Sacramento Valley Biographies

Hon. Hugh McElroy LaRue

Submitted by: Betty Tartas.

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

    That the plentitude of society is seldom attained in the affairs of life is 
to be considered as a most grateful and beneficial deprivation, for where 
ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim realized--if such is 
possible--there must follow individual apathy.  Effort will cease, 
accomplishment be prostrate and creative talents waste its energies in supine 
inactivity.  The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress have been 
those to whom satiety lay ever in the future, and they have labored continuously 
and have not failed to find in each transition stage an incentive for further 
effort.  Hugh M. La Rue is one whose efforts have been continuous and whose 
labors have won him a position among the representative business men of the 
state.  His identification with California and its interests also covers a 
period greater than that of almost any other of its citizens and no history of 
Sacramento county would be complete without the record of this honored pioneer. 
     Hugh McElroy La Rue was born August 12, 1830, in Hardin county, Kentucky, 
and is a representative of one of the old families of America.  The family is of 
French lineage, the original ancestors being Huguenots, who left their native 
land to seek freedom of conscience in the new world.  They located in 
Virginia--two brothers, one of whom was Jacob La Rue, the great grandfather of 
our subject.  That was at an early period in the development of the Old 
Dominion, and representatives of the La Rue family have been pioneers of 
Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and California.  The grandparents of our subject 
were William and Sarah (Hodgen) La Rue, the former a native of Virginia, whence 
he removed to Kentucky about 1787, and died there some years later.  His home 
was in La Rue county, which was named in his honor, and his son Jacob H. La Rue, 
the father of our subject, was born December 3, 1799, in that county, where he 
followed the occupations of farming and blacksmithing.  Subsequently, he removed 
to Lewis county, Missouri, but his last days were spent in California, taking up 
his residence in this state in 1873.  His death occurred in 1884.  He was a 
relative of Governor Helm and other prominent men in Kentucky.  His wife bore 
the maiden name of Sarah C. McElroy, who was born in Washington county, 
Kentucky.  She was a cousin of Governor Proctor Knott.  She became the mother of 
four children, of whom two are now living:  Hugh M and J Hodgen, the latter 
being a resident of Fresno, California.  Her death occurred when about twenty 
eight years of age.  Her ancestors were Hugh and Deborah (Dorsey) McElroy, the 
former of Scotch and the latter of Irish lineage. 
    The ancestors on the paternal side can be traced back in Scotland to the 
first half of the seventeenth century, and the family is of Celtic origin.  In 
the latter part of the seventeenth century, members of the family removed to 
Ireland. The religious faith of the McElroys was that of the Presbyterian 
church.  The great grandfather of Mrs. La Rue was James McElroy, who had three 
sons, one of whom was Hugh McElroy, who married Ester Irwin, and removed from 
Virginia to Kentucky in 1788.  They became the parents of ten children, 
including Hugh McElroy, the grandfather of our subject.  He married Deborah 
Dorsey, and his death occurred in Washington county, Kentucky.  His widow 
afterward married again, and resided upon the farm where the birth of Abraham 
Lincoln occurred, in La Rue county, Kentucky. She was more than ninety years of 
age when called to the home beyond.
       Hugh McElroy La Rue spent his early boyhood in Kentucky, but when about 
nine years of age accompanied his parents on their removal to Lewis county, 
Missouri, which was then largely inhabited by Indians and was situated on the 
very border of civilization.  Our subject was thus reared among the wild scenes 
of pioneer life, and when not more than fifteen years of age became imbued with 
a strong desire to cross the plains to the Pacific coast.  Even prior to the 
discovery of gold he was making preparations to that end, and when the news was 
received that the precious metal was found in California he was all the more 
anxious to make the contemplated trip and became a member of the expedition to 
cross the plains under the leadership of V. A. Sublette and Dr. Conduitt.  They 
crossed the Missouri River at Booneville and on the 2th of April 1849 left 
Independence, Missouri, which was their last point within the limits of 
civilization.  By way of the Platte river, South Pass, Sublette's cut-off and 
Fort Hall they traveled over the intervening stretches of country between 
Missouri and California, crossing the Truckee river about twenty seven times in 
thirty miles.
       On the 12th of August they reached the Bear river mines at Steep Hollow, 
and near that place during the succeeding six weeks Mr. La Rue had his first 
mining experience.  After visiting Grass Valley, Nevada, and Deer Creek, he 
located at Fiddletown, Amador county, now called Oleta, being one of the first 
party of white men to build a cabin at that point.  They discovered and operated 
the first mines there, and soon after their arrival they were joined by a party 
of men from Arkansas, among whom were several violin players.  The winter being 
much too wet to permit of mining comfortably, they passed their time largely in 
violin playing, card playing and dancing, and thus the name of Fiddletown was 
given to the new settlement.  Subsequently Mr. La Rue went to Willow Springs, 
four miles west of Drytown, and purchased a small eating-house, which he 
conducted until the first of March.  At that time he removed to Marysville, 
California, and in the spring of 1850 went on a trading expedition to Shasta, 
carrying with him a stock of provisions and groceries, which he sold directly 
from the wagon at that place to the merchants and miners, receiving very 
excellent prices, and his goods were the first to arrive there.  He received 
