Biographical Sketch of R. T. Harris

R. T. Harris, the first Sheriff of Orange County, was born in Richmond, Virginia. His father, John Harris, a native of Cornwall, England, moved from Virginia to California in 1860, settling first in Mariposa County, and then in Santa Clara County, where the subject of this sketch clerked in a store and received a good education. In 1876 he located in Westminster, in the Santa Ana valley. For six years he engaged in mercantile business there, and also was assistant Postmaster. At the first election of officers ever held in the county of Orange, Mr. Harris was chosen Sheriff by … Read more

Goshorn, Annamarie Elisabeth – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Annamarie Elisabeth Goshorn, 82, of La Grande died Nov. 12 at her home. A funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Loveland Funeral Chapel. Mrs. Goshorn, known as Anne, was born June 10, 1924, in Portland to German immigrant parents, Gottfried and Emilie Peters Brockmann. German was her first language; she learned English from the neighborhood children. She spent one year in Germany as a child. She graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland and entered the Nursing Program at Emanuel Hospital, attaining R.N. status in January 1945. She met Frank McClure Goshorn on a … Read more

Biography of Joshua S. Beam

Joshua S. Beam, a native of North Carolina, was born in 1826, the seventh of a family of twelve children. His parents, Peter and Ann (Long) Beam, were both born, reared, lived and died in North Carolina. John T. Beam, a weaver by trade, one of the ancestors, came from Germany and worked seven years for a man who paid his passage to America. The subject of this sketch went to Arkansas in the spring of 1850 with his brother-in-law. In April 1852, he started to cross the plains with an ox team, and arrived in California in September of … Read more

Biography of Fenton M. Slaughter

Fenton M. Slaughter is one of the well-known and prominent men of San Bernardino County. A brief review of his life is one of interest in the annals of Southern California. Mr. Slaughter was born January 10, 1826, a descendant from an old colonial family of Virginia, who emigrated from England in 1616. His father, Robin Lewis Slaughter, was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, April 25, 1779, the son of Robin and Ann Slaughter. October 25, 1803, he married Miss Elizabeth Gillem, a native of Rockbridge County, Virginia. He died in 1834, leaving a family of eleven children for his … Read more

Biography of John H. O’Bryant

JOHN H. O’BRYANT. – We esteem it a privilege to be permitted to chronicle for the history of our county a brief review of the substantial and prominent citizen, whose name is at the head of this article, and who has wrought in the pioneer’s life so well and faithfully for the opening of this and adjacent counties and for their development and advancement for over one-third of a century, while his life of constant adherence to right and the principles of truth and uprightness, together with manifestation of sagacity and sound judgment, has placed him in a most enviable … Read more

Breshears, John H. – Obituary

Elgin, Oregon John H. Breshears, 64, of Hayward, Calif. and formerly of Elgin died May 20. A graveside services in Elgin will be announced at a later date. A memorial service in Hayward will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday June 4. Machado’s Hillside Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Breshears was born Aug. 1, 1941, to James and Edith May Martin Breshears in Elgin. He graduated from Elgin High School in 1960 and served in the Navy. He was a sheet-metal worker for Simpson Strong Tie of San Leandro, Calif., for 36 years. He enjoyed hunting, fishing motorcycle riding, … Read more

Biography of H. Titchenal

H. Titchenal, of Santa Ana, was born in Harrison County, West Virginia, January 2, 1817, a son of John R. and Rebecca (Harbertt) Titchenal, both natives of West Virginia. His father, a black-smith by trade, moved to Missouri in 1819, and in 1833 to the vicinity of Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he died January 16, 1831. The second of his nine children, the subject of this sketch, and a sister, are the only surviving members of the family. Mr. Titchenal was brought up to the life of a stock-raiser. From 1835 to 1852 he followed his calling, and also mercantile … Read more

Biography of George W. Suttonfield

George W. Suttonfield was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, February 14, 1825. His father, Colonel William Suttonfield, a native of Virginia, was in the regular army, under General Harrison, in the Black Hawk war. He built the first house in Fort Wayne and lived there until his death, which occurred in 1841. His wife, Laura (Taylor) Suttonfield, was a native of Connecticut. They had six children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the fourth. He attended Wabash College at Crawfordsville, Indiana, for four years, and in 1849 came to California. He started from Fort Smith, Arkansas, in April, … Read more

