Merced County
Biographies
GEORGE S. BLOSS, Sr.
One of the first settlers in Atwater, Merced County, who is still living to recount the events of earlier days of the struggle of the little city to attain to its present prominence in the county, is George S. Bloss, Sr., pioneer banker and well-known financier of the San Joaquin Valley. He was born in Bethlehem, Ct., November 26, 1847, and is the only survivor of the immediate family of George T. and Emily (Brown) Bloss, both born in Bethlehem, the former of French and the latter of Scotch parentage. The paternal ancestors settled in Killingly, Ct., when they arrived from France, and it was in that state George T. Bloss followed farming until he died at the age of forty-one, in 1848; the good wife lived to enjoy life until 1866.
George S. Bloss, Sr., spent his boyhood on the home farm and attended the local schools. In manhood he engaged in farming and lived in his native state until 1884, when he decided he would come West. He brought his family with him and upon arrival he bought some land near Atwater and at once embarked in raising grain and stock. In time he became so successful that he kept adding to his holdings until he owned two sections of land. He made his home in a house that stood on the corner where now is located the Bloss Block in Atwater. He has continually kept up with the advancement of this district and has erected several residences and business blocks, among which is the Atwater Hotel building; and with his son, he is interested in other properties. In 1897 Mr. Bloss and H. F. Geer as executors of the Mitchell estate subdivided 480 acres into twenty-acre tracts, giving the name of the Atwater Colony to the location. This was sold at $40.00 per acre to settlers, and although times were hard and the promotors had a difficult task before them, they put the place on the map and today those settlers who were carried by the promotors of the project have repaid their indebtedness and have become well-to-do and many are now independent landowners. The first subdivision was followed later by others, all of them successful and satisfactory to all parties concerned, due largely to the careful supervision of every detail looking for the comfort and interests of the purchasers by Mr. Bloss and his associates. The company was known as the Finde-Siecle Investment Company, of which Mr. Bloss was president, and it remained intact until 1904, when it was divided into thirds and sold; one portion to the Bloss Land and Cattle Company; one to Crane Brothers Company; and the other to the Geer-Dallas Investment Company.
In 1898 Mr. Bloss leveled a small tract of land south of his home and put in alfalfa, the tract bordering on the railroad. This spot of greenery was a great attraction in the vast stretch of sandy, desert-looking land through which the railroad ran, being about the only green spot from Tracy to Fresno. This attempt in a small way showed what the future of this section might attain to, and well has the judgment of Mr. Bloss been justified, for today this is one of the richest sections in the whole of the San Joaquin Valley. As early as 1892 Mr. Bloss became a director in the Merced Security Savings Bank, serving as its president for nine consecutive years; much of the success of this institution is due to the cooperative efforts of Mr. Bloss and Mr. Carlson, the cashier, who was formerly an employe of the Southern Pacific and was well-known in Merced. In 1911 Mr. Bloss was instrumental in having a branch of the Merced Security Savings Bank established at Atwater, and with the growth of the community the bank has also prospered. Mr. Bloss is a fine judge of land values and this has stood the bank in good stead when it has made loans, as well as those making investments outside of the banks. One of the first official duties taken on by Mr. Moss was as administrator of the Mitchell Estate, which he served for eleven years.
Mr. Bloss has been twice married, his first union having taken place in 1873, when he was united with Ella Stone, formerly of Woodbury, Ct., and niece of the late John W. Mitchell. She died in 1893, leaving two children, Edna, who became the wife of Julian Thorne and lives in San Francisco; and George Stone Bloss, Jr., prominent stockman of Atwater, also having served as a director of the Merced Security Savings Bank and one of the leading men of the younger generation in the county. On February 2, 1904, Mr. Bloss was again married, this time being united with Mrs. Edna (Thompson) Hull, whom he had known in boyhood, she being born in Bethlehem, Ct. A Californian hospitality is dispensed from the Bloss home, which is the center of social happenings in Atwater. Mr. Bloss has never let his interest in the upbuilding of Merced County diminish, but is always found in the van helping all meritorious enterprises.
