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Updated 23 April 2021
Chico Record newspaper of 19 February 1922 included:
GARDENER FOR BIDWELL IS CALLED BEYOND
William Allwardt, Old Resident of Chico, Succumbs to Effect of Paralysis Stroke
William Allwardt, 65 years old, for many years the late Mrs. Annie E.K. Bidwell's personal gardener at the Bidwell Mansion ground, died yesterday afternoon at 2:40 at his home, 403 Maple street. Death followed bedfastness since December 28 when he suffered a stroke of paralysis at Second and Broadway while shopping.
Allwardt came to Chico from Fort Bragg in 1899 and secured a position on the Bidwell ranch. He...
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Updated 23 April 2021
Chico Record newspaper of 19 February 1922 included:
GARDENER FOR BIDWELL IS CALLED BEYOND
William Allwardt, Old Resident of Chico, Succumbs to Effect of Paralysis Stroke
William Allwardt, 65 years old, for many years the late Mrs. Annie E.K. Bidwell's personal gardener at the Bidwell Mansion ground, died yesterday afternoon at 2:40 at his home, 403 Maple street. Death followed bedfastness since December 28 when he suffered a stroke of paralysis at Second and Broadway while shopping.
Allwardt came to Chico from Fort Bragg in 1899 and secured a position on the Bidwell ranch. He soon became gardener about the Bidwell Mansion grounds and for many years worked under Mrs. Bidwell's supervision in cultivating the beautiful flowers and shrubbery of the grounds. After Mrs. Bidwell's death he continued as gardener until he was stricken about two months ago.
Through aiding the work of nature in the beautiful growths about the Bidwell Mansion Allwardt obtained great worldly satisfaction and he was considered one of the few expert gardeners of northern California. He had a wide circle of friends in Chico and other parts of Butte county who held him in the highest esteem. A great friendship was welded between Allwardt and Dr. R.S. Eastman, pastor of the Presbyterian church, who had charge of the gardening work after the death of Mrs. Bidwell.
Born March 8, 1856 in Mecklenberg, Germany, he came to the United States when but a boy of 16 years. For many years he resided in Iowa where he was married in 1881 and in 1890 moved to California settling at Fort Bragg.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Lizzie Allwardt of Chico; three daughters, Mrs. J.C. Rhoades of Cayton, Mrs. W.L. Simmons of Oroville and Mrs. Ida Simmons of Chico; three sons, O.H. Allwardt of Anderson and former member of the Chico police force, C.B. Allwardt of Hayward, and W.W. Allwardt of Chico; also surviving are 11 grandchildren, two brothers, one in Kansas and one in Wisconsin, and one sister in Germany.
Funeral services will be conducted tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 o'clock from the chapel of Bicknell & Moore in Third street. Dr. R.S. Eastman will officiate and interment will be in Chico cemetery.
HIS PARENTS: John(Johan) and Heiden Caroline Allwardt of Mecklenburg, Germany; east of Hamburg in north central Germany.
BIOGRAPHY:
William H. Allwardt was born 8 March 1856 in Mecklenburg, Nordwestmecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. William had two brothers and a sister.
He came to the US in 1873 when he was 16 years old.
On 2 January 1877 William became a naturalized citizen of the USA; occupation farmer.
For many years he resided in Iowa.
On 27 October 1881, he married Lizzie Augusta Sander, a first generation American of German heritage.
The Muscatine County, Iowa Marriage Records, 1880-1910, on file at the Muscatine City Library includes an entry, "William Alwardt 27 October 1881 Elizabeth Sander".
Iowa, Select Marriages Index, 1758-1996 (Ancestry.com)
Name: Elizabeth Sander, Gender: Female, Birth Date: 1860, Marriage Age: 21
Marriage Date: 27 October 1881, Marriage Place: Muscatine, Iowa
Father: Christian Sander, Mother: Ida Eckhoff
Spouse: William Allwardt
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=60284&h=2365697&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=60284
The Allwardt home was located approximately five miles northeast of Muscatine; perhaps along Sweetland Road, which begins about 3 miles east of Muscatine on the Mississippi and runs generally north 5 miles.
A review of the local newspapers of Muscatine County during the period 1885 – 1890 turned up two articles in which William Allwardt is mentioned. The articles read:
Muscatine Journal (Muscatine, Iowa), Monday, 24 November 1890, pg. 3
"Wm. Allwardt will hold a public sale Tuesday, December 2, at his home 1 mile south and ½ mile east of Sweetland (6 miles north-east of Muscatine.) Large amount of stock and farm utensils will be offered.
