Modoc County Record
Centennial Edition
1874 ~ 1974
Some Modoc County Pioneers
Some of the first residents of Modoc County had their biographics published
in the magazine “Modoc County” issued in 1912 by the Alturas Plaindealer.
They include:
R. L. SLOSS. Better known as he “long-nosed” tax collector. Born in
Janesville, California in August of 1867 he was a newspaperman most of his
life and worked on both the Alturas New Era and Bidwell Gold Nugget. In
1906 he was elected Tax Collector of Modoc County.
THOMAS FRAWLEY. Born in Danby, Vermont in July, 1858 he came to the
Surprise Valley, via Reno, in 1878. Thee he married Lizzie Brooks of Jess
Valley. He was elected Coroner and Public Administrator in 1910 and was in
the meat business here for many years.
L. S. SMITH. Born in Modoc County he was for many years the County Clerk.
COL. WILLIAM THOMPSON. Editor of the Alturas Plaindealer, a noted Indian
fighter and probation officer of Modoc County for many years. His articles
on frontier life are quoted throughout this edition.
CLARENCE ADOLPH RAKER. Born in Illinois in 1856, he came to Alturas in
1887. Admitted to the California Bar in 1890 he was appointed Superior
Court Judge on December 10, 1910.
HARRY S. HAWKINS. Born in Cedarville in 1884 he went to High School in
Napa, attended a college in Oakland and returned to Alturas. He was
superintendent of the Surprise Valley Electric Light and Power Co. for many
years.
T. H. BALLARD. Born in Illinois he came to Modoc County in 1890. Served
during the Spanish American War with the army and in 1905 was appointed
County Recorder and Auditor.
F. L. ROBERTS. Born in Sacramento he came to the Surprise Valley when he
was four years old. Learned the barber trade when 14 years old and after 12
years of it he went into the saloon business.
DR. CHARLES E. LEITHHEAD. Born in Vermont he studied medicine at the
University of Iowa, and practiced in San Francisco. After the fire and
earthquake of 1906 he came to Fort Bidwell and set up practice.
FRED V. LYON. An ex-newspaperman he became attorney and real estate man in
Surprise Valley.
N. A. CORNISH. Born in Indiana in 1851 he came to Modoc County in 1902 and
practiced law in Alturas. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1906.
DENNIS B. KANE. A native of New York he came to Modoc County in 1881 with
his parents when he was 12 years old. He later clerked in the store at
Canby and after six years of that stated a blacksmith, wheelwright and
implement business in Canby. He brought the first combined harvester and
tractor engine to the county.
JOHN KELLY. He came to Modoc County in 1871 from Napa and started the ranch
where Canby Hot Springs later was built. IN 1881 he was elected to the
office of road overseer in Modoc County.
JAMES T. WYLIE. He came to Surprise Valley in 1878 and in 1880 started a
blacksmith business. Elected county supervisor in 1882 he studied law and
was admitted to the bar in 1902.
MARTIN HENDERSON. Born in Missouri in 1826 he came west in 1853 with an
Oregon bound immigrant train. Moved to Davis Creek in 1870 where he later
served as the first Justice of the Peace there. In 1874 he took an active
part in the formation of Modoc County and served two terms as supervisor.
It was said he saw the first railroad train, and took his first ride, when
84 years of age.
ROBERT IMIRIE. Born in New York in 1842 he served with the Union side
during the Civil War, came to Modoc County in 1873. Later went into
partnership with Mr. Torreson and founded the Imirie & Torreson Ranch.
CHARLES HOWARD ESSEX. Came to the Modoc County in 1871 from Tehama County
and founded the S.X. Ranch in Hot Springs Valley. He planted the first
alfalfa in the county; the first marriage license was issued to he and
Winnie J. Samual on May, 1874; and the first cattle brand and ear mark in
Modoc County were filed by Mr. Essex.
ROBERT FRANKLIN MCCONNAUGH. He and his brother, Marton, founded a ranch in
Surprise Valley in May, 1865. The following year Indians drive off their
stock and McConnaughy was sot in the arm. He was taken to Fort Bidwell
where he was under the care of an army surgeon for six months. His
neighbors formed a posse and pursued the Indians but ran into a camp of over
800 warriors. They were able to escape and send to Smoke Creek for a
company of soldiers. After a chase of twenty miles they caught up with them
and in the ensuing battle eighty Indians were killed and the army lost eight
wounded and one killed.
Mr. McConnaugh practically founded the town of Fort Bidwell and until 1876
operated a hotel there.
TILLMAN C. HESS. Settled in Hot Springs Valley in 1870 and farmed until
about 1890 when a back injury prevented him from this kind of work. He then
turned to mining. He was known as the first gold producer in Modoc County
and for many years operated a mine and stamp mill near his home.
One of the earliest pioneers in the west he came to Oregon in 1843 with the
famous Whitman party.
WILLIAM T. CRESSLER. Often times called the father of Modoc County it was
he who first favored the formation of a new county in the eastern end of
Siskiyou County. He arrived in Red Bluff in180 where he taught school,
drove a freight wagon and clerked in a store. He married Annie A. Alvord
there in 1865 and that same year was elected Superintendent of Schools.
Told of the opportunities in Surprise Valley in 1867 by a teamster hauling
freight to Fort Bidwell he moved to where Cedarville now stands. At that
time the town consisted of one log cabin. Together with Bonner they founded
the trading post of Cressler and Bonner, laid out the town and in general
founded Cedarville.
DR. W. H. PATTERSON. Dr. Patterson came to Surprise Valley as a surgeon
with the army at Fort Bidwell. He later retired and founded the Patterson
Ranch in the valley.
GEORGE H. KNIGHT. Came to Adin as a clerk for E. Lauer & Co. in 1873. In
1876, in partnership with T. A. Roseberry they purchased the store and in
1888 Knight bought out Roseberry. Still later he founded the Adin Realty
Co.
And these are but a few of the men helped to found Modoc County, as listed
in the Alturas Plaindealer in 1912.
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Billie C. & Anita 'Jean' Reynolds
(Our Family Genealogy)
http://www.rh2o.com
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