Siskiyou
County
Biographies
JUD A. AGER
One of the oldest native sons of Siskiyou county still
living here is Jud A. Ager, during whose life span of seventy years this
section of the west has made marvelous advancement, until today it is one of
the most desirable and attractive districts of California. He has not only been
an eye witness to this transformation, but has also been an active figure in
the drama of civilization which has been enacted here. He was born in Siskiyou county, within about a mile of his present home, May 15,
1861, and is a son of Jerome B. and Lucy Jane (Axtell) Ager. The town of Ager,
on the Southern Pacific Railroad, was named in honor of the father. The latter
was born at Watertown, Jefferson county, New York,
where he lived until he had attained manhood. Then, inspired by the stories of
fortunes made in the new gold fields of California, he went to St. Joseph,
Missouri, where he equipped a caravan of ox teams and some forty wagons. It
required six months’ time for the company to cross the plains to Hangtown, now Placerville, where he followed mining for
about a year, with a fair measure of success. Taking gold in his belt, he rode
a mule back to St. Joseph, a trip of considerable danger. In order to avoid
hostile Indians he would make his evening fire along his route, eat his evening
meal, and would then go back into the prairies to sleep. After reaching St.
Joseph, he spent some time in organizing another party, and in 1853 crossed the
plains a second time. He located at Oregon City, Oregon, where he mined with
but little success. He was at Cape Blanco on the coast, when the Rogue river Indian war broke out, but got away with his scalp,
though but little else was left to him. He then went to the Willamette valley, and from there to Siskiyou county California, and
later came to the Shasta valley, where he traded his horses for a ranch of one
hundred and sixty acres, to the cultivation of which he devoted his attention
until his death, which occurred in 1902. He was a man of strong character, did
his full part in promoting the development of the country and for many years
was one of the best known men in this section of the state. During the Modoc
war he hauled supplies for the government. During that troublous period his
wife would take their children away from home and hide among the rocks to save
them from the redskins. She also frequently, when remaining in the house at
night, would open the cellar door in front of the entrance to her house, so
that if the Indians attacked they would fall into the cellar, thus giving her
time to get the children away. Mr. Ager gave his political support to the republican party and maintained a constant interest in
public affairs, though he never aspired to public office. All who knew him
respected him highly for his sterling qualities and fine public spirit.
Jud A. Ager received his education in the grade schools
and remained on the home ranch until twenty-seven years of age, or until the
mortgage on the property was paid off. He then went into the forwarding freight
commission business, which meant that he bought in carload lots everything
required in his home community, and freighted it there by team and wagon. He
also wholesaled supplies to the merchants of eastern Oregon. This proved a
successful enterprise and Mr. Ager carried it on for many years,
or until the great earthquake and fire in San Francisco in 1906. From that time
the forwarding commission merchants of San Francisco required cash payment for
all purchases there, amounting to from four hundred to fifteen hundred dollars
a day. At that time Mr. Ager bought out the D. W. Earl & Company
interests, which he conducted thereafter. He was also in the livestock business
for six years, and in addition had a hotel and saloon at Ager, where he has
spent practically his entire life. He still owns the general store which he
bought in 1909 and conducts it with the aid of clerks, as he is practically
retired.
In 1892 Mr. Ager was united in marriage to Miss Emma Spannaus, who was born and reared at Yreka and is a
daughter of Ernest and Catherine (Theiss) Spannaus, both of whom were natives of
Germany, the father being from Hamburg. He came to the Pacific in the
early ’50s and followed the butcher’s trade, in which he was an expert, being
the possessor of a medal from a Chicago packing house for the quickest dressing
of a beef. He spent most of his life in Yreka, and devoted his later years to
farming. Mr. and Mrs. Ager have five children, namely: Vesta M.,
the wife of Conrad Liebert, of San Francisco, who is
engaged in the lumber business with John W. McCullum;
Arthur F., who is connected with the state railroad commission in San
Francisco; Earl F., engaged in the farming implement and tractor business
at Yreka; Inez D., the wife of James Aylsworth,
or Portland, Oregon, and Harriet H., the wife of George Trimmer, of Yreka.
Politically Mr. Ager has always supported the republican party and has been active in local public
affairs. He served as supervisor of his district from 1912 until 1916 and from
1920 to 1924, and has been chairman of the board of high school trustees
continuously since 1914. He belongs to Howard Lodge, No. 96,
F. & A. M. of Yreka; Mount Shasta Chapter,
R. A. M.; Mount Shasta Commandery, K. T.;
and Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. of San Francisco.
He likewise belongs to Ashland Lodge, No. 944, B. P. O. E.,
and he and his wife are members of the Order of the Eastern Star at Yreka. Both
of his sons also are Masons and Shriners.
Mr. Ager is the owner of the large and attractive
residence, containing nine bedrooms, and the spacious yard is ornamented with
shrubbery and fruit trees, while a fine spring, enclosed within a concrete
house, is a valuable asset to the property. Mr. Ager, in addition to all of his
other activities, was in the stage business for six years, from Klamath Falls
Oregon, to Lakeview. He had a real part in the construction of the various
railroad lines in this part of the state, having, in 1887, helped to build the
Southern Pacific Railroad and at later periods aided in the construction of the
line from Shingle Springs to Placerville. He helped to build a railroad in
Arizona, the Coalinga Railroad, in the San Joaquin valley of California, and
one near Santa Maria, California. He is one of the pioneers of this section of
the state, has done his full part in every relation of life and well deserves
the high place which he holds in the esteem of his fellowmen.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
23 April 2010.
Source: Wooldridge, J.W.Major
History of Sacramento Valley California, Vol. 2, Pages 104-106. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's Siskiyou County Biographies