San Joaquin County Biographies
Ref: Page 400-403
Transcribed by: Linda Diane Jackson 3/4/2010
BASILIO LAOGIER
Among the pioneers of this western commonwealth, the late Basilio Laogier was a native of France, born in Nice, March 6, 1820, the son of Charles and Josephine (Moisin) Laogier, also natives of that country, the father maintaining a wholesale and retail mercantile establishment and also managing a hotel at Nice. There the son was reared and educated and soon after leaving school he secured a position with the French government in the arsenals and for three years his duties kept him in Algiers. At the end of this time he remained there three years longer on his own account during this time carrying on a profitable business as locksmith and gunsmith. Thereafter he returned to France, and during the month he spent in Marseilles he made preparations to start on an extended tour of the world. From Marseilles he shipped to Rio Janeiro, Brazil, and after stopping there for a time resumed the voyage, rounding Cape Horn and finally reaching the port of Valparaiso, Chile, in safety. From this South American port he continued his travels to San Francisco, arriving at that port January 22, 1850. He had not been in that city, long, however, before he was attracted to the mines, and going to Mokelumne Hill, he mined there with average success for a few months, and then returned to San Francisco, reaching that city the day following the disastrous fire. Six months later he again went to the mines, but after seven months more of this life he gave it up altogether and thereafter settled in Stockton, where for a time he conducted a locksmith establishment. Believing that a lucrative business could be established in hauling supplies to the mines, he embarked in the pack-train business in 1858, hauling goods to Murphys, Virginia City, and other mining camps in that vicinity. In the course of a few years interest in the mines there began to lessen, and at the same time the cost of fodder for his mules had increased to such an extent as to make continuance at the business almost prohibitive. Some idea of the cost may be gathered from the fact that during the year 1864 the feed for his pack mules cost him at the rate of $300 per month. This condition of affairs made it necessary for him to change his location, and from there he went to the mining region about Sacramento, hauling, supplies to Red Bluff, Colusa, Tehama, and Yreka. He also attempted to take the Indian trail to Klamath Lake, but the Indians resented the intrusion and drove him away, and he then journeyed by way of the lava beds, Warm Springs and Fort Dalles to Dalles. From that point he sent his pack-train overland to Umatilla, while he himself took the steamer for that point, and from there took a cargo to Bannock City. The expedition proved sufficiently profitable to warrant two more similar trips. He then proceeded to Placerville, Centerville, passing through Oregon on his way to Walla Walla, Wash., which city he reached on Novemer 25, in the midst of a heavy snowstorm. From that point he took a steamer for San Francisco, reaching that city January 10, 1865, and after having his gold coined at the mint, continued his journey to Stockton. Here he entered the brokerage business and real estate and still later he opened a grocery store. Finally, however, in 1870, he retired from active business altogether and thereafter lived retired until his death, May 3, 1897.
In Stockton, March 27, 1869, Mr. Laogier was united in marriage with Miss Dionisia Ponce. Mrs. Laogier was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and is the daughter of Nemesio Ponce, a merchant and trader in that Mexican city. They were the parents of one daughter, Mrs. Ysabel L. Young, the wife of the late William J. Young, a prominent physician and surgeon of Stockton. Mrs. Laogier, too, has passed away. She was a woman of fine public spirit and generous to those less fortunate than herself; she was a member of the Catholic Ladies Aid and for many years was grand director of the order; she was also active in the work of the Children's Home in Stockton. Mr. Laogier was a well-educated man, his extensive travels giving him an unusual opportunity to exercise his ready observation, a faculty which added to a keen intellect resulted naturally in a fund of information. His early residence in the state made him eligible to the San Joaquin Society of California Pioneers, of which body he was a prominent member.
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
Copyright © 1996-2011; This Web page is sponsored by Supporters on behalf of the California portion of The USGenWeb Project by The Administrative Team of the CAGW. Although believed to be correct as presented, if you note any corrections, changes, additions, or find that any links provided on this page are not functioning properly please contact the Archive Coordinator for prompt attention to the matter.