Warwick W. West - On Central Avenue, in the heart of the prosperous city of Tracy, is found Joseph S. West & Son's handsomely appointed confectionery and ice cream parlor, one of the most popular places of the West Side country. The business is now owned and conducted by Warwick W. West, who was, form many years, associated with his father, the late Joseph s. West, a pioneer merchant, a man whose name is endeared to the people of the Tracy country because of his many charities, and kindly, noble acts.
Warwick W. West was born in Colusa, Cal., on march 21, 1884, a son of Dr. Joseph S. and Anna Augusta (Hasker) West, both now deceased. Warwick was reared and schooled in his native city and was graduated from the Colusa high school in 1905, when he removed to Tracy, whither his parents had preceded him the year before. He obtained employment with the Southern Pacific Railroad Company which occupied him for a short time; then entered the employ of the Mt. Diablo Light & Power Company, and still later the Pacific Gas & Electric Company at their power house at Colgate and De Sabla, these positions covering a period of six and a half years. He then returned to Tracy and became a partner in his father's business and has taken the active and sole management of same since 1814.
The marriage of Mr. West united him with Miss Ruth A. Moore, a daughter of Mrs. Virginia Moore of Tracy, who came to California in 1918 from Kansas City, Mo. They are the parents of one son, Walker W. Mr. West is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Tracy and was recently initiated into the Tracy Lodge of Odd Fellows. He is one of the most energetic young business men of Tracy and is a loyal worker for its steadily growing interests.
Source: Tinkham, George H., 1923. History of San Joaquin County, California With Biographical Sketches. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, p. 1019.
According to the 1900 Census, Earl was living with his father, Jay B. Fosgate, and his mother Georgia A. Rhodes, on his grandfather's (Daniel L.? Rhodes) farm, with his brother Raymond G?, and sister Alice B. They also lived with his uncle James L. Rhodes. They were living on a farm in Mendicno County, California where his grandfather, Daniel Lambert Rhodes, owned the farm and worked as a farmer, while his father and uncle worked as farm laborers.
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(The following stories are from my memory and may not be totally accurate)
The earliest Fosgate I've found, that I can connect to, is Edmund Fosgate. He was born in about 1825 somewhere in New York State. In about 1852 or so he married Caroline C. Goodrich, who was born in about 1832 also somewhere in New York State. I haven't found their exact birth place yet. Shortly after they married, they moved to the State of Wisconsin for a while, then on to Redwood Falls, Minnesota, and finally, sometime in the early 1890s, they settled in California. Edmund and Caroline had a fairly large family, and I'm still not sure I've got all their names and dates correct. Every record I find has them born at different times, but here is what I have so far:
Catherine (Cassie), b. 1 Jan. 1853, New York. Married Timothy Kenny. Died 27 Sep 1945 in California
Louisa, b. about 1856, Wisconsin.
Ella, b. 16 May 1860, Minnesota. She married a Mr. Murphy. Died 29 Jun 1940 in California
Elmer Ellsworth, b. about 1860, Minnesota. Died 31 August 1926, California
Alice, b. about 1863, Minnesota.
Frances (Frankie) Josephine Zelma, b. about 1866. Married Frederick William Northon
Lara, b. about 1867, Minnesota
Pearl, b. about 1869, Minnesota
*Jay Derward, b. 11 Nov 1872 or 1873, Minnesota. Married Georgia A. Rhoads. Died 28 May 1942, California
Lina J., b. Feb 1870, Minnesota. Died 17 Jan 1933, California
Grace G., b. Jan 1875 or 1876, Minnesota.
Jean E., b. 12 Apr 1893, Minnesota. Died 7 Aug 1976, CaliforniaFrom what I've been able to gather, the Fosgate family seemed to be rather disorganized. There is a lot of iscrepancy regarding dates of birth, and in the 1920 census of San Francisco, Caroline changed her name to that of her husband and went by Edmundo, which I found amusing.