forty cents a pound for flour, from a dollar to a dollar and a quarter for pork, 
sugar, coffee and rice, and about eight dollars a gallon for whiskies and 
brandies.  After making one more trip to that point he came to Sacramento in 
June 1850.
   In this city Mr. La Rue turned his attention to blacksmithing and wagon 
making, but the cholera epidemic of that year forced him to close out his 
business and he went to the Norris grant--Rancho del Paso--where he rented a 
small tract of land and began the cultivation of vegetables.  He was afterward 
engaged in raising grain and stock, and was thus occupied until 1857, when he 
planted an orchard of seventy five acres, principally in peach trees--the most 
extensive orchard in the vicinity at that time.  In the new enterprise he met 
with good success until the floods of 1861-62 damaged his orchard.  Mr. Norris 
failed that year and Mr. La Rue purchased the property, but the floods of 1868 
utterly destroyed the tract and ended the venture.
       In 1866, however, he had purchased about nine hundred acres of land in 
Yolo county, and feeling the necessity of providing his children with better 
educational privileges, and also of being nearer his Yolo ranch, to which he had 
added additional purchases until it was two thousand acres in extent, he removed 
to Sacramento.  After the floods of 1868 he sold his interest in the Rancho del 
Paso tract and gave his attention exclusively to the Yolo ranch.  He has made 
many improvements and is recognized as one of the leading representatives of 
agricultural and horticultural interests in this section of the state.  He has 
now about two hundred acres of vineyard, one hundred acres of almonds and ten 
acres of prunes.  He raises all kinds of grain, and is one of the extensive and 
leading stock growers in central California, making a specialty of Hereford and 
Durham cattle and mules.  In Napa county, this state, he has extensive vineyard 
property, and derives from his vineyard and fields a handsome income.  In the 
cultivation of his land he has followed very progressive methods, ready to adopt 
all practical improvements in the way of operating his land and raising grain 
and fruits.
       May 11, 1858, in Colusa county, California, Mr. La Rue was united in 
marriage to Miss Elizabeth M. Lizenby, a native of Lewis county, Missouri, and a 
daughter of Thomas and Susan (Miller) Lizenby, a former native of Virginia and 
later of Kentucky.  The father was of German lineage, and was a millwright by 
trade and died in Missouri in 1854, while his wife passed away in 1852.  They 
were the parents of five children, but Mrs. La Rue is the only one now living.  
She came to California with her brother in 1852, taking up her abode in Colusa 
county and completing her education on the Pacific coast.  Unto our subject and 
wife have been born five children, but the only daughter, Marie Virginia, died 
in 1888 at the age of twenty two years.  Jacob E. married Adaline  E. Rankin and 
has one son Morgan E. Jacob E. completed his education in the State University, 
and is now associated with his father in extensive farming operations in Yolo 
county.  Calhoun Lee, the second son, married Mildred L. Spires, and has one 
son, Elwin Lee. Calhoun Lee resides in Napa county, where he superintends his 
father's extensive viticultural interests.  He is the present (1900) senator 
from his district.  Hugh M was educated in the State University, was admitted to 
the bar about six years ago, and is now an attorney at law in Sacramento.  John 
R. is now the secretary of the Grangers' Bank of San Francisco, and assistant 
cashier of the Standard Oil Company of San Francisco.  He married Marie Estelle 
McMurray.
        In his political views Mr. La Rue is a Democrat, and in 1857 was a 
candidate for county sheriff of Sacramento county on that ticket.  He was 
elected by a small majority of seven or eight votes, but the case was contested 
in the courts and he lost the office.  In 1873, however, he was elected to that 
office by a large majority, and discharged his duties with fearlessness and 
fidelity.  In 1879 he was a member of the state constitutional convention and 
took an active part in framing the organic laws of the commonwealth.  In 1863-64 
he was a member of the general assembly, and was the speaker during both 
sessions.  He was a prominent factor in the movement for the erection of the 
exposition building and the organization of the State Agricultural Society; also 
in the revision of the general laws; in the county government act, the bill 
reorganizing the senatorial and assembly districts and the laws relating to 
taxes.  In 1888 he was a Democratic candidate for senator, but though he ran 
ahead of his ticket he was defeated.  In 1867 he was made a member of the State 
Agricultural Society, was a director for twenty years and was its president for 
a term of years--in 1879, 1880 and 1882;  and for many years he has been the 
director and superintendent of the pavilion during the expositions.  While the 
speaker of the assembly and president of the state board of agriculture, he was 
ex-officio a member of the board of regents of the State University and was a 
member and the president of the board of railroad commissioners from 1895 
to1899.  He was the superintendent of the Bureau of Viticulture at the World's 
Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
      He has been a member of Sacramento Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M., for many 
years, and is a Royal Arch Mason.  In 1856 he became a member of the Sacramento 
Society of California Pioneers, was made a member of its board of trustees and 
served as its president, and has served as the master of the Sacramento Grange. 
      His public and private life  are alike above reproach.  Honesty has 
characterized all his business dealings, and his enterprise and indefatigable 
efforts have brought to him a high degree of success.  In his fraternal 
relations his genial qualities and sterling worth have gained him warm 
friendships; in his public life he has honored the state  which has honored him.

