Santa
Clara County
Biographies
HENRY HOTCHKISS
No braver or more gallant hero fought on the
battle-fields of our country during the Civil war (sic) than H. Hotchkiss, of
Los Gatos, who participated in many of the important engagements of that
period, leaving the scene of conflict only when compelled to do so by a severe
wound that sent him home on crutches. Thirty years ago he came to California,
and for the past twenty years has resided near Los Gatos, and has held a
prominent position among its most respected citizens and its most successful
fruit growers and dealers. Of New England ancestry he was born October 16,
1834, in Madison county, N. Y., a son of Alfred Hotchkiss. His grandfather, Waitstill Hotchkiss, was born, reared and married in
Connecticut. He afterward moved westward to Madison county,
N. Y., from there going, in 1836, to Canaan, Wayne county, Ohio, where he spent
his declining years.
A native of Connecticut, Alfred
Hotchkiss removed with his parent to New York state,
where he assisted in the pioneer work of clearing a farm from the unbroken
wilderness. He subsequently settled in Wayne county,
Ohio, where he was successfully employed in agricultural pursuits until his
death, in 1860, at the age of fifty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was
Sarah Brooks, was born near Albany, N. Y., and died on the home farm in Ohio.
She bore her husband two sons and three daughters, and of these one son and one
daughter are now living.
Less than two years old when he was
taken by his parents to Wayne county, Ohio, H. Hotchkiss there received his
early education, attending first the district school, and afterward the Canaan
Union Academy. After his graduation from the latter institution he taught
school two years, and on attaining his majority began life for himself as a
farmer, owning one hundred and eight acres of land, lying just across the road
from the parental homestead. In 1861, Mr. Hotchkiss, responding to the first
call for three years’ men, enlisted in Company K, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, and after being mustered in at Wooster, Ohio, went with his regiment
to Kentucky. While at Cumberland Gap, the division with which he was connected
was surrounded, their provisions cut off, and the men had to fight their way
out. This was before the evacuation of the Gap. He was subsequently an active
participant in the engagements at Tazewell, Tenn., at Charleston, W. Va., at
Memphis, Tenn., and at the siege of Vicksburg. At Haines Bluff, Company K, to
which he belonged, went into battle with one hundred men one Friday noon, and
the following Tuesday not a man responded to roll call, every one having been
killed, captured or severely wounded. The other companies of the regiment also
suffered severe losses. Mr. Hotchkiss was one of the wounded, having been shot
through the thigh by sharpshooters. As soon as he was able to take the journey
he was sent home, and April 15, 1863, was honorably discharged from the
service. For five years thereafter he was obliged to use crutches, and has
never since been free from pain, the thigh bone having been shattered.
Unable to do much physical labor
after returning to his home in Ohio, Mr. Hotchkiss rented his farm, and after
awhile began dealing in stock on a modest scale. In 1874, on account of the
illness of his wife, he came to California and for eighteen months resided in
San Jose. Going thence to Marin county, he engaged in
farming and dairying for three years. From 1879 until 1883 he made his home in
Alameda. Locating in Santa Clara county then, he bought forty acres of land
lying four miles northeast of Los Gatos, and set out his entire ranch to fruit
trees of various kinds. He also erected a dryer and in the raising and drying of
fruits has had praiseworthy success. Renting his ranch in 1903, he has since
resided in Los Gatos, retired from active business cares. He is one of the
leading horticulturists of this section, and was one of the organizers of the
Santa Clara Fruit Exchange, at San Jose.
In Canaan Ohio, Mr. Hotchkiss
married Hannah Zuyver a native of Wayne county, Ohio,
and they have four children, namely: Augustine, locomotive engineer on the
narrow gauge road; Charles, engaged in farming near Los Gatos; Josephine,
deceased; and Jessie Belle, deceased. In national politics Mr. Hotchkiss is a
Republican, but in local affairs votes independent of party restrictions. He
was made a Mason in Seville, Ohio, and is a member of E. O. C. Ord Post No. 82, G. A. R. of Los Gatos. He belongs to the
Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is one of the trustees.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast
Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 1305-1306. The
Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.