Benedix Family History

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In 1904, Dr. Schilling wrote to Grandpa Benedix to come to a German settlement called Thalheim (later called Valley Home, Ca.) after Richard had read about it in the paper. Mrs Schilling won a place of 60 acres and a house selling San Francisco Examiner subscriptions. She lived in Stockton. Richard, age 20, and Ida, age 19, with their 4 month old son Paul, Grandpa Moritz Benedix, Otto, age 18, Paul, age 13, Willie,, age 11, came to California from Texas on the train. They lived there one month and then bought 60 acres from Mr. Schilling. It was bare rough ground- and no irrigation. Moritz bought the land for $3000. and gave it to Richard and later he was supposed to pay Otto, Paul and Willie their portions.

When Richard met Heinie Schultz and Mr Stelck, who had married sisters, he thought they were wild men as they had long hair, shaggy beards and were barefoot. They had come from Iowa. Besides being a carpenter, Heinie was a good mechanic. He also dug wells, canned tomatoes in cans and sold them to the local stores. They became good friends and Heinle built their first house across the tracks where the rest of the Benedix children were born. Heinle had already built Stelcks' house and it was identical. It had four small rooms downstairs, a porch, kitchen, bedroom, and a front room and 2 bedrooms upstairs. It was just boards, no finishing inside. When it rained, those that slept upstairs really heard it but they liked it. They all had feather quilts homemade by their mother so kept cozy. Max slept down stairs with his grandfather. In the winter he would heat up a brick and put a cloth around it for their feet. He taught Max, German and talked mostly German himself. Grandpa worked so hard carrying water that his hernia which was already ruptured got a kink in it and several days later he died.

The family would go to church regularly and Richard would buy Grandpa two cigars (charoats) every week and Grandpa would chew them instead of smoking them.

Richard baled hay for 14 years. He received a dollar for himself and 50 cents for the two horses. It was a stationary hay baler with one horse going around in a circle He worked for Mr Ester and got board for the whole week. He also did scraping with four horses around Valley Home. The scraper was manipulated by a long handle. He and August Schiernbeck did that work together. After building up the ground and scraping Richard shared a $1,000. each to Paul, Will and Otto. Grandpa Maritz put in $1,300.

They had ditches at that time so when the water in the ditches became low or non-existent there was no irrigating the alfalfa and orchards which were planted. The Woodward. reservoir was not made at that time.

Will Benedix worked for the Gormes, the ranch that Mr. Hawley bought later. Working For Gormes also was a black man named Jess Arwynne, who became a familiar figure in that community until he died. Ida did his washing and discovered he wore only silk underwear that was pink and silk shirts when he dressed up. Jess never knew how old he was.

Paul and Otto worked for the railroad at Peters and were nicknamed "Hans and Fritz" by the railroad men. They would send their dirty clothes home by train. The train would toot the horn and throw out the clothes and stop on the way back to pick them up. Paul and Ottos job was to fix the tracks. Mrs. Molten fed them and they boarded there. The family had adopted a chinaman.

An inspector rode the tracks as trouble shooter and he would pick up Paul and Edwin once in awhile. Edwin threw a rock and hit a small motor car's window and broke it. The Rev. Jacobsen and Valeska Kerl were riding in it and repored it and Doc had to pay $3.00 of his berry money. Their yellow dog got run over by the big hand powered truck and Minnie said "You had no business running over that dog!"

Cows were pastured in open country and Richard would lift the dog way up high to see the cows and then he would go after them.

Paul was born March 14, 1904 in Texas, the rest were born in Valley Home. Edwin, April 18, 1906; Minnie, Dec. 24,1907; Max, Oct 28, 1909; Richie, July 9, 1913; and Walter June 30, 1917. The midwives that delivered the babies were: Mrs Olga Schiernbeck and Mrs. Brueckner.

Antone Schultz's wife died when Louise was 5 years old and Eddie, a year old. This was the 13th of December. Minnie was born that December 24.

After a few years Otto went to Texas and fetched his sweetheart Lena Berton and brought her out to Valley Home and they lived next door to Richard and Ida. Ernie, Bob and their mother came out and lived with them too.

When Max was still too young to go to school he would go out in the field with his cap pistol and try to kill a rabbit. He played with Emma who was 2 Years younger.

On some days, both families would pack a lunch and they would pile in a box wagon and go north to Johnny creek to go fishing. The trip took about 3 hours to get there and they would stay all day. Everything they caught they kept like--suckers, carp, shiners, perch and catfish. They usually did this 2 or 3 times a year.

There were lots of rabbits by the fence posts taking advantage of a little shade and as these made a good meal, Richard would take a chain and sneak upon them and kill them. He did have a shotgun at home that he did use sometimes for rabbits, cottontails and some ducks for the family meals.

