S. W. Preble of Tustin, is a pioneer of 1849. He was born in York, Maine, in 1826. Educated at Gorham Academy, clerked for a short time in a carpet store in Philadelphia, then followed the mercantile business upon his own account for nearly three years at Salmon Falls, New Hampshire, when the gold excitement broke out, and he sold out, and March 15, 1849, left his native land for California, and after a voyage of four months arrived in San Francisco, July 15 following.
For nearly three years he was engaged in mining, and was quite successful. In the spring of 1852 he returned to his native land, and in the winter of 1853 was married to Miss Abbie L. Wilson, of Wells, Maine, and in March, 1853, returned with his wife to California and located in Tomales, Maria County. There he followed agriculture for about eight years, when he moved to San Francisco, and in company with two other gentlemen built a wharf and engaged in the wood and hay business about two years. He then moved to San Mateo County and engaged in agricultural pursuits for about ten years, and in the fall of 1876 moved to his present home in Tustin, where he purchased twenty acres of unimproved land, which he has converted into one of the finest and most productive fruit ranches in Southern California, realizing from the sale of oranges alone between $3,000 and $4,000 per annum.
He is connected with some of the leading enterprises of Orange County, also with the Bank of Tustin, the Grangers’ Bank at San Francisco, and is vice president of the First National Bank of Santa Ana. As a business man his ability is recognized, and as a citizen his worth is acknowledged by all who know him. His residence exhibits a high order of taste.