George W. TABER

GEORGE W. TABER, a farmer of Capay Valley, Yolo County, being one of the old settlers there, was born in 1847, the son of Lorenzo and Eveline (Painter) Taber. His father, a shoemaker by trade, died in Capay, February 10, 1878, and his mother died at the same place, August 22, 1883. Mr. Taber came across the plains in 1852 to California, with the family, and they stopped in Sacramento, and the father ran a hotel in the foothills during the fall of 1861 and winter following. After residing six years in Oregon he became the proprietor of a fine ranch in Capay Valley, which is still the homestead occupied by the subject of this sketch, who is well and favorably known through the valley for his good qualities. The farm contains 340 acres of well improved land, within three miles of Capay, and his principal product is grain.

August 14, 1882, in Woodland, Mr. Taber married Mrs. Catherine J. Harley, and their children are: Jennie, the wife of Lee Wood, a farmer in the valley; Allen and Yuba.

Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891
Transcribed by: Wendy Sandino

Elbert TADLOCK

Traditional statements in regard to the Tadlock family indicate their long and honorable identification with Scotland and their early immigration to the new world, where they witnessed the development into a vigorous republic of the scattered and unassociated colonies. The founder of the family in Kentucky was Lewis Tadlock, a native of Virginia, born in 1800, but for years a planter in Kentucky, where he died in 1849 ere yet he had succeeded in securing a competency for the maintenance of his wife and their family of young children. A man of unusual mental vigor he had identified himself with the public life of the community and had advocated Whig principles with a firmness that never wavered. After he had removed to Kentucky he met and married Miss Margaret Crawford, who was born in the blue grass state in 1806, being of Scotch lineage and a daughter of James Crawford, presumably of Virginian birth.

Very shortly after the death of the husband and father the Tadlock family removed to Missouri and resided in Moniteau county. Two of the four sons, Rilford G. and Elbert, who became pioneers of Yolo county were born at the old plantation in Kentucky near Tompkinsville, the county seat of Monroe county, the birth of the older having occurred February 7, 1839, while the younger was born September 10, 1841. After the daughters had married the mother decided to accompany her sons on their removal to the west and they crossed the plains with ox-teams and wagons in 1856. On their arrival in Yolo county the mother pre-empted a claim to three hundred and twenty acres and there her son, Rilford, established a frontier home, remaining for some years to look after her interests. The younger son, Elbert, secured work as a laborer on ranches. During the spring of 1858 he walked to Contra Costa county with a capital of $2.50 and there he secured work on a ranch. His earnings were utilized in the purchase of a horse, bridle and saddle, and with these he rode home, in comfort. Later, while working as a ranch hand, he bought some wild Spanish horses and devoted considerable time to breaking them for use. The task was one of danger and difficulty, but it brought him considerable profit.

With a desire to own a ranch of his own the young settler filed a claim on raw land, but the prolongs drought caused a loss of crops and he then allowed the claim to go by default. During 1862 he rented land for the purpose of planting a crop, but his plans were changed and instead he began freighting with mule-teams from Sacramento to Virginia City. For four years he hauled to and from the mines and during the latter part of the time he used a team of eight mules. After he discontinued the freighting business he bought his brother's interest in the ranch of their mother and thereafter engaged in the raising of grain. Upon the building of the railroad through this section of the country in 1877 he built a warehouse 48x200 feet in dimensions, at Scott's Station, now called Citrona, which he still runs, and there stores large quantities of grain, his warehouse having a capacity of nearly four thousand tons.

By trading his interest in the home ranch for one hundred and sixty acres in Yolo county Mr. Tadlock laid the foundation of his subsequent prosperity. During 1883 he bought three hundred and fourteen acres two miles northwest of his earlier purchase and during 1898 he bought an adjacent tract of two hundred acres, thus becoming the owner of more than five hundred acres in one body. He still retains two hundred acres in the home place south of Madison, improved with a neat residence and a substantial barn. Ten acres are planted to almonds and the balance of the land is devoted to grain. As a farmer and fruit raiser he possesses the long experience so essential to the truest success, while energy and industry have aided him in the accumulation of a competency. Politically he votes the Democratic ticket both in local and national elections. When Buckeye Lodge No. 195, F. & A. M., was organized at Winters he became a charter member and was honored with election as the first senior warden, and afterwards served as master for two terms.

