Yolo County
Biographies
BARKLEY G. PEART
BARKLEY G. PEART. As superintendent of the Fair ranch at
Knights Landing, Mr. Peart has under his supervision an immense estate
aggregating ten thousand one hundred acres situated in this part of Yolo county. Eight
thousand acres are utilized for the cultivation of grain and the remaining
acreage is in pasture land, furnishing excellent facilities for the grazing of
six hundred or more head of Durham cattle and about seventy head of draft
horses. No finer stallion is to be found
in this part of the state than the thoroughbred Yo El
Rey, which heads this drove of horses, and for which Charles Fair paid
$27,500. The horses raised on the ranch
are thoroughbreds and possess an uniform excellence
that makes their acquisition valuable.
Ever since boyhood Mr. Peart has
been a resident of the west, and “Bart,” as he is called by his friends, has a
host of well-wishers and admirers among those who have known him ever since he
came to this part of Yolo county. His
father, George W., was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and until middle life
was engaged in the drug business in Akron, Ohio, and also carried on a farm in
Grant county, Wis.
Accompanied by his family, in 1875, he came to California and bought a
ranch of one hundred and sixty acres two miles southwest of Knights Landing,
where he followed farming and stockraising until his
death, June 1, 1895, at seventy-two years of age. Up to the time of his fatal illness he was a
hale and robust man, able to work with the energy that had characterized him in
early life. The family to which he
belonged came to America in an early day and was of Quaker religious
affiliations. His wife, who was Sarah A.
Clark, was born in Pennsylvania, descended from an old family of that state,
and still makes her home on the ranch in Yolo county, being now (1905)
seventy-two years of age.
At Wyalusing, Grant county,
Wis., B. G. Peart was born October 10, 1860, and
there he attended the common schools. At
fifteen years of age he accompanied his parents to California and afterward
worked for his father until attaining his majority, when he established himself
in the paint and wall-paper business at Westport, on Grays Harbor, Wash.,
continuing there until 1892, when he accepted his present position and sold his
interest in the store. By the careful
investment of his savings he has become the owner of a farm in Yolo county and has other investments that represent the returns
from his energetic and judicious efforts.
In the management of the large ranch he finds his time so fully occupied
that he has never accepted official positions nor
nominations for the same, his only part in public affairs being to cast a
Republican vote at all elections. In fraternal relations he is connected with
Grafton Lodge No. 141, F.& A.M. at Knights
Landing, and the Knights of Pythias at Woodland, in both of which he is an
interested worker. In 1894 occurred his
marriage to Miss Lela A. Simpson, a young lady residing in Woodland, and a
daughter of Prof. J. L. Simpson, and they, with their daughter,
Laura A., have a comfortable home on the Fair ranch.
[Inserted by D.
Toole.]
Barkley G. Peart
1890
Oct 22, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Bart
Peart went to Sacramento at 3 o’clock.
1894
May 10, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Bart
Peart is trying to devise some means whereby he can
increase the hay crop so that he can utilize that extra ten tons of baling
rope.
1894
Jun 2, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
It
is worth a person’s while to drive out to the Fair ranch and see the men at
work. It is a perfect beehive of
industry and Bart Peart manages the ranch so
admirably that everything runs like clock work.
1894
Jun 13, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Mrs.
Bart Peart has many friends up this way, who learned
to respect and admire her as Miss Lela Simpson, and all unite in wishing her a
long and happy married life.
1894
Sep 14, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Miss
Lola Simpson, of Woodland, is visiting her sister, Mrs. Bart Peart.
1894
Sep 19, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Burrows
is Dead
He
Passes Away this Morning After Lingering Forty-Eight
Hours
Leal
Burrows, the young farm hand who was shot last Sunday afternoon while resisting
arrest, died this morning at 2:15 o’clock.
For twelve hours before his death he was unconscious and he passed away
peacefully. During his last hours his
bedside was surrounded by several of his fellow laborers on the Fair ranch,
with whom he was a general favorite.
They were visibly affected when he died.
