Sacramento Valley Biographies

FRANK ZEA PIRKEY, D.D.S.

Transcribed by Sally Kaleta, May 2009.

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

         Were the query to be made of Dr. Pirkey as to what fact in his life
afforded him the greatest satisfaction, it is possible that he would not
mention his success in dental practice, his honorable record in the
Spanish-American war, his championship as the best shot in the California
National Guard or his commission of major in the guard, but, taking no
thought of these achieve-ments, he would probably state that he was
especially glad to have been a factor in promoting measures for the benefit
of his home city of Colusa. As president  of the board of directors of the
Colusa high school district, which office he has filled since July of 1902,
he was active in the erection of the high school building, one of the finest
structures of its kind in the state, and surrounded by an orange grove of
two hundred trees.

         Dr. Pirkey was born in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, April 15,
1868, and was the youngest son of Rev. John and Catherine (Bowman) Pirkey,
of old Virginian ancestry, both of whom died in Winchester, that state.
During a long and active life the father engaged in the ministry of the
Christian Church. Of his four sons and one daughter Stephen is a life
insurance agent in Louisville, Ky.; Marion, a graduate of the dental
department of the University of Maryland, is practicing in West Virginia.
The youngest of the sons, Frank Zea, was reared in Winchester, Va., from
twelve years of age. After graduating from the Winchester high school he
taught for a year and then matriculated in the dental department of the
University of Maryland, from which he was graduated in 1889. During the same
year he came to California and opened an office in Colusa, where he has
since practiced continuously, having his office in the Washington block. His
specialty is operative dentistry, but his skill is recognized in every
department of the profession. Besides owning a residence near the center of
the city, he owns eleven acres adjoining the city and planted in prunes,
with a number of orange and lemon trees.

         In Willow, Cal., Dr. Pirkey married Nanette Longmire, who was born
in Vacaville, Cal., and is a graduate of the University of Missouri at
Columbia. As early as 1853 her father, S. C. Longmire, crossed the plains
from Missouri and settled at Vacaville, but later removed to Willow, where
he acquired a valuable ranch. One son, named after his father, has been born
of the union of Dr. and Mrs. Pirkey. The family are identified with the
Christian Church, to the maintenance of which Dr. Pirkey is a liberal
contributor. In 1904 he was elected a trustee of the town of Colusa, and was
elected vice-president of the board. He was made a Mason in Colusa Lodge No.
240, F. & A. M., is past Noble grand in the lodge of Odd Fellows, an officer
in the Independent Order of Foresters and formerly a member of the High
Court. For two years he was first lieutenant of Company B, Second Regiment
of California National Guard, after which for six years he was inspector of
rifle practice, and then served as commissary of the Third Brigade, with the
rank of major. In February of 1904 he was appointed inspector of rifle
practice of the Third Brigade with the rank of major. March 17, 1905, he
received the appointment of lieutenant-colonel and aid de camp on the staff
of the commander-in-chief of the National Guard of the state. In 1897 he
carried off the championship medal for California as the best pistol shot in
the National Guard. At the opening of the Spanish-American war he
volunteered his services by telegram and was among the very first to offer
himself to the country as a soldier. In every respect his life has been that
of a patriot, an upright man and a progressive citizen, whose identification
with the city of Colusa has been a stimulus to its growth and development.

"History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the
Sacramento Valley, Cal.," J. M. Guinn, The Chapman Publishing Company,
Chicago, 1906, Pages 496-497.