San Diego County
Biographies
SAMUEL J. BAIRD
SAMUEL J. BAIRD, of National City was born in
Perry County, Ohio, June 13, 1824, and lived in his native place until
twenty-nine years of age. In the year 1853, wishing to see more of the world he
went to Whiteside County, Illinois, where he resided many years, dong his share
in developing that country. For several years he served as one of the
supervisors of the county in which he lived, and for three years he was elected
president of the Whiteside County Agricultural Society. He was for some years a
member of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry and assisted in organizing the State
Grange. In 1882 he left the associations which had grown up around him and came
to National City to buildup a home in this land of perpetual summer. How well he
has succeeded is attested by his fine residence with its beautiful surrounding
and delightful view. In addition to his home tract of fourteen acres he owns 150
acres of excellent land in Chula Vista, one of National City’s charming suburbs.
In the organization of the Bank of National City, Mr. Baird was a stockholder
and was elected one of its directors and has annually been re-elected to that
office. In April , 1888, he was elected one of the city trustees and still holds
the position. In 1851 Mr. Baird was married to Miss Eliza Brown, daughter of
Isaac Brown, of Perry County, Ohio. Of this union five sons and three daughters
were born, all living at this date.
An Illustrated History of Southern California: Embracing the Counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the Peninsula of Lower California, from the Earliest Period of Occupancy to the Present Time.... - Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1890. pp 258 Transcribed by Carolyn Feroben
JOSE ANTONIO ALTAMIRANO
JOSE ANTONIO ALTAMIRANO, of San Diego, was
born at La Paz, Lower California, May 31, 1835. His father, Thomas Altamirano,
was a commission merchant and shipper, and loaded vessels at La Paz for Mazatlan,
San Blas, and other points; he was an influential and prominent man and had a
large, prosperous business. He married Miss Dolores Carrillo, a native of Lower
California, and was the father of twelve children. Jose, the youngest child,
received special care in his education, being naturally bright. Assisting his
father in his business, he became acquainted with many principles which in after
life proved of great value to him. In May, 1849 , Jose concluded to leave home
for Upper California, and shortly afterward he arrived in San Diego. During the
early gold-mining period he spent over four years in the mountains from Merced
river northward as far as the Klamath river, engaged in mining , supplying the
miners with provisions, which he conveyed to them on packed mules. He bought a
large number of mules in Lower California, and sold them at a great profit in
San Diego. In 1859 he engaged in the rearing of live-stock on an extensive
scale, on his ranch in San Jacinto, near San Diego. His business increased upon
his hands so greatly that in 1869 he found that he required a larger scope of
country for pasturage, and he therefore drove his stock down into Lower
California in to the Valle de las Palmas, a large ranch.
November 12, 1863, he married Miss. Yasabel de Pedroena, a daughter of Don
Miguel de Pedroena, who was born in Madrid, of a good family of high social
standing. While still a young man he lived in London several years and acquired
the English language. Don Miguel, Mrs. Altamirano’s father, came to California
in 1838, and is several times mentioned in Bancroft’s history as a man of
splendid character and high standing. In the history of her sister, Mrs. J. W.
Wolfskill, of Los Angeles, the following record is made of Don Miguel :”From
1845 his home was in San Diego, where he married Miss Estudillo, by whom he had
four children: Victoria, deceased; Migues, Jr., deceased, who married a daughter
of General Burton; Ysabel, who married A. A. Altamirano, and Elena, who married
J. A. Wolfskill. Don Miguel was the grantor of the rancho San Jacinto in 1846,
and his wife was grantor of the rancho El Cajon in 1845; of the former of which
Mrs. Alamirano still owns the portion she inherited. He strongly approved the
cause of the United States acting, as Juez de Paz and as Stockton’s aide, with
the rank of Captain, in the California Battalion. In 