California Biographies

Transcribed by Peggy Hooper

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

Source:
History of the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin 
Valley, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from 
its earliest settlement to the present time.
Prof. James Miller Guinn , A. M.
The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1905
Notes: Missing Page: 865-866,983-984,1175-1176


ALFRED H. BYARS, M. D. Through his recognized skill in the medical profession Dr. Byars of 
Madera has added luster to an honored name. His father, Gen. William Henry Byars,  a pioneer 
of the Pacific coast, has been so long and intimately associated with the progress of Oregon 
that, were his life record given in detail, it would be found in many respects to be a history of 
his state. Born in Iowa, he was early orphaned by his father's death. In 1852 he left the 
surroundings of his youth to seek a home in the then unknown west. In company with his 
stepfather, Mr. Meyers, he crossed 'the plains with ox-teams and after a tedious journey ar- 
rived in Oregon. The land upon which the family settled and where they proceeded to de- 
velop a farm was situated near Oakland, Douglas county, on the Calapooia river. There he grew 
from youth into manhood. When Indians became hostile and threatened the lives of the pio- 
neers, he shouldered his rifle and accompanied the volunteers who marched out against them. 
During the Civil war he was a member of the First Oregon Infantry. In the early days, before 
railroads had been built, he was employed as a mail carrier between Yreka and Eugene making 
the trips on his pony. From that work he drifted into the newspaper business and became editor 
of the Roseburg Plain Dealer in Douglas county. Removing from that county to Salem, he was 
elected state printer and also acquired by purchase the Oregon Statesman,, of which he was the 
editor. For one term he served as surveyor general of Oregon. The various positions which 
he held were filled with such recognized ability and resourcefulness that he was still further 
honored in being selected as commander of the Soldiers' Home at Roseburg. After his retire- 
ment from that office he returned to Salem, where he now makes his home. While filling all of 
these important positions, at no time did he sever his connection with or his interest in the work of 
government surveying and contracting, in which he has built up a reputation for accuracy and 
painstaking care. In the work of the Grand Army of the Republic he has always taken a 
warm interest and has been one of the leaders of the organization in his state. 

By his marriage to Anna Augusta, daughter of William Slocum, General Byars became associ- 
ated with an old Kentucky family. In 1852 Mr. Slocum brought his family across the plains 
from Kentucky, making the trip with ox-teams and settling on a ranch near Myrtle Point, Coos 
county, Ore. Later he removed to Douglas county and died at Roseburg. During the Indian 
wars his son, Clay Slocum, bore an active part in quelling the hostility of the red men. General 
and Mrs. Byars became the parents of three sons and three daughters, of whom two sons and two 
daughters are now living. Of the sons Alfred H. resides in California and William F. is editor 
of the Goldendale Sentinel in Goldendale, Wash. In point of birth Alfred H. was third among the 
children. He was born at Wilbur, Douglas county. Ore., November 8, 1872, and passed his early 
childhood years in Roseburg, same county, but at the age of eight was taken to Salem, the family 
having removed to that city. Primarily educated in the grammar schools, he was later a student 
in the Willamette University and afterward was graduated from Armstrong's Business College 
in Portland. 

On the completion of his classical studies, Dr. Byars began the study of the profession to which 
his active life is being devoted. Under Dr. Davidson of Fresno, Cal., he gained a preliminary 
knowledge of the science of materia medica in 1894. For a year he was a student in the medi- 
cal department of the University of Oregon at Portland and for a similar period acted as interne 
nurse in the Fresno county hospital. From there he went to St. Louis, Mo., and took his second 
year's course of lectures in Barnes Medical College. During the summer vacation he was again 
engaged in the Fresno county hospital, returning in the fall to resume his studies at Barnes 
Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1898 with the degree of M. D. On his re- 
turn to Fresno he was appointed superintendent of the hospital with which he had been connected 
previously, and continued in charge of the institution until 1899, when he came to Madera. 
Since opening an office in this city he has devoted his attention to his private practice and to 
his duties as district surgeon for the Southern Pacific Railroad. His home is presided over by 
Mrs. Byars, who was Annie E. Limbaugh, a native of Fresno county and of pioneer parentage. 
Both in local and general elections Dr. Byars supports the Republican ticket. Since locating 
in Madera he has become identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of Fresno, and 
was made a Mason in Madera Lodge No. 280, F. & A. M., of which he served as worshipful 
master. He is further identified with Yerba Buena Lodge of Perfection No. 1, of San Fran- 
cisco, Woodmen of the World and Foresters. With high ideals before him for both medicine 
and surgery, he keeps in touch with every development made in both, and, by the reading 
of professional journals and by association with the keenest intellects in the professional circles 
of the state, his own fund of theoretical knowledge is constantly expanding, while at the same 
time, by means of practical experience in the conduct of intricate cases, he is constantly adding 
to his professional information and gaining to an increasing extent the confidence of the people 
of his community. He is a member of Fresno County Medical Society, San Joaquin Valley 
Medical Society, the Pacific Society of Railway Surgeons and the California State Medical Society.