A progressive rancher and his wife of a very aggressive type, who have come to play an enviable part in the development of agriculture in the Pomona Valley, is Welcome A. Baumgardner, who was born in Cabell County, W.Va., on February 15, 1852, and there reared on a farm. His father was James Baumgardner of West Virginia, and he married Elizabeth Wilson, daughter of Samuel Wilson.
Welcome Baumgardner learned both the trade of a blacksmith and how to be a good farmer, and he had a shop at Huntington, W. Va. In 1888 he removed to Carroll County, Mo., near Carrollton, and there he had another shop. Whatever he did, he sought to attain the best results, and the experience acquired in these earlier years proved later of the greatest value when he threw himself in with the trend of progress along the bustling Pacific.
In 1910 he located at Pomona, and the following year bought his present ranch of five acres of apricots and peaches. This grove was badly run down, but by intelligent management and hard work, he brought it up to a fine state of advanced cultivation. The three acres of apricots produced six tons the first year, thirteen tons the second, thirty tons in 1918, and twenty-two tons in 1919. Mr. Baumgardner continues to take the best care of the place, and he has built there for himself a modern bungalow. His peaches are of the Tuscany cling variety. Originally, Mr. Baumgardner came to Pomona on account of climate and opportunities, and has become a good "booster" for the Valley and its unrivalled climate.
While at Barbersville, W. Va., in 1873, Mr. Baumgardner was married to Miss Isadora Bowen, a native of West Virginia, and the daughter of Dyke and Sarah Ann (Davis) Bowen, and by her he has had eight daughters and one son, and all but the latter are still living—a rather remarkable record of health and longevity. Bertha has become Mrs. James A. Parker of Fresno, Cal.; Mownie is Mrs. J.B. Wilson of Carrollton, Mo.; Minnie is Mrs. J.A. Farley of Oklahoma; Alma is Mrs. Eugene Middleton of Pomona; Nannie is Mrs. Virgil Roundtree of Pomona; Grace is Mrs. Otto Williams of Elmer, Arizona; and Sarah is Mrs. C.W. Willis of Norborne, Mo. The eighth daughter, Miss Merle Baumgardner, and the only child at home, is an accomplished musician, with a specialty of the piano. She has studied with Professor Anderson of Los Angeles, and Pomona teachers, being one of the youngest teachers of real proficiency in this difficult field in Los Angeles County.
Besides the eight daughters of whom these devoted parents are naturally so proud, Mr. and Mrs. Baumgardner boast of twenty-four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Mrs. Baumgardner is the treasurer of the Citrus Belt Milk Goat Association, and has a fine herd of pure blooded Toggenburg milk goats, with which she has taken leading prizes at a number of the goat shows in the Valley.
History of Pomona Valley, California, with Biographical Sketches
of The Leading Men and Women of the Valley Who Have Been
Identified With Its Growth and Development from the Early Days
to the Present
Published in Los Angeles, Cal., by the Historic Record Company
1920
Transcribed by Linda Jackson 10/10/08, Pages 534-537
Los Angeles County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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