BECKER, Adolph Fred
A native of
Missouri, born July 5, 1870, Adolph Fred
Becker was educated in the public school, and
in 1887 went to New Mexico, where he spent a
year. In 1889, when nineteen years of age, he
arrived at Vacaville, Cal., and found
employment in orchard work for one year; and
then he went to Winters, Yolo County, and
worked four years on ranches. Going from there
to Shasta County, he sought employment in the
mines at Anderson, but the mines had shut down
for the winter. In the spring of 1898, he
located in Sutter County, where he worked for
a number of years on a ranch, two and a half
miles northeast of Sutter City. Then he was
able to lease 320 acres of grain land in
District 10, Yuba County, which he farmed for
a couple of years. Returning to Sutter County,
he purchased a ranch of twelve acres near Live
Oak, which he set to orchard and vineyard. In
1909 he added ten acres to his original
purchase, when he set to Thompson Seedless
grapes. He operated this ranch until 1919,
when he sold out. In 1922 he bought an orchard
in the north end of the Gledhill Colony; and
he also owns an entire block within the limits
of Sutter City, on which are planted almonds.
Adolph Fred
Becker is the third in a family of six
children born to Louis and Sophie (Elsner)
Becker, both natives of Germany. Louis Becker
came to the United States when he was only
sixteen years old, and the mother came with
her parents when she was four years old. Their
six children, Edward, Oswald, Adolph Fred,
Louis, Regina, and Oscar, were all born in
Missouri.
On April 26,
1900, at Marysville, Mr. Becker was married to
Miss Fredricka Henrietta Ziegenmeyer, born in
Franklin County, Mo., a daughter of William
and Lizzette (Dieckmann) Ziegenmeyer, the
former a native of Germany and the latter of
Missouri. Many generations ago, one of the
ancestors of William Ziegenmeyer was a
goat-herder for a nobleman, who took a fancy
to him and not only gave him a number of
goats, but took him into partnership in the
business, giving him the name of Ziegen
(meaning goats), which was used as a prefix to
his own name of Meyer. William Ziegenmeyer
came to the United States when thirty years of
age and settled in Missouri, where he was
married and where his nine children were born.
He passed away at the age of eighty-two; but
the mother is still living in St. Louis, Mo.
Mr. and Mrs. Becker have had three sons: Louis
William, deceased, Herman Otto, and Frederick
Adolph. Mr. Becker is a Republican.
History of Yuba
and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company,
Los Angeles, 1924 p . 1302-1303
Submitted by Barbara Ziegenmeyer
Daniel Best
In 1839, Daniel Best’s father,
John, moved the family to Missouri. There he built a saw mill and
proceeded to cut lumber for the local pioneers to use in building
their homes. The first nine years of Daniel's life were spent here and
is probably where he received his interest in logging and machines.
In 1847, the family moved again to
Lee County Iowa, here they took up farming and raised stock. In 1859
Daniel, itching for adventure and wanting to follow his brother,
joined a wagon train heading west to Fort Walla Walla, Washington,
employed as an ox tender and a sharpshooter.
Life in the West
As was the case for many other
Americans of his day, the West changed Daniel Best’s life - but not
how he expected. Along the way, he went from fighting Indians to
befriending Indians. Once the wagon train reached its destination,
Daniel went his own way to try his hand at gold mining followed by
working in sawmills and eventually building his own sawmill.
While working in his sawmill, an
accident occurred that changed the course of his life; he lost the
first three fingers of his left hand. It was at this time in his life,
as he would say later, that he began to use his head. He then moved to
Sutter County, California to work with his brother, Henry Best, on his
ranch. This is where he found his true calling as an inventor.
Inventions
Over a period of forty-three years,
Daniel Best received 41 patents, ranging from an improved washing
machine to combine harvesters. His first invention, patented April 25,
1871, was a portable grain cleaner and separator, prior to this,
farmers had to haul their grain to town to have it cleaned and
separated; now the cleaner and separator could be brought to the
grain. This invention won first prize at the California State Fair in
1871.
