Orange County CA

Biography of William Dresser

William Dresser the proprietor of extensive farms and a resident of Santa Ana, was born in East Smithfield, London, England, August 20, 1813. His parents, Christopher and Mary Dresser, came to America in 1824, landing at Montreal. Subsequently they settled in northern New York, in 1833 in Ohio, and in 1836 in Boone County, Illinois, They had four children. His father was born January 1, 1769, and died June 13, 1841; and his mother, born June 25, 1772, died November 9, 1845. By trade his father was a “linen draper,” which in England corresponds with a dry-goods merchant in the … Read more

Biography of J. W. Towner

J. W. Towner the subject of this sketch, now Judge of the Superior Court of Orange County, is a native of Essex County, New York, born in 1823, in the town of Willsboro. When he was fifteen years old his father moved to St. Lawrence County, same State. His education was only that of the common school except one term, in 1841, at the Malone Academy, Franklin County. In 1844, he and an older brother went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained until 1854, when he went to West Union, Fayette County, Iowa, remaining there until August, 1861, when he … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Madison H. Bear

Madison H. Bear a farmer and dairyman near Newport, was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, December 6, 1841, the fifth child in a family of eight children of David and Maria (Anderson) Bear. Was educated in Harrisonburg and also worked upon his father’s farm until he was twenty-seven years of age, when he married Miss Cornelia Firebaugh, of Rockbridge County, Virginia, and a daughter of John and Ella (McCutchen) Firebaugh. Mr. Bear then bought 120 acres of land four miles west of Harrisonburg and managed a farm there four years; selling out then, he came, in November, 1873, to California, … Read more

Fix, Russell Oro – Obituary

Russell Oro Fix, 87, died Oct. 28, 1993. He was born Oct 3, 1906 in Anaheim, CA, however, he has lived in Kapowsin, WA, since he was three months old. His parents, Samuel Edgar Fix and Clara Jane Harris were early Washington pioneers. His father came to Orting, Washington Territory, in 1889 and his mother in 1874. Russ was graduated from Kapowsin High School in 1925 and attended the University of Washington where he majored in forestry and rowed on the UW crew team. Russ retired from Puget Sound Power and Light in 1972 as a hydroelectric operator. He had … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Prof. John P. Greeley

John P. Greeley, County Superintendent of Schools of Orange County, was born in Swanville, Maine, in 1860. Was educated in the common and high schools of his native place. Graduated at the State Normal School at Castine in 1883, standing second in a class of forty-five. Before graduating he taught in his native town six years. Had charge of the graded schools at Searsport for two years, and in Belfast two years. Prof. Greeley was elected Superintendent of Schools of his native place for three successive years, resigning when he came to California in 1884. Taught one year in San … Read more

Biographical Sketch of A. T. Armstrong

A. T. Armstrong of Newport, was born in Augusta County, Virginia, in 1844. His parents, Archibald and Betty (McCutchan) Armstrong, were natives of the Old Dominion, and the fourth generation born and reared on the same farm. They had nine children. Their father died in 1853, and the subject of this sketch took charge of the home place until 1864, when he entered Company A, First Virginia Cavalry, C. S. A., and served until 1865. From the close of the war until 1867 he again had charge of the farm; he then sold out, moved to Rockbridge County, Virginia, and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of J. D. Chaffee, M. D.

J. D. Chaffee M. D. of Garden Grove, was born in Campton, Kane County, Illinois, November 5, 1843, and received his literary education at the Methodist Seminary at Mt. Morris, that State. His health failing, he came to California in 1875, and purchased a ranch at Garden Grove, intending to give his time to outdoor pursuits; but his love for study still grew upon him, and, having in great measure regained his health, he went to San Francisco and took a course at the Hahnemann Medical College, where he graduated in 1887. Since that time he has given his whole … Read more

Biographical Sketch of R. Q. Wickham

R. Q. Wickham, the first County Clerk of the new county of Orange, was born in a Hancock County, Ohio, January 31, 1855. He is by trade a printer, and by profession a teacher, and followed said avocations alternately in Iowa, Dakota and Nebraska, from 1872 to 1887, when he came to California and engaged in the real-estate business at Santa Ana, and resided at Garden Grove. When the movement was revived for the organization of a new county, he joined in with zeal and pushed the matter along. He was appointed by Governor Waterman one of the commissioners on … Read more

Biography of Theodore Reiser

Theodore Reiser President of the City Council of Anaheim, was born in the city of Lahr, Baden, Germany, September 7, 1829, and after receiving a good education he began at the age of fourteen years to learn the art of wine-making on the Rhine, and served three years. He traveled and worked at his trade in Switzerland, and at the age of nineteen years he came to New York and worked at the cooper’s trade four years. In the spring of 1854 he came to San Francisco by steamer, and was employed in a brewery three years. Next he went … Read more

Orange County, California Cemetery Records

A complete listing of all available online Orange County Texas cemeteries, with links to multiple cemetery transcriptions, gravestone photos, tombstone photos, official records, etc.

