YUBA COUNTY Biographies

JAMES WILLIAM SMITH

The greater part of the life of James William Smith has been spent in California, for he was only six years old when he crossed the plains with his parents. He was born in Missouri, June 18, 1851, a son of William Anderson and Martha Susan (Hiatt) Smith, both natives of Kentucky. William Anderson Smith left St. Joseph, Mo., in 1857, and in ninety days arrived at Kirksville on the Sacramento River in Sutter County. He settled on the Yolo County side of the Sacramento River, two miles north of Smith’s Ferry, and there bought 240 acres of land, which was used for his extensive stock business. In 1861 he received an offer of $29,000 for his “brand”; but the flood of 1862 destroyed his entire herd, a single cow being all that he was able to save. He then moved his family to Lakeport, in Lake County, where he bought a ranch of 160 acres; and besides his ranching he teamed to the mines. In 1874 he moved back to Sutter County and settled in the Winship district, purchasing 120 acres, which he farmed for the balance of his days. He passed away at the age of sixty-four, his wife surviving him until she was seventy-eight years old.

The marriage of Mr. Smith occurred at Yorkville, Cal., September 16, 1877, uniting him with Miss Sarah Elkins, a native of Nevada, and a daughter of David and Elizabeth Elkins. David Elkins was a farmer in Sutter County for a number of years, and then removed to Mendocino County, where he engaged in the stock business until his death. Mr. Smith remained with his parents for four years after his marriage, and then purchased ninety-five acres six miles south of Meridian on the Sacramento River, in Sutter County, where he ran a dairy and is still engaged in the dairy business, though not on an extensive scale. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Virgil Cleveland, at Live Oak; Martha, now Mrs. Lemen of Meridian; Kirby Lee, in Colusa; James Edwin; Valletta, now Mrs. John D. Lay, residing in the O’Banion Corners district; Georgia, now Mrs. Daly of Arbuckle; Robert, at Meridian; Esther Ann, now Mrs. Taylor of Meridian; and Arthur. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Smith is independent in politics. For many years he has been a trustee of the Winship district school.

History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924

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ANDREW JOSEPH McCARTY

California’s rich mineral deposits have been one of the chief sources of her present power and greatness, and the gold mining industry has carried the name of this State to many sections of the globe. For nearly forty years Andrew Joseph McCarty has concentrated his attention upon this line of activity, and Hammonton numbers him among its successful business men and highly respected citizens. He is a member of an honored pioneer family of California and has always resided in Yuba County, where he is widely and favorably known. He was born at Timbuctoo, March 11, 1866, and his parents, Andrew and Susan (Flanigan) McCarty, were both natives of Ireland. The father was a native of County West Meath, but left the Emerald Isle as a young man and sought the opportunities of the new world. In 1853 he came to California by the Panama route and located at Rose Bar, on the Yuba River, being one of the earliest settlers in this region. He devoted his life to mining and passed away in Yuba County in 1908, when seventy-six years of age. In 1863 he had married Miss Flanigan, who was born in County Cavan, and made the voyage to California in 1860, also coming by way of the Isthmus of Panama. She survives her husband and is still living in the old home in Yuba County, having reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McCarty, namely: Mary, who married H. P. Galligan, of Marysville, Cal.; Andrew Joseph; Elizabeth, deceased; Matthew, who resides with his mother at Timbuctoo; James, also deceased; Rose, now the wife of G. F. Forbes, of Westwood, Plumas County, this State; and Robert, of Hammonton, Yuba County.

A. J. McCarty was reared and educated in his native county, attending the Smartsville grammar school, and when eighteen years of age he took up the occupation of mining, which he has always followed, on the Yuba River. Taking a deep interest in his work, he readily mastered the tasks assigned him, and well-merited advancement has rewarded his earnest, conscientious effort. He now occupies the position of dredgemaster for the Yuba Consolidated Gold Fields, with headquarters at Hammonton, and for the past eighteen years he has been in the employ of this firm. Previous to entering their service he acted as ditch agent for the Excelsior Water & Mining Company of Smartsville, with which he was connected for four years. He is faithful to the interests of his employers and efficiently directs the labors of those under his supervision, securing maximum results at a minimum expenditure of time and labor.

Mr. McCarty has been married twice. At San Francisco, Cal., on March 31, 1891, he wedded Miss Maggie Riley, a native of Grass Valley, this State, and a daughter of Michael and Sarah Riley. They were early settlers of that locality and Mr. Riley was connected with mining interests. Mrs. McCarty died September 26, 1912, leaving a daughter, Margaret. Four years later, on September 9, 1916, at Sacramento, Cal., Mr. McCarty married Mrs. Zoe A. Barker, widow of C. M. Barker. She was born in Detroit, Mich., a daughter of William and Bernarda A. (Sullivan) Lansing, and acquired her education in the City of the Straits. Later she came to the West and at Colorado Springs, Colo., was married to C. M. Barker, now deceased.

Political affairs have claimed a large share of Mr. McCarty’s attention, and since 1890 he has been a member of the county central committee of the Democratic party. He is a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West, having joined the order at Marysville, Cal. He was trained in that practical school which develops strong and self-reliant manhood and the hardy virtues so necessary to success in the West, and of all that makes for loyalty and progressive citizenship he is an effective exponent.

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