Merced County Biographies
Ref: Pages 867-868
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 8/8/2009
MANUEL T. CUNHA
Bereaved of his father when eleven years of age, and of his mother when four, Manuel Cunha had a hard row to hoe but he has hoed it well and has arrived at a comfortable competence and commands the respect of his fellow citizens. He was born in St. George, in the Azores, on December 25, 1872, the son of Manuel and Anna (Bettencourt) Cunha. The father was a clerk in a store in St. George, came to California in the fall of 1875 and settled at San Rafael, Marin County, where he carried on a farm and dairy business. At the early age of thirty-three he passed away and his wife died at twenty-four. Manuel had one brother who is at Petaluma. Manuel attended the grammar school until his father died, then he started out to work for himself, taking odd jobs at first till he got steady employment on a farm near Millbrae, where he worked three years in gardens and at general farming. The dry goods business was his next venture, and he followed it for ten years in San Rafael. Upon selling out he came to Gustine, Merced County, in 1910, and for six years was manager of the dry goods department of Miller and Lux's store in Gustine. In 1916 he became manager of the Gustine Creamery, holding the position for two years. In 1919 he engaged in the insurance business with the New York Life Insurance Company for six months, and then with the Reliance Life Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, with which he still remains.
In September, 1911, Mr. Cunha married, at Stockton, Mrs. Frances Fernandes, widow of Manuel Fernandes. Her maiden name was Frances Rose, and she was born at San Rafael, the daughter of Manuel and Isabella Rose. Her father was a native of the Azores Islands, who came to California as a young man and engaged in the dairy business, and later in brick making. Mr. Cunha's family consists of five children: Anna Fernandes, a stepdaughter; Nathalie, Margaret, Frances and Milton. In politics he is a Republican. He is a director of the Bank of Gustine and is corporation secretary of the Gustine Creamery. Mr. Cunha owns an alfalfa ranch of twenty-seven acres near Gustine; and his home, which he bought in 1918 in Gustine.
History of
MERCED COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
With A
Biographical Review
of
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been
Identified with Its Growth and Development
from the Early Days to the Present
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1925
Merced County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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