HUGH M. LA RUE

    That the plentitude of society is seldom attained in the affairs of life is to be considered as a most grateful and beneficial deprivation, for where ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim realized--if such is possible--there must follow individual apathy.  Effort will cease, accomplishment be prostrate and creative talents waste its energies in supine inactivity.  The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress have been those to whom satiety lay ever in the future, and they have labored continuously and have not failed to find in each transition stage an incentive for further effort.  Hugh M. La Rue is one whose efforts have been continuous and whose labors have won him a position among the representative business men of the state.  His identification with California and its interests also covers a period greater than that of almost any other of its citizens and no history of Sacramento county would be complete without the record of this honored pioneer.

     Hugh McElroy La Rue was born August 12, 1830, in Hardin county, Kentucky, and is a representative of one of the old families of America.  The family is of French lineage, the original ancestors being Huguenots, who left their native land to seek freedom of conscience in the new world.  They located in Virginia--two brothers, one of whom was Jacob La Rue, the great grandfather of our subject.  That was at an early period in the development of the Old Dominion, and representatives of the La Rue family have been pioneers of Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and California.  The grandparents of our subject were William and Sarah (Hodgen) La Rue, the former a native of Virginia, whence he removed to Kentucky about 1787, and died there some years later.  His home was in La Rue county, which was named in his honor, and his son Jacob H. La Rue, the father of our subject, was born December 3, 1799, in that county, where he followed the occupations of farming and blacksmithing.  Subsequently, he removed to Lewis county, Missouri, but his last days were spent in California, taking up his residence in this state in 1873.  His death occurred in 1884.  He was a relative of Governor Helm and other prominent men in Kentucky.  His wife bore the maiden name of Sarah C. McElroy, who was born in Washington county, Kentucky.  She was a cousin of Governor Proctor Knott.  She became the mother of four children, of whom two are now living:  Hugh M and J Hodgen, the latter being a resident of Fresno, California.  Her death occurred when about twenty eight years of age.  Her ancestors were Hugh and Deborah (Dorsey) McElroy, the former of Scotch and the latter of Irish lineage.

    The ancestors on the paternal side can be traced back in Scotland to the first half of the seventeenth century, and the family is of Celtic origin.  In the latter part of the seventeenth century, members of the family removed to Ireland. The religious faith of the McElroys was that of the Presbyterian church.  The great grandfather of Mrs. La Rue was James McElroy, who had three sons, one of whom was Hugh McElroy, who married Ester Irwin, and removed from Virginia to Kentucky in 1788.  They became the parents of ten children, including Hugh McElroy, the grandfather of our subject.  He married Deborah Dorsey, and his death occurred in Washington county, Kentucky.  His widow afterward married again, and resided upon the farm where the birth of Abraham Lincoln occurred, in La Rue county, Kentucky. She was more than ninety years of age when called to the home beyond.

       Hugh McElroy La Rue spent his early boyhood in Kentucky, but when about nine years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Lewis county, Missouri, which was then largely inhabited by Indians and was situated on the very border of civilization.  Our subject was thus reared among the wild scenes of pioneer life, and when not more than fifteen years of age became imbued with a strong desire to cross the plains to the Pacific coast.  Even prior to the discovery of gold he was making preparations to that end, and when the news was received that the precious metal was found in California he was all the more anxious to make the contemplated trip and became a member of the expedition to cross the plains under the leadership of V. A. Sublette and Dr. Conduitt.  They crossed the Missouri River at Booneville and on the 2th of April 1849 left Independence, Missouri, which was their last point within the limits of civilization.  By way of the Platte river, South Pass, Sublette's cut-off and Fort Hall they traveled over the intervening stretches of country between Missouri and California, crossing the Truckee river about twenty seven times in thirty miles.

       On the 12th of August they reached the Bear river mines at Steep Hollow, and near that place during the succeeding six weeks Mr. La Rue had his first mining experience.  After visiting Grass Valley, Nevada, and Deer Creek, he located at Fiddletown, Amador county, now called Oleta, being one of the first party of white men to build a cabin at that point.  They discovered and operated the first mines there, and soon after their arrival they were joined by a party of men from Arkansas, among whom were several violin players.  The winter being much too wet to permit of mining comfortably, they passed their time largely in violin playing, card playing and dancing, and thus the name of Fiddletown was given to the new settlement.  Subsequently Mr. La Rue went to Willow Springs, four miles west of Drytown, and purchased a small eating-house, which he conducted until the first of March.  At that time he removed to Marysville, California, and in the spring of 1850 went on a trading expedition to Shasta, carrying with him a stock of provisions and groceries, which he sold directly from the wagon at that place to the merchants and miners, receiving very excellent prices, and his goods were the first to arrive there.  He received forty cents a pound for flour, from a dollar to a dollar and a quarter for pork, sugar, coffee and rice, and about eight dollars a gallon for whiskies and brandies.  After making one more trip to that point he came to Sacramento in June 1850.

