Читать книгу History of Fresno County, Vol. 4 - Paul E. Vandor - Страница 36

The efficient superintendent of the Confidence Oil Company, the oldest company in the west side oil field of Coalinga, is Besley Lefever, who has been a resident of this section of the county since 1898. He was born in Ellenville. Ulster County. N. Y., June 25, 1858, a son of Alfred and Susan (Frear) Lefever, the father being of French descent, but a native of Esopus, N. Y., the mother a native of Ellenville, the same state. The original spelling of the name was La Fevre, meaning in French "the smith," but later generations changed the spelling to Lefever.

During the Civil War the father was a member of the Fifty-sixth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, and was killed in the Battle of Honey Hill, Va. The mother was left a widow with five children, and through all of her hardships she kept the family together, reared them to useful lives and gave them the best educational advantages she could under the circumstances. Later in life she was affectionally cared for by her loving children, her last years being spent in Coalinga, where she passed away in 1913, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. The family consisted of: Huffman, who died about 1865; William, who died in Denver, Colo., November 28, 1918; Charles, who passed away at Livermore, Cal., in 1917, was one of the pioneer oil men of Coalinga; Besley, the subject of this sketch; and Mary, who is now Mrs. Hamm of Coalinga.

Besley Lefever was brought up in Ellenville, N. Y., and at an early age he was obliged to go to work to help his mother support the family, therefore his educational advantages were limited. Before he was thirteen years of age he was working on a packet, running down the Hudson River from Ellenville to New York City, and when a little more than fourteen years old had risen to be a captain of one of these boats. In that capacity he continued until 1876, being then about eighteen, when he resigned and left for Mound City, Kans., where he arrived in 1877.

In 1878 he continued his journey further westward, locating at Leadville, Colo., arriving there about the beginning of mining developments in that section. With his brother William in 1879, he went to Garfield, Chaffee County, Colo., where they helped start the Monarch mining district and mined until 1883. Upon the discovery of oil at Florence, he made his way to the new old field, where he gained valuable experience as an oil driller. He and his brother Charles engaged in contract drilling, and in addition to the Florence field they operated their business at Santa Fe, N. M. In December, 1897, Besley Lefever came to California and worked for a while in the Los Angeles oil field. It was in 1898 that he made his advent in the Coalinga field, and at first he was engaged with the New York Oil Company, drilling for oil on the hill above Oil City, where oil had already been discovered. About the same time James Gilbreath drilled for the Selma Oil Company, on the hill which was located on section 20-19-15, but when the drilling was finished it proved to be a dry hole. Mr. Gilbreath then went to the east side and drilled a well for the Independent Oil Company on section 28, which is now the property of the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Lefever was at this time engaged in drilling on the west side for the Confidence Oil Company, on section 31-19-15 and was successful in obtaining oil. This was in 1900, and marks the beginning of the west side oil field. The Confidence Oil Company continued their developments on their property which consists of 160 acres, and now have many good, producing wells, the original wellbeing still in operation. Mr. Lefever is a stockholder in the company, and among the original stockholders were the following: Judge Risley, E. A. Walron. Frank Clairy, James Vincent, and David S. Ewing. Besley Lefever, in point of service, is one of the oldest operators in the Coalinga oil field and is regarded as one of the best posted oil men in this section. His services in behalf of the Confidence Oil Company all these years have been appreciated by the officers of the company, because in 1919 the Call Oil Company (composed of practically the same personnel) made him superintendent of their property in the Coalinga field. This mark of appreciation and confidence is a distinct compliment to Mr. Lefever.

At Florence, Colo., June 4, 1890, Besley Lefever was united in marriage with Lillian M. Widerfelt, a native of Springfield, Ill., and daughter of William and Margaret (McNelley) Widerfelt, natives of New Jersey. Mrs. Lefever went to Florence, Colo., in 1888, to visit her brother William, and there she met Mr. Lefever, an acquaintance that resulted in their marriage. They are the parents of two children: William Arnet, who served in the United States Army in the World War, is now in the Texas oil fields; Irene, is now the wife of Karl Lewis, the cashier of the First National Bank, at Dinuba, Cal.

Mr. Lefever has been a member of the Knights of Pythias since 1888, and is now a Past Commander; while his wife is a member of the Pythian Sisters of which organization she is a Past Chief, and is also past president of the Welcome Club, and chairman of the Welcome Club Auxiliary of Coalinga Chapter of the Red Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Lefever were very patriotic and intensely interested in forwarding every movement that aided in winning the war. Religiously they are both members of the Presbyterian Church, and in Coalinga social circles are very popular and highly esteemed.