Yolo County
Biographies
DR. RUSSELL B. BLOWERS
DR. RUSSELL B. BLOWERS. The forceful character of the citizenship of
the late Dr. Russell B. Blowers has made for him for all time a place
in the annals of the state, and although more than a decade has passed since his
decease his name and personality are still active forces, especially in
Woodland, his home city. Here he is
remembered for the character of his works – the accomplishment of unusually
strong effort along personal lines for success, the making of this personal
success being a block in the foundation of the general prosperity of the
community; the selfless devotion of an earnest, loyal and patriotic citizen in
the up-building and promotion of the best interests of city and county; and
withal a manhood of such unimpeachable integrity, honesty and earnestness of
purpose that the unwritten lesson of his life can never lose its potency.
The Blowers family was established in
America by Alexander Blowers, an Englishman, who lived to be one hundred and
eight years old. He and his son Hart and
grandson William fought side by side in the war of the Revolution. To William was born, in Vermont,
December 5, 1782, a son, John O. Blowers, who there
grew to manhood and became a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church. On May 21, 1810, he was married to Sylvinia Chadsey, of Bacauty county, Canada, the
descendant of an old English family who boasted as a member Milton, the author
of Paradise Lost. They eventually
removed to Ohio, in which state their deaths occurred.
Born to the Rev. Mr. Blowers and his
wife was a son, Russell Bigelow Blowers, who first saw the light of day
December 11, 1829, near Bucyrus, Crawford county,
Ohio. He received his preliminary
education in the common schools in the vicinity of his home, after which he
completed his studies in Wesleyan University, of Delaware, Ohio. Desiring to enter upon a professional course,
he took lectures at the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical College upon the completion
of his academic course in 1849.
Attracted, however, by the multifold opportunities presented by the more
remote west, he crossed the plains to California by horse teams in 1851. Upon his arrival he followed the general
trend and engaged in mining until May, 1854, on the 6th of that month looking
his first upon Yolo county, ever afterward the scene
of his most ambitious efforts. His first
work as a viticulturist was the planting of a vineyard of ten acres in 1857,
the fruit intended for commercial purposes, and in 1863 he set out the first
raisin grapes, having secured the famous Muscatella
Gordo Blanco grape from an importation by Colonel Haraszthy,
thus establishing the business with which his career was subsequently most strongly
identified. In 1867 he marketed his
first raisins, which were the first of state production ever placed on the
market. In 1869 he shipped the first
carload of grapes to Chicago, which was the first carload of fresh fruit to
leave the state. Adding largely to his
acreage of raising grapes in 1870 he continued steadily to advance in this line
of work, and in 1876 took the first honors in Philadelphia in competition with
the world. In the same year he built a
dry house in which, under his careful manipulation, he developed a raisin which
it was practically unable to distinguish from one cured in the sun. His patent for this process was received the
year following, and although the majority of the raisin dryers built afterward
embodied more or less of his ideas, he was so interested in the development of
the country and the industry that he never took action to secure the royalty to
which he was entitled. From 1880 to
1886, he was a member of the State Board of Viticultural
Commissioners, finally withdrawing from the same upon becoming convinced of the
futility of the commission and the belief that it was simply wasting the public
funds. In 1884 Dr. Blowers was
eastern manager of the California Fruit Union and was instrumental in securing
the auction system for the disposal of fresh fruit upon its arrival. In December, 1886, he went east with the
California Citrus Fair to Chicago, and was largely instrumental in making that
a success. In 1890 he was also selected
by the California State Board of Trade as the representative and manager of
California on Wheels, in which position he gave the same satisfaction which had
always distinguished his connection with this line of work. Throughout the entire state Dr. Blowers
was considered an authority on the subject of raisin culture, and to him more
than to any other one man is due the success achieved by various viticulturists
of Fresno county, as well as of Riverside, and various
other sections of the state, where he visited and gave personal talks on the
subject.
While acquiring a success and a wide
reputation in the raisin industry Dr. Blowers was also interested in the
up-building and development of his own property in the vicinity of
Woodland. Here he owned eighty acres
adjoining the city and devoted to the cultivation of grapes, olives, other
fruits and alfalfa. A distinguishing
feature of the place is the palms, universally conceded to be the finest in the
valley, most of which were grown on the place from the seed. After the successful demonstration of his
dryer Dr. Blowers turned his attention to irrigation, putting down a well
eighteen feet across and twenty-five feet deep, which supplied a centrifugal
pump to irrigate his eighty acres of trees and vines. The advantage of this pumping plant rests in
the command of a water supply at any time needed, and the certainty that no
weeds will be distributed by the irrigating water. The firebox in his boiler is calculated to
burn straw, peach pits and almond shucks, brush and all refuse which
accumulates so rapidly on a fruit ranch.
He also erected a beautiful, well appointed and comfortable home. In 1891 he and his son planted to vines and prunes thirty-five acres in Willow Oak Park, which makes of
this one of the model orchards of this section.
He also owned four hundred and eighty acres four miles from Woodland and
a farm of four hundred and eighty acres in Shasta county. From the very beginning of his career in Yolo
county he gave to his farming operations the most thoughtful and painstaking
care, and the attention without which all enterprises must fail. He was intensely interested in the
development and growth of the country, the improvement and up-building of
property interests, and set an example worthy of emulation.
