Yolo County
Biographies
FRANK
J. BENDER
A man endowed with a large amount
of vim and energy, Frank J. Bender has won for himself a notable position in
the industrial world. Born in Galesville, Trempealeau county, Wis., March 27,
1870, he is the son of David J. Bender, a native of Carlisle, Schoharie county,
N. Y. Being left an orphan at an early age, the latter left his native state
and removed to Wisconsin, where he engaged in the lumber business until 1878,
then locating in South Dakota, near Watertown. Soon after his settlement in
that community the town of Castlewood sprang up two miles from his farm and
became the county seat of Hamlin county, S. Dak. (sic) By purchase Mr. Bender
added to his property until he owned four hundred and eighty acres. In 1888 he
made a trip to California, and after spending the winter there returned to
South Dakota. In the spring of 1890, with his family, he again crossed the
plains to this state, locating at Woodland, where he still resides. His wife,
formerly Elizabeth J. Benson, was born in Crawford county,
Pa., in 1836, the daughter of Alonza Benson, a native
of Pompey, N. Y. During manhood Mr. Benson removed to the northern part of
Crawford county, where he engaged in contracting and
building, interspersed with farming on a small scale until 1845, then removing
to Thompson, Wis., still followed the carpenter’s trade. Later he settled in La
Crosse county, where he made his home until his death.
His wife, formerly Chloe Root, of New York, also died in the same state. Mr.
and Mrs. Bender are both active members of the Christian Church. Of a family of
fifteen children, eleven are still living, as follows: Mrs. G. W. Davison,
Robert H., Oliver A., Mrs. E. H. Ulick, Mrs. F. A.
Bradley, Frank J., Mrs. Rosa Congrave, Asa E., William D., Winford A.
(the two last mentioned being twins), and Daisy A. Besides rearing their own
children Mr. and Mrs. Bender have given a home to Martha L. Converse, a niece.
Frank
J. Bender was reared in Wisconsin until the family removed to South Dakota,
where he received his education in the district schools and the Castlewood
public school. In 1890 he located at Woodland and entered the carpenter
department of the Southern Pacific Railroad, giving faithful service for three
years, at the expiration of which time he apprenticed himself to the firm of
Johnson & Sears, plumbers, in the northern part of the state. In 1897,
after two years’ experience with this firm, Mr. Bender, in company with two
brothers, Asa E. and Winford
A., established a plumbing business in Woodland under the title of Bender
Brothers. The firm prospered from the beginning, and now enjoys the largest
patronage in Woodland. They occupy two stores, 50x90, carry a large and
well-selected stock and have a contracting trade which extends through Yolo and
Sutter counties. In Woodland they put the fixtures in the buildings owned by H.
Wooley and F. W. Blanchard and in the Carnegie
Library. In March, 1904, the three brothers, in connection with another
brother, William D., purchased the grocery store belonging to A. M. Eaton,
which is conducted under the name of W. D. Bender.
Fraternally Mr. Bender is identified
with Woodland Lodge No. 111, I. O. O. F., in which organization he is past
grand and has served as representative to the Grand Lodge. In recognition of
his instrumentality in the completion of their new hall, Mr. Bender is a
stockholder in the Odd Fellows Hall Association. He is an active member and
past chief patriarch of Woodland Encampment No. 71, and is identified with the Rebekahs and Woodmen of the World. He is a member of the
Woodland fire department, having served as president of the engine and hose
company. In his religious affiliations he is a member of the Christian Church,
and his political views coincide with those of the Republican party, whose men and measures he supports by his ballot.
Transcribed
By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: "History
of the State of California and Biographical Record of the Sacramento
Valley, Cal.," J.
M. Guinn, Page 569. The Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago,
1906.
© 2017 Cecelia M. Setty.
Golden
Nugget Library's Yolo County Biographies