Source: �A Volume Of Memoirs And Genealogy of Representative Citizens Of 
Northern California� Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. Chicago. 1901. Pages 
93-96.



            Hon. Hugh McElroy LaRue.  Across the vistas of the fast-fleeting
years the thoughts of this prominent pioneer often revert to the memorable
year of 1849, with its exciting journey across the plains and its train of
experiences in the mining camps of the far west. Of the countless thousands
who braved the unknown dangers of the deserts and mountains in an effort to
reach the great mines of the west, he is one of the comparatively few that
now survive; by far the larger majority have gone upon another journey out
into the silent sea of death. Their ears are dull to the memories that span
the voiceless past; their eyes are blind to the beautiful pictures Nature
has painted for the art of man to emulate; and their lips are forever
stilled to words of praise and honor. Fortunate it is that some still remain
to receive the admiring affection of a younger generation and to enjoy the
blessings of a twentieth-century civilization. The long-distant days of
ante-statehood history seem to be brought nearer when it is remembered that
these men, still active factors in our commercial and agricultural
activities, were witnesses of that remote period of our history.
             The LaRue family was so prominent in a certain portion of
Kentucky that one of the counties of that state was named in their honor and
for generations they lived and flourished in that locality. The county seat
of the county was named for a Mr. Hodgen, a grandfather of H. M. LaRue, and
near this town of  Hodgenville, 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. As a child he roamed through the forests and
over the plains of his home locality and by outdoor life gained the
robust-ness of health which has blessed his entire life. When nine years of
age he accompanied the family to Missouri and settled in Lewis county, which
then was considered at the westernmost boundaries of civilization. Indians
still roamed across the untilled plains and the fertile soil awaited the
pioneer's hand to bring forth rich and varied crops.
             When only fifteen years of age Mr. LaRue began to talk about
crossing the plains. Though gold had not been discovered yet and little was
known of the regions beyond the Rockies, he was fascinated by their unknown
possibilities. In 1849, before news of the discovery of gold had been
received in his neighborhood, he joined a party made up for the west, the
leaders of the expedition being V. A. Sublette and Dr. Conduitt. As soon as
the opening of the spring made traveling safe they gathered together
provisions and other necessities and started on the long journey, crossing
the Missouri river at Boonville and starting from Independence April 29, of
the eventful year of '49. Independence was their last point within the
limits of civilization. Beyond that lay the unbroken plains, the parched
desert and the snow-capped mountains. Emigration had as yet scarcely begun
toward the west, and the vast region they traversed had no inhabitants save
the treacherous savage. The route which they followed took them along the
Platte river and through South Pass, thence via Sublette's cut-off and the
Oregon trail. As they neared their destination they came to the Truckee
river, which they crossed twenty-seven times in the short distance of thirty
miles. The journey came to a safe termination about the 12th of August, when
the party reached the Bear river mines at Steep Hollow. 
             It was at this place, during the ensuing six weeks, that Mr.
LaRue had his first experiences as a miner, and next he visited the mines of
Grass Valley, Nevada and Deer creek. With other white men he built one of
the very first cabins in what is now Oleta, Amador county, and there he
worked the first mines of the camp. Oleta was in those days known as
Fiddletown, its name originating through the custom of several
violin-players from Arkansas then in camp near by. The winter being too wet
to render mining pleasant or safe, violin playing became the favorite
recreation, and the first sound to be heard by the approaching travelor was
that of the fiddle. In this way Fiddletown gained its first prominence. From
that place Mr. LaRue went to Willow Springs, four miles west of Drytown, and
there bought a small restaurant, which he conducted until early in March.
After a short sojourn in Marysville, in the spring of 1850 he made a trading
expedition to Shasta with groceries and provisions, which he sold from the
wagon to merchants and miners at remunerative prices. Flour he sold at forty
cents per pound. Pork, ham, sugar, coffee, potatoes and rice brought from $1
to $1.25 a pound. Whisky and Brandy were sold at about $8 a gallon, and
other articles in proportion.
            After making a second trip to Shasta, in June of 1850 Mr. LaRue
came to Sacramento and began to follow the trade of blacksmith and
wagon-maker. The cholera epidemic of that year obliged him to seek other
employment, and he then rented a part of the Rancho del Paso, on the Norris
grant, where first he raised vegetables and later became a grain-farmer. In
1857 he planted an orchard of seventy-five acres, mostly in peaches, it
being the first large one in the valley and one of the first that was
irrigated; in this he succeeded remarkably well until the floods of 1861-62
damaged his orchards. The failure of Mr. Norris followed this catastrophe