Up to the time of his death
Dr. Blowers retained the keenest interest in the welfare of the community,
and while confined to his bed with his last illness he contributed a series of
articles upon the desirability of Yolo county securing
to itself the waters of Clear Lake as a source of irrigation and electrical
power supply. This provoked considerable
discussion and many of the leading men of Lakeport met the doctor for the
purpose of personal conversation along these lines. Although seriously ill he could not be
dissuaded from attending the Los Angeles convention in 1893, when he felt that
there was danger that congress would be asked to turn over arid lands and
reservoir sites to the states and make it possible for the legislatures to take
such action as would place the opportunities of many under the control of
few. He also arose from his sickbed to
call upon and personally solicit his fellow-citizens to use their influence for
their county in waiting upon the governor of the state at a time when action was
pending in the legislature designing to complicate matters by declaring the
lake the property of Lake county. He was ever thus active in his efforts to
advance the welfare of the community in which he made his home, and for this
reason he bears to-day an honored place among her most beloved citizens.
The death of Dr. Blowers occurred
May 11, 1894, in his home in the vicinity of Woodland. He was twice married, his first wife being
Olive C. Foster, born in Crawford county, Ohio,
May 6, 1837. He returned east by
the Panama route in 1855, and on February 12 of that year he was married
in Michigan to Miss Foster, and two months later they returned to
California, where she died March 29, 1868.
They became the parents of five children, named in order of birth as
follows: Russell Irving, Carrie,
Austin A. (who died at the age of seventeen years), Annie and Olive Foster
(who died at the age of four months).
The daughters are prominent social leaders in Woodland, and are also
prominently identified with the Order of the Eastern Star and the Woodland
Woman’s Improvement Club. The son,
Russell I., is the manager of the firm which has long been known as that
of R. B. Blowers & Son, operating the home farm adjoining
Woodland, while he also owns a place of forty acres four miles northwest of the
city, fifteen acres of which are devoted to Bartlett pears and Tokay grapes,
fifteen acres in almonds and the balance in different varieties. He is a young man who gives promise of the
development of the qualities which made of his father the able and successful
man of Yolo county, and as well the honored citizen.
In Woodland, on February 5, 1873,
Dr. Blowers was united in marriage with Mrs. Mary (Marvin) Sweet, who
is a native of Kinsman, Ohio, and the daughter of George and Eliza (Brambly)
Marvin, the former a descendant of English ancestry and the latter of
Dutch. Their daughter was reared in
Wayne, Ohio, and in May, 1871, in company with her first husband, she came to
California and located in Woodland, where her husband died shortly
afterward. Dr. Blowers was
fraternally connected with the Masons, being a Knight Templar, and associated
with all the Masonic bodies of Woodland.
Politically he cast his ballot with the Republican party, and although
zealous for the advancement of the principles he endorsed he would never accept
public office because of his preference for the quiet and seclusion of his home
life and on account of the arduous duties which fell to him in his work of horticulturist. In personal appearance the doctor was a man
of fine figure and commanding physique, with an intellectual and well shaped
head and a face that once seen was always remembered for the character
expressed.
[Inserted by D.
Toole.]
Dr. Russell B.
Blowers
1873
Apr 19, San Francisco Bulletin, P3, San Francisco, California
Blowers
– In Woodland, April 13, Austin A. Blowers, aged 17 years.
1873
Jul 2, Petaluma Evening Argus, P2, Petaluma, California
Alfalfa
– R. B. Blowers informs the Yolo Mail
that he cut 130 tons of hay (alfalfa) from thirty-two acres at one time this
season, and the clover now stands three feet high and very heavy, again ready
for the mower. Pretty
good for one of the “blowers.”
1876
Nov 25, The Arizona Sentinel, P4, Yuma, Arizona
Small
Farms
Speaking
of the value of Small farms, The Santa Monica Outlook, has the following:
Another:
We
subjoin another account of small farming operation, taken from the Yolo Democrat:
The
farm lies about one mile south of Woodland, is owned by R. B. Blowers, who has
twenty-five acres in grapes, and the balance in alfalfa, a portion of which is
cut for hay and the rest used for pasture.
Here is what is sold from the eighty acres in one year – an average year
only: Raisins, $5,000; marketable
grapes, $1,000; poorer quality of grapes for wine making, $1,000; alfalfa hay,
$2,000; taken in pasturage, $1,000 – making a total of $10,000. Taken from this for help $2,000, a large
estimate Mr. Blowers says, and we have $8,000 as one year’s proceeds from
eighty acres of land. At 10 percent,
this would be the interest on $80,000.
Is it any wonder, then that Eastern farmers who are eaten up with
grasshoppers or chinch-bugs, or visited by floods or drouth[sic],
every other year want to come to California when they learn these facts? Adjoining this farm is one of 140 acres owned
by N. Wyckoff, which has over forty acres in grapes and the balance in alfalfa,
which produces equally as well as the above, but as we have not the exact
figures we will not attempt to give them in this issue.
1879
Sep 3, Reno Gazette-Journal, P2, Reno, Nevada
The
shipment of fruits from the orchard and vineyard of R. B. Blowers in Woodland,
Cal., has become such an item that the Railroad Company have
built a side track for his accommodation.
1880
Aug 21, The Record-Union, P2, Sacramento, California
Raisins,
Table-Grapes, and Markets for the Same
The
above is the subject announced by R. B. Blowers, the successful grape-producer
and raisin-maker of Woodland, at the last meeting of the Viticultural
Commission for discussion at a future meeting of the Commission. For this meeting and discussion the time was
fixed ruing the State Fair at Sacramento.