Jay settled near Hopland, Mendocino County, California where he met and married Georgia A. Rhoads (I have a lot of information about her family too). They had three children:
Earl W. (my grandfather), b. 25 Jan 1897. Married Emma Lavon Beveridge. Died 1960 in California
Raymond G., b. Jan 1898. Married Edna Katherine McNamara. Died 1968 in California
Alice B., b. Nov. 1899.Sometime around the turn of the century many of the Fosgate family changed the spelling of their surname to Fosgett.
Georgia (Rhoads) Fosgate died in 1903 and Jay remarried to Minnie Amanda Rudd. They had four more children:
Eva, b. 1906
Edmond Derward, b. 6 Jul 1909, Died 30 Jun 1982 in California
Daniel, b. 31 Jul 1915. Died 23 Jan 1990 in California
Clyde, b about 1919My grandfather Earl and his brother Ray left home shortly after Jay remarried. In 1910 I found Earl (age 13) living in Port Costa, California where he lived out his life. Raymond (age 12) was living with an employer in Hopland. I haven't found Alice anywhere. Later, Raymond joined his brother in Port Costa where he met and married Edna McNamara, the youngest daughter of a colorful local tavern keeper. Earl met and married Emma Lavon (or LaVon as she preferred to be called). She was the eldest daughter of a Wyoming coal miner who moved to California after the death of his wife so he could find a more healthful life. He still died of black lung disease in 1934. His line were all LDS (or Mormon), though LaVon left the church shortly after she married Earl.
As for Eva, Edmond, Daniel, and Clyde I don't know much more about them other than what I have in my data base, such as where they were living at the time of their deaths (information I found on the Internet in the California Death Index data base).
Earl and Ray didn't get along very well with their half brothers. I can remember him telling us (I lived with him during the last few years before his death) that he "saw the brothers again". They would often come to Port Costa to go fishing. But they would never stop to even say "hi". For a long time I didn't realize that they were really his brothers.
Earl was a charter member of the Port Costa Fire Department, and for a while was a deputy constable. He had been trained in prize fighting and his fists were registered, so he was not allowed to fight with criminals with his fists, but had to carry a "billy club" with him instead. He never carried a gun. He became quite expert with using the club. After an especially embarrassing incident, he seldom ever drank alcohol again. I can remember hearing the story of when he was newly married, that he came home after visiting the bars, being a bit inebriated, and saw LaVon's aunt Annie, bent over on the porch, hanging up laundry. She had her back to him and didn't hear him come in. A sudden gust of wind lifted her skirts and exposed her underwear. Earl, always a practical joker, said, "If you'd comb your hair and brush your teeth, you wouldn't look half bad!" Of course, LaVon's aunt was mortified. After that, Earl swore he'd never drink to excess again, and he didn't.
Ray on the other hand, never quite got hold of his habit. There was a time I can remember hearing about when he got drunk and someone must have gotten him riled up over something, and he got hold of a six-shooter gun and began shooting at everything that moved. It took Earl to calm him down and being a deputy constable he had to arrest him. Ray spent the weekend in jail to cool off. Don't get me wrong, Ray was a great man. He just had a drinking problem.
I wish I could remember all the great stories about them. My mother knows most of them, but I can't get her to write them down. I'm afraid they'll be lost forever when she dies.
Both Earl and Ray worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. They were well known and loved by all their fellow workers. One time, shortly after he became an Engineer, Earl and his Fireman (assistant Engineer) were waiting orders to move a load of freight. The Fireman, decided he couldn't wait to relieve himself, so got down off the engine and went back, behind the oil tender, and began doing his thing. Like I said, Earl was always the practical joker. Just as the Fireman was relieving himself, Earl shouted out "Hello, LaVon!" Embarrassed to be seen urinating in the open by a lady, the Fireman hurriedly zipped up his pants, and not being able to hold it, ended up wetting down the front of his pants - all down his legs. LaVon was nowhere to be seen. All the Fireman could say was "Oh, Earl."
Anyway, that's a little taste of what my grandfather was like. I recently found a historical sketch of Port Costa, but I was disappointed that neither Earl or Ray are mentioned there, though Patrick McNamara (Edna's) is mentioned.