Sonoma County CA

Biography of Edward Lester

Edward Lester was born at Covington, Kentucky, in 1829. His parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Holmes) Lester, were natives of Yorkshire, England. They came to the United States in 1818 and settled in Indiana and later located in Covington. There his father was engaged in building, and later as an employee in the first cotton factory that was ever erected west of the Alleghany Mountains. In 1830 Mr. Lester’s parents settled in Hamilton County, Ohio, and engaged in agricultural pursuits. There the subject of this sketch was reared and schooled. His schooling was such as could be obtained in the common … Read more

Feathergill, Charles Francis – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Charles Francis Feathergill, 79, of La Grande, died Jan. 14 at his home. A viewing will run from 10 a.m. to noon Monday at the Thomas Miller Mortuary in Corona, Calif. A graveside service will begin at 1 p.m. Monday at Crestline Memorial Park in Riverside, Calif. Charles was born on May 22, 1928, to Oscar and Lucy (Brewer) Feathergill in Champaign, Ill. He was raised and educated in Illinois and after graduating he married his high school sweetheart, Erin “Pat” Kenney. They had nine children together and were married for 26 years. He worked as a … Read more

Biography of Clarence Stewart

Clarence Stewart, a well-known businessman of Riverside, is a native of Rockford, Illinois, dating his birth in 1848. In 1849 his father, John N. Stewart, came to California and engaged in mining. In 1851 he returned East, and the next year brought his family to the State and located in Sacramento for about three years, and then moved to Sonoma County, where he engaged in farming until he came with his family to San Bernardino in 1865. The subject of this sketch was reared in California and schooled in her public schools. Shortly after his arrival in San Bernardino he … Read more

Ainsworth, Margaret Helen Bowling Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Baker County, Oregon Margaret Helen Ainsworth died Feb. 28, 2005, in Baker City. At her request there will be no funeral. Her friends and family will have many memories of her to share now and always. She was born on March 16, 1919, at Mendota, Ill., to Edwin Bowling and Carrie Belle Ashley Bowling. Margaret was raised in Wyoming, Colorado and California. Her father was a Methodist minister and a circuit rider between small towns in Wyoming and Colorado, before being assigned to a church in California. Margaret graduated high school and married Harold W. Davis at Campbell, … Read more

Pomo Tribe

Pomo Indians, Poma Indians. The name of the Indian linguistic stock, technically known as Kulanapan, living in parts of Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino, Colusa, and Glenn Counties, California. In the northern Pomo dialect Pomo means ‘people,’ and added to a place name forms the name for a group of people. Although Poma is almost as frequently heard as Pomo, the latter has come into general use in both scientific and popular literature. The territory occupied by the Pomo is in two parts: a main area which extends, generally speaking, from west to east, from the coast to the crest of the … Read more

Taylor, Emma Augusta Abraham – Obituary

Funeral services for Mrs. Frank (Emma Augusta) Taylor, Sr., will be held Thursday, December 28, at the Evanson Funeral Home. A well-known resident of Ellensburg for more than 60 years, she died Sunday, December 24 [1967], at the Kittitas Valley Memorial Hospital. Born in West Bloomfield, Wisconsin, she was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Augusta Abraham. At the age of 6 months, her parents moved to Orange, California, where she was reared. She attended schools in Orange and Santa Rosa. She moved with the family to a ranch in the Teanaway valley just before the turn of … Read more

Babb, Barbara Irene – Obituary

BABB, Barbara Irene, of Pismo Beach died Wednesday [December 30, 1982] in a San Luis Obispo hospital. She was 55. Services will be held Monday at 10 am at Reis Chapel in San Luis Obispo. The Rev. Roland Gustafson of Bethel Baptist Church will officiate. Burial will be in Los Osos Valley Memorial Park. Mrs. BABB was born Independence Day, 1926 in Sebastopol. She married James H. BABB in Visalia and they lived there until moving to San Luis Obispo. James is an instructor at Cal Poly. Mrs. BABB was a member of Bethel Baptist Church in Grover City where … Read more

Miller, Louise L. – Obituary

Miller, Louise L. Union County, Oregon Obituary La Grande. Oregon Louise L. Miller, 91, of La Grande, died May 2 at her home. At her request, no services will be held. Loveland Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Louise was born March 1, 1917, to Hans Albert Larsen and Anna Marie Hansen Larsen in Dwight, Ill. Raised in Montana, she graduated from Harlowton High School and Eastern Montana Normal School in Billings, Mont. She attended the University of California at Los Angeles and graduated from Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif. During her long career in education she taught … Read more

Biography of Marcellus Marcus Pietrzycki, M.D.