Here, then, is an opportunity for the grape-growers and raisin-makers of
the State to hear an eminently practical and successful man on a subject of
great importance to them. Such a
discussion by such a man cannot prove otherwise than very interesting and
instructive, and the time and place fixed will most likely secure a large audience.
1881
Jul 16, The Fresno Republican, P3, Fresno, California
R.
B. Blowers, the Yolo vine grower, says that he has prevented the destructive
march of grasshoppers which recently invaded his vines. Pans containing tar thinned with petroleum, were hauled along the borders of the vineyard.
1883
Nov 26, The Record-Union, P3, Sacramento, California
The
San Diego Union says that R. B. Blowers and W. W. Brownell, of Woodland, are
visiting that county, and are examining its capabilities as a vine-growing section.
1884
Sep 29, The Record-Union, P3, Sacramento, California
Dr.
W. F. Hitchcock, a prominent orchardist and viticulturist of Napa county, is visiting in Woodland, the guest of R. B. Blowers.
1884
Dec 24, The Record-Union, P3, Sacramento, California
R.
B. Blowers, of Woodland, of whose departure for New Orleans mention has been
made, is reported to have shipped two carloads of raisins of his manufacture to
the World’s Fair at that place.
1885
Jan 15, Steuben Republican, P5, Angola, Indiana
Birthday
Party
Among
the pleasant incidents long to be remembered by those present, was a social
gathering of relatives and friends on Tuesday, Jan. 6th, 1885, at the residence
of Mr. Robert Smith, of East Gilead, Mich., it being the occasion of the 84th
birthday of Mrs. Patience Foster (Mrs. Smith’s mother). Mrs. Foster is the mother of thirteen
children, nine daughters and four sons.
At the present time she has but one son and three daughters living. Also twenty-nine
grandchildren, fifty-three great-grandchildren, and four great great grandchildren.
Of whom four grandchildren, twenty-four great grandchildren, four great great grandchildren reside in California. Among those present from a distance
were: R. B. Blowers and wife, of
Woodland, California; Mrs. Carnaby, aged 68, from
Iowa. Other aged persons were Mrs. Boyd,
71 years, and Mrs. Graves, 62 years.
Mrs. Smith is the mother of Mrs. John Foster, of Otsego township, who with other relatives were present. The East Gilead band favored the company with
music in the evening. Mrs. Smith entered
upon the pleasures of the occasion with much zest, even engaging with
grandchildren and great grandchildren in the game of “snap and catch ‘em.”
1887
Apr 15, The Los Angeles Times, P5, Los Angeles,
California
State
Capital Notes
Sacramento,
April 14 – The directors of the California Fruit Union met at the Golden Eagle
Hotel today. President Hatch resigned
his position as agent of the union in the East, and R. B. Blowers was elected
to fill the vacancy as manager of the union.
1887
Sep 6, San Francisco Chronicle, P6, San Francisco, California
R.
B. Blowers Vineyard
Probably
the best cultivated vineyard is that of Mr. Blowers, the pioneer in this
industry. He has a large and improved
dryer, and received the highest award at the Centennial Exposition for the best
raisins in the world. Mr. Blowers was
the first to make a thorough test of irrigation from a well, and his example
has been followed by many others. This
well is twenty feet in circumference and twenty-five feet deep, and is walled
up with brick. After being dug and
walled up, three seven-inch pipes were sunk into the bottom a depth of eighty
feet. This causes the water in the large
well, which acts as a kind of cistern, to raise to
within twelve feet of the top. The water
is pumped by a fifteen horse-power engine, and with it he can irrigate his
vineyard of eighty acres. It throws a
stream three feet wide and two feet deep, flowing at a rapid rate,
and the volume of water in the well is not reduced.
1892
Aug 20, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
House
Burned
R.
I. Blowers’ residence, in Willow Oak Park, was destroyed by fire this
morning. No one was in the house at the
time the fire started, Mr. Blowers and his crew of men being in the field. When they discovered the fire, the building
was developed in flames, and it was too late to save it. Both the building and the contents were
totally destroyed. The dwelling was
valued at $500 and was uninsured.
1894
May 11, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Death
Came at Last
The
Peaceful Ending of a Long, Useful and Eventful Life
Mr.
R. B. Blowers Quietly Passes Over the River of Death and Joins the Silent
Majority
Mr.
R. B. Blowers is dead. Every resident of
Yolo county will read the announcement with
regret. After a long and painful
sickness, death came to him as sleep comes to those who are weary, this morning
at 3:30 o’clock. The death of such a man,
in whom high talent was wedded to untiring energy and noble character, is always
a loss to the community in which he has resided. There is a keener sense of the loss in this
instance because we realize that the man who has been called away was always
thoroughly devoted to the interests of the county and the State, and always
ready to encourage every enterprise calculated to develop and promote the
interests of the county and the community.
He had been in ill health for many years but his splendid pluck, energy
and simple habits enabled him to withstand a pressure that would have killed
most men in their prime. In his busiest
days he has always found time to turn aside from business cares and enjoy the
domestic felicitations only to be found in the home surroundings of an
exemplary life, and to cultivate the social relations that existed between him
and a great number of devoted friends.