Dr. Beebe conducted an autopsy this morning on the remains. It was found that the bullet entered the body
at a point about four inches above and one inch to the right side of the lower
end of the spinal column. It passed
diagonally through the abdomen, passing out one inch and a half below and one
inch to the left of the navel. The ball
passed directly through three coils of the small intestines, making six
distinct openings. The inquest will be
held tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock at Stephens, Bean & Son’s undertaking
establishment. It will be conducted by
District Attorney Head. Dr. Beebe, in
accordance with Burrows’ dying request, communicated with a brother living in
Denver, Colorado, and asked him what disposition to make of the remains. No reply had been received up to the hour of
going to press. Bart Peart,
superintendent of the Fair ranch, for whom Burrows had been working since last
May, was in this city today. He says
that Burrows came to him bearing excellent recommendations and he found him a
faithful and trustworthy employe. He was a genial, whole-souled
man, and a general favorite on the ranch.
He had never before been under the influence of liquor since coming to
the county, as far as his knowledge went.
1896
Mar 30, Woodland Daily Democrat, P3, Woodland, California
Grafton
Gossip
Bart
Peart informs me that the water is running over the
top of the west side levee.
1898
Sep 2, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
Bart
Peart reports that harvesting has been finished on
the Fair ranch and the total yield amounted to about 50,000 sacks of grain,
which is now stored on the river bank awaiting shipment to tidewater. Nearly 75,000 sacks of grain would have been
obtained had it not been for the north wind.
1903
Dec 22, Woodland Daily Democrat, P4, Woodland, California
Probate
Notice
In the Superior Court of the State of California in
and for the County of Yolo.
In the matter of the estate of Larry Monohan,
deceased. Notice is hereby given that
Monday, the 4th day of January, 1904, at 10 o’clock a.m. of said day, and the
courtroom of said Court, at the courthouse in the city of Woodland, county of
Yolo, State of California, have been appointed as the time and place for
proving the will of said Larry Monohan, deceased, and
for hearing the application of Frank A. Grimes and Barkley G. Peart for the issuance to them of letters testamentary upon
the same, in pursuance of their petition, heretofore filed herein. Dated December 21st, 1903. C. F. Hadsall,
Clerk. Charles W. Thomas, attorney for
petitioners.
1919
Jan 2, Woodland Daily Democrat, P5, Woodland, California
Mrs.
Gertrude Simpson and daughter, Miss Lola Jean, have been enjoying the holidays
with Mr. and Mrs. Bart Peart at Fresno. They plan to
remain in the raisin city several days longer.
1922
Dec 8, Woodland Daily Democrat, P5, Woodland, California
Mrs.
S. A. Peart, mother of Bart Peart,
of Woodland, and Luke Peart of Sacramento, is
critically ill in Woodland. She is 88
years of age. Relatives hold out but
little hope for her recovery.
1923
Apr 20, Woodland Daily Democrat, P8, Woodland, California
Laura
Peart to Wed Contractor
Miss
Laura Peart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bart Peart, residents of Hanford but formerly of this city, has
announced her engagement to wed Stephen Bechtel of San Leandro. The betrothal news was told Thursday at a tea
given by Miss B. Gray at Berkeley. Miss Peart is a junior in the University of California. She is affiliated with the Delta Gamma
sorority. Bechtel is a former collegian
and a Beta Theta Pi. He is interested
with his father in the Bechtel Construction Co.
The bride-elect will not complete her university courses, the wedding
date having been set for the early future.
1930
Dec 24, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, Woodland, California
Bart
Peart Found Dead in Auto at Oakland
Bart
Peart, for many years manager of the old “Fair Ranch”
above Knights Landing and well known here, was found dead at the wheel of his
automobile in Oakland Wednesday morning.
He had evidently died of heart trouble.
He was 70 years of age. Peart had left his home in East Oakland to report for duty
at the Bechtel company engineering plant.
When he failed to show up for work, associates looked for him and found
him lifeless in his car. Surviving are the wife, the former Lela Simpson of
Woodland, and a daughter, Mrs. Laura Bechtel of Oakland; and three brothers and
a sister: B. F. Peart of Oregon, Luke Peart of Sacramento, Homer Peart
of Woodland and Emma E. Johnson of Knights Landing. He was the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. G. W.
Peart, pioneer Yolo county resident. Funeral services will be held Friday morning
at 10 o’clock at the Grant Miller chapel.
The body will be placed at rest in the Oakland Mausoleum.
1934
Feb 26, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1, 2, Woodland, California
Lola
Jean Simpson Dies
Authoress, Native of Woodland, Dies in N.Y.