The marriage of Elbert Tadlock took place August 19, 1869, and united him with Miss Anna White, a native of Lafayette county, Mo., but a resident of California after 1868. Reared in the faith of the Christian Church, she has been a sincere member of that denomination from childhood and Mr. Tadlock also has been one of its leading local workers for many years. They became the parents of seven children, of whom Emma died at the age of thirteen. The others are William E., Orville C., Thomas E., Ada, Margaret and Nannie. Orville C. took the regular course of study in the law department in the California State University and is now located at Madison. Ada is the wife of Ira Morris, of Winters, where the latter is cashier of First National Bank; and Margaret married Dr. J. H. Hale, of Winters.

The eldest son, William E., married Ella York, a daughter of Meredith Roper and Susan (Maxwell) York, native respectively of Kentucky and Missouri, but pioneers of the west. After having completing the studies of the Esparto high school William E. Tadlock engaged in ranching for himself and now operates two hundred acres of land, including twenty acres of alfalfa under irrigation. In addition to his farm pursuits he has charge of four acres of fruit land, from which he sells large quantities of peaches, apricots and almonds in their season. Another source of income is his drove of one hundred hogs and pigs and in addition he has other stock on the ranch. For some years he filled the office of road overseer and in that office accomplished much for the improvement of the highways of the district. While favoring Democratic principles he is inclined to be independent in local campaigns and gives his support to the men whom he considers best qualified to promote the interests of the county.

Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: "History of Yolo County, California" by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 716 - 718.

Rilford General TADLOCK

A native of Kentucky, Rilford G. Tadlock, was born near Tompkinsville, Monroe county, February 7, 1839. Ten years after this date the family moved to Missouri, and in 1856 the young man started in the great trek for the westernmost side of the continent. He was in the ox-train of Capt. Joe Campbell, a long procession winding over the plains, composed of fifteen wagons and about eight hundred head of cattle. This was a great care and moreover the Indians were bad along the way. They had to herd vigilantly their stock by day and stand a sleepless guard at night to keep the savages from stampeding their animals and leaving them helpless on the road. They did not fear personal violence so much as they did robbery. In Nevada the train was visited by a big war-party of Piutes, and it was more of a raid and a capture than of a visit. The visitors were seeking a white man whom they accused of shooting one of their squaws some time before, and they were angry through and through. They gave the train-men to understand that they were determined to find their quarry and they would brook no interference. Then they searched every wagon, even hunting through the beds and clothing of the immigrants, fiercely looking here and there. They found the man in a later train and his fate was a horrible one, for the Indians skinned him alive. The train company could not save him as their number was too small to oppose the Piutes, and as he was guilty of a needless piece of savagery himself, the whites did not feel justified in inviting a conflict that would imperil the lives of innocent women and children. The Indians finally withdrew from the neighborhood after trying several times to stampede the cattle train. They wanted more vengeance, but the rifles of the white men looked too dangerous and were always too handy.

Captain Campbell's wife died at Raft river and was buried in a coffin made of the boards of a wagon bed. It was a particularly sad and impressive scene, that desert funeral; afterward the train passed on, leaving the dear dead alone by the dreary wayside. But many graves lost and forgotten, are by the great trail that reaches east to west over the plains.

The desert winds, they whistle by and sweep
Above them, brown and russet grasses wave
Along a thousand leagues that lie one common grave.

After getting into this state, Mr. Tadlock stopped first at Chico, then came down to Yolo county, where he leased a farm near Woodland. He also took up one hundred and sixty acres of government land and pitched into hard work. He stuck to this spot for about three years, but the harvests were not golden to any great extent. With his brother for an assistant he rigged up a four-horse team and went freighting over the mountains, conveying supplies to the miners far up on the slopes of the Nevadas. This move brought a financial improvement to them, as the lofty prices per pound received for the hauls both ways added to their savings, every trip. In 1865 Mr. Tadlock "went back to the farm," of one hundred and sixty acres one-half mile west of Citrona, and from that time he has farmed with pleasure and profit, managing his own home-ranch, and leasing other tracts of land. Wherever practical he has planted fruit trees, and having chosen the best variety, he has sold their yearly output at the best prices. As an instance of his far-sightedness he planted twelve acres to black figs, exercising great care in the selection of the plants, and during the last fifteen years his income from them as averaged $100 an acre annually. His vineyards are in the same prosperous condition. All of his land is under irrigation.