As protector, neighbor, friend and benefactor he occupied a deservedly
high position in the regard and esteem of those with whom he maintained any of
these relations, and all unite in paying tribute to his memory. R. B. Blowers was a native of Ohio and was
born in 1829. After a course through the
public schools he attended Wesleyan University, Ohio, in which institution he
spent four years, from 1845 to 1849. He
attended lectures in the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati for one
year. In 1851 he came overland to
California. For nearly three years he
followed the occupation of mining. In
May 1854 he visited Yolo county and was so impressed
with the fertility of its soil, the salubrity of the
climate and the great resources of the county that he determined to make it his
future home. He first returned to Ohio
and was married in February 1855 and two months later returned to California
and at once located in Yolo county, where he has since
resided.
He
has been a pioneer in the fruit industry.
In 1857, he planted a small vineyard and in 1863 set out his first
raisin vines. He marketed his first
raisins in 1867. In 1869 he shipped the
first carload of green grapes to Chicago.
He has since added to his acreage of vines and trees until his orchard
and vineyard is one of the best in the county, and it has long been conceded
that on horticultural and viticultural matters there
is no higher or more reliable authority in the State than the deceased. He has written voluminously on these subjects
and his intelligence and general information has been so generally appreciated
and recognized that his advice has been much sought after and there is no
position of honor or trust on the various boards and commissions, having for
their purpose the dissemination of information upon these industries, to which
he might not have successfully aspired.
He was a great student and omnivorous reader, and the result of his researches
was manifested in experiments that were always of profound interest to the
horticultural world, and whatever he had to say upon either subject always
commanded respect and attention. His
enthusiasm, patient investigation and earnest, intelligent and well-directed
effort has been as potential in bringing the raisin and fruit industry to its
present state of perfection as that of any man who has ever lived in
California. He has done a great work in
diffusing knowledge concerning the best varieties of trees and vines to plant,
the best methods of curing and packing, and in raising industries to such a
standard that the California fruit-grower may compete with all countries in the
markets of the world. In 1886 he put up
his dryhouse, and during the same year was awarded
the medal and diploma for the best raisins exhibited at the Centennial that
year. For several successive years he
was awarded gold, silver and bronze medals at the State and Mechanics’ fairs
for exhibits of raisins and dried fruits.
From 1880 to 1886 he was a member of the State Board of Viticultural Commissioners.
In 1886 he went East and assisted in the
arrangement of the California Citrus Fair at Chicago and was largely
instrumental in insuring its success. He
was one of the organizers of the California Fruit Union, and went East as its manager in 1837.
Mr.
Blowers early foresaw that if the fruit and raisin industry of California was
to be made a success, the market must be extended. It could not become permanent and prosperous
until a system of distribution through all the Eastern and Middle States had
been perfected, and he devoted some of the best years of his life to the study
of this problem and such other incidental questions as packing ventilation, and
transportation. Mr. Blowers had great
faith in the beneficial effects of irrigation and it was the dream of his life
to see the waters of Cache Creek, now running to waste, so utilized that every
acre of Yolo county would be made to blossom as the rose. He wrote many able and interesting papers on
this subject and among his last contributions was a graphic picture of the
county when a comprehensive system of irrigation has been established, and when
all the agricultural implements and vehicles are propelled by electricity; when
factories have been established and operated by the same power; when all the
domestic machinery are operated in like manner and when our homes are heated
and lighted by the same agent.
Mr.
Blowers was singularly happy in his domestic relations. He was an affectionate father and husband,
and the ties that bound him to home and those he loved grew stronger as the
thread of life became more fragile. For
many months he has realized that his end was near and, surrounded by those he
loved and who loved him, he calmly awaited dissolution with that fortitude and
resignation which have been characteristic of his whole life. “For weeks,” an intimate friend of the family
informs us, “he has been full of visions of beatitudes and glories infinite. Again and again has he audibly communed with
himself, and often has been heard to murmur, ‘What are we here for – to love,
to watch and to wait.’” He passed away
peacefully and quietly, and the last words he was heard to utter were “rest!
Rest!”.
In
February, 1855, Mr. Blowers was married, in Michigan, to Miss Olive Foster, a
native of Ohio. After fourteen years of
happy married life, his wife died in March 1869. The fruits of this union
was five children. The eldest,
Austin A. Blowers, died near Woodland, April the 13, 1873, at the age of
17. The youngest, Olive, died in 1869
when only 4 months old. The surviving
children are Miss Annie, Irving I.[sic], and Carrie M.
Blowers.
On
February 5th, 1873, Mr. Blowers was married to Mrs. Mary Sweet, of this city,
who survives him. For twenty-one years
their married life has been serene and happy, the only cloud being the last and
fatal illness. The funeral services will
be held at the family residence on Sunday, at 2 o’clock, and will be under the
auspices of the Masonic fraternity.
1894
May 11, Woodland Daily Democrat, P2, Woodland, California
Died
Blowers
– In Woodland, May 11, 1894, R. B. Blowers, aged 64 years and 5 months. Funeral from the family
residence, Sunday, May 13th, at 2 p.m.
1894
May 13, The San Francisco Call, P14, San Francisco,
California
Death
of R. B. Blowers
R.
B. Blowers, a well-known fruit-grower and one of the organizers of the State
Horticultural Society, died at his home in Woodland, Yolo County,
yesterday. He was a pioneer
raisin-grower in the State.