Muscatine Weekly Journal (Muscatine, Iowa), Friday, 5 December 1890, pg. 4, col. 5, SWEETLAND
"Wm. Allwardt and family departed for California yesterday." [3Dec1890]
In early December 1890, the family moved to California, settling at Fort Bragg on the north coast of California.
The five children born in Iowa and who made the 2,000 mile trip (as the crow flies) with their parents were: John age – 7 (bSep1882), Walter - 6 (bJan1884), Ida - 4 (b Dec1885), Huldah - 3 (bApr1887) & Effie – 1 (bJan1889)
We don't know how the family of seven with their belongings traveled to California. One option would have been via riverboat down the Mississippi, then travel by ship to Panama, crossing the isthmus via the Panama Railroad then north through the Pacific Ocean by steamship to San Francisco, perhaps even on to Fort Bragg. The most likely option for the Allwardt family was to ride the transcontinental railroad – the Union Pacific Railway to Sacramento. The Union Pacific, Council Bluffs, Iowa to Sacramento, had been in operation for 21 years, since 1869. Since approximately late May 1890, Lizzie was pregnant likely influenced the means by which the Allwardt's traveled to California. William and Lizzie's sixth child, Oliver was born 26 January 1891 in Fort Bragg.
HISTORICAL FACT: Emigrants going west continued to use the Oregon Trail well into the 1890s. The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, providing faster, safer, and usually cheaper travel east and west (the journey took seven days and cost as little as $65). Its unlikely the Allwardt family traveled down the Mississippi and there took a ship, the most expensive means to travel to California. Travelers by sea had a choice of two routes: 1- make the long voyage around Cape Horn at the tip of South America, or sail to Central America, take a river and overland route to the Pacific, this was usually at the Isthmus of Panama but sometimes at Nicaragua, and occasionally through Mexico; and take another ship to San Francisco.
William & Lizzie Allwardt added two children to the family while in Fort Bragg
Oliver Hemerick.Allwardt, was born 26 January 1891.
Charles Baldwin "Carl" Allwardt was born 21 May 1892.
*The Allwardt family's super mother, Lizzie August (Sander) Allwardt had borne seven healthy children in a span of 9 years and 8 months! While also making a move of at a minimum of 2,000 miles. She lived to be 85, regrettably outliving her three eldest children, John, Walter and Ida.
Fort Bragg History: By 1867 the reservation and military outpost at Fort Bragg were abandoned. By 1869 small lumber mills were being built at the mouth of every creek. Ranches were settled. By 1873, Fort Bragg had an established lumber port at Noyo. Soon after the fort was abandoned, the land of the reservation was offered for sale at $1.25 per acre to settlers. In 1885 C.R.Johnson who, with partners Calvin Stewart and James Hunter had been operating a sawmill in Mill Creek, moved their mill machinery to Fort Bragg to take advantage of the harbor for shipping. The company incorporated as the Fort Bragg Redwood Company. The Fort Bragg Railroad was founded to haul logs to the mill. The first rails were run up Pudding Creek and in 1887 reached Glen Blair. A San Francisco streetcar was purchased to carry loggers and their families on Sunday excursions to the woods.
The family moved to Chico, CA from Ft Bragg in 1899 and found a home on 5th Street.
Mr Allwardt secured a position on the John Bidwell ranch. He soon became gardener about the Bidwell Mansion grounds, on the north side of Chico Creek, and for many years worked under Mrs Bidwell's supervision in cultivating the beautiful flowers and shrubbery of the grounds. John Bidwell passed away on April 4, 1900 of heart failure, and was buried in Chico Cemetery. After Mrs Bidwell's death in 1918, Mr Allwardt continued as gardener until his stroke.
1900 US Federal Census, Chico, Butte Co, Calif Enumerated 30 June 1900
Allwardt, William Head, Born April 1857, age 43, Marrital status: Married, Yrs Married: 19, Birthplace: Germany, Mother & Father's Birthplace: Germany, Immigration Yr: 1873, No. Yrs in US: 27, Naturalized, Occupation: Day laborer, House owned or rented: R
Lizzie – wife, born Sep 1860, age 39, married 19 years, Mother & Father's Birthplace Germany, Occupation: none listed
Home in 1900: 5th Street, Chico, Butte Co, Calif;
Children, all born in Iowa, except the last two, Oliver & Charles born in California:
John born Sep1882, age 17, Occupation: Day Laborer
Walter W Jan1884, 16, in school
Ida Dec1885, 14, in school
Huldah Apr1887, 13, in school
Effie R Jan1889, 11, in school
Oliver H Jan1891, 9, in school
Charles B May1892, 8, in school
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=7602&h=20736886&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=7884
Unfortunately, William & Lizzie's eldest son, Johan Christian Allwardt, died at age 19, 13 April 1902 in Chico.
