Santa
Clara County
Biographies
CHARLES F. A.
HELLIESEN
CHARLES
F. A. HELLIESEN. Although for a number of years past Mr. Helliesen has been successfully following the occupation of
an orchardist on his small but productive farm on the Los Gatos road, about one
mile and a quarter northeast of Campbell, in Santa Clara county, Cal., he has
followed diversified occupations during his life, which has been an unusually
eventful one, and he has lived in many climates. United as he is by close ties to the province
of Holstein, Germany, for it was there that he was born September 15, 1842, he
is the eldest but one in a family of five children born to Carl Nicholes and Johannah Fredicka (Struve) Helliesen. Both parents are now deceased, having spent
their entire lives in their native country, Germany, and of their children, the
sons, three in number, are still living, but the two daughters are also
deceased. The father followed the
occupation of a schoolmaster and was a useful member of his community.
Mr. Helliesen
attended the common schools of his native section, and when he became of a
suitable age he was apprenticed to learn the ship carpenter’s trade at Apenrade, Denmark, where for a time he worked in the Kiel
shipyards. In 1862, at the age of twenty
years, he took passage on the Danish merchant ship, Emma, sailing under the
Hamburg flag, as a ship carpenter, and upon this voyage he sailed around Cape
Horn, landing January 9, 1863, at Mazatlan, Mexico, and proceeding shortly
afterward to La Paz, in Lower California.
At that point it became necessary for Mr. Helliesen
to desert his vessel owing to the prevalence on board of that dread disease,
scurvy, and for a time he was employed in the mines at Cacachilas. He subsequently spent thirteen months as a
wood-worker and blacksmith in El Tesora and in 1864
he proceeded north to San Francisco, and in this city he followed his trade for
a brief time.
And now began a series of wanderings
from one place to another and from one occupation to another, covering a period
of about a quarter of a century. For the
first three years, Mr. Helliesen was city salesman
for the Emil Frase Hamburg Tea Company in San
Francisco, and in the spring of 1868 he went to San Jose and for a year
following was grocery clerk in this section.
In 1869 he went into San Joaquin valley and purchasing one hundred and
sixty acres of land tried his fortune as a rancher, but lost heavily. Returning to San Jose in 1871, he again
became grocery clerk, this time for William Fischer, and the following year,
1872, he returned to the San Joaquin valley and again tried his luck on the
ranch for a couple of years. In 1874 he
again engaged in clerking and in 1875 became agent for the Fredericksburg
Brewery, which occupied his attention for one year. It was in 1876 that he opened a saloon in San
Jose and for several years carried on a successful business in this line,
selling out in 1879. He then became
identified with a saloon in the Auzerais House in the
same city, retaining his interest until 1889.
Disposing of his interest in this
business, Mr. Helliesen, accompanied by his wife,
took a pleasure trip to Europe, spending several months in Germany and
Switzerland, and upon his return to this country, he went to Ogden, Utah, and
was instrumental in organizing the Gurney Cab & Transfer Company, and for
two years was its manager. He then
returned to San Jose, Cal., and shortly afterward located upon the little farm
which is still his home. He has six and
three-fourths acres on the Los Gatos road a short distance from Campbell, and
his entire place is devoted to fruit raising, prunes and cherries being the
principal crop, and his entire attention is given to fruit culture. By his marriage in San Jose, he was united
with Miss Anna Marty, a native of Switzerland, and their marriage is without
issue. A Republican in his political
preference, Mr. Helliesen also affiliates with the
Masonic and I. O. O. F. orders, being a member of the local Blue lodge, and the
I. O. O. F. of San Francisco, and the Rebekah, of Campbell.
Transcribed by
Doralisa Palomares.
Source: History of the State of California &
Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A.
M., Page 1173. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Doralisa Palomares.