William H. Larew, Biography:
Teacher and County Supervisor, Circa 1878
William H. Larew, Biography:
Teacher and County Supervisor, Circa 1878
From: History of the San Joaquin Valley California (submitted by Harriet Sturk)
William H. LAREW -
On account of the revocation
of the edict of Nantes and the massacre of St.
Bartholomew the Huguenot family of La Rue were forced to flee from
France
and seek safety in another land. It was in this way that they
became established in
America and their settlement in Augusta County, VA., antedated the
opening of the
Revolutionary war. From there they removed to Monroe County,
now a part of the
state of West Virginia, but then included in the Old Dominion.
Later generations
gave the family name to Larue County, Ky., noted in history as the
birthplace of
Abraham Lincoln.
The original spelling of LaRue is still followed by some branches of the family, but others have adopted the simple form of Larue, while others have changed the spelling to Larew.
The founder of the family
in America was Abraham La Rue, whose son Isaac,
born in Augusta County Va., was the father of Jacob, a planter of August
County and the first to adopt the Americanized spelling of Larew.
His son, Peter,
removed to Monroe County, where he was the owner of a large plantation
and
remained on that estate until his death. During the war of 1812
he was a
soldier in the American army. Of his two sons the elder, Jacob
removed to Missouri.
The younger, John M., who became the possessor of the old plantation,
lived
to be about seventy-seven years of age and died in the house where
he was born.
During the Civil war he served in the commissary department and his
oldest
son, Peter, was also in the army for a short time.
The Larew estate comprises
a plantation of five hundred and fifty-five
acres, situated three miles from Red Sulphur Springs in what is now
West
Virginia. The residence was erected by the grandfather, Peter Larew,
and has since
been to from time to time. Built after the southern style
of architecture, it
forms one of the picturesque features of the locality. Since
its purchase the property has
never been out of the family's possession and is now the home of several
of the
children of John M. Larew. The later married Sarah Peters, who
was born in Monroe
County and died there in 1862 thirty years before the death of her
husband. She
was a daughter of Col. Conrad PETERS, who was born in Monroe County,
Va., of
German extraction, and married Clara SNIDOW, of Giles County, Va.,
also a
descendant from German ancestry. In the family of John M. and
Sarah (Peters) Larew
there were eight children, all of whom are still living. Clara
Peters, Peter and
Mary Ann still occupy the family residence and Conrad Lewis resides
upon a
portion of the old homestead. William Henry and his youngest
brother, John Snidow, are
attorneys-at-law in Madera and Mariposa respectively. Margaret
R. married
Walter McClaugherty, and attorney of Blue field, W. Va., and James
Alexander
follows farm pursuits in Mariposa County, Cal.
At the family homestead in
Monroe County, W. Va., William Henry Larew was
born February 8, 1855, and there he attended the district schools.
At the age of
sixteen he began to teach not far from the old plantation. From
the time he was
eighteen until twenty years of age he taught in the home district where
he had
attended school in boyhood. In 1875 he came to California with
his brother Peter,
the latter returning east in 1884. The former secured work in
a warehouse at
Winters, Yolo County, and then attended the state normal school at
San Jose for seven
months. His first term of school was taught at Salmon Creek in Humbolt
County. I the
fall of 1876 he taught I Yolo County and then returned to the normal
to take up
the studies of the senior year, leaving, however, before graduation
to take a
school in Hollister, San Benito County, where he was employed
as vice principle for one term. I the fall of 1878 he began to
teach in
Mariposa County and during the period of his residence there served
as a member of
the County Board of Education and also as County Superintendent of
Schools.
When he came to Madera in
1891 it was Mr. Larew’s purpose to engage in the
manufacture of adjustable blackboards, which he had patented, but he
abandoned the plan in order to take up the study of law, his early
knowledge of which
had been gained during his leisure hours as a school teacher.
In the fall of
1891 he was admitted to the Supreme Court and began to practice
in Madera, where
he has since become a prominent attorney. Under appointment he
held the office
of district attorney for two years. In 1892 he organized the
movement to
divide Fresno County and organize a new county under the name of Madera.
Ably
seconded by J. W. Watkins and John M. Griffin, he launched the movement,
which was
successfully presented to the legislature, and the county was organized
in
May of 1893. He was appointed a member of the county board of
education and
became its first president, filling the position for a number of years.
A thorough
believer in education, his children have been given good advantages,
in order that
they might be prepared for positions of responsibility and honor.
His eldest
daughter Clara Peters, married Ernest Brimmer, of Madera; the only
son, James W., a
graduate of the Madera schools, is employed by the Madera Sugar
Pine Company;
Virginia is a graduated of the Madera high school and is employed in
her father’s
office, and Christine s a student in the grammar school.
At the age of twenty-one
years Mr. Larew was made a Mason in Buckeye Lodge No. 195, F.&A.M.,
at Winters Cal.,
and is now connected with Mariposa Lodge no. 24, also Woodland Chapter
No. 46. R.
A. M. and Opal Chapter of the Eastern Star at Winters. In political
views he has
always been a believer in Democratic principles and has supported
that party and
its candidates by his ballot and influence.
RETURN TO MARIPOSA FAMILY CHRONICLES
RETURN TO THE MARIPOSA HISTORY AND GENEALOGY SITE
CDF
