmith and wagon-maker. The cholera epidemic of that year
made it necessary for him to seek other employment. Renting a part of
rancho del Paso on the Norris grant, he engaged in
raising vegetables and later embarked in grain-farming. As early as 1857
he planted an orchard of seventy-five acres, the first large one in the valley
and one of the first that was irrigated. The floods of 1861-62 damaged
the orchard and the failure of Mr. Norris following shortly afterward, he
bought the orchards, but the floods of 1868 entirely destroyed the work of the
previous decade.
As early as 1866 Mr. LaRue
had purchased nine hundred acres in Yolo county and to
this he added until the ranch contained more than two thousand acres. After the
floods of 1868 he sold his interest in the rancho del
Paso and gave his time to the Yolo county property, but made his home in
Sacramento in order that his children might have the advantages offered by the
city schools. When the wine industry was still in its infancy he became
interested in vineyards and planted one hundred acres to grapes. Other
improvements were made, some of which have already been mentioned, while
others, equally important, are beyond the limits of this space to present in
detail. When advancing years rendered active work less desirable, he
turned over to his sons the care of the large property, and retired to private
life, with a record of having raised crops for more than fifty consecutive
years in California. His agricultural experiences centered in the
counties of Colusa, Yolo, Napa and Sacramento.
During 1858 Mr. LaRue
married Miss Elizabeth Marion, daughter of Thomas Lizenby,
a pioneer of Lewis county, Mo., and also of Colusa
county, Cal. Mrs. LaRue was a half-sister of
Rev. William M. Rush, D.D., of the Missouri conference of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and also of Hon. John A. Rush, at one time state senator from
Colusa county and later Attorney-General of Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. LaRue were the parents of four sons and one daughter, Jacob
Eugene (who died in January of 1906), Calhoun Lee, Hugh McElroy, Jr., John Rush
and Marie Virginia (who died in 1888). During 1856 Mr. LaRue became a member of the Sacramento Society of
California Pioneers, of which he served as president several times. As
master of the Sacramento Grange he was prominent in another organization
prominent in its day. For years he was a member of Sacramento Lodge No.
49, F. & A. M., and also affiliated with the chapter.
For years one of the leading Democrats of
his locality, Mr. LaRue never lost his interest in
public affairs and when he passed from earth, December, 12, 1906, not only his
party, but the state as well, lost a patriotic supporter and loyal
promoter. During 1857 the Democrats elected him sheriff of Sacramento county by a majority of eight votes, but when the election
was contested he lost the office. When again he became a candidate in
1873 he was elected by a large majority. During the sessions of 1883 and
1884 he was a member of the lower house of the state legislature and
served as speaker. As representative from the second congressional
district, in 1879, he served as a member of the state constitutional
convention. While in the legislature he supported the bill providing for
the erection of an exposition building for the State Agricultural Association,
also supported the revision of the general railroad laws, the county government
act, the bill reorganizing the senatorial and assembly districts and the laws
relating to taxes. During 1888 he was the Democratic candidate for
senator and ran ahead of his ticket, but was not elected.
From 1867 until his death in 1906 Mr. LaRue was identified with the State Agricultural
Association. Three times (1879-1880 and 1882) he was chosen president of
the organization. After 1882 he was a member of its board of
directors. During the expositions he acted as 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 at Berkeley. He was National Chief of Viticulture at the
Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893. Elected railroad
commissioner from Northern California in 1894, he served as president of the
board for four years, besides holding other positions. With his demise
another pioneer passed from the scenes of his successful industry.
Another link joining the present with the past was burst asunder and another
name was added to those of illustrious immortals recorded in the annals of the
state.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Page 729-732. Historic
Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.