YUBA COUNTY Biographies
WILLIAM S. WELLS
Enjoying an enviable reputation for both proficiency and efficiency, William S. Wells, one of the most popular corporation representatives in Sutter County, finds life a dream in his varied activity and associations as the painstaking and accommodating agent of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Yuba City. He hails from Iowa, the land of the Hawkeyes, and was born at Sheridan on July 5, 1866, the son of James and Ella (Danner) Wells, both worthy folk, and esteemed in their day and generation, the father having been deceased for a number of years, and the mother still living at Redding, Cal.
Will Wells attended the schools of Jefferson County, Kans., to which State the family had removed when he was quite young; and at the age of eighteen he started in railroad work. He commenced by learning telegraphy in the Kansas City School of Telegraphy, and in time filled various positions, even to the superintendency of the Oklahoma Central Railroad, now a part of the Santa Fe system. He came into California in 1909 and began with the Southern Pacific at Sacramento. When, therefore, he moved over into Yuba City, in 1910, as the Southern Pacific agent, he may be said to have known the railroad game pretty well.
Since locating here in 1910, Mr. Wells has witnessed a wonderful development of the natural resources of the community and has done his share towards that end. In politics he is a Republican, but assumes a non-partisan attitude in local affairs.
Mr. Wells was first married to Isadora Taylor, a native of Kansas, who passed on leaving three children: Carlos and Dean, both residents of Topeka, Kans., the former a statistician for the Santa Fe Railroad, and the latter in the engineering department of the same road; and Nellie, now Mrs. Buchanan, of Marysville. His second marriage took place in San Francisco, and united him with Mrs. Ida B. (Walls) Merrill, born in Milwaukee, Wis., a daughter of Thomas and Anna Walls. She married Frederick August Merrill, a prominent railroad man, who was superintendent of the division on the Great Northern between St. Paul and West Superior. He died leaving a child, Flora B., now Mrs. Harry Cauthard, of Oroville. Mrs. Merrill brought her daughter to California in 1900, making her home in Belvedere and in San Francisco until her second marriage. Mr. Wells is a Knight Templar and a thirty-second-degree Scottish Rite Mason, and is a member of India Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine in Oklahoma City; and with his wife he is a member of Fidelia Chapter No. 56, O.E.S., of Yuba City. He is fond of outdoor life, especially of hunting.
History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924
p. 1286-1287
ANTHONY WILLIAM BIHLMAN
Endowed with vim and energy, Anthony William Bihlman has acquired extensive landholdings and won for himself the confidence and regard of his fellow citizens. He was born in the Live Oak section of Sutter County, where he now makes his home and operates his ranch of 276 acres, one mile south of Live Oak, which he devotes to grain, stock-raising and fruit-growing. He was born on his father’s ranch near Live Oak, April 25, 1867, the eldest son of George and Sophia (Eberman) Bihlman, both natives of Germany.
Anthony W. Bihlman received his preliminary education in the district grammar school, walking a mile each day to and from school, after which he attended a private school in Marysville for two years, and then had a year’s course at Santa Clara College. Returning to the home place, he then assisted his father with the ranch work, assuming the entire management.
The marriage of Mr. Bihlman occurred at San Jose, April 28, 1892, and united him with Miss Mary Krehe, born near Live Oak, Cal., the eldest child of Henry and Anna (Heier) Krehe. Mrs. Bihlman attended the local school at Live Oak, and then attended Santa Clara Notre Dame Convent. Three children have blessed this union. Genevieve is a graduate of Marysville High School and the State Teachers’ College at Chico, and was a successful teacher until she became the wife of N. H. King; they have one son, Howard. Mr. King is a hardware merchant with stores in Marysville and Live Oak. A son, George H. Bihlman, is represented elsewhere in this history. Marie is a graduate of the Marysville College of Notre Dame, class of 1918; and in 1919 she entered the College of the Pacific, majoring in music. For a time she also attended business college in San Jose. Mr. Bihlman has served twenty-one years as a trustee of the Clay school district. In politics he is a Democrat; and fraternally he ahs been affiliated with the Modern Woodmen of American for the past sixteen years. Mrs. Bihlman is a charter member of the Live Oak Woman’s Club. She owns 155 acres near Live Oak, a part of her father’s ranch.
History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924
p. 1288
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