Santa Clara County
Biographies
THOMAS A. CARROLL
Probably no business man in San Jose has continuously followed his occupation in a given locality for as long a time as has Thomas A. Carroll, he having owned and occupied the blacksmith shop at No. 184 West Santa Clara street since July 1, 1866. Mr. Carroll is one of the men who believes in reaching the top round of the ladder, and in doing thoroughly and well whatever task he sets for himself. Everything surrounding his life partakes of this belief in excellence---this theory that perseverance and high ideals are the best accompaniments to daily labor, and that no work, however humble, is incompatible with a cultured mind and an appreciation of the refinements and graces of life. Mr. Carroll has been a scholar all his life, and a thorough student of social and political science, and his appointment by Mayor Warswick to a position on the school board from the Third ward in 1903 met with general approval. The success of the present board in reducing school expenses, while maintaining the highest possible standard of education, is the best guarantee of the intelligence and fitness of the members, and in this connection special mention is due Mr. Carroll, whose practical opinions and convincing reasoning have materially aided in the betterment of financial and general conditions. He is chairman of the committee on supplies and is a member of the finance, executive and library committees.
Mr. Carroll was born in County Leitrim, Ireland, February 15, 1843, and when ten months old was brought to America by his parents, Patrick and Helen (McGovern) Carroll, settling temporarily in New York City. The Carroll and McGovern families were both connected with land ownership in Ireland, and for centuries the Carrolls had been known as landscape gardeners and expert farmers. Patrick Carroll was no exception to this rule, and when he sold his land and came to America he had a thorough knowledge of landscape gardening as conducted in the old world. When Thomas was four years old he took his family to New Haven, Conn., where he worked at his trade with fair success, and where he died, as did also his wife, leaving Thomas and another child, since deceased. Thomas attended the public schools of New Haven, and at the age of seventeen returned to New York and was apprenticed to a horse-shoer for three years during the day time, spending his evenings at the Cooper Institute, where he acquired a knowledge of bookkeeping and other arts, and satisfied his craving for interesting and instructive books. It was while at the Institute that he chanced to read of California, of its climate, its resources, and its great opportunity for the industriously inclined, and at this time he formed the idea of some day joining in its upbuilding and appropriating to himself a share of its opulence and plenty. In the meantime he was a wholly unselfish apprentice and student, giving of his time and money to many less fortunate than himself, and serving with courage and readiness in the fire department of New York as a member of Hose Company No. 53, with headquarters on the corner of Thirty-fifth street and Third avenue.
In
January, 1864, Mr. Carroll saw his way clear to come to the coast, and in San
Francisco found work at his trade for four months, coming then to San Jose to
shoe stage horses for the Overland Stage Company, operating between San
Francisco and Los Angeles. At the end
of eight months he decided to settle permanently in San Jose, and in the fall
of 1864 started a business of his own, removing to his present location in
July, 1866. In the meantime he has
raised some of the finest standard horses in the country, and has always owned
thoroughbred horses, taking keen delight in their training, style, and
breeding. His shop is and has long been
one of the busiest centers of activity in the city, and could its walls talk
they might tell an interesting tale of struggle and success, of social
meetings, and of hundreds of different personalities which have passed through
its doors. Unquestionably Mr. Carroll
has commanded the best trade in Santa Clara county,
and, tethered to his wall, many of the finest horses produced in the state have
been shod with thoroughness and dispatch.
A master workman has been at the helm of this little shop, one in whom
conscience predominates and the love of honesty and sincerity prevails. He is intolerant of slovenly or incompetent
work and the men who have been permitted to learn their trade under his
direction have invariably started upon their independent lives better equipped
than the average mechanic.
Next to his reputation as a workman and scholar, Mr. Carroll prides himself upon the attainments of his children, all of whom inherit his liking for culture and share his opinion of success. Mrs. Carroll was formerly Helen Kell, born on the old Kell homestead near San Jose, and daughter of Thomas Kell, of whom mention may be found elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Carroll was educated at Notre Dame College, and since her graduation has kept pace with the times and grown in intellectual vigor. She is the mother of seven children, of whom Patrick W. is a graduate of the Santa Clara College and at present bookkeeper for the City Store; Annie M. is a graduate of the State Normal and a teacher in the public schools of Los Angeles; Thomas E. is a graduate of the San Jose high school and also of the veterinary department of the University of California, being at present assistant veterinary surgeon of the state, with headquarters at Chico, Cal.; Helen is a graduate of the State Normal and an educator in the public schools of San Jose; Mary J. also is a graduate of the State Normal and a teacher in the schools of San Jose; Bernard died at the age of nineteen; and Charles C. will graduate from the high school in the class of 1906. Mr. Carroll is a charter member and ex-president of the Master Horse Shoers' Association of San Jose, and fraternally is associated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics a Democrat, his appointment to the board of education was preceded by many other services for his party, he having been a member of the city and county committees for thirty years, and of the state committee for fifteen years. Mr. Carroll has the manner and courtesy of the man of wide and assimilated knowledge, and as if in proof of his sterling and reliable characteristics his prestige as a business and social influence has known no diminution since he became associated with the growing fortunes of the city.
Transcribed
2-20-16 Marilyn
R. Pankey.
ญญญญSource:
History of the State of California & Biographical
Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages
999-1000. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
ฉ 2016 Marilyn R. Pankey.