1894
May 22, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
His
Bequests
Will
of the Late R. B. Blowers Filed for Probate
The
will of the late R. B. Blowers has been filed for probate. It is dated May 7, 1892, and was witnessed by
C. M. Hoge and W. H. Winne. It provides that all the property in the
deceased’s name at the time of his death, community and otherwise, shall go,
share and share alike, to his wife, Mary Jane Blowers, and his children, R. I.,
Sylvania Annie and Carrie Marie Blowers.
It also provides that the business shall be continued without division
under the name of R. B. Blowers & Son.
The home residence is nominated as the home of all. R. I. and Carrie M. Blowers are appointed
administrators without bonds and authorized to sell any or all personal
property and real estate other than the home place, without an order of the
court. The will is endorsed with the
written consent of the widow to its conditions.
As a token of esteem, James Bowman is given the pacing horse, Glide, but
in a codicil dated July 31st, 1893, this bequest is revoked. The real estate is valued at $62,500. Of this land to the value of $2,500 is in
Shasta county.
The personal property is valued at $3,500.
1895
Sep 21, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Wants
Big Damages
R.
B. Blowers Sues Several Parties for $20,000
R.
B. Blowers began an action in the United States circuit court Friday asking for
$20,000 damages from John H. Von Schroeder and wife and others. The plaintiff alleges that the defendants
have infringed upon his rights by making and using a patent fruit-dryer which
is nearly identical to a dryer which Mr. Blowers has a patent on. He has therefore applied to the courts for
relief for the damages he has sustained by such infringement.
1896
Jan 29, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
A
Novel Entertainment
Curio
Party Given at the Blowers Residence Tuesday Evening
Exhibition
and History of Things Ancient Followed by a Literary and Musical Program
In
the way of novel entertainment the Blowers curio party last night stands alone
in the history of Woodland’s social gatherings.
The beautiful home was made more beautiful through the tasteful skill
displayed in decoration. Smilax, yellow jessamine, violets, purple and white, and the graceful
bamboo mingled their beauty, color and fragrance. Exquisite taste, delicate arrangement, and
the subtle charm of the rare gift of perfect hospitality characterized host and
hostesses. Guests to the number of
seventy-five, each bringing his or her curious contribution, filled the bright
rooms with animated conversation and social warmth. The history of each relic and curio was given
by the bringer; wit, humor, romance, plain facts, and even pathos woven into
these histories, made a delightful and interesting whole. Heirlooms, ancient books and manuscripts,
scientific specimens, bric-a-brac, indeed, the wide range of man’s uses, from
the long gone past to the immediate present, were there. The last issue of the Vicksburg Herald, printed on wall paper, with its
war dispatches, brave defiance and final acceptance of the inevitable, was
there. Some money from revolutionary
times as well as later greenbacks and coins, ancient firearms, powder-horn,
watches a century old, the belongings of grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-great-grandfathers,
in a very tolerable state of preservation and beautiful and curious things from
far distant corner of our little earth, composed an
attractive medley. During the evening,
songs by Mrs. Wallace, Mrs. Ward and Mrs. W. H. Grant, and a recitation by Mr. M_de Hurst[text unclear] were much appreciated by the guests. Delicious refreshments daintily served made a
fitting climax for a perfect evening.
Mrs.
R. B. Blowers, son and daughters are to be congratulated not alone upon the
unusual success of the evening, but for the courage to undertake a new and
unconventional form of entertainment, always hazardous, yet full of
compensation when carried to a successful issue, as in this happy case.
1906
Jul 16, Woodland Daily Democrat, P4, Woodland, California
Mrs.
Arthur Steiner returned to Berkeley this morning. She was accompanied by Mrs. R. B. Blowers.
1919
May 13, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Happenings
25 Years Ago Today
Rev.
J. R. Compton conducted the services at the R. B. Blowers funeral today. The choir was composed of Misses Ruggles and Della Prior and Messrs. R. Wallace and Wilbur
Blair. The pallbearers were T. P. Magee,
Donad[sic]
Frazer, M. Diggs, Fred Miller, W. H. Winne, and L. P.
Cooper. He was placed to rest in the
city cemetery.
1929
May 11, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, 8, Woodland, California
Column
entitled “The Stroller”
The
County’s Oldest Lady, a Longevity Formula, Needlework, Dr. Blowers
Mrs.
Mary Blowers, the oldest person in Yolo county, will
be 95 on June 20. She looks 15 years
younger, because her eyes are clear and bright, and her talk and manner are
vivacious, and she smiles sweetly and readily.
The Stroller asked her – it is the thing to do, you know, when writing a
piece for the papers – for her longevity formula. Her answer was “Live pleasant!”
That,
the reader will not at once, doesn’t mean to “live pleasantly.” All people try to do that, according to their
lights. To “live pleasant,” according to
Mrs. Blowers, means to BE pleasant – to people, to one’s self, in all
circumstances. To live in cheerful calm,
perhaps best describes it. Evidently,
for Mrs. Blowers to live pleasant was also to live pleasantly, for she has
always found much happiness in life.
Mrs. Blowers was born on an Ohio farm, and her memories of the place are
so fresh and vivid it is hard to believe they are considerably more than a
half-century old. Here is an anecdote,
told with lively gesture and humor by this near-centenarian, that the Stroller
enjoyed thoroughly:
Mrs.