Mr. Tadlock was made a Mason in Buckeye Lodge No. 195, F. & A. M., at old Buckeye, and was a charter member of Landmark Lodge No. 256, at Madison. Both himself and his wife are members of the Christian Church. His political creed is Socialism. He was married in Yolo county to Miss Alice Collet, a native of Moniteau county, Mo., who came to California in 1870. Their children are Louis O., Thomas R., Eva M., Lola A., Elizabeth and Nola. Eva married William L. Bourland, on the home place; Lola, who married Philip Tutt, died in Yolo county in 1904; Louis married Norma Harvey, of Esparto. In 1906 Mr. Tadlock located in Esparto, where he lives retired. As he comes of a race remarkable for longevity him mother Margaret (Crawford) Tadlock, a native of Virginia, reaching the age of ninety-two, and her father, James, dying at almost the century mark it is likely Mr. Tadlock has many years before him in his pleasant home at Esparto.

Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: "History of Yolo County, California" by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 759 - 761.

George TANDY, Jr.

George Tandy, Jr., a harness manufacturer of Madison, is one of the old and respected citizens of the place. His parents, George and Belle (McFedgen) Tandy, were natives of Ireland and remained there all their lives; the father died in 18--, and was a cabinet-maker by trade; the mother died in 1868. The subject of this sketch was born in Dublin, Ireland, and in 1868 he came to America, and by the Isthmus of Panama to California, having a voyage of about three weeks to San Francisco. He went directly to Buckeye, now Madison, where he has since remained. He learned his trade in Dublin, serving seven years as an apprentice. He is a member of Madison Lodge, No. 253, F.&A.M., and of Madison Lodge, No. 150, O.C.F.

Mr. Tandy was united in marriage with Miss Maggie O'Brien, who was born in Ireland, and they have two children, viz.: George W., now Justice of the Peace for Capay Valley and manager of a harness shop there; and Belle, now the wife of W. Berry, in San Francisco.

Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler

Albert TAUZER

Albert Tauzer, a farmer eight miles southeast of Woodland, was born June 25, 1834, in Pennsylvania, a son of Andrew and Martha (Bowser) Tauzer, natives of Pennsylvania. Andrew Tauzer was a foundryman and iron-worker by trade all his life. He moved to Illinois in early day, settling in Hardin County upon land he purchased there, and remained until death. Albert was brought upon a farm and was twenty-two years of age when in 1857, he came overland to California, leaving Illinois April 2, and arriving at Georgetown August 31. The trip was a pleasant one. He was only one day ahead of where the great massacre occurred on the Humboldt River. After mining in El Dorado County four years, with moderate success, he went to Yolo County, and November 27, 1861, homesteaded his present property, 160 acres of choice farming land. He found it entirely wild and has made of it a complete home. He has now 960 acres, all in one body. Does a general farming business. He has, like nearly all other men, had his drawbacks and disappointments, but his energy and good sense have carried him victoriously through. In 1887 he suffered a total loss of his residence by fire.

He was married February 11, 1857, to Miss Mary Scroggins, who died December 21, 1874. They had five children, four of whom are now living, namely, Anderson B., Ellen, George, John Albert and Andrew, deceased. Mr. Tauzer was again married in 1880, to Miss Caroline Guy, and by this marriage there are two children, - Pearl M. and Eleanor R., both of whom are living. Mr. Tauzer has a sister in California, who is the wife of J. R. Jones, residing in Yolo County.

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler, July 2004.
Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1891. pg. 315-316.

James TAYLOR

Throughout the greater part of his life, extending back indeed to the period of his earliest recollections, Mr. Taylor has been a resident of Yolo county. In the schools of the county he received a fair education and from the fertile soil which this region boasts he has been able not only to earn a livelihood, but at the end of each year to have a neat surplus representing gratifying returns for his expenditure of time, labor and means. With a high standing among the acquaintances of a lifetime and with a neat property representing his intelligent investments, he has already attained much of the ends for which mankind strives and in his own community he has the warm regard of those who have come to know and appreciate his sterling qualities of head and heart.

Descended on the paternal side from English progenitors, James Taylor is the son of John E. Taylor, an Englishman by birth and education, but a resident of the United States from young manhood. During the first few years of his residence in this country he was engaged in farming in Iowa. From that state he came west across the plains with ox teams as far as Utah in the early '50s and settled on a farm near Salt Lake where his son, James, was born June 10, 1857. Removal was made to California about 1860, when he bought a tract of one hundred and sixty acres near Woodland and undertook the improvement of a farm. On that place he remained until death, meanwhile placing the land under cultivation and maintaining a warm interest in community activities. Twice married, he was survived by his second wife, Elizabeth Pincock, also a native of England, who died at the age of seventy-seven. Mr. Taylor organized the first brass band in Woodland; this was the first band in Yolo county.