History of Merced County, California – Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1925
page 551-555
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
WILLIAM J. McCORRY
A descendant of an ancient and honored Irish family, and a pioneer grain rancher of Merced County, William J. McCorry is the owner of a ranch comprising 1,258 acres, five miles northeast of Planada, which represents a lifetime of honest. and hard work; for he came to this country a poor boy, and with his own way to make in the world. Born in County Antrim, Ireland, on March 17, 1853, he is the only surviving member of the family born to his parents, Patrick and Marie (Crossey) McCorry. The McCorry family have records showing their occupancy of the same home in Ireland for 420 years, up to the time William J. left home, in 1872.
Reared and educated in his native land, at the age of eighteen his youthful ambition led him to seek to better his condition by coming to the new world. He was nine days en route to New York on the S. S. City of Paris; and from there he made his way to Buffalo, and then on up the lakes to Marquette, Mich., where he worked two and one-half years in the iron foundries, at $2.25 a day for ten hours' work. In 1875 he came west to California, first locating in Knoxville, Napa County, working as a wage-earner in the quicksilver mines.
Twelve months later, in 1876, Mr. McCorry arrived at the Huffman ranch, in Merced County, and worked the first season in haying and harvesting. He preferred the rural life, and put in the dry seasons of 1877-1879 at Stony Creek, Colusa County, in the Sacramento Valley, and also spent a short time in Butte County. As an example of the obstacles to be overcome in those days, M. McCorry planted grain in 1877, but the weather continued so dry that the grain did not come up until the winter of 1878-1879. With the exception of these seasons, he has resided in Merced County ever since his first arrival here. From 1876 until 1881, he continued to work out on the farms southeast of Merced. The following year, in company with Dan Reilly, he started grain-farming, and for four seasons had splendid success. In 1885 he bought 200 acres of the Reilly lands, and by a number of subsequent purchases increased his acreage up to 1,280 acres. In 1919 he donated to the county a portion of the north edge of his ranch, for the Yosemite Boulevard, but retains 1,258 acres of it still.
As a pioneer Mr. McCorry introduced modern ways and methods of ranching and thus set an example which has been followed by others; and as a man, he set an example for honesty and integrity which has been a strong factor for good in his community. By all who know him he is called one of the finest and squarest of men. His reminiscences of early days are most interesting and show the sturdy character of the man. He says, "I sold barley for four bits a hundred, and wheat at seventy-nine cents, but in some way managed to pay my debts at those prices, though it took some figuring!" He states that "usually the ranchers lived well, having plenty on the table, and as a general thing enjoyed life." This is particularly true of Mr. McCorry, for his family have staid on the home place to a large extent, carrying on the work so well started by their sire. His sons are enterprising men and have loyally taken up the operation of the ranch, cultivating 2,000 acres to grain.
The marriage of Mr. McCorry, which occurred on February 5, 1884, united him with Mary O'Dea, a native of County Claire, Ireland, who came to California about 1881. They were blessed with eleven children, nine of whom have grown to maturity: John J., of Planada; Marie, at home; Hugh; William F.; Margaret, of San Francisco; Elizabeth, now Mrs. W. J. Angelich of Fresno; James, of Planada; Anne, of Fresno; and Daniel, with the Central National Bank of Oakland; and a son of Mrs. McCorry's twin sister, Frank, has been reared from babyhood as their own son.
Mr. McCorry is a stockholder in the Merced Security Savings Bank. For twenty years he has served as a trustee for the Cunningham school district; and he has also served many times on election boards. He has always taken an active interest in furthering the best interests of the county, and in all his development work has had that end in view. Fraternally, he is a member of Merced Lodge No. 1240, B. P. O. E., as are also his sons John J. and William F.
History of Merced County, California – Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1925
page 555-556
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler