Santa
Clara County
Biographies
MOSES
SCHALLENBERGER
MOSES SCHALLENBERGER. The oldest surviving settler of Santa Clara
county, a California pioneer of 1844, was born near Canton, Stark county, Ohio,
November 9, 1826, and was the youngest of the seven children of Jacob and
Barbara (Miller) Schallenberger, natives respectively
of Switzerland and Germany. His father,
who was born in the French part of the Swiss republic and fought under
Napoleon, brought his family to America and settled on a farm in Ohio. Four children
were born in Europe and three after the family settled in America. Of these Moses was the youngest and is now
the sole survivor. When six years of age
he was orphaned by the death of his parents and then went to the home of a
sister, Mrs. Townsend, in Fayette county,
Pa. With her and her husband,
Dr. Townsend, he removed to Greene county, Ind., and there attended school
in a log building, where the instruction was as crude as the appurtenances. From 1840 to 1842 the family lived in
Harrison county, Ohio, and then settled in the Platte
purchase, in Buchanan county, Mo., where the doctor combined professional work
with farm pursuits.
Accounts given by Major Biddle
concerning the climate of the Pacific coast and the fact that Mrs. Townsend
was delicate led Dr. Townsend to decide to remove to the then unknown
west. Accompanied by his wife and the
brother-in-law, Mr. Schallenberger, he joined a
party bound for Oregon. Another member
of the party, Mr. Montgomery, was a gunsmith and during the winter of
1842-43 made a quantity of guns, pistols, ox shoes and wagons. It had been the intention to start early in
1843, but the death of one of the members of the party delayed the others, and
they did not leave until March, 1844. When
they rendezvoused in Missouri with the emigrant train for Oregon, they found a
family of Murphys bound for California, and
Dr. Townsend concluded to come with them.
The company, consisting of eleven wagons, was under Captain
Stevens. At Fort Hall the Murphys and their party separated from the Oregon
expedition. Their pilot, Greenwood, was
an old mountaineer and brought them safely to the sink of the Humboldt. There the services were obtained of the old
Indian, Truckee (so named by them because he trucked or followed them for
days), who guided them to the river they named in his honor. They were the first to explore and travel
over the Truckee route and the Yuba river. In the latter part of October they arrived at
what was later known as Donner’s lake.
It being late in the year, the party deemed it advisable to leave the
wagons and hurry on to the valley.
However, Mr. Schallenberger insisted upon
remaining to guard the wagons and their valuable contents, and
Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Foster thereupon decided to remain with him.
At that time the snow was only one foot
deep, but when the long winter fell upon them, with the impassable drifts and
intense cold, they realized their forlorn condition. To increase their hardships they had neither
flour nor coffee. The log cabin which
they had hastily constructed was but a partial protection from the severe
weather. They had but one head of stock,
an old cow, and this they killed, the meat lasting until Christmas. When provisions ran low they made snow shoes
and divided the remnants of the dried meat (consisting of about fifteen pounds
for each one). With this supply of meat
they started on their snow shoes over the mountains, but Mr. Schallenberger, being but seventeen years old and weak from
lack of food, could not keep up with the others, and soon was seized with the
cramps. Unable to proceed, in the
morning it was agreed that he should return to the cabin and the others proceed
to California, returning with help as soon as possible. With his return to the cabin came the problem
of securing a means of subsistence for the rest of the winter. Captain Stevens had some steel traps in the
wagons and these he set, using pieces of cow’s meat for bait. The first night he set
three of them and caught a coyote, which he cooked and ate. On the second day he caught a black fox. The meat of one of these animals lasted him
three days and was far superior to coyote meat, so, although he caught thirteen
more coyotes, he hung them up to freeze, as he secured enough foxes to satisfy
his appetite. During all these weeks he
had nothing to eat but meat. Yet he was
fortunate in having fuel for a fire and also in having good books to read, for
Dr. Townsend had put a large number of books in the wagons.
A part of the Murphy expedition had
wintered on the head waters of the Yuba.
However, one of their number, Dennis Martin, who had gone on to
California, returned to relieve the others, and was hired by Mrs. Townsend
to pilot her brother, Mr. Schallenberger, out
from the lake. Mr. Martin found
him, showed him how to adjust and use the snowshoes, and piloted him down to
Bear river, where he arrived after five months in the
mountains. Through the valley he walked
to Hock’s farm and then to Sutter’s Fort.
His pleasure in meeting people after the lonely months in the mountains
and his enjoyment of a change of diet from meat, can
only be understood by those who have undergone a like experience. With Pat Martin he remained at the fort until
June and then returned to guard the wagons, with their valuable stock of merchandise
Dr. Townsend was bringing to California.
Meanwhile the snow had vanished from the lake and the Indians had found
the wagons and the cabin, from which they had removed everything but the guns
and ammunition. It is probable that they
were unused to such equipments and feared to touch them. In July the oxen arrived and the wagons were
taken to California, being the first that ever were brought into the
state. In his possession Mr. Schallenberger still has a wheel tire which he prizes as a
souvenir of the eventful trip.
In San Francisco, September 20,
1854, Mr. Schallenberger married Miss Fannie Everitt, a native of Alabama, born in 1834. Her father, Hon. John Everitt, was for six years judge of the court of common
pleas at Mobile, Ala., and the records show that no decision of his was ever
reversed. In 1852, Miss Everitt came to California with her brother-in-law, S. L.
Jones, and remained in San Francisco until her marriage. The young couple began housekeeping on
Dr. Townsend’s estate, but later removed to their present homestead. Mrs. Schallenberger
was a devoted member of the Episcopal Church and died in that faith in
1901. Of her marriage there are five
children, namely: Louise Townsend, Mrs. Montgomery, of San Jose; Margaret Everitt, a teacher in the State Normal School of San Joes;
Lloyd J. and Milton Potter, who are in Washington; and Frances Reese, a
teacher in the San Jose high school. Miss Margaret E.
Schallengerger, who is connected with and has been
acting principal of the State Normal school, is one of the leading educators in
the state. The position of principal of
the Normal Training school she resigned in order to enter Leland Stanford
University, where she was an instructor in the department of education for
three years while carrying on her undergraduate work. After receiving a degree from that
institution she attended Cornel University, where she took the degree of Doctor
of Philosophy and later taught for two years in the summer school of that
institution in the department of psychology.
Two positions were offered her, one being that of teacher in Mount
Holyoke College, the other that of assistant superintendent of schools at
Springfield, Mass. It was her
preference, however, to remain at Cornell, to enlarge her thesis on child
psychology into a book. From there she
returned to the coast to take up educational work in the State Normal school.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 494-495. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Donna Toole.