From the age of three years James Taylor has lived in Yolo county. Primarily educated in country schools, he later was sent to Hesperian College in Woodland. Under the training of his father he received early in life considerable knowledge concerning agriculture and when he left the old homestead he was thoroughly qualified to take up general farming for himself. For about ten years he occupied a tract of one hundred and sixty acres north of Yolo, where at first he kept "bachelor's hall." To that place he brought his bride, a popular young lady of Yolo county, whom he married November 19, 1891, and who was Miss Martha E. Jacobs, the daughter of Isaac W. Jacobs, one of the pioneer attorneys of Yolo county, who is represented on another page in this volume. Mrs. Taylor was born on the old Jacobs' homestead near Yolo, and her entire life has been passed in this county, her education being received in its schools.

Upon disposing of the farm where first he made his home after marriage Mr. Taylor came to the farm which he now owns and occupies, the same comprising one hundred and twenty well-improved acres situated near Yolo. Since he came to this property in 1895 he has erected a comfortable farm home, has fenced the entire tract with a substantial system of durable fencing and has built a barn for the shelter of his stock, besides making other needed improvements. Cattle, horses and hogs of good grades are to be found on the farm and their sale from year to year adds a neat sum to the income of the owner, who is accounted one of the prosperous stockmen as well as grain and alfalfa farmers in the district. In his family there are three sons and one daughter, namely: James Elmer, Clay William, Elmira E., and Wayland Francis. In national elections he always has given his vote to Republican nominees, but locally he supports the men he considers best qualified to serve the interests of the community, regardless of their party beliefs. Through fraternal association with the Woodmen of the World he enjoys the insurance advantages offered by that order and also participates in its social activities. Mr. Taylor can look back over fifty years of improvements in Yolo county and remember when most of the land out of Woodland was a stock range, and he has seen it opened up until it is all farmed, thus passing from a stock range to a grain field, and from the latter to orchards and alfalfa fields. A part of this transformation he has taken a hand in, thus contributing no small part to the development of Yolo county.

Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: "History of Yolo County, California" by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 627 - 628.

John Z. TAYLOR

An identification with Yolo county dating back to a period in childhood so early that Mr. Taylor has only vague and indistinct recollections of the former home of the family, has continued uninterruptedly up to the present time and has been fruitful in the acquisition of valuable farming lands and in the building up of a circle of warm personal friends. Fifty years have brought their almost magical changes into the county since first he came here with his parents. Time, transforming him from childhood to the rugged strength of maturity and opening before him the serenity of advancing years, has likewise left its impress upon the region familiar to his boyhood recollections and has replaced a vast roadless plain with improved farms, thriving villages and a flourishing country with a network of railroads and every evidence of a high civilization. In his own life the flight of the seasons has witnessed his increasing prosperity and his ultimate ownership of two well-improved farms, the larger of which forms his attractive home place.

Born at Springville, Utah, December 19, 1854, John Z. Taylor was one of six children born to the second marriage of John E. Taylor, a native of England, but a resident of the United States from young manhood. For some years he made his home on a farm in Utah, but the superior advantages of California led him to remove hither in 1861. Three of his children by his second wife (in maidenhood Elizabeth Pincock, a native of England) were born in Utah, the others are natives of California. Of the sons James is represented on another page of this volume and W. S. cultivates the old home farm. The three daughters are as follows: Cecelia, wife of J. W. Browning, of Grand Island, Cal.; Rosina, of Woodland; and Stella, wife of Dr. W. J. Blevins, also of Woodland. The eldest son, John Z., had few advantages in early life, for he was obliged to work early and late assisting his father in the support of the younger children, and while other boys were in school he was helping to till the soil of the home farm. However, he has become a well-informed man, but his knowledge comes from reading and observation rather than from regular attendance at schools.

The marriage of John Z. Taylor and Miss Anna McClintic, daughter of John McClintic, took place in Yolo county in March of 1890. Her father came across the plains from Missouri in the early '50s. He afterward returned east and was married, in Missouri, to Sarah E. Tincher, bringing his bride to his home in California. He improved a farm three miles west of Knights Landing, and here the parents both passed away. Immediately after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Taylor began keeping house of the farm which had been bought prior to the marriage. Mrs. Taylor, who is a native of this county, inherited a small tract of land and Mr. Taylor added to the same, so that he now owns one hundred acres two miles distant from the home farm, both of which places he superintends, having the tillable land in wheat, barley and alfalfa. Good stock is to be seen on the farm and proves a source of considerable income to the owner. An industrious farmer and conservative business man, he is making a success of his enterprises and owns, besides his land and personal property, stock in the Rochdale store at Yolo. In his family there are six children, Frank T., Maude, Jessie, Ethel, Clarence and Floyd. In politics he votes with the Republican party, but takes no part in public affairs aside from casting his ballot and has never been induced to become a candidate for office. Fraternally he is a Master Mason and a prominent member of Yolo Lodge No. 81, F. & A. M.

Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: "History of Yolo County, California" by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 715 - 716.

C. F. THOMAS

C.F. THOMAS, one of the foremost young men of this community, who holds no less a position than that of cashier of that great financial institution, the Bank of Woodland, was born in Sutter County, California, January 22, 1859. Soon after his birth the family removed to Yolo County, and with the exception of a year at Oakland and two at Vallejo, he has been a resident of this county ever since. After receiving a common-school education he was, at the early age of fourteen years, placed in charge of the extensive grain warehouses of Thomas & Hunt, at Woodland and Black's. At the age of sixteen he embarked in the merchandise business, which claimed his attention until October 1, 1877. He was then but eighteen years of age, yet was tendered the position of accountant in the bank. Considering his youth and the importance of the position, this office would seem as novel as it was flattering, yet his business success already won justified the judgment of the bank officials in their selection. He assumed the duties of his new post with his accustomed matter-of-fact determination, and so ably and satisfactorily were his duties performed that in 1883 he was advanced to the position of cashier. It is probable that he was then the youngest man serving in that capacity in a bank of such prominence in the United States, yet the position was well filled to the entire satisfaction of the bank's officers and customers, and it is safe to say that there is not in California a more popular bank official.
Mr. Thomas is deeply interested in the welfare and prosperity of Yolo County, and is always ready and willing to identify himself with any movement having for its object the advancement of the interests of this community. The business ability which won for him his position in the bank has also been called into play in the handling of outside investments, a number of which he has. Besides considerable Woodland realty, he has 5,000 acres of country land, located in Yolo, Colusa, Stanislaus and Tehama counties.

Mr. Thomas was married, January 26, 1880, to Miss Agnes Bullock, daughter of the late J.P. Bullock, who was one of this county's oldest and best citizens. Their cottage on First street is a model of beauty and comfort.

Mr. Thomas enjoys the fullest confidence of his employers, and is deeply interested in the welfare of the bank, as he considers it a great honor to be connected with an institution of such standing, which, as is well known, is second to none in this State.
He enjoys the highest respect of the people of Yolo County, and people of all classes, rich and poor, are proud to call him friend.

Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891
Transcribed by: Betty Wilson

C. S. THOMAS (#1)

C. S. THOMAS, deceased.-This gentleman, who came to Yolo County in an early day, was associated with her business interests for many years, and his career, therefore, becomes of special interest in this volume. The following sketch is gleaned from data now available:

He was born in Connecticut, December 20, 1810, but at an early age accompanied his parents on their removal to New York State, where he grew to manhood. He was there married, October 12, 1840, to Miss J. L. Wallace, a native of New York State. About 1835 they removed to Wisconsin, and from there, in 1853, Mr. Thomas crossed the plains to California with his family, making the trip by the usual methods employed in those days. He located at Placerville, where he tried his fortune at mining for one day only. This limited experience satisfied him, however, and he was soon thereafter engaged in merchandising. In 1855 he left Placerville and removed to Yolo County, located at Knight's Landing, where he established a store and engaged in the grain business, building a warehouse for that purpose. While there he was associated, at different times, with J.D. Laughenauer and W.W. Brownell, the firms being, respectively, Thomas & Langhenauer and Thomas & Brownell. About 1868 he sold out his business interests at Knight's Landing, removed to Oakland, and while there entered into partnership with W.G. Hunt in the grain business, with headquarters at Woodland, their office being where the Bryns Hotel now stands. After a residence of one year at Oakland, Mr. Thomas removed to Vallejo, where the firm built a large grain warehouse, and thereafter carried on business at both places. Two years after removing to Vallejo Mr. Thomas disposed of his warehouse interests there, and came to Woodland, which was thereafter his home. He still remained a member of the firm of Thomas & Hunt, which became widely known throughout the Sacramento Valley, and was in active business until the time of his death, which occurred August 10, 1882. He was a stanch Republican in his political preferences, but was in no sense a politician. However, while a young man in Wisconsin, he had held the office of Sheriff of the county in which he resided. He was an enterprising, public-spirited man, and besides his handsome residence built several brick blocks there, which are still the property of his family. He was a man much respected for his sterling traits of character, and was honored and greatly respected by the entire farming community, with which he had long been engaged in business, as well as by his neighbors in Woodland. His death was mourned and deplored as a loss to the county. His widow is yet a resident of Woodland. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas were the parents of two children, both of whom have grown to maturity, and are residents of this city, viz.: Addie E., wife of F.E. Baker; and C.F., whose sketch follows:

Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891
Transcribed by: Betty Wilson

Charles S. THOMAS (#2)

The activities of a generation of patriotic and resourceful citizens have wrought many transformations in the agricultural aspect and commercial enterprises of Yolo county since there passed from his useful toil one long identified with its progress and a promoter of its early business development. The value of the citizenship of C. S. Thomas during the years of his pioneer labors can scarcely be overestimated. Coming to the county in a very early day, he discerned its possibilities and often predicted its ultimate prosperity and wealth, this too, at a time when the most optimistic spirit but dimly discerned the hidden resources of the region. His judgment was keen, his loyalty to county was deep and his contributions of time and means to local development generous and cordial. All in all, his character was of the type so indispensable to the evolution of a frontier region into a highly civilized community.

The changes of a busy existence brought Mr. Thomas to a point far distant from his birthplace at New Haven, Conn., and into surroundings radically different from those familiar to his boyhood. Born in 1810, he was still quite small when the family took up the journey toward the west. Finding a desirable location in New York state, they took up land and he entered upon the task of earning a livelihood as a tiller of the soil. It followed that he had neither the time nor the opportunity to attend school and the broad fund of information he later acquired was the result of habits of close observation and thoughtful reading. The attaining of his majority marked another change in his environment, for he than became a pioneer of Wisconsin and settled among the frontiersmen of Green county, where for one term he served as county sheriff.

In company with a party of emigrants Mr. Thomas crossed the plains to California during the summer of 1853 and after his arrival he engaged in mining at Placerville. The year 1855 found him a pioneer of Yolo county, where he settled at Knight's Landing and embarked in business pursuits. For a long period he held rank among the leading men of the locality and his general store was a center of trade for the pioneers coming from every direction. His leading occupation was that of grain buyer and in the early era of the settlement the farmers were accustomed to haul their grain to his elevator, and then buy at his store such necessities as they wished to take back home with them. The grain was hauled to town in "prairie schooners" and was loaded from the elevator into barges, which conveyed it down the Sacramento river to the markets. When Mr. Thomas removed from Knight's Landing to Woodland in 1872 he resumed the grain business and until his death ten years later he bought and sold grain in very large quantities. For many years before his demise he had the inestimable benefit of the co-operation and cheerful counsel of his capable wife, whom he had married in Monroe, Wis., in 1848 and who was Miss Josephine Louisa Wallace, a native of Galena, Ill. Mrs. Thomas survives her husband and in her pleasant home at No. 658 First street, Woodland, surrounded by the comforts that give pleasure to age and ministered to by children and friends, she passes the twilight of her useful existence in quiet contentment and finds her highest happiness in the welfare and society of her daughter, Mrs. Addie E. Baker, and son, Charles F. Thomas, both of whom are living in Woodland.

Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: "History of Yolo County, California" by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 397 - 398.

J. B. TUFTS (#1)

real-estate dealer at Davisville, is a highly esteemed pioneer of California. He was born November 18, 1824 (sic), in Middlesex County, New Jersey, a son of John M. and Mary Wilson (Davis) Tufts. The father, a native of New Jersey, was educated at the West Point Military Academy, received a Lieutenant's commission, and served in the regular army for a number of years, and was married while in service. He retired from the army about 1820, and for twenty years followed farming, when he retired from that and purchased a handsome residence in Rahway, New Jersey, where he died in 1878, at the age of eighty-eight years.

The subject of this sketch, Mr. J. B. Tufts, was raised on a farm. At the age of twenty-one years he went to New York city and learned the printers' trade, continuing in the same five years. In 1849 he came to California, sailing from New York on the bark Clyde, under command of Captain Kempton, with seventy-five passengers on board. The trip was made around the Horn, occupying six months and two days. Mr. Tufts landed in San Francisco November 2, 1849, well equipped for starting a general merchandise store, having brought both building and goods with him. His intention was to establish a wholesale commission house in San Francisco, but on arriving he changed his mind, owing to the high price of real estate and danger of fire, and he went to Sacramento with his building and goods, upon a schooner which he chartered for $1,000; and there he erected his two story building, 20 x 40 feet, and covered it with 17,000 pounds of iron, which was worth in San Francisco at that time $2 a pound; and lumber was worth $600 per 1,000 feet, for green sycamore; and the tin for roofing worth $100 per box. The entire material for the building, which cost in New York only $825, and freight $800, was worth in San Francisco on board ship $40,000!