Blowers – then Mary Marvin – and her sisters habitually used to make their
secret way into the stock corral, and spend their spare hours breaking in
lively colts. Father never knew, of
course. One day, when Mr. Marvin thought
the colts were old enough to learn the feel of harness, he called in two
strapping horsemen to do the job. One
held the bridle, his feet set to withstand any sudden objection on the part of
the supposedly unbroken animal; the other hurriedly threw on the saddle and
mounted, bracing himself firmly with his knees and grasping the reins in a
death-grip.
“Let
go,” shouted the rider, ready for the first buck. The man at the bridle let go, and the “wild”
young colt, who had been ridden for days and days,
dropped his head and nearly went to sleep.
The girls, who witnessed the scene from behind the barn, choked back
screams of laughter.
When
she was 18, Mary married an Ohioan, a Mr. Sweet. They farmed for three years in their native
state, and then moved to Illinois onto another farm. Dairying was the principal industry. The Sweets made butter and cheese and shipped
it on to Chicago. Always frail, Mrs.
Sweet’s health soon demanded a change.
In 1871 the couple moved to Yolo county. At that time Mr. Sweet’s sister, Mrs. Ed
Giddings, and her husband, were living where the Catholic church
now stands in Woodland. Sweet rented some of the Brown land near the corners,
and put it in grain. He died of a
comparatively sudden illness while workers were harvesting his first crop.
In
1873 she married Mr. Russell B. Blowers, whose first wife had died five years
before. The new Mrs. Blowers, childless
herself, took her husband’s children to her heart, and the children took to her
without question. That relationship has
grown deeper and happier with the years.
Mrs. Blowers has lived in the Blowers home place at the southeast edge
of town since her marriage. She spends
her time reading and knitting.
Needlework has always held her greatest interest because the work is
suitable to her quiet, retiring temperament, and
because she loves beautiful things and loves to make her friends happy through
gifts. Almost every one of Mrs. Blowers’
friends cherish one or more pieces created by her
nimble fingers. These fingers, grown
sensitive through their years of contact with the needle, are her second eyes
when she is at work. That is why her
pieces today are as clever as ever they were.
With
the Misses Blowers and Magil (the Stroller hopes
that’s the correct spelling) the carrier pigeon, and a canary, and Ginger Boy,
a sleek black dog that flattered the Stroller by hardly growling at him at all,
and Mother Blowers, who has “lived pleasant” for nigh onto 95 years, it is
distinctly a household of gentility. And
all about the residence, in the trees and vineyards and farm buildings, the
spirit of Dr. Russell B. Blowers, who planted the first Muscatellas
in California, and who shipped the first fresh fruit ever to leave this state,
lives on.
1912
Apr 30, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
R.
I. Blowers’ Days on Earth are Closed
Death
Called the Well-Known Horticulturist Monday Evening
The
Worthy Son of a Distinguished Father, in Whose Footsteps He Trod
Russell
Irving Blowers passed away at the Blowers home, a Woodland suburb, a few minutes
before 8 o’clock Monday evening. He had
been in ill health for about eleven weeks.
His passing was peaceful and his last hours were comforted by the
presence of all the family, every member of which was unremitting and devoted
in an effort to smooth and make easy his pathway into the life beyond. The funeral will take place from the family
residence on Thursday. The services will
begin at 2 p.m. and Dr. D. E. Holt of Oroville, an old friend of the family,
will officiate. Deceased was a native of
Yolo county and was 52 years and 12 days old. He was educated in the Yolo county public
schools and Heald’s Business College, from which he graduated. His activities were principally in farm and
orchard work and he was also a stockholder and a director in the Woodland Rochdale Company.
Mr. Blowers was also prominent and influential in fraternal work. He was connected with most of the Masonic
bodies of this city. In every one of
these relations, fraternal, social and civic, he had the reputation for conscientiously
discharging every duty and obligation imposed upon him.
Mr.
Blowers was born and reared in an atmosphere of orchard, field and garden, and
the quiet, unselfish life of such an environment appealed most strongly to his
nature. Tall, erect and of commanding
presence, for many years his form and face indicated strong and vigorous
health, a body full of vigor, life and virile manhood. When the announcement of failing health was
made some time ago it came as a surprise and a shock. Since the first shock it had been generally
known that the hand of death was upon him and friends and the family have
therefore been prepared for some time for the further announcement of his
death, made this morning. However much
his family and friends were prepared for the inevitable, they nevertheless feel
that his career closed all too suddenly and sadly and that he passed away on
the very threshold of what promised to be a long, honored and useful life. It seems almost tragic that it should have
been thus. Indeed, there is something
peculiarly pathetic that he should be cut off just at an age when he had
worthily won place, experience and knowledge which would enable him to render
such valuable service to humanity. He
could not have failed to have made his influence for good felt and his
information benefit others if his life had been prolonged to the average span.
When
his father died, May 11, 1894, he and his two sisters took up the great work of
the industrial development of Yolo county where the
father left off. In the field of
horticulture and viticulture their achievements have been such that they are
regarded as very worthy successors of their father, who planted the first
vineyard for commercial purposes and whose career was perhaps more strongly
identified with these industries than any other man of his day. Mr. Blowers took a great interest in this
work and he not only attended most of the important conventions and took part
in the most interesting discussions, but his developments had so distinguished him
in connection with his special line of work that he was considered authority on
these subjects. During the early days of
his sickness the writer was discussing the matter with a man who knew Mr.
