Santa Clara County
Biographies
ALONZO H. EDDY
ALONZO H. EDDY. Among the capable and enterprising
residents of San Jose who have attained success from a financial point of view
is Alonzo H. Eddy, now employed as a real estate dealer, an insurance
agent, and a money broker. He is a man of sterling ability, and is fully
entitled to the honored position which he holds in the estimation of the
community. Of pioneer ancestry, he is also distinguished as a native of this
city, his birth having occurred in San Jose, March 19, 1853. His
father, Hon. William H. Eddy, was born in Providence, R. I., a son of
Nathan Eddy.
Leaving New England in the prime of a vigorous young
manhood, William H. Eddy followed the pathway of civilization westward,
crossing the Mississippi. Subsequently, in 1846, with his wife,
Eleanor Priscilla Eddy, and their two little children, Mary A. and
James, he started with the Donner party for the Pacific coast, journeying
across the plains with ox teams. Several of the company, including
Mrs. Eddy and her two children, died while on the way, being lost with
many others at Donner Lake. Mr. Eddy continued the journey to California
and at once located in San Jose, where he established a trading post, the first
store of any kind in the locality. Going to Fort Sutter the following year he
was for a time engaged in stock-raising. Returning to San Jose he built a
residence on South Second street, putting up a
substantial house that stood on the original site until 1904, when it was moved
away. He also owned a large piece of land, known as the Lick tract, and had
various other pieces of land, all of which he devoted to stock-raising, going
east several times to buy cattle, which he drove across the plains. Selling his
house to Governor Burnett, Mr. Eddy subsequently removed to San Francisco,
where he assisted in surveying that part of the city lying west of Montgomery street and north of Market street, including Eddy street,
which was named in his honor. He acquired considerable property in the city, at
one time owning one hundred and sixty-nine lots, many of which were sold for
taxes, as he accumulated more real estate than he could hold, and let that go
that he thought the least desirable, among other lots being the one on which
the Montgomery block now stands. After the discovery of gold he bought and sold
mines, and engaged in placer mining in San Jose. While on a
trip to the mines he was taken ill with rheumatism, and died
December 25, 1859, when but forty years old. He was a strong
Democrat in politics, very active in the party, and was a member of the first
legislature in California. Fraternally he was a Mason, belonging to San Jose
Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M. In Petaluma, Cal., in 1848,
Hon. William H. Eddy married Flavilla Ingersoll,
the ceremony being solemnized by Governor Burnett. She was a daughter of
Chester Ingersoll, the brother of Robert Ingersoll, and came across
the plains with her parents from Illinois in 1847. Of their union three
children were born: Eleanor, wife of L. P. Anderson, of San Jose;
James R. P., deceased; and Alonzo H., the subject of this
sketch. After the death of her husband Mrs. Eddy subsequently married the
late W. Willis, and she is now living in Plainfield, Ill.
When but two years old Alonzo H. Eddy went with his
mother to live in Illinois. At the age of eleven years he began to be
self-supporting, and from that time fought the battle
of life for himself. Earning money in any honorable way, he saved sufficient to
prepare for college, and subsequently entered the Northwestern University,
where he studied for two years. His money and eyesight both failing, he left
that institution, and for a time tried to study medicine, but found it not to
his taste. He then took up the carpenter’s trade, and being desirous of a
change of scene and climate went to Washington Territory, where he established
himself as a contractor and builder, as well as mining, making his home in
Snohomish. Taking an active part in public affairs, he was elected to the
legislature on the Democratic ticket, and also served as judge of the probate
court. Subsequently becoming interested in mining, he accumulated considerable
property, owning mines in Washington and Alaska, and still retains an interest
in mines in both places. In caring for his extensive mining interests,
Mr. Eddy spent seven years in Alaska. Returning to his native city in
1890, he bought a ranch, and for five years devoted himself to the raising of
prunes, owning an orchard of twenty acres. Subsequently he acted for some time
as manager of the San Francisco Examiner, in San Jose. In 1904
Mr. Eddy embarked in his present line of business, and as a dealer in real
estate, and an insurance agent, is meeting with excellent
success.
Mr. Eddy married Charlotte G. Livingston, who was
born in Illinois, a daughter of Augustus Livingston, and niece of
I. M. Singer, the inventor of the famous sewing machines, and they
are the parents of eight children: Ernest married Lizzie Bush, by whom he has
one child; Alice, deceased; Josephine; Edith; Lewis; Mary, Elizabeth and
Louise, all deceased. Politically Mr. Eddy is affiliated with the
Democratic party. Fraternally he belongs to San Jose
Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M.; is a member and past grand of
Snohomish Lodge No. 12, I. O. O. F., State of Washington; is an
official member of Snohomish Lodge No. 35, K. of P.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 23 March 2016.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages
1056-1061. The Chapman Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Marie Hassard.