Yolo County Biography
GUSTAVE ERNEST SCHLOSSER
Two spots, with the width of one-half the continent between them, have furnished the environment for the energetic efforts of Mr. Schlosser, and these locations are Hancock county, Ill., where he lived until he had attained his majority, and Yolo county, Cal. of which he has been a resident from the age of twenty-one up to the present time. The family comes of German extraction, as the name indicates, and his father, Peter, was the first representative of the family in the United States, crossing the ocean to the new world and settling in Hancock county in 1848. The land which he purchased was rich and fertile, but no attempt had been made at cultivation and long years of effort were necessary before gratifying returns could be secured. The country was sparsely settled at the time of his arrival. A few years before he had become a resident of the county the Mormons, who had built a temple at Nauvoo, were expelled from that locality and sought refuge farther west subsequent to the killing of their leader, Joseph Smith, in the Hancock county jail at Carthage.
During the Civil war Peter Schlosser gave efficient service as a soldier to his adopted country and when peace was declared he returned to his farm and family. His last years were spent in Hancock county and his son, Gustave E., who was born there August 5, 1857, was reared at the old homestead which he had assisted his father in bringing under cultivation. During the winter months he attended schools, but his education has been acquired by self-culture rather than text-book study. When he started out to seek his own livelihood in 1878 he came direct to California and settled in Yolo county, where be worked on a farm by the month. At the expiration of six years he returned to his old home in Illinois, and at Carthage, Hancock county, March 12, 1885, he was united with Miss Minnie Youngman, a native of that state. Accompanied by his bride, he came to Yolo county and rented a farm of one hundred and sixty acres near Blacks Station. After having rented the place for two years he purchased the property.
Since becoming the owner of the land Mr. Schlosser has made improvements that have greatly enhanced its value. Especially attractive is the modern farm house with its air of comfort and hospitality. The necessary farm buildings have been erected, fruit and shade trees have been planted and sixty-five acres are in alfalfa, the whole forming a well-improved property. In addition to the cultivation of this land the owner thereof rents two hundred additional acres and engages in raising wheat and barley. The conduct of a grain farm would not be by itself wholly satisfactory to him, for he is a believer in the stock business and entertains the firm conviction that every farm should carry a substantial supply of first-class animals. In accordance with that theory he has engaged in the breeding and raising of stock and has on the place some fine specimens of their several breeds.
The family of Mr. and Mrs. Schlosser comprises seven children, and among these there are twins, Mollie and Minnie, the former now being the wife of George Peterson, of Woodland. Besides the twins there are Dora, Mrs. Herman Wilkendorf, of Pleasant Prairie; Gustave, John, Julius and Henry. Interested in educational affairs, Mr. Schlosser has served as a member of the school board for a number of years. For about eight years he served as a deputy sheriff. In politics he votes with the Republican party. He is a leading worker in the Grafton Lodge, I. O. O. F., and has passed through all of the chairs. On the occasion of the convention of the sovereign grand lodge at San Francisco he was chosen a delegate from the home lodge. With his wife he holds membership in the Lodge of Eebekahs in Woodland, while his fraternal associations are enlarged through membership in Woodland Encampment No. 71, I. O. O. F., and the Herman Sons.
History Of Yolo County, California
With Biographical Sketches
History By Tom Gregory
And Other Well Known Writers
Historic Record Company,
Los Angeles, California, 1913
Transcribed by Julie Appletoft, November 2007 Pages 181-185
Yolo County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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