San Joaquin County Biographies
Ref: Page 485-486
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 11/9/2009
LEWIS M. CUTTING
A pioneer of Stockton who has had much to do with the building up of the city along substantial lines and whose optimism for its future greatness as a commercial city is Lewis M. Cutting, who at the advanced age of ninety-one years, after over sixty years of leadership in the realty field, still confers daily in the transaction of important deals in the conducting of the affairs of the firm of L.M. Cutting, realtors, of which he is the senior member, while his son, Francis Cutting, is the junior member and is actively engaged in the management of the firm.
Lewis M. Cutting was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, September 1, 1831. His father, Lewis Cutting, was a native of Weston, while his grandfather, John Cutting, also of Weston, married Cynthia Warren, a niece of General Joseph Warren of Revolutionary fame, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill while in command of the American forces and died on the battlefield. In his will he left his niece, Cynthia, one of his farms at Weston, Mass., where General Warren had built a flour mill which was run by water-power. John Cutting and his wife were engaged in farming the place while their son, Marshall, ran the mill. Lewis Cutting, the father of our subject, was married in Lowell, Mass., to Miss Susan Julia Morrison, who was born in Derry, N.H., of an old and prominent New England family which took an active part in the early days of its Colonial history. The Morrison family dates back to a time in Norway when two younger sons of the then King of Norway settled in Scotland and established the Morrison family in that country. After many generations, members of the family settled in New Hampshire and were counted among the most highly respected families, some of its members serving in the Colonial and Revolutionary wars. Lewis Cutting was the superintendent of the cotton mills in Lowell, Mass. when his wife, who passed away three weeks after his son, Lewis M., was born, was buried in Derry, N.H. He married a second time and had six children—four of whom grew to maturity—but none are now living. In 1862 he came to San Francisco and established the Cutting Packing plant, which he conducted for many years; it was in that city that he spent the remainder of his life.
Lewis M. Cutting was reared in the city of Lowell, Mass., being graduated from the Lowell high school at the age of thirteen years. He then worked for a time in the cotton mills until he entered the employ of Burbank, Chase & Company, hardware merchants in Lowell. He left Lowell on Christmas Day, 1851, and going by way of the Isthmus of Panama he arrived in San Francisco February 7, 1852. For a few months he was employed in San Francisco, and then came to Stockton in June, 1852. Like most of the early pioneers, he was attracted to the mines, and for about three years he engaged in mining at Red Mountain Bar and vicinity in Tuolumne County, meeting with success. Returning to Stockton, he was employed in a hardware store on the corner of Main and El Dorado streets.
Having worked during vacations in his grandfather's flour mill at Weston, Mass., Mr. Cutting was solicited by the Sperrys to take charge as superintendent of their mills in Stockton. This place he accepted, and in his usual thorough way he made a success of the business and placed it on a substantial basis. He then again was employed in the hardware store until he accepted a position as superintendent of the flour mills at Knights Ferry for Hestres & Magendi, a position he filled for two years. While living at Knights Ferry he formed the acquaintance of Captain U.S. Grant, who was visiting his sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. John Dent, and this resulted in a warm friendship.
In 1860 Mr. Cutting founded the business that today continues to bear his name so honorably. To prepare himself to be more able as a realtor he studied law for a time and few men had a better understanding of drawing up contracts and realty transactions. In the same year he became associated with Captain Charles M. Weber, the founder of Stockton, and at one time the principal owner of the land where Stockton is now located. A short time thereafter, President Abraham Lincoln confirmed Captain Weber's patent to the grant El Campo de los Franceses, a great property of some 48,000 acres. Mr. Cutting acted as Captian Weber's agent for twenty-seven years, and he continued in that capacity for six years after Captain Weber's death. He then closed up the estate, selling thousands of acres of land, which is now the most valuable aggregation of properties in San Joaquin County. The sale and deeds to practically all but the six central blocks of Stockton were handled by this able realty dealer, noted as an authority on land values in this county. Mr. Cutting was really one of the principals in the organizing of the Stockton Savings and Loan Association. Starting the first subscription for stock, in two hours he had enough subscribed to start incorporation.
Mr. Cutting's marriage occurred in San Francisco, where he was united with Miss Catherine Howland, a native of Vermont, an estimable woman. Their marriage proved a very happy one. She passed away in October of 1922, mourned by her family and friends. Their union was blessed with four children: Lewis H., a farmer; Francis, Mr. Cutting's partner; Maria, who is an artist and has a studio in this city; and Mrs. Grace Stewart, who presides over her father's home.
Associated in the firm of L.M. Cutting & Company is his son, Francis Cutting, a native son of Stockton who is following in his father's business footsteps. Reared in this city he has watched its steady growth, personally familiar with locations and land values in the city and farming communities; it is the consensus of opinion that he is one of the best informed land and investment authorities in Central California. Lewis M. Cutting served under two different governors as a director of the State Hospital at Stockton. He is one of the oldest members of Stockton Lodge No. 6, I.O.O.F.
Always keenly interested in current affairs, Mr. Cutting is well informed and keeps abreast of the times. He is precise in his habits, friendly in his association, and, being a liberal man, he has been helpful to others. He has ever been loyal to the advancing interests of Stockton, having watched the city grow from a mere hamlet to a city of more than 50,000 inhabitants—a community of great manufacturing and industrial enterprises, and a distributing center for the agricultural products of Cenral California.
History of
SAN JOAQUIN 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
HISTORY BY
George H. Tinkham
HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
1923
San Joaquin County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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