Blowers practically all his life and who was associated with him in many
ways. “He is one of the best men I ever
knew; everybody who knows him is his friend,” remarked this man, with evident
sincerity and much feeling. It was a
homely tribute, lacking perhaps in the polish and charm in which such things
are sometimes clothed, but its simplicity and sincerity were wonderfully
impressive, coming direct as they did from the heart of the speaker. No estimate of a man’s real worth is so
certain and reliable as that which is placed upon him by those among whom he has
lived longest, by his immediate neighbors, those with whom he has been
associated closely and with whom he has mingled intimately for years in daily
intercourse. A man is best known and
understood at home, and if there he be above reproach and invulnerable to
adverse criticism, if those who have the opportunity to observe and introspect
his uniform course and character can testify to his merit, he has an unfailing
certification which is entitled to full faith and credit wherever he may go and
by all with whom he may come in contact.
Tested by this rule his place in the love and esteem of his friends is
secure. No higher testimonial of a truly
good man was ever offered than his neighbors are now paying to his memory. These tributes come from people in every walk
in life. From every lip fall words of
tenderness, every tongue utters words of praise and every heart evinces a deep
sorrow. These spontaneous tributes
epitomize the true nobility of human character, leaving nothing, nothing better
to be declared. It is comforting indeed
to believe that our departed friend was ready for the summons. That he was finally faithful, entitled to a
good man’s reward, and now awaits in the better, brighter land a joyful
re-union with the loved ones who are to follow, is a sweet and abiding
consolation. Through blinding tears that
well up from hearts burdened with a heavy grief there will come to the family a
light by which may be read the consoling reflection that their loved one has
gone forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with a manly heart.
Deceased
leaves two sisters, Misses Annie and Carrie, and a stepmother, Mrs. Mary Blowers,
who was as tender and devoted as if he had been her own flesh and blood, and
whose affection and solicitude he sincerely reciprocated.
1912
May 3, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Funeral
Services
All
that was mortal of the late R. I. Blowers was laid to rest in the city cemetery
Thursday afternoon. The services at the
family residence and at the graveside were conducted by Dr. D. E. Holt of
Oroville, assisted by Rev. E. J. Baird, pastor of St. Luke’s church in this
city, and successor to Dr. Holt. They
were assisted by a choir consisting of Mrs. Hudson Grant, Miss Minnie Prior, C.
w. Bush, and B. L. Lick. Mrs. J. H. Dungan was the accompanist.
The pallbearers were G. H. Hecke, Major C. W.
Thomas, Hudson Grant, Charles W. Thomas, C. T. Bidwell and Ernest Bourn. A very large concourse of friends, including
many from other cities and counties, accompanied the family and witnessed the
last sad and impressive ceremonies and many beautiful flowers were laid on the
grave. Dr. Holt’s sermon was comforting,
instructive and a deserved tribute to the many admirable traits of the
deceased. Among those from elsewhere who
attended the funeral were Mrs. Fred Ehman of
Oroville, Peter Haliborn of Auburn, Mrs. Nellie Forth
of Sacramento, Mrs. A. J. Steiner of Pacific Grove, Mrs. A. F. Steiner of
Berkeley, Mrs. Carrie Ray of Gilroy, Miss Calthea
Vivian of San Jose and Geo. H. Blowers of Ridley.
1930
Jul 2, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
Prominent
Woman of Yolo County Succumbs
Miss
Carrie Blowers, member of one of the pioneer families of Yolo county, passed away shortly before 4 o’clock Tuesday
afternoon, following an illness of several months’ developed and she failed
rapidly. Miss Blowers was a native of
Yolo county and spent practically all of her life
here. Her father, the late Dr. Russell
B. Blowers, died at his home in the vicinity of Woodland, May 11, 1894, and her
mother, Mrs. Olive Blowers, passed away on March 29, 1868. Dr. Blowers was a native of Ohio. Attracted by the multifold opportunities of
the more remote west, he crossed the plains to California by horse team in
1851. Upon his arrival he followed the
general trend and engaged in mining until 1854, when he got his first view of
Yolo county.
His first work as viticulturist was the planting of a vineyard of 10
acres in 1851. In 1863, he set out the
first raisin grapes, having secured the famous Muscatella
Gordo Blanco grape from an importation.
Upon the death of Dr. Blowers the son, Russel[sic] Irving Blowers,
became manager of the firm, which has long been known as that of R. B. Blowers
& Son. Since the latter’s death Miss
Blowers and his sister, Miss Annie, have cared for the property.
Parent
Nonagenarian
The
sisters have made their home with their stepmother, Mrs. Mary Blowers on the
old home place. Mrs. Blowers, who is one
of the California pioneers, recently celebrated her 96th birthday
anniversary. The survivors are the
sister, Miss Annie Blowers, her stepmother, Mrs. Mary Blowers, and Arthur
Steiner, a cousin residing in Berkeley.
Miss Blowers was a past worthy matron of Yolo chapter, Order of the
Eastern Star, and was active in club work, having been one of the charter
members of the Woodland Shakespeare club.
No woman in Yolo county was held in higher
esteem. She had hundreds of friends in
all walks of life. Funeral services will
be held Thursday morning at 10 o’clock from the Krellenberg
chapel. Rev. J. A. Mockford,
who is officiating here in the absence of Rev. Mortimer Chester, pastor of St.
