Yolo-Nevada-Amador County CA Archives Biographies.....LaRue, Hugh McElroy 1830 - 1906
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com January 13, 2006, 10:33 pm

Author: Tom Gregory (1913)

HON. HUGH McELROY LA RUE

    Although death has stilled the voice and terminated the forceful activities
of Hon. Hugh McElroy LaRue, it will be long ere his influence will be lost in
the county of Yolo and long, too, ere the power of his personality shall cease
to be an effective factor in the local upbuilding. Every line of advancement
felt the impetus of his splendid mind and energetic spirit, and, while he was a
pioneer of 1849 and very active in the early settlement of the west, he
undoubtedly will be less remembered by his accomplishments during that era than
by his activities of a later date. The ranch near Davis which is now owned by
his heirs and the nucleus of which he acquired as early as 1866, comprises two
thousand and sixty acres, of which one thousand acres are under cultivation to
barley, wheat and oats. All the grains produce well in this soil and at times
the barley has averaged as high as thirty-five sacks to the acre. Fifty acres
are in almonds and two hundred and twenty acres in wine grapes form the largest
vineyard in the entire county, producing from six to seven tons per acre. Under
a contract for ten years the vineyard products are shipped to the California
Wine Association. In grapes of the white variety there are the Burger and the
Green Hungarian, while of the reds there are the Alicante Bouschet, Caragnan,
Serene, Beclan, Charbono and Mondeuse.

    As an illustration of what may be grown on the rich soil of the ranch, and
indeed upon any ranch in Yolo county if properly cared for, it may be stated
that the LaRue ranch has the following trees in full bearing: almonds, walnuts,
oranges, lemons, figs, persimmons, pomegranates, olives, pears, peaches, apples,
apricots, plums and prunes. Every acre of the tract is under an irrigation ditch
and there is also a private pumping plant operated by an engine of sixty-horse
power. Eighty head of horses and mules are required in the sowing of seed,
harvesting of crops and ploughing of the ground, and such is the quality of the
soil that it can be ploughed one day after a heavy rain. Ever since the original
owner of the property brought an importation of jacks from Kentucky there have
been fine mules raised on the ranch, about forty having been the number for the
past season. A specialty is made of Holstein cattle and about two hundred and
fifty head of hogs are raised annually, besides which considerable attention is
also given to horses. For eighteen years Jacob Stihl has acted as the efficient
overseer of the ranch, while the eldest son of the owner, Jacob Eugene La Rue,
was retained as manager until his death in January of 1906, since which time
another son, Calhoun Lee LaRue, has filled the position of superintendent with
intelligence and sagacity.

    Tracing the genealogy of the LaRue family it is ascertained that they were
so prominent in Kentucky that the county in which they lived was named in their
honor and Hodgenville, the county seat, was named for the maternal grandfather
of H. M. La Rue. Near this same town Abraham Lincoln was born on a farm owned by
Mr. LaRue's grandmother. In the neighboring county of Hardin, same state, Hugh
McElroy LaRue was born August 12, 1830, being a son of Jacob Hodgen and Sarah
Cummings (McElroy) LaRue. At the age of nine years he accompanied the family to
Missouri and settled in Lewis county near the Mississippi river. It was not long
before he began to talk about going west. The mysterious unknown regions beyond
the plains seemed to exercise a fascination over his mind. In 1849, before news
of the discovery of gold had reached his neighborhood, he joined an expedition
of emigrants under the command of V. A. Sublette and Dr. Conduitt. They crossed
the Missouri river at Boonville and left Independence on the 29th of April,
journeying along the Platte river and through South Pass, thence via Sublette's
cut-off and the Oregon trail. In the short distance of thirty miles they crossed
the Truckee river twenty-seven times. On the 12th of August they arrived at the
Bear river mines near Steep Hollow. For six weeks the young prospector remained
in that locality, but later he mined at Grass Valley and Deer creek. With others
he built one of the first cabins at Oleta, Amador county, and worked the first
mines.