1910 US Federal Census Enumerated 14 May 1910
William's Occupation: Farmer, Industry: Bidwell Eab
Son – John and Daughters – Ida and Huldah are no longer living at with parents, Wm & Lizzie
Home: still on 5th Street
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1910USCenIndex&indiv=try&h=180573930
"As the Census of 1910 revealed, more than ten million of America's ninety-two million people had emigrated from Germany or had one or two parents from Germany or Austria-Hungary." Source: Page 564, A Diplomatic History of the American People, by Thomas A. Bailey
The following four extracts are from the 1913, 1915, 1916 & 1920 Chico City Directories: Source: "U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995" (Ancestry.com)
1913 Chico, California City Directory
William Allwardt, Occupation: Farmer; Spouse: Lizzie Allwardt
Residence: 403 Maple, Chico, Butte, CA; they own the home
1915 Chico, California City Directory
William Allwardt, Occupation: Gardener; Spouse: Lizzie Allwardt
- Son, Charles B is listed as a bottler at Chico Soda Works,
- Son, Oliver H is also listed
Residence: 403 Maple, Chico, Butte, CA
1916 Chico, California City Directory
William Allwardt, Occupation: Gardener; Spouse: Lizzie Allwardt
Residence: 403 Maple, Chico, Butte, CA
1920 Chico, California City Directory 1920
William Allwardt, Occupation: Laborer; Spouse: Lizzie Allwardt
Residence: 403 Maple, Chico, Butte, CA
- Walter W (Sarah G.) is also listed, millhd Diamond Match Co, residence on Almond nr Pomona
1920 US Federal Census
Home: 408 Maple Ave
Home Free or Mortgaged: Free
At 2:40pm on 18 February 1922, William Allwardt died at age 65yrs, 11 months and 10 days, having never recovered from his stroke in late December.
The morning, February 21, 1922 Chico Record article, pg 4 col 7, read,
"Last Rites Are Held for William Allwardt, Well Known Bidwell Gardner
Covered with a pall of American beauty roses, a casket containing the body of William Allwardt, well known as the gardener for the late Annie E. K. Bidwell, was tenderly laid away in Chico Cemetery yesterday surrounded by friends and relatives.
Rev. H.A. Hoyt, pastor of the Fourth street Methodist Church who conducted the service from the Bicknell and Moore chapel and at the grave expressed regret that Rev. R.S. Eastman, personal friend of Allwardt was absent from Chico and therefore could not add the comforting words which he knew were in Dr. Eastman's mind.
The pall bearers were Reuben Messenger, James Boyles, Thomas Bohlander, Thomas Harris, Fred Peterson and W.H. Whitaker."
From the Memorial Record, floral offerings were provided by the following:
Fred Peterson & R Messinger
Mr & Mrs DB Jewett
Fred Oliphant & family
Mrs J.W, Banta & family
Mrs & Mrs FR Moerke
Mrs & Mrs WH Marshall
Richards & Deuel
Slver Oak Circle
Mrs Georgia Peterson
Mrs & Mrs Ed Henry
Mrs & Mrs M.C. Cook
Mrs & Mrs C.L. Stilson & Eleanor
Mrs & Mrs RC Hursh
Mrs Hattie Burke
Mr & Mrs Bob Reed
TFB Lodge #124
Mrs A.G. Marvin
Mrs & Mrs Geooge Kemph
Mrs Eva L. Kimmons
Mrs Albert Smith & Mrs Hazel Mercer
Ladies of the Mute Society of the
Presbyterian Church
DIRECTIONS: To find the grave, located in Section 12 of the Chico Cemetery, enter the cemetery on its east side, off of Mangrove Ave, then around the garden and turn right (west); proceed approximately 100 yards on the cemetery road; turn left (south) toward the cemetery office. Continue south past the cemetery office and shops (on your left) about 50 yards, to where the road forks right, straight and left. Take the left (easterly) fork. Continue about 50 yards. Park. The Allwardt plot is about 10 yards on the east side of the cemetery road. There is a row of five adjacent headstones: (left to right) John Allwardt, Lizzie Allwardt, William Allwardt, Henrietta, Oliver & Elsie Allwardt. Just behind these headstones are the other five headstones of the Allwardt plot: (left to right) Infant Son, Infant Dau, Infant Dau of William L & Hulda Simmons, Frances E Simmons (Dau of C.F. Simmons & Ida Caroline Allwardt), William L. & Hulda Allwardt Simmons
Created by Robert G. Simmons, son of Wilton L. Simmons, grandson of C Frank Simmons & Ida Caroline (Allwardt) Simmons Banta |