Luke’s Episcopal church, will conduct the
services. Burial will be in the Woodland
cemetery, where the Eastern Star services will be read.
1934
Jun 20, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, 2, Woodland, California
100th
Birthday Celebrated
Mrs.
Blowers Oldest Yolo Resident
‘Live
Easily’ Only Formula
By
Elinor Hayes
A
frail old lady with soft, snowy hair Wednesday celebrated her 100th birthday. She is Mrs. Mary Blowers, who has become Yolo
county’s oldest resident after living here for 63 years. Incredible to believe that this delicate old
lady has lived a full century – a goal reached by few people. Even to Mrs. Blowers, herself, it doesn’t
seem that long.
A
Long “Day”
“It
seems like a long, pleasant day,” Mrs. Blowers said Wednesday as she thought
back over the long years at the R. B. Blowers home at the southeast edge of
town, where she has lived for 61 years.
“Live pleasantly and easily,” she said, when asked, as centenarians
always are, of her longevity formula.
“My life has been pleasant and smooth.
When I was a girl I never flew around like girls do nowadays. No girls are always in a whirl.”
Frail
as Child
“No
one would have ever picked me out to live to be 100. Even when I was a girl, I
was never very well, but everyone always took good care of me and I lived on
and on, and here I am today, one hundred years old, and I expect to go right on
living.” Mrs. Blowers lives with her stepdaughter,
Miss Annie Blowers, who arranged a quiet celebration of the noteworthy
occasion. Between the two there is a
camaraderie that has grown with the long years of association. Miss Blowers jokes with her stepmother, and
the latter likes it.
“Well,
now Mother, you are getting your name in the paper, Miss Blowers said Wednesday
morning. “If I don’t do anything worse
than that, I guess it will be all right,” replied Mrs. Blowers. She has a sense of humor outstanding in a
woman of her years. She smiles
pleasantly and likes to have people about.
Frequently her memory slips back to the years of her girlhood and she
talks of them.
Sits
at Window
Most
of her day she spends sitting in a big chair by a window in the old-fashioned,
homey Blowers house, looking at a scene that has been familiar for more than
half a century. She doesn’t wear glasses
and bright colors have an especial appeal for her. Keeping up with world affairs is too taxing
for her feeble strength, but her interest is still keen in things familiar to
her. One hundred years ago Wednesday,
the baby girl was born to Mr. and Mrs. Marvin on an Ohio farm, and they decided
to name her Mary. Mary grew up on the
Ohio farm, and when she was 18 years old, married a Mr. Sweet. They farmed for three years in their native
state and then moved to Illinois, where they operated a dairy, shipping butter
and cheese to Chicago. It was Mrs.
Sweet’s frail health that was responsible for the move to Yolo county in 1871. Sweet
died during their first year here. In
1873, Mrs. Sweet married the late Dr. Russell B. Blowers and she became a
second mother to his two daughters. She
has lived at the Blowers home since that time.
Among those who extended congratulations and best wishes to Mrs. Blowers
were Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Steiner and Miss Calthea
Vivian of Berkeley, who came to Woodland to celebrate the event with Mrs.
Blowers.
1935
Mar 29, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
Mrs.
Blower[sic] Succumbs Here at Age of 100 Years
Mrs.
Mary Blowers, Woodland’s oldest resident, died at her home here Thursday night,
three months before she would have passed her 101st birthday. The aged woman had been semi-conscious and
barely breathing for the last two weeks and her death had been expected
momentarily. Funeral services are to be
held at the Kraft Brothers’ chapel Monday morning at 10 o’clock. Burial will be in Woodland cemetery. Mrs. Blowers died as peacefully as she had
lived during her long life, 62 years of which was spent in Woodland. She failed gradually after passing her 100th
birthday last June.
Born
in Ohio
Mrs.
Blowers was born June 20, 1830, to Mr. and Mrs. Marvin on an Ohio farm. Mary grew up on the Ohio farm with her three
sisters and when she was 18 married a Mr. Sweet. For three years the couple lived in Ohio and
then moved to Illinois, where Mr. Sweet operated a dairy. Because of Mrs. Sweet’s frail health they
moved to Yolo county in 1871, choosing this county
because Mr. Sweet’s sister, Mrs. Ed Giddings, lived here. Her home was where the Holy Rosary Catholic
church now stands. Mr. Sweet rented land
near Brown’s corners but he died of a comparatively sudden illness while
workers were harvesting his first crop.
Marries
Dr. Blowers
Two
years later his widow married Dr. Russell B. Blowers, whose wife had died five
years before, leaving him with two small daughters. Since 1873 – 62 years – Mrs. Blowers has
lived on the Blowers ranch on the Davis highway just outside the Woodland city
limits. Her husband died many years ago
and one of her beloved step-daughters, Miss Carrie Blowers, preceded her in
death by several years, leaving only Miss Annie Blowers to care for her as she
grew more frail with the passing years. Mrs. Blowers was remarkably alert for one of
her years. On her 100th anniversary,
which she celebrated June 20, 1934, she told a “Democrat” interviewer that the
formula for her life was to “live pleasantly and easily.”
Long,
Pleasant Day
“It
seems like a long, pleasant day,” she said on her century anniversary. “My life has been serene and smooth. When I was a girl I never flew around like
girls do nowadays. I was never very well
and everyone always took good care of me and so I have outlived them all.”
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 501-502. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Donna Toole.
Golden Nugget Library's Yolo
County Biographies