The town of Valley Home at that time was much bigger than the present town, but due to many fires it was leveled and never rebuilt. There were about 3 grocery stores,a hotel, a post office, lumberyard, and hardware store and a depot. One store owned by Karl Koltoff was the site that later Ben Aker built a house and rented to Richie and Toots. After the store burned down, he built across from the present Lutheran church and it had an apartment above but it also burned down when Max was about 10 years old, which would be about 1919. He was 4 or 5 years old when the town burned up from a fire that started in the hotel. There was no way to fight fires except by hand. The hotel was rebuilt. Later, the town built a clubhouse which is still there.

The railroad came from Oakdale and went through Valley Home, Farmington, Peters and to Stockton. A motor car, gasoline powered went putt, putt, about 15 miles an hour and was the mode for transportation. It held about 20 or 30 people. Most people had horse and buggies. Food was cheap but wages were low. Bread was 10 cents a loaf.

Max started to school when he was almost 6 years old but he only lasted three days even though he knew the teacher, who was Valesca Kerl. So he stayed home till the next year when he didn't mind it then. It war a 2 room school, four grades in each room. Minnie was in the same room and Paul and Edwin in the upper grade rooms. When Max was in the second grade he loved to sing and the teacher liked it so well that when the Superintendent came out from Modesto he got to sing for him. It went like this: "Choo-Choo--was a big iron horse (whistle) "Ooo--Ooo--!". Max got good grades but he got in trouble fighting and always punching his opponent in the nose. One time it was because someone said something against his younger brother, Richie.

Some of the teachers were; Ethel Summers, Miss Ames, Mrs Wright, and in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades was Mrs Schafer. Mrs Schafer, they all liked and she used to help the kids with their algebra when they were in high school.

In grammar school the playground was divided--girls on one side and boys on the other. The boys played baseball, marbles in which if their marble hit another's marble he could claim it for himself, which in later years was banned as it was considered gambling. Two of the homemade games were quite rough. "Shinney Stick" consisted of two sides each with a limb as shaped as good as it could like a hockey stick and a flat piece of wood for a puck. These were hit back and forth and if the stick was twisted wrong they could get hit in the shins.

Then another game was played with dirt clods and sometimes rocks that were thrown at each other. The only protection were for those who brought from home a lid that had a handle and usually fit over their big outdoor cast iron black kettle used for heating water and during butchering season.

There was an old barn on the school property where in the winter time the boys played with their tops. Sometimes during good weather the fellow that owned the barn would have about three shetland ponies tied outside and the boys would get on but usually get bucked off soon.

max went to high school at mid-term. During the spring, he and his brothers had to get up real early in the morning to pick blackberries, between 4-10 crates, then Max would take the car and deliver them to the grocery store in Oakdale which he thought was the Oakdale Mercantile. 12 baskets brought about $1.00. When they didn't have to pick berries Max and the other Valley Home kids would catch the bus to school at the store.

Paul at 14 years of age left home and went to Oakland with Mr. Farren and lived with them and learned electrical work.

There was a doctor who lived across the railroad tracks where Frisks lived later. The doctor was also a realtor. Dr. Schiller had a big belly and Edwin would mimic him and stick out his stomach and say "I'm Doc Schiller" so he was nicknamed "Doc".

Ernie and Bob took Max hunting when he was small to carry the rabbits they got. Ernie peddled vegetables and when Max was about 7 years old he would take him with him on his rounds. He had a wagon with 2 seats and a big bed. He worked for Paul Napote, who raised vegetables, cherries, berries and asparagus. He lived on what is known as the Belleto ranch now, but is now owned by Jerry Benedix. The tank house that was kept dripping wet was where the vegetables were kept. Ernies' rounds took him to Eugene, the back end of the reservoir--also a Farmington route and an Escalon route about once a week. Ernie made $2.00 a day and board.

When Max was about 8 1/2 years old in 1918, when the war was over, and after 16 years the Benedixs' sold their ranch. They lived in the Wieland place (located on what was Eddie Schultzs' home place) for several months. They decided to go back to Texas so they stored their furniture and belongings with Heinie Schultz in his warehouse and also their car which was a Mitchell. They bought the car by trading 18 acres. On the train they took the northern route. When they were on the train it took 3 days. It only had seats so they had to sleep on the seats. No food was served so they brought food with them to eat. They visited relatives for several days at a time, such as the Droiks in Vernon; Grandfather Christian Koch in Beltons, where they chopped cotton. His wife was Ida's stepmother. Richard was a half brother to Hulda, Teckla and Emil. They stayed the longest at Uncle Emils. They did other work there also. At one time they were all sick at one time with the summer complaint (diarrhea). Richard was not intrigued with life in Texas, so they decided to go back to California. They came back in August after being in Texas for 3 months and then came the southern route home through El Paso.

