San Joaquin County Biographies
Ref: Page 1152
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 1/28/2010
MICHAEL HANDLIN
An old settler of San Joaquin County who has continuously resided in the Lodi section of the county for the past fifty-two years is Michael Handlin. His birth occurred in County Kildare, Ireland, in 1844 and he is the second oldest in a family of five children born to Dan and Nancy (Burns) Handlin, both natives of Ireland. The children are as follows: Peter, Michael, the subject of this sketch, Dan, Thomas and Sarah. The father was a farmer by occupation and lived to be eighty years old, while the mother passed away at sixty-five years.
At sixteen years of age, Michael Handlin started out in life for himself, working at odd jobs on farms in the neighborhood of his home and thus ten years were consumed. In 1870 he embarked for the United States and came directly to California, where he settled at Lodi, then Mokelumne Station. At first he rented a 240-acre ranch east of Lodi on the Lockeford Road and farmed to grain for about seven years, when he purchased the place and it has since been known as the Handlin ranch. Mr. Handlin rented out some of his ranch which was used for raising watermelons, but a large part of it was used for raising grain. Portions of this ranch have been sold from time to time until Mr. Handlin now owns seventy acres, twenty-five acres of which is in vineyard and the balance used for grain and alfalfa. The ranch is irrigated by a five-inch pump driven by an electric motor, thus furnishing ample water for the proper care and cultivation of the entire seventy acres.
The marriage of Mr. Handlin which occurred in 1889 in San Francisco, united him with Miss Kate Kelly, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland, and a daughter of Joseph Kelly, a farmer of that country. Mrs. Handlin left Ireland alone and came to California to visit her sisters and here she became acquainted with Mr. Handlin. Mrs. Handlin passed away in 1913 leaving two daughters: Anna, Mrs. Kels, who resides in Lodi, and Mary. In 1914 Mr. Handlin took up his abode at 12 North Stockton Avenue, with his daughter Mary, who presides over the home, devotedly ministering to his comfort. Mr. Handlin is a Democrat in politics.
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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