and Mr. LaRue thereupon bought his orchards, but the floods of 1868 utterly
destroyed this tract. Meanwhile, in 1866, he had purchased about nine
hundred acres of land in Yolo county and to this he added from time to time
until the ranch aggregated two thousand acres. After the floods of 1868 he
sold his interest in the Rancho del Paso and devoted himself exclusively to
the management of the Yolo property, making his home in Sacramento in order
that his children might have desired advantages, but spending much time on
the ranch. Under his oversight one hundred acres were planted in grapes, one
hundred acres in almonds, and large tracts in grain. He made an importation
of jacks from Kentucky and engaged in the breeding business. In addition to
having an average of two hundred and fifty head of mules and horses, he had
one hundred head of Hereford and Durham cattle. The fine business ability
which he possesses made itself manifest in the capable supervision of the
property, which he continued for years, but eventually transferred to the
care of his son, J. E. LaRue. Another son, C. L. LaRue, was given charge of
a vineyard of one hundred and forty acres at Yountville, nine miles above
Napa, which he had acquired by purchase in 1885 and which had been settled
in 1846 by Charles Hopper. The acreage in vineyard has been increased under
the father's direction to three hundred acres in Yolo county and to one
hundred and forty in Napa. He has relinquished the entire care of the
ranches to his sons, who are carrying on a successful business.
             Any sketch of the life of Mr. LaRue would be incomplete without
mention of his services in behalf of the people. Stanchly Democratic in
affiliations, as early as 1857 he was his party's nominee for sheriff of
Sacramento county and was elected by about eight votes, but, the case being
contested in the courts, he lost the office. In 1873 he was again a
candidate for the same office and received a large and flattering majority.
In 1883-84 he was a member of the lower house of the state legislature and
honorably served as speaker during both sessions. As representative of the
second congressional district, in 1879 he served as a member of the state
constitutional convention. During his legislative career he was a supporter
of the bill for the erection of the exposition building of the State
Agricultural Association; also supported the revision of the general
railroad laws, the county community act, the bill re-organizing the
senatorial and assembly districts and the laws relating to taxes. In 1888 he
was the Democratic candidate for senator, and, though not elected, had the
satisfaction of running ahead of his ticket.
            During the long period since 1867 Mr. LaRue has been actively
associated with the State Agricultural Society, and three separate times,
1879, 1880 and 1882, was honored with the office of president, while since
1882 he has been a member of the board of directors, also during the
exhibitions has been 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. In 1894 he was
elected railroad commissioner from Northern California and served as
president of the board four years, besides which he has held many other
official positions. As early as 1856 he became affiliated with the
Sacramento Society of California Pioneers, of which later he officiated as
president and again in 1904 and 1905 was honored with that position. At one
time he was honored with the office of master of the Sacramento Grange.
Fraternally he has held membership with Sacramento Lodge No. 49, F. & A. M.,
for a very long period of years, and his Masonic relations are further
enlarged through his affiliation with the Royal Arch Chapter. By his
marriage in 1858 he became allied with one of the pioneer families of Colusa
county, this state, his wife, Miss E. M. Lizenby, being a daughter of Thomas
Lizenby, well known in the pioneer history of Lewis county, Mo. Mrs. LaRue
is 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, formerly state
senator from Colusa county, but later attorney-general of Arizona. The union
of Mr. and Mrs. LaRue was blessed with five children, of whom the only
daughter, Marie Virginia, died in 1888, he death depriving them of one
universally beloved and intellectually promising. The four sons are as
follows: Jacob Eugene, Calhoun Lee, Hugh McElroy Jr., and John Rush. Mr.
LaRue has raised fifty-four consecutive crops in California, in Colusa,
Yolo, Napa and Sacramento counties.

"History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the
Sacramento Valley, California," J. M. Guinn, The Chapman Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1906. Pages 385-387.

Transcribed by Sally Kaleta, March 2009.



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 LaRue, 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. LaRue.  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 on 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 finest cabins at Oleta, Amador 
county, and worked the first mines.  
 
In thosd 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 whiskey 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 his 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 
of 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 commissioner 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 annuals of the state.
 
Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source:  �History of Yolo County, California� by Tom Gregory.  Published by the 
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 664 � 667.