Biography of Benjamin B. Harris

Benjamin B. Harris, attorney at law, City Clerk of San Bernardino, and treasurer of the Society of California Pioneers-of San Bernardino County, was born in Hanover County, Virginia, in 1824. When seventeen years of age he went to Nashville, Tennessee, and was there educated, graduating at Nashville University in 1845; studied law in a private office in that State, and was admitted to the bar of Tennessee. In 1847 he went to Panola County, Texas, expecting to remain there permanently, but the climate being malarious he suffered with liver troubles, which necessitated a change in his purposes. After the discovery … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Lysander Utt

Lysander Utt a retired merchant of Tustin, is a , “49er.” He was born in Wythe County, Virginia, June 1, 1824. His parents, John and Mary (Criger) Utt, were both natives of the Old Dominion, had a family of thirteen children, and moved to Jackson County, Missouri, in 1840, where the father died, in 1849. The subject of this sketch, the third child in order of birth in the above family, worked at farming until the year named, when he came to California across the plains with an ox team. In Mariposa County he followed mining for two years, and … Read more

Mariposa County, California Cemetery Records

Most of these cemetery listings are complete indices at the time of transcription, however, in some cases we list the listing when it is only a partial listing. Cemeteries hosted at Mariposa County California USGenWeb Archives Aqua Fria Cemetery Briceburg Cemetery Givens Cemetery Hogan Family Cemetery Mariposa Cemetery District Pioneer Cemetery Sarah Priest Cemetery Santa Cruz Cemetery Cemeteries Photos hosted at Mariposa County California Transcription Tombstone Project Hogan Cemetery Hornitos Cemetery Hornitos IOOF Cemetery Cemeteries hosted at Mariposa County California Find A Grave Aqua Fria Cemetery Bear Valley Cemetery Bear Valley Odd Fellows Cemetery Brewer’s Green Mountain Cemetery Briceburg Burial … Read more

Woods, George “Bud” – Obituary

George “Bud” Woods, 67, a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 8, 2006, at Oregon Health & Science University at Portland from complications of leukemia treatment. His memorial service will be at 1 p.m. March 18 at the Portola Station Baptist Church in Portola, Calif. Private interment will be at Likely Cemetery in Likely, Calif. Bud was born on Feb. 9, 1938, at Likely, Calif., to George and Lita Zollig Woods. His parents were originating partners in the Gibson Stage Line to Reno, Nev., and Veteran Service officers. Bud attended school at Woodland, Calif., from 1943 to 1953. The family … Read more

Biography of Seneca LaRue

Seneca LaRue, one of the horticulturists of the Riverside colony, came to Riverside in 1876 and located on Arlington avenue, where he purchased a claim of forty acres of Government land for which he eventually secured a patent. Immediately upon his purchase he commenced his horticultural pursuits, first planting a vineyard and some deciduous fruits as well as oranges, but later his experience led him to uproot the deciduous trees and replace them with citrus fruits. His orange grove is about twenty-two acres in extent; fifteen acres, being above the canal, is not irrigable. The older trees are seedlings, but … Read more

Biography of John Hartley Smith

John Hartley Smith, the founder and president of the First National Bank of San Bernardino, and one of the most thorough business men and experienced bankers in Southern California, was born in Jackson County, Virginia, in 1835. He came to Ohio at the age of fifteen, and in 1853 he came to California and spent two years in the gold mines, chiefly in Mariposa County. He was quite successful, and in 1855 returned to Ohio with considerable money and a fund of experience which has proved of great value to him in his subsequent business career, as well as fraught … Read more

Biography of Hon. Michael Carey

Hon. Michael Carey, a member of the Idaho state senate (session of 1899), and one of the leading mine-owners of the commonwealth, now residing at Ketchum, Blaine County, is a native of the Emerald Isle. He was born December 12, 1844, a son of Michael and Mary (Tracy) Carey, both of whom were natives of Ireland, whence they crossed the Atlantic to the United States in 1850, bringing with them their family of seven children. They settled in Keweenaw County, Michigan, where the parents spent their remaining days. The father was a man of intelligence and a surveyor by profession. … Read more