By P.R.L.
Life’s
last chapter is closed for Lola Jean Simpson, talented Woodland girl who won
fame, first as an educator, and later as a novelist and writer. Miss Simpson died at the Lennox Hill Hospital
in New York early Monday. She had been
in failing health for three years and had been a semi-invalid for the last two
years. Colitis was the cause of
death. Word of the death came Monday to
Mrs. Irma Adams, a sister, now a resident of Sacramento and a member of the
staff of the State Board of Equalization, and also to Mrs. A. C. Huston, Sr.,
and Mrs. J. F. Carey in Woodland.
Burial
in East
With
Miss Simpson at the end were her mother, Mrs. Gertrude Simpson, and her
brother, John L. Simpson, vice-president of the J. Henry Schroeder Bank of New
York and London. The only other
surviving relative is Mrs. Lela Peart, a half-sister,
who resides in Oakland. Miss Simpson
will be placed at rest in New York. The
plans for the last rates were being completed today.
Books
Created Sensation
She
was the author of “Backfire” and “Treadmill,” two books which gained wide circulation
and created much interesting discussion.
Until she was taken ill, she was an associate editor of the magazine
“Children.” Her most recent novel, “The
Golden Pool,” is now running as a serial in the magazine, “Women’s World.” This book was written while the author was
bedfast. Other novels and articles have
been accepted recently by publishers.
Guest
Here in ‘31
Miss
Simpson visited in Woodland three years ago.
She was the guest of honor at numerous social functions. She was also a guest speaker for the Lions
club. The service clubmen arranged a
school room setting for the distinguished visitor. A score of her former pupils in the Woodland
High School occupied school desks and Miss Simpson played the role of teacher.
Former
Educator
For
18 years she was a member of the Woodland high school faculty. She began teaching here in 1899 following her
graduation from the University of California.
She had received her preparatory school training in old Herperian College.
Her resignation was presented to the high school board and accepted by
them on June 18, 1917. The resignation
prompted this statement form Principal William M. Hyman: “Miss Simpson is conceded to be one of the best English teachers
in the country. She has worked
faithfully for the vest interests of the students and friends of the Woodland
high school. It seems needless to
express our regrets in accepting her resignation.” In her book, “Treadmill,” she gave her
impressions of her career as an educator in a small town. She wrote of the teachers’ problems as she
saw them. Her idea was “to start people
thinking about things to which they are largely indifferent or of which they
are quite unaware. I simply wanted to
present a picture,” she said, “of the things the teacher in many a high school
is up against,” she told Marion Clyde McCarroll in an
interview for the New York Evening Post in 1929.
Found
Material Here
“Under
our public school system as it is today,”: Miss
Simpson said, “teachers become mere creatures of routine, totally uninspired,
dealing out the same cut-and-dried information to their pupils year by year
like automatons. Only the teacher who is
so in love with teaching that she can rise above the deadening influence of the
present-day system can survive it.” In her
first book, “Backfire,” she told the story of “an impulsive, passionate girl, a
daughter of California pioneers, who grows up in a California town, chafing
under the Puritanical restraints of her mother and fascinated by the
devil-may-care spirit of a favorite uncle.”
Her
First Novel
While
many in Woodland thought they recognized some of the early day
characters-about-town, Miss Simpson in her last visit here told friends that
she did not intend to give the impression that the story of her heroine was really
the story of her own career and no reflections were intended. After resigning from the high school faculty
here in 1917, Miss Simpson became a member of the University of California
extension staff. She gave up this
position in 1926 to devote her entire time to writing. As an author, she had lived mostly in New
York. Her mother joined her there about
three years ago and they made their home at 130 East End avenue.
Born
in Woodland
She
was the daughter of Mrs. Gertrude Simpson and the late John Lowrey
Simpson. The home place still stands and
is at 720 College street. It was here that Miss Simpson was born. Miss Simpson’s book, “Treadmill,” created a
storm of discussion among educators throughout the country. Miss Simpson had herself encountered the
difficulties of which she wrote and she knew whereof she spoke. The community mourns the death of one of its
most brilliant and useful natives.
1935
Dec 9, Woodland Daily Democrat, P1,5, Woodland,
California
Pioneer
of City Dies
Gertrude
Simpson Dies at Son’s N. Y. Home
Mrs.