An incident is here worthy of relating. Among the goods brought to the coast by Mr. Tufts were ten casks of so-called brandy, made from drugs, which in New York cost only fifty cents per gallon. It was sold in Sacramento for $2.50 a gallon and pronounced by the purchaser to be the finest he had seen in California, and was sorry that he could not secure a hundred casks at the same price!

Mr. Tufts was in Sacramento during the flood of December, 1849, and loaded thousands of dollars' worth of goods from his counters into row-boats. Remaining in Sacramento until June, 1850, he sold out and joined his interests with Senator Stewart in the restaurant business on Front street; but in a short time he sold out, in July, and completed the purchase of an ox team and provisions. With these he went to Ragtown, in the Nevada desert, and was there during the well-remembered famine of that year. He and his partner, whom he had admitted, killed their cattle and sold them at $5.00 per pound for fine horses, as money was scarce, obtaining almost any price asked for their beef. He gave away most of the provisions, not receiving a penny for them. In a short time they started for the valley with over 400 horses, losing about forty head on the way, which were stampeded and stolen by the Indians. Arriving at Sutterville, Mr. Tufts started out in pursuit of pasture and range for the stock, and after an absence of two days he returned to find that his partner had sold out the entire band for $6,000 and departed for parts unknown, and thus was he financially reduced to nothing, and $1,400 in debt! Possessed, however, of an extraordinary amount of grit he located in Washington and built a hotel for Myrick & Hoag, and rented it for $60 per month. Kept it seven months and cleared $3,700. He then bought a half interest of Jacob Lewis in a ferry across the tule for $50, and in two years took in over $50,000; then built a grade three miles in length across the tule as a toll road. Kept it two years and sold out and removed to Putah Creek, bought a ranch of 500 acres, at $17.50 per acre, but lost two-thirds of it, by placing too much confidence in others; but some of the land he sold for $600 per acre. In 1878 he located in Davisville, since which time he has been one of its most active and energetic business men, and the enterprising town of Davisville owes a large share of its prosperity to his judgment. He is now engaged chiefly in real estate, building and improving the town generally. His last venture is the purchase of 270 acres of Feather River bottom land, which is being all planted in peaches for the New York and Chicago markets.

He was married in 1849 to Miss Mary Kingsland, a native of New York city, and they have four sons and three daughters.

Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler

J. B. TUFTS (#2)

The family represented by this honored pioneer of the west descends from a long line of patriotic ancestry associated for several generations with the military of the United States. His father, a graduate of West Point and an officer distinguished for his knowledge of military tactics, served at northern barracks for a long period and then was stationed for years at a fort in North Carolina. He owned three hundred and twenty acres in New York state and also had valuable property in New York City. In marriage he was united with Miss Mary Davis, a niece of Jefferson Davis and the daughter of a commanding regimental officer. The grandfather died in Albany, N. Y., and left a large estate to descendants so widely scattered that it became necessary for the officials to advertise for the heirs.

J. B. Tufts was born in New Jersey, November 8, 1824 (sic), and he was educated principally in New Jersey, leaving home at the age of twenty-one years to make his own way in the world. Starting in the printing business he had learned all of its details in two years and later he embarked in the card-printing business in New York City, where with a partner he rented rooms on a first floor. While living in the east, in 1849, Mr. Tufts married Mary, daughter of John M. Kingsland, a former sheriff of New York City, where she was born and educated. They became the parents of ten children, but lost three at birth, the others being George K., William, Charles, Andrew, Lucy, Dolly and Belle. All are married and at this writing there are twenty-three grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.
It has been the privilege of Mr. and Mrs. Tufts to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage. In a beautiful residence, far removed from the eastern home where they were married, they received the congratulations of their hosts of friends upon the attainment of the auspicious occasion and all united in wishing for them the enjoyment of many more years of happiness and prosperity.

The discovery of gold in California was the attraction that drew Mr. Tufts from the bright prospects of his eastern business. At New York he took passage on the only ship that ever came from there to Sacramento. After a voyage of six months he and his partner left the ship at San Francisco, where they had planned to engage in business. They had brought with them $4,000 worth of groceries and butter, and sold the latter at from $4 to $5 per pound. They also brought lumber worth $600 per thousand feet and seventeen thousand pounds of sheet iron worth $2 per pound. Unable to lease a lot in San Francisco for less than $5,000 annual rental they chartered a schooner for $1,000 and took their cargo to Sacramento, where they utilized their six thousand feet of lumber in the erection of a two-story building. The sheet iron also found a place in the structure. With their other property they had brought from the east ten casks of brandy and all of this they sold to a merchant on J street.

