1889 Alden Moody and Ada Hinton–Moody
The house was built and designed by J.O. McKee in 1889 for Alden Moody and his wife Ada as a two flat house at a cost of $3000. The owners lived in the upstairs flat and the renters in the lower flat. The Moodys lived here for 14 years until Alden died on Sept 12, 1903 at the age of seventy of a heart attack. Ada moved back to her family in San Francisco after he died.
Alden Moody
Alden Moody was born in Watertown N.Y. in 1833. In 1853 he crossed the plains to California with a band of seventy-five horses, paying the man who owned the horses $200 for the privilege of helping him drive them across the plains. Upon his arrival in California he came directly to San Jose, where he located. He at first worked at the carpenter's trade and later with an associate established the planing mills now situated at the corner of Fourth and San Fernando Streets, which were the first planing mills in San Jose.
He sold the mill works and became the representative of the Pacific Union Express Company and worked there until the company's franchise and business were purchased by Wells, Fargo & Co. He then worked in the insurance business for several years.
He was married in 1857 to Alice Davis and had three children. In 1885 he married Ada Hinton. She was about 30 years old and he was about 52 years old.
Ada Hinton
I could not find any information on Ada Hinton but there is quite a bit of information about her father William M. Hinton. He was born in England in 1830 and his parents brought their family to the United States in 1833. He came to San Francisco and worked as a printer and by 1890 had a printing business William M Hinton & Co, book and job printers. He was also a San Francisco supervisor from 1893-1894.
He was friends with Henry George the economist and in 1879 was the first to print his book Progress and Poverty which discussed the growing divide between the wealthy and poor. He and George started The San Francisco Evening Post in 1871 with Hinton, Rapp & Co as publishers and Henry George as editor where George fought against the many injustices he saw in San Francisco.
“During his lifetime Henry George became the third most famous man in the United States, only surpassed in public acclaim by Thomas Edison and Mark Twain. George was translated into almost every language that knew print and some of the greatest, most influential thinkers of his time paid tribute ” from Who Was Henry George? By Agnes George de Mille link to website on Henry George
1903 — 1910
I have been unable to find any information on these years after Alden died. There were no listings for his wife in San Jose after his death. From the U.S. census records she is listed as living in San Francisco with her family in San Francisco in a large house after her husband died.