Siskiyou
County
Biographies
W. S. BURTON
In the passing of W. S. Burton in August, 1930, Fort
Jones lost a loyal and influential citizen and a capable and enterprising
business man, well known as the proprietor of the popular Hotel Western. A
native of California, he was born in Quartz Valley, October 22, 1884, and was a
son of Stephen T. and Sarah J. (Shelley) Burton, of whom
more extended mention is made elsewhere in this work. He was reared and
educated in the Golden state and chose a commercial career, devoting much of
his life to the hotel business–a field of activity in which he won a gratifying
measure of success. Possessing a genial nature, mature judgment and a capacity
for hard work, he was excellently equipped for this line of business, and under
his wise and progressive management Hotel Western steadily gained in public
favor, becoming recognized as one of Siskiyou county’s leading hostelries.
Thorough and painstaking, Mr. Burton overlooked no detail which would add to
the comfort and well being of the guests of his hotel and ever maintained a
high standard of service.
Mr. Burton’s first wife was Miss Gertrude Evans, a
daughter of I. M. and Clara Evans, who resided upon a farm in Scott
valley, and the old Evans homestead is still in possession of the family. By
this marriage Mr. Burton became the father of two sons and one daughter:
Kenneth E., who is employed in the creamery at Fort Jones; Willa, who
completed a course in a Sacramento business college and is now filling a
stenographic position in that city; and James, who resides with a paternal
aunt. Mr. Burton’s second marriage was with Miss Mildred Warner, who
acquired her education in the schools of Siskiyou county
and who proved an ideal companion and helpmate, assisting her husband in the
conduct of his business and contributing materially toward the success of Hotel
Western, which is modern and well equipped. Good taste is reflected in the
appointments and furnishings of its thirty-four guest rooms, which are light,
airy and attractive, and an excellent cuisine has enhanced the popularity of
the hotel, which is high-class in every respect–an institution that reflects
credit upon the town in which it is operated.
In his political views Mr. Burton was a republican, while
his fraternal affiliations were with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at
Fort Jones and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Ashland, Oregon. With
a deep and abiding love for his state, he was constantly adding to his store of
knowledge concerning its development and progress, and was particularly well
informed on matters pertaining to the history of northern California–a subject
upon which he was qualified to speak with authority. At the age of forty-five
years Mr. Burton was removed from the scene of his earthly activities and
his untimely death brought deep sorrow to his family and his many friends, who
admired him for his sincerity, his depth of character, his kindness of heart
and his close adherence to those high principles which constitute the basis of
all honorable and desirable prosperity.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
25 April 2010.
Source: Wooldridge, J.W.Major
History of Sacramento Valley California, Vol. 2, Pages 112-113. Pioneer Historical Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's Siskiyou County Biographies