    In those days Oleta was known as Fiddletown, the name originating in the
fact that some violin-players from Arkansas passed the long and wet winter
season at their favorite recreation and the first sound heard by approaching
travelers was that of the fiddle. From that camp Mr. LaRue went to Willow
Springs, four miles west of Drytown, where he carried on a small restaurant
until early in March. During the spring of 1850 he made a trading expedition to
Shasta and sold groceries from his wagon to merchants and miners. Flour brought
forty cents per pound, pork, ham, sugar, coffee, potatoes and rice from $1 to
$1.25 per pound, and whisky and brandy about $8 a gallon. After a second trip to
Shasta in June, same year, he came to Sacramento and began to work as a
blacksmith and wagon-maker. The cholera epidemic of that year made it necessary
for him to seek other employment. Renting a part of rancho del Paso on the
Norris grant, he engaged in raising vegetables and later embarked in grain
farming. As early as 1857 he planted an orchard of seventy-five acres, the first
large one in the valley and one of the first that was irrigated. The floods of
1861-62 damaged the orchard and the failure of Mr. Norris following shortly
afterward, he bought the orchards, but the floods of 1868 entirely destroyed the
work of the previous decade.

    As early as 1866 Mr. LaRue had purchased nine hundred acres in Yolo county
and to this he added until the ranch contained more than two thousand acres.
After the floods of 1868 he sold his interest in the rancho del Paso and gave Ms
time to the Yolo county property, but made his home in Sacramento in order that
his children might have the advantages offered by the city schools. When the
wine industry was still in its infancy he became interested in vineyards and
planted one hundred acres to grapes. Other improvements were made, some of which
already have been mentioned, while others, equally important, are beyond the
limits of this space to present in detail. When advancing years rendered active
work less desirable, he turned over to his sons the care .of the large property,
and retired to private life, with a record of having raised crops for more than
fifty consecutive years in California. His agricultural experiences centered in
the counties of Colusa, Yolo, Napa and Sacramento.

    During 1858 Mr. LaRue married Miss Elizabeth Marion, daughter of Thomas
Lizenby, a pioneer of Lewis county, Mo., and also of Colusa county, Cal. Mrs.
LaRue was a half-sister of Rev. William M. Rush, D. D., of the Missouri
conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, also of Hon. John A. Rush, at one
time state senator from Colusa county and later attorney-general of Arizona. Mr.
and Mrs. LaRue were the parents of four sons and one daughter, Jacob Eugene (who
died in January of 1906), Calhoun Lee, Hugh McElroy, Jr., John Rush and Marie
Virginia (who died in 1888). During 1856 Mr. LaRue became a member of the
Sacramento Society of California Pioneers, of which he served as president
several times. As master of the Sacramento Grange he was prominent in another
organization prominent in its day. For years he was a member of Sacramento Lodge
No. 49, F. & A. M., and also affiliated with the chapter.

    For years one of the leading Democrats of his locality, Mr. LaRue never lost
his interest in public affairs and when he passed from earth, December 12, 1906,
not only his party, but the state as well, lost a patriotic supporter and loyal
promoter. During 1857 the Democrats elected him sheriff of Sacramento county by
a majority of eight votes, but when the election was contested he lost the
office. When again he became a candidate in 1873 he was elected by a large
majority. During the sessions of 1883 and 1884 he was a member of the lower
house of the state legislature and served as speaker. As representative from the
second congressional district, in 1879 he served as a member of the state
constitutional convention. While in the legislature he supported the bill
providing for the erection of an exposition building for the State Agricultural
Association, also supported the revision of the general railroad laws, the
county government act, the bill reorganizing the senatorial and assembly
districts and the laws relating to taxes. During 1888 he was the Democratic
candidate for senator and ran ahead of his ticket, but was not elected.

    From 1867 until his death in 1906 Mr. LaRue was identified with the State
Agricultural Association. Three times (1879-1880 and 1882) he was chosen
president of the organization. After 1882 he was a member of its board of
directors. During the expositions he acted as superintendent of the pavilion.
While president of the board, also while speaker of the assembly, he was an
ex-officio member of the board of regents of the California State University at
Berkeley. He was National Chief of Viticulture at the Columbian Exposition held
in Chicago in 1893. Elected railroad commisioner for Northern California in
1894, he served as president of the board for four years, besides holding other
official positions With his demise another pioneer passed from the scenes of his
successful industry. Another link joining the present with the past was burst
asunder and another name was added to those of the illustrious immortals
recorded in the annals of the state.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]


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