Santa
Clara County
Biographies
Z.O.
FIELD enjoys the distinction of being one of the ablest builders and
contractors who have contributed to the architectural harmony of San Jose. He has a thorough understanding of everything
pertaining to his chosen calling, and has never made it his policy to rest upon
past efforts, but rather to press forward inquiringly and intelligently,
profiting by every means of advancement at the disposal of men whose pleasure
it is to house the families and industries of progressive communities. Since coming here in 1889 he has met with
deserved appreciation, and many of the finest residences, churches and public
buildings have been erected under his supervision. The Victory theatre, the New Theatre, the
finest residences in the Naglee tract, the Francis Smith residence, and many
others evidence his practical and artistic methods. In Santa Clara he erected the S.C. Morse
residence, and in San Francisco put up a number of buildings and
residences. At the present time he has
more work than he can attend to, a fact which in itself indicates his
advancement and popularity.
Mr. Field
was born in Farmington, Franklin county, Me., December
11, 1897, a son of Ansel S. and Clara (Butterfield) Field, and grandson of
Zebeon, the latter born and reared in New England, and a farmer by
occupation. A just pride of birth and
ancestry has been one of the inspirations of which Mr. Field has never lost track. In dim English history bearers of the name
wore the shield and breastplate of the Norman conquerors, and centuries later Sir
John Field came upon the scene with his notable contributions to science and
art. Allied with the family when it sent
its representatives to profit by the greater religious tolerance of the colony
in America were such romantic figures as Priscilla and John Alden, and into the
sterner life of the country came the heroic figure of Cyrus West Field, born at
Stockbridge, Mass., November 29, 1819, who eventually formed the New York, Newfoundland
& London Telegraph Company and in 1856 organized the Atlantic Telegraph
Company, which accomplished the union of Europe and America with the submarine
cable. Israel Putnam, the Pumfret farmer
of Connecticut, who went from his cornfield to the Revolutionary war, and
gloriously served his country also in the French and Indian and Pontiac wars,
adds further lustre [sic.] to the notable Field
family.
Ansel
Smith Field was born in Paris, Me., in which state he conducted farming until
1870, when he moved with his family to Washington county,
Kans. The wildest of surroundings met
the new-comers in Kansas and buffalo abounded, furnishing splendid sport for
the male portion of the neighborhood.
Having children in the west, Mr. Field came to Los Angeles, Cal., in
1881, and for several years conducted a meat market business with fair
success. His wife, who was a daughter of
John Butterfield, a Maine farmer, died in 1897 leaving three of her six
children of whom Z.O. is the youngest as
the other sons are James I., and John I., the former being a builder and contactor
of Los Angeles, and the latter a carpenter and builder of San Jose. Z.O. was thirteen years old when the family
moved to Kansas, and he attended the crude public schools of Washington county, assisting with the clearance of the pioneer farm and
hunting the buffalo with his father. In
1877 he came to Los Angeles, and engaged in butchering and stock business for several
years and later moved to Tustin, Cal., where he set out an orange orchard, and
at the same time learned the carpenter’s trade.
Later he carried on Contracting in what was then Los Angele county, but
now Orange county, and in 1889 began his remarkably
successful building and contracting career in san Jose.
In
Washington country, Kans., Mr. Field was united in marriage with Emma A. Shatto,
a native of Indiana, and they became the parents of six children: Clara, (the
wife of Albert Briggs, a lieutenant in the United States army), Gertrude, Alma
P, Bernice, Wilhelmina and Leroy S. Mr.
Field is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and a charter member of the Builders
Exchange. He is a Republican in
politics, and fraternally is connected with the Fraternal Aid. He is a man of pleasing address, of fine
managerial ability, and has the faculty of getting the best possible service
out of his many employes. [sic.]
He is one of San Jose’s prominent and very useful citizens, and enjoys the
respect and good will of a host of friends.
Transcribed by
Louise E. Shoemaker, December 10, 2015.
Source:
History of the State of California &
Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A.
M., Pages 902-903. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Louise E. Shoemaker.