When they got back to Valley Home they lived in the house that later Minnie and Ernie bought. They lived there several months then bought the Harrington place which was about 10 acres. They payed $3,000. for 3 acres and then later the remaining seven.

Mr Aiken bought 7 acres from Mr. Harrington for $3,000. They lived next door and went fishing with then often. Mr. Aikens first wife died and then he advertised for a wife and she had two children, Mary and Philip Angel. (in school Bill Ardis of Oakdale always said "Angel! the only one in captivity!").

Aunt Hulda lived in the bottom of the house that Schilling lived in. She went to Oregon and her drunken husband, Christian Droick followed. She had four sons and one daughter. Then they went back to Texas.

Mr. Schiff built the current Benedix home for his son John. He also built Bruno's barn for a house for his other son Albert. Richard was then a ditchtender for the Oakdale district in that area. He rode his bicycle for many years then used a horse and cart. Woodward Reservoir was built about 1915.

Richard bought a McCormick Dearing iron wheel tractor. Later he bought a Fordson wheel tractor. When Edwin would have trouble starting it he would put a candle under it and a blanket on top but it still wouldn't start. He planted blackberries, and strawberries. He also had 3 cows and some alfalfa and shipped the cream. He and Ida would also work in the grape vineyards near Escalon on the Humphrey ranch west of town. He also worked on the haybalers.

When Max was 16 years old they started grain farming . The first place they rented was on the corner of Henry and Lone Tree on the southwest corner. Then another piece further south on Henry. The 3rd place was on the Escalon-Bellota road on the Reid place where they planted barley. The boys worked for Sam Farchonie on his harvestor. Max drove tractor, and Edwin sewed sacks. Later they farmed near Cometa and had a 30 tractor.

In 1929 Paul joined Max and Edwin and in 1934 Richie joined in. Then in 1930 they started raising rice. In 1935 they rented Ellinwoods near Waterford and put in 3500 acres raising wheat. In 1942 they had a big crop of barley.

Max had a motorcycle before having a car. Edwin and Eddie Schultz had one together that was run by a belt. They built a little trailer with bicycle wheels and would go out to the reservoir hunting but they had a lot of breakdowns and often had to push it home. Uncle Paul had a motorcycle with a side car and was the mode of transportation he had when he got married. He lived in Waterford where he was a barber right in town on the right side of Main street near the river side. Max went to see him one summer when he was about 11 or 12 years old in about 1920. He got on the train in Valley Home and got off in Waterford. He used to go down by the river and watch the local boys go swimming naked. Paul's wife's sister was with Max one day when they were up in an old hotel. They were opening old chest drawers and found some rubber bands. Max took them first but she took them away from him. When Pauls' wife came in the sister said "That S.O.B. Max took them first and shouldn't have had them." Paul's wife took them from her and gave back to Max. Uncle Paul liked his nephews a lot and used to take them hunting. Max always enjoyed visiting him. Paul lived in Waterford, Hickman, Turlock, Ripon, French Camp, Stockton and Lodi. At each place he was a Barber in that town. He especially liked French Camp because he could have a garden there and as he grew up as a farmer it was still in his blood. Sophie, his second wife wanted to move to Lodi where her sisters lived so when he retired he made the move, even changing from a Lutheran to another church, for Sophies' sake. When working on a ladder one day he fell and broke his leg. After several operations and time elapsing he had to have it amputated and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair and just withered away. We visited him as often as we could. He was always interested in Gary's progress as a minister. When Paul was working in Stockton had two fellow barbers. One owned 1200 acres south of Tracy at some familiar canyon (?). In the fall during quail season Paul would invite the Benedix boys to go with him and his friend for about 3 days and go hunting. There was as old house there that they stayed in. Paul did the cooking and cooked a succulent rabbit dish that they all loved. Black wild rabbits they were called. The quail were plentiful and they always enjoyed that trip.

The Lutheran church had a self-proclaimed Yankee preacher. Old man Reverend Jacobsen came out from Stockton once in awhile then his son-in-law, Rev. Fleckenstein came. He christened Doc. Later a Jacobsen son came but he was later killed. Then Rev. Jacobs preached for about 6 or 7 years. He had several children and his wife died at childbirth with the last one. Mrs. Dunne took care of them for years. He went crazy somewhat after his wife died. During World War I, 1915, officials came out in the middle of the night and wanted to know who all the Germans were and Jacobs took them around showing them the German families. They had to confess they were not pro-German. People stopped going to church. Mrs. Staudenmaier said "What did the benches say today?". He lived in a barn which had a dirt. floor and he didn't keep himself clean.

Other preachers were Herman Von Renner, Rev. Sayer, Rev. Brott, Bertwin von Renner, Mark Wolfram and Earl Schack.

Karl Moritz Benedix first wife was Karoline Ernestine-Lelansky who died in Germany July 29, 1880 at the age of 28 years arid 5 months.

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