San Joaquin County Biographies
Ref: Page 396-399
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 1/30/2010
JOHN BURGESS HARELSON
Typical among the interesting stories of worthy California pioneers always likely to engage the attention of the historian and to inspire the American youth, is that of the late John Burgess Harelson, a native of Kentucky, where he was born in 1818, who long was highly regarded by his associates and contemporaries as a representative of the Blue Grass State. In 1836, when still a young man, he made an adventurous trip to South America, where he stayed, however, for only a short time; and soon after his return, he migrated to Wisconsin, where he settled at Lancaster, in Grant County. In 1850 he first visited California, crossing the great plains to get here; and after mining along the Sacramento and the American rivers, he went in for teaming and hauled provisions to the mines.
In 1852 Mr. Harelson returned to Wisconsin and there he married Miss Candace Graves, who was a native of Missouri but had accompanied her parents to Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Harelson, in 1864, made their way over the continent to the Golden State, and it is not surprising that, with Mr. Harelson's knowledge of Northern California, they should settle in San Joaquin County, whither a brother, Edmund Harelson, had preceeded him. In 1865, he bought from Captain Weber 120 acres of land on the Waterloo Road, six and one-half miles northeast of Stockton, and there he continued to live the balance of his natural days. He attained the fine old age of 84 years, and his dear wife, who had so devotedly shared hard work, hardships and even dangers, as well as joys and comforts with him, when she passed away, in 1918, was then 87. Mr. Harleson breathed his last on December 10, 1901, esteemed as a successful grain farmer and beloved as a good provider for his family, and widely honored as a public-spirited citizen.
Five children blessed the family life of Mr. and Mrs. Harelson. Ella, the eldest, became Mrs. J.B. Worley of Hanford; Martha L. is Mrs. Henry Irvine, and now resides at Henry, Nebraska; Lucy, the third-born, is Mrs. S.B. Overhiser of San Diego; Flora became Mrs. J.L. Fulton of Waterloo; and there her sister, Miss Effie Burgess Harelson, also resides. Ella and Martha and Lucy were born in Wisconsin, and the other two girls entered the family circle under the sunny skies of California. Mrs. Worley has a family of eleven children; Mrs. Irvine has one daughter; and Mrs. Overhiser has one son.
Flora, who lives with her sister on the old home place, was married on March 12, 1904, to John L. Fulton, a native of Illinois, who was a son of Levi Fulton, a New Yorker, and his good wife Cynthia. In 1903, Mr. Fulton came to California as a druggist; and after their marriage they moved to Watsonville, and during their seven years there Mr. Fulton conducted a drug store. He also owned a ranch at Willows. He sold the store in 1910 and then they took up their residence on his ranch of 80 acres in Glenn County; but he soon also sold the farm, and after that they lived at Oakland, where he was taken with pneumonia. He did not improve, and a trip to Arizona was undertaken in the hope that he would find the change of climate just what he needed; but even there he failed to mend, and to the sorrow of all who had come to admire and love him and had found in him the best of advisers, the most helpful of friends, he died, in December, 1911, preceeded by the death, in November, of their only daughter, Lois, who died in Arizona.
A portion of the old Harelson ranch is a souvenir of the days of '65; and when Candace Graves Harelson died the ranch was divided, and now the two sisters referred to as residing there own some fifty-nine choice acres. They had attended the Greenwood grammar school and the Stockton high school, and there laid the foundation for that education to which they have ever since added by wide, broad reading and study; and one could not wish for a more enjoyable hour than in their company, their culture adding to the charm of the old-time Harelson hospitality, now the more to be appreciated since in other sections the once famous welcome of the Californians has become a tradition.
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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