Gertrude Pendegast Simpson, 83, whose family was
closely identified with the founding of Woodland, died Saturday in New York at
the suburban home of her son, John L. Simpson.
She accompanied her son east in September and for the last few weeks had
been critically ill. The body will be
cremated in the east and final rites will await the return from Europe of her
son, vice president of Schroeder and company, international bankers. Burial will probably be in the family plot in
Woodland. Mrs. John Simpson, the
daughter-in-law, was with her at the time of death. Since 1918 Mrs. Simpson had been living in
Berkeley, although for the 60 years prior to that she made her home in Woodland
and Yolo county. She was six years old
when she crossed the plains with her parents, Rev. and Mrs. John N. Pendegast, about 1960.
She was one of ten children. Her
father, the late Rev. Pendegast, known to hundreds as
“Uncle Pende,” added much to the religious and
educational life of Woodland. To men and
women of today, who were boys and girls in his heyday, he looms as one of the
strong characters of their children. For
many years he was pastor of the Christian church and in addition was one of the
founders and the president of the board of trustees of Hesperian college,
founded in 1861. Her husband, John L.
Simpson, Sr., was also identified with the college as a professor. Later he was a partner in the Smith, Frazier
and Simpson Grocery store, and following that was established in business in Dunnigan. He was an
expert accountant and handled books for many local firms. Mr. Simpson preceded his wife in death
by many years. She continued to reside
here. The Simpson home on College street, is now occupied by the Hildebrand family. In 1918, with her daughter, Lola Jean
Simpson, she moved to Berkeley.
Surviving
Family
She
leaves two children, her son and a daughter, Mrs. Irma G. Adams of
Sacramento. Miss Lola Jean Simpson,
prominent educator and novelist, died in New York last year. Mrs. Simpson also leaves a step-daughter,
Mrs. Lela Peart of Oakland, formerly of Woodland.
1937
May 20, Oakland Tribune, P15, Oakland, California
The
Friendly Card Club, affiliated with the Society for the Hard of Hearing, will
meet tomorrow at the home of Mrs. Lela Peart, 244
Lakeside Drive, for a dessert luncheon and card playing. Assisting hostesses will be Miss Grace Caughey and Mrs. E. A. Wiggin. Prizes will be awarded for scores of the
year. Officers will be elected, Mrs. G.
W. Salisbury, president, announced.
1940
May 30, Oakland Tribune, P8, Oakland, California
Sewing
Club Will Have Session Friday
Emmalela Sewing Club of the Eastbay Society for
the Hard of Hearing will meet at 10 a.m. Friday to continue sewing for the Fall bazaar. The club
will continue its monthly meetings throughout the Summer
months, according to Mrs. Lettie W. Moore, president,
and inbites new members to join in the needed
work. The club, which celebrated its
14th anniversary in May, received its name by combining the given names of its
founders, Mrs. Emma Hyness and Mrs. Lela Peart.
1950
Jul 28, Oakland Tribune, P43, Oakland, California
Peart – In Oakland, July 26, 1950, Lela A.,
wife of the late Barclay[sic] G. Peart, loving mother
of Mrs. Stephen D. Bechtel; grandmother of Barbara and Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr.,
sister of John L. Simpson and Irma G. Adams, a native of Red Bluff, California,
aged 86 years. Private services were
held Thursday morning. Grant D. Miller Mortuaries services.
1955
Oct 10, Oakland Tribune, P12, Oakland, California
Barbara
Bechtel’s Betrothal to Paul Davies, Jr. Announced
Cards
are in the mail today from Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Davison Bechtel of Lakeside
Drive, announcing the engagement of their daughter, Miss Barbara Bechtel, to
Paul L. Davies Jr. of San Jose. Barbara
and Paul have a host of friends in Northern California, where their respective
families have lived for several generations.
The bride-elect is the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. A.
Bechtel of this city and of the late Mr. and Mrs. Barkley G. Peart of Hanford.
She is the sister of Stephen D. Bechtel Jr. of Manchester Drive. Her fiancé, son of the senior Mr. and Mrs.
Paul L. Davies of San Jose, is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert
Davies of Piedmont and of John Crummey of San Jose
and the late Mrs. Crummey. He is a brother of Judith Davies. <snipped>
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 641. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Donna Toole.
Golden
Nugget Library's Yolo County Biographies