From June until July of 1850 Mr. Tufts engaged in the restaurant business on Front street, San Francisco, as a partner of Senator Stewart of Nevada. He then formed a partnership with a penniless man who claimed to have considerable experience. With the money earned by Mr. Tufts the two men purchased an ox-team and loaded a wagon with groceries and a large supply of meat (twelve beeves). They crossed the desert on foot and without water and opened a shop where emigrants approached from the east. Customers were abundant and always hungry. The meat was sold at $5 per pound and paid for by the emigrants with their horses or mules. When the partners had sold out their entire supply of food they started back with four hundred head of horses and mules. Mr. Tufts went on ahead and left the partner with the stock. Later he learned that the man sold the animals for $6,000, but from that time to this he has never seen nor heard of the rascal, who made it convenient to vanish to parts unknown. Mr. Tufts then ran a hotel at Washington, Yolo county, besides running a ferry. In this work he was fortunate to have for a partner Jacob Lewis, the owner of a fine hotel in Sacramento. Later he bought for $17 an acre five hundred acres of land, some of which he sold for $50 an acre. The last of the tract he sold to G. G. Briggs for $600 an acre, reserving the right to keep the house, which he moved to ground bought at $10 per lot. Since 1878 he has resided at Davisville, Yolo county, where he is a large property owner, and where, before his retirement from all public and business cares, he served as postmaster, road supervisor and justice of the peace. Although now retired, he maintains a warm interest in all local and state activities. Few have done more than he to advance the welfare of his community and none has displayed a more steadfast interest in all movements for the material, moral and educational upbuilding of town and county.

Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: "History of Yolo County, California" by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 588 - 589.

John Ashby TUTT

JOHN ASHBY TUTT, retired, and a resident of Madison, Yolo County, California, is an old '49er, and one who has held various offices in the State. He was born February 4, 1815, in Fauquier County, Virginia, the son of John and Elizabeth (Ashby) Tutt. His father, a native of Culpepper County, Virginia, was a merchant and farmer, and his mother was a native of Fauquier County, same State.

The subject of this sketch left his native State for Missouri in 1835 and remained in that State fourteen years, where he first engaged in teaching school and after in merchandise. In 1849 he came overland to California, arriving August 5. He tried mining for a short time, but meeting with no success he left for the city of Sacramento, where he was appointed Assessor of real estate by the city fathers. At the first election after the organization of the county, he was elected Constable, a very important and lucrative office, which he held four years. He filled several minor offices.

In 1863 he again tried the mines with former success. In 1869 he was appointed chief clerk at the State prison, where he remained three years. He again tried mining, in Arizona, with his usual luck. He then came to Yolo County, California, where he has since been retired from public business, excepting that of Justice of the Peace.

He is a member of the Grand Lodge of Masons of the State of California. He was the first Deputy Grand Master of that (Colonel John D. Stevenson being the first) and the second Master of said Grand Lodge.

In St. Louis, Missouri, in the year 1844, Mr. Tutt married Maria L. Lewis, who died in 1862 in Sacramento, as an effect of the great flood of that year. They had no children, and since then Mr. Tutt has remained unmarried. He is a man of high standing in the community, well deserving the peaceful evening of life upon which he has entered.

Source: Memorial & Biographical History of Northern California, The Lewis Publishing Co., 1891
Transcribed by: Wendy Sandino

John S. TUTT

JOHN S. TUTT, a prosperous farmer of Yolo County, is the son of Philip and Catherine Tutt. His father, a native of Culpeper County, Virginia, followed school teaching to 1835, and then moved to Cooper County, Missouri, where he was County Surveyor for sixteen years, where he died in 1871; and the mother, native also of Culpeper County, Virginia, died in Cooper County, Missouri.

Mr. Tutt, the subject of this notice, was born in Fanquier County, Virginia, in 1836, and when he was nine years of age he was taken by his parents to Cooper County, Missouri. In 1849 he came overland to California, reaching Hangtown August 15. He followed mining there during the ensuing autumn, and then went to Nevada City, where he continued mining until the next spring. Going then to Sacramento, he had the position of turnkey of the county jail for a time, and then he returned to Nevada City and remained there until 1853; he then moved into Yolo County, where he has improved 260 acres of fine land, on which he raises live-stock and grain, and all the fruit necessary for home consumption. He is a member of Landmark Lodge, No. 153, F. & A.M., and also of Madison Lodge, No. 150, O.C.F.

In 1857, in Yolo County, he married Miss Mary E. Gordon, and they have six children: Elizabeth, William L., Susan, Thomas, Hattie and Kate.

Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California, Lewis Publishing Co. , 1891
Transcribed by: Betty Wilson, August 2004 ©