MARCELLUS MARCUS PIETRZYCKI, M.D. – Doctor Pietrzycki, the well-known surgeon, was born April 25, 1843, in Horodyszeze, Sambor District, Galicia, Austria, and was educated as an apothecary and chemist. He came to the United States in 1866, before the Austro-Prussian war. He engaged, soon after his arrival in the United States, as assistant and prescription clerk with Doctor Arnold of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, who had a very extensive coal-mining practice, and remained with him for one year studying medicine. He emigrated to California in the fall of 1867, and settled in San Francisco, receiving the appointment as an apothecary in the … Read more

Stephenson, Thomas – Obituary

Thomas Stephenson Buried At La Grande Mrs. Robert Shaw, of Lytton, Calif., accompanied the remains of her father, Thomas Stephenson from the California city to La Grande, where the deceased was laid to rest at the side of his wife, who passed away about six years ago. He died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Robert Shaw, with whom he made his home. Mr. Stephenson was very aged, being nearly 94 years old. He had been ill only about a week when death came. He was well known in this district having resided here several years. A large number … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Richard Gird

Richard Gird is the well-known owner of the Chino Ranch, San Bernardino County. The few facts obtained in regard to his life and successful career form an interesting chapter in this Memorial History. Mr. Gird was born in Herkimer County, New York, in 1836. His father, John Gird, was a native of New Jersey, a farmer by occupation, and to that calling he reared his son, giving him the benefits of such an education as could be procured in the common schools. The subject of this sketch was of studious habits and disposition, and made the best of his advantages. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Thomas H. Kayler

THOMAS H. KAYLER. – Mr. Kayler, a gentleman of wide reputation, was born in Lenox county, Canada, in 1856, and resided on his father’s farm sixteen years, and afterwards learned the drug business at Napanee. In the spring of 1876 he came to California, and made his first location in Sacramento, where he found employment in the drug store of Justice Gates & Co. The following year he removed to Santa Rosa, coming soon afterwards to Portland. The next summer, in company with Peter Graham, he drove with teams to the Palouse country, and located on three hundred and twenty … Read more

Biography of Jesse C. Thompson

Jesse C. Thompson, a prominent resident of Westminster, was born in Clay County, Missouri, February 17, 1829. His parents, John B. and Hannah (Clark) Thompson were natives of North Carolina, and had eleven children, five of whom lived to be grown. They moved to Missouri in 1825, where the children were educated in such schools as were common in those times. In 1840 they moved to Andrew County. In March, 1850, Jesse started, in company with his brother Samuel, with an ox team for California. His brother died on the road, July 26. Jesse arrived in Placerville on August 31, … Read more

Biography of Archibald Gammell

Archibald Gammell, county assessor and tax collector of Latah County, now residing in Moscow, is a native of Nova Scotia, his birth having occurred February 23, 1835. He is descended from Scotch-Irish ancestry, of Presbyterian faith. William Gammell was the progenitor of the family in the New World. He crossed the Atlantic to Nova Scotia about 1776, since which time three generations of the family have been born there. Industry, uprightness and reliability are the chief characteristics of the Gammells, and they are also noted for longevity, most of the name having attained the age of eighty years or more. … Read more

Biography of Thomas C. Fletcher

One of the earliest pioneers of this region of the country, a man whose life has always been dominated by wisdom prudence and upright principles,. having ever manifested also stanch virtues and a reliability that are becoming a good citizen and faithful man, the subject of this article is vie of the leading men of Malheur County, and a prominent resident of Ontario. Thomas C. was born in Mercer County, Kentucky, on October 11, 1841, being the son of Jewett and Elizabeth Fletcher. When our subject was six years of age he had the misfortune to lose his father and … Read more

Biography of Edwin Caldwell

Edwin Caldwell, of Riverside, was born in Putnam County, New York, September 13, 1824. His father, Absalom Caldwell, was a native of that State, and a farmer by occupation. Mr. Caldwell was reared upon his father’s farm, and educated in the public schools. In 1846, deciding to seek his home in the great west, he went to Wisconsin, and located in Washington County, establishing his residence in the town of West Bend. There, in partnership with his brother, he built saw and flour mills, and was prominent in building up the pioneer industries of that section. The California gold fever … Read more

Biographical Sketch of A. Ball

A. Ball, of Redlands, is a native of Vermont, born April 5, 1832. His father, Orange Ball, moved to Ashtabula County, Ohio, in 1840, where he farmed until his death, which occurred in December, 1873. The subject of this sketch was reared in the “Buckeye” State, and in 1854 left his native State to be gone only three months. He went to Jefferson County, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming. Then he took five months to drive with wagons to Silver City, Nevada, where he mined and teamed until 1864, when he went to Sonoma County, California, and engaged in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Jacob Maggard

Jacob Maggard residing near Anaheim, was born in Caldwell County, Kentucky, August 12, 1815. His parents,. Jacob and Susan (Bright) Maggard, natives respectively of Virginia and Tennessee, had ten children, he being the fifth. At the age of twenty years he started out in life for himself by working by the day in Scotland County, Missouri, whither his father had moved fifteen years previously. He was reared principally in Randolph County, Missouri. He continued in his calling as a farmer, in which he was successful, until about twelve years ago, when he came to California and purchased property in Sonoma … Read more

Biography of Elisha J. Parker

ELISHA J. PARKER. – A man who posseses the qualities that enable him to brave the dangers of the new country and settle in and develop the same, while he makes a success of the various undertakings that are incident to pioneer life, maintaining a record for uprightness, honor and ability, is one who deserves to be represented in the history of his county, while his name should be placed high in the roll of honor. Such an one is the gentleman of whom we know have the pleasure to write, and the strong character of Elisha J. Parker has … Read more