Biography of Richard Robinson

Richard Robinson, a prosperous farmer of Garden Grove, was born near Ottawa, Canada, in 1827. His parents, Isaac and Margaret (Moses) Robinson, were natives of Ireland, moving to Canada in 1821. The senior Robinson was a shoemaker by trade and also owned a large farm. He died in Canada in 1843, leaving a family of nine children. Richard, the third in the family, received a common-school education and entered business when very young, having to help in the maintenance of the family until 1852, when he started for California by way of Cape Horn on the bark Fanny Major. He … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Josiah McCoy

Josiah McCoy Justice of the Peace at Westminster, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1826. His father was Colonel John McCoy, of Scotch ancestry; and his mother, whose maiden name was Jane Brice, was a daughter of Rev. John Brice, of West Virginia. They were among the early settlers of Washington County, Pennsylvania. In 1850 Josiah McCoy went to Marshall County, Illinois, followed farming for a number of years, and subsequently mercantile business some five years at Henry, that county. In December, 1873, he became a citizen of California and a resident of the town of Westminster, where … Read more

Biography of John H. Garner

John H. Garner veterinary surgeon, Santa Ana, was horn in Ogden City, Utah, June 26, 1850, the fourth son of John and Olive (Rossen) Garner, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Missouri. His father was one of the pioneers who crossed the plains to California in 1851 with ox teams, locating in San Bernardino, where he followed farming for a period of twenty-eight years. He died at the age of sixty-one years. J. H., our subject, at the age of twenty-one years started out in the world for himself. He had previously, at the age … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John Turner

John Turner of Westminster, was born in Genesee County, New York, in 1818. At the age of eighteen years he walked all the way to Michigan, where he worked by the day for a year, and then returned to New York. There he married Miss Harriet Hopkins, whose father, James Hopkins, was one of the wealthiest farmers of Genesee County. Mr. Turner went with his wife to Michigan and carved a farm out of the dense forest. In 1852 he came to this State, and for ten years followed dairying in Amador County. In 1862 he moved to Carson City, … Read more

Biography of Elcome Folwer

Elcome Fowler proprietor of the Palmyra Hotel, Orange, is one of the pioneers of 1849, and a history of his life since that time is full of interesting Vincidents. He was born in Jackson County, Tennessee, in 1818. His father, John Fowler, was born in July, 1767, in Virginia, and died in December, 1867, being therefore in his 101st year. He had married Lucinda Usury and had ten children. May 25, 1849, the subject of this sketch left Atchison County, Missouri, with an ox team for California and arrived in Sacramento October 25. He immediately took a load of goods … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Ander Mills

Ander Mills deceased, was born May 6, 1814, in Massachusetts. At the age of sixteen years he left home, and traveled extensively in different States. In Missouri, in 1852, he married Miss Ruth A. Ripper, and immediately started across the plains to California, with an ox team. In this State he first took up about 3,000 acres of Government land, on which he herded cattle for twenty years with considerable profit. In 1874, his health failing, he came to Southern California and bought 320 acres in the Westminster colony. His children were: Julia, wife of George McCormac; Maria, deceased; Amanda, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of R. H. Gilman

R. H. Gilman superintendent of the Semi-tropic Fruit Company at Anaheim, was born in New Hampshire, left home in 1862, to follow the sea, and in the next year he ran away from the ship Wild Rover and for some time traveled. He afterward worked seven years at the tanner’s trade, and then followed ranching in Lake, Napa, and Sacramento counties. In 1872 the Semi-tropic Fruit Company was organized by L. M. Hoult, R. H. Gilman, I. N. Chapman and. others. They have 106 acres, most beautifully located and in a high state of cultivation. There are twenty-five acres in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry A. Peabody

Henry A. Peabody manager of the Santa Ana Blade, was born in Detroit, Michigan, Starch 19, 1837; in 1847 he was a newsboy in Cincinnati, Ohio; in March, 1857, as a journeyman printer. He started from Columbia, Missouri, for California, crossing the plains, and arriving at Colusa, California, September 1, 1857, barefooted and without a coat to his back. There he hired himself out to drive an ox team, three yoke, to Petaluma, California, earning his first money in the State. About September 20 he took work in the Democrat office at Santa Rosa, California, and from that time followed … Read more

Bell, Jean Gardner – Obituary

Imnaha, Oregon Jean Gardner Bell, 84, of Carlsbad, Calif., died May 13, 2004, at home. She was born Feb. 29, 1920, in Los Angeles, Calif. After graduating from John Marshall High School, she attended Glendale Junior College and University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) before marrying Franklin Bell II, a union that lasted 50 years until his death in 1992. They founded Bell Pipe and Supply Company in Anaheim, Calif., and raised their family in Tustin, Calif. In 1975 the couple bought a ranch on the upper Imnaha River where they spent springs and summers and Mrs. Bell worked … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry Yount

Henry Yount of Tustin, was born in Platte County, Missouri, December 11, 1845, his parents being Henry and Deborah (Doherty) Yount, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Pennsylvania, who moved to Missouri in 1832, locating upon a farm, and there the senior Yount died in 1845, when his son Henry was but two weeks old. His mother subsequently married Abraham Van Vranken. May 5, 1865, Mr. Yount started for California with an ox team; and after arriving he followed farming the first year in Santa Clara County; then he was a wheat-raiser in San Joaquin County … Read more