While continuing to produce grain
cleaners Daniel began experimenting with the idea of combining grain
harvesting, threshing and cleaning in one machine. He was successful
in 1885 when he sold his first horse powered combined harvester. This
new addition to his product line gave him the capital and the means to
move onto the next major invention. It was actually an improvement on
an existing design, but is still one of his better known inventions.
Traction Engine
Daniel Best, as with most
industrialists, was always looking to improve, simplify, or create
pieces of equipment that would ease operations. It began when he saw
the need for an improved traction engine, what we call a steam engine
today, to pull his combine harvesters. He first purchased the rights
to build a successful steam traction engine from Remington of
Woodburn, Oregon in 1888. He immediately began to make improvements
until his engines were known as the strongest most dependable and
longest lasting engines around.
Around 1891, Daniel began to
experiment with gas engines to replace the steam engines on his
tractors. He developed his first gas powered tractor in 1896. To prove
its superiority, he staged a tug of war between his steam engine and
his new gas powered engine. Not only did the gas engine win, but it
pulled the steam engine around the block. As word spread of his
dependable traction engines, he received more and more orders from
clients all around the world, from as far away as Russia. At this
time, Daniel was selling $400,000 worth of machinery per year.
Retirement
In 1908, at the age of 70, Daniel
retired. His son, C.L. Best ("Leo"), continued in his father’s
footsteps, and with his father still giving advice, continued to
experiment and improve on their tractors.
One improvement made was the track
laying design. This type of tractor moved on rolling tracks instead of
wheels. He made several different models, but two really stood out as
notable. The two models; the 30 hp field tractor, and the 60 hp field
tractor were well received and highly praised by the farming
community. These tractors would eventually launch a new line of
tractors that are still used today.
Caterpillar Tractor Company
In 1925, the C.L.Best Tractor
Company and the Holt Manufacturing Company, who also manufactured
tractors and was experimenting with the track laying design, merged
together. Leo became the chairman of the board of this new company, a
position he held until 1951, and oversaw it to become the largest
manufacturer of heavy machinery and farm equipment world wide. The
company they formed is called the Caterpillar Tractor Company.
References
Backus, R. (2004). 100 Years on
Tracks. Retrieved from Gas Engine Magazine
Daniel Best, Cool Stuff & the Incredible Feats of Construction
Daniel Best Steam Tractor, Oakland Museum of California
Galloway, Brent D. (1968). Daniel Best, a Biography. Galloway.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Best"
***********************
In 1886, Best bought the San
Leandro Plow Company and soon began turning out steam-powered tractors
and harvesters, which increased crop yield from the rich but heavy
adobe soil. In 1893 Best incorporated as the Best Manufacturing
Company and with a payroll of over 85 men had brought to San Leandro
its first large sustained payroll. Daniel Best’s most interesting
achievement was his horseless carriage, some of the earliest
automobiles. In 1895 he sold only four, but by 1900 he filled
streets far and wide with 8,000 of his noisy creations. His business
partner, and later competitor, Socrates Huff built the popular
Locomobile.
Best was a major player in San
Leandro's social and economic development. He built the second movie
theatre in the town and helped start the town's first bank. His
equipment company went through several mergers before becoming part of
the Caterpillar Tractor Company, for years a major employer in San
Leandro. His crowning achievement was the Daniel Best Building, an
architectural masterpiece at E. 14th and Estudillo streets which now
houses Citibank.
***********************
In the late 1800s, Daniel Best
invented a steam traction engine. In 1910, when he retired, his son
incorporated his own company, the C.L. Best Gas Traction Company, in
Elmhurst California. By 1913, he developed the first track-laying
tractor. His company finally merged with Holt Tractors in 1925 to
form the Caterpillar Company.
Submitted by John Best to Genealogy Trails
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