   In this city Mr. La Rue turned his attention to blacksmithing and wagon making, but the cholera epidemic of that year forced him to close out his business and he went to the Norris grant--Rancho del Paso--where he rented a small tract of land and began the cultivation of vegetables.  He was afterward engaged in raising grain and stock, and was thus occupied until 1857, when he planted an orchard of seventy five acres, principally in peach trees--the most extensive orchard in the vicinity at that time.  In the new enterprise he met with good success until the floods of 1861-62 damaged his orchard.  Mr. Norris failed that year and Mr. La Rue purchased the property, but the floods of 1868 utterly destroyed the tract and ended the venture.

       In 1866, however, he had purchased about nine hundred acres of land in Yolo county, and feeling the necessity of providing his children with better educational privileges, and also of being nearer his Yolo ranch, to which he had added additional purchases until it was two thousand acres in extent, he removed to Sacramento.  After the floods of 1868 he sold his interest in the Rancho del Paso tract and gave his attention exclusively to the Yolo ranch.  He has made many improvements and is recognized as one of the leading representatives of agricultural and horticultural interests in this section of the state.  He has now about two hundred acres of vineyard, one hundred acres of almonds and ten acres of prunes.  He raises all kinds of grain, and is one of the extensive and leading stock growers in central California, making a specialty of Hereford and Durham cattle and mules.  In Napa county, this state, he has extensive vineyard property, and derives from his vineyard and fields a handsome income.  In the cultivation of his land he has followed very progressive methods, ready to adopt all practical improvements in the way of operating his land and raising grain and fruits.

       May 11, 1858, in Colusa county, California, Mr. La Rue was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth M. Lizenby, a native of Lewis county, Missouri, and a daughter of Thomas and Susan (Miller) Lizenby, a former native of Virginia and later of Kentucky.  The father was of German lineage, and was a millwright by trade and died in Missouri in 1854, while his wife passed away in 1852.  They were the parents of five children, but Mrs. La Rue is the only one now living.  She came to California with her brother in 1852, taking up her abode in Colusa county and completing her education on the Pacific coast.  Unto our subject and wife have been born five children, but the only daughter, Marie Virginia, died in 1888 at the age of twenty two years.  Jacob E. married Adaline  E. Rankin and has one son Morgan E. Jacob E. completed his education in the State University, and is now associated with his father in extensive farming operations in Yolo county.  Calhoun Lee, the second son, married Mildred L. Spires, and has one son, Elwin Lee. Calhoun Lee resides in Napa county, where he superintends his father's extensive viticultural interests.  He is the present (1900) senator from his district.  Hugh M was educated in the State University, was admitted to the bar about six years ago, and is now an attorney at law in Sacramento.  John R. is now the secretary of the Grangers' Bank of San Francisco, and assistant cashier of the Standard Oil Company of San Francisco.  He married Marie Estelle McMurray.

        In his political views Mr. La Rue is a Democrat, and in 1857 was a candidate for county sheriff of Sacramento county on that ticket.  He was elected by a small majority of seven or eight votes, but the case was contested in the courts and he lost the office.  In 1873, however, he was elected to that office by a large majority, and discharged his duties with fearlessness and fidelity.  In 1879 he was a member of the state constitutional convention and took an active part in framing the organic laws of the commonwealth.  In 1863-64 he was a member of the general assembly, and was the speaker during both sessions.  He was a prominent factor in the movement for the erection of the exposition building and the organization of the State Agricultural Society; also in the revision of the general laws; in the county government act, the bill reorganizing the senatorial and assembly districts and the laws relating to taxes.  In 1888 he was a Democratic candidate for senator, but though he ran ahead of his ticket he was defeated.  In 1867 he was made a member of the State Agricultural Society, was a director for twenty years and was its president for a term of years--in 1879, 1880 and 1882;  and for many years he has been the director and superintendent of the pavilion during the expositions.  While the speaker of the assembly and president of the state board of agriculture, he was ex-officio a member of the board of regents of the State University and was a member and the president of the board of railroad commissioners from 1895 to1899.  He was the superintendent of the Bureau of Viticulture at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

      He has been a member of Sacramento Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M., for many years, and is a Royal Arch Mason.  In 1856 he became a member of the Sacramento Society of California Pioneers, was made a member of its board of trustees and served as its president, and has served as the master of the Sacramento Grange.

      His public and private life  are alike above reproach.  Honesty has characterized all his business dealings, and his enterprise and indefatigable efforts have brought to him a high degree of success.  In his fraternal relations his genial qualities and sterling worth have gained him warm friendships; in his public life he has honored the state  which has honored him.