San
Joaquin County
Biographies
CHARLES L. ORTMAN
It is interesting to chronicle the
life of a native son who had the ambition and courage to take a stand for the
right and then fight for it, and who won the confidence and respect of the community
where he was born and reared. Such a man
was the late Charles L. Ortman, the son of pioneer parents, prominent in the
development and building up of the Stockton section. He was one of Stockton’s most successful
businessmen, and he served for three terms as county assessor, his acquaintance
throughout the county being perhaps second to none. Born on the old Ortman homestead at the
junction of the Linden and Jack Tone roads he spent his entire life there. Mr. Ortman, of late years took a great pride
in his boyhood home place and made it a very attractive property, an excellent
almond orchard thriving there at the present time; and was one of the first San
Joaquin farmers to go into the almond growing business on a large scale,
planting sixty acres, from which he received profitable returns each season.
As county assessor, Mr. Ortman made
a great record. He was the first
California assessor to assess the Western Union Telegraph Company’s franchise
as a county property, and defeated a bill in the legislature which practically
exempted franchises from taxation. When
the Western Union refused to pay, Mr. Ortman levied on the company’s safe,
hired a drayman and walking into the telegraph office, seized the safe and
carted it away. Thus was the payment
compelled and a state-wide precedent established. He was the first assessor to assess railroad
fencing, railroad cars other than those belonging to the corporation; first to
assess gas wells; he lowered the tax on land and raised the assessment on valuable
income producing property; had framed by his private attorney and secured the
passage by the state legislature a law assessing national bank stock; compelled
the Santa Fe Railroad Company to pay taxes in San Joaquin County on its
valuable land holdings; added millions of dollars to the assessment rolls of
the state, thereby reducing the rate of taxation. In five lawsuits with tax shirkers he was
upheld in every instance. He found that
some of the larger stores in Stockton were assessed lower than the smaller
ones, and in raising the valuation on income property,
also raised the valuation of some of the larger stores five times more than the
previous assessment; he was also the first assessor to assess the barges
belonging to the Navigation Company. He
appeared many times before the legislature at Sacramento, and although many
corporations fought him on their assessments, he won out every time, but in
some instances carried the cases to the Supreme Court of the state. His motto was, “the rich man, as well as the
man of moderate property, should bear his just proportion of taxation.” He was ever a progressive Republican, and was
never weary in contributing to raise the standard of civic ideals. Mr. Ortman was noted for his fairness and
honesty, but he was firm in his convictions and once he reached a conclusion he
proceeded to carry out his plans regardless of counter influences. Upon quitting public life, Mr. Ortman entered
the automobile business as a partner of Walter Hansel, whose biographical sketch
will be found elsewhere in this volume, under the firm name of Hansel &
Ortman. Success rewarded them from their
earliest operations. The firm is one of
the oldest on auto row and one of the largest in the San Joaquin valley. Keenly attentive to business, kindly,
courteous and obliging, Mr. Ortman made friends of all with whom he came in
contact. His death brought genuine
sorrow to a great many residents of San Joaquin County who held him in the
highest regard. Mr. Ortman was
fifty-nine years old when he passed away and is survived by a devoted wife, and
a son, Carl S. Ortman. Fraternally he
was a member of the Stockton Lodge of Elks and Stockton Parlor of Native Sons
of the Golden West.
Carl S. Ortman is also a native of
California and was born in Stockton October 22, 1892, and received his
education in the public schools of his native city. After finishing his education he entered the
automobile business with his father and later became manager of Hansel &
Ortman, auto dealers. Fraternally he is
a thirty-second degree Mason, is a director of the San Joaquin Auto Trades
Association; and a director in the Lions Club of Stockton. His marriage united him with Miss Althea
Morse, a native of Rhode Island, and they are the parents of one daughter, Carla. Mr. Ortman is following closely the standards
as maintained by his prominent father, and stands high in the estimation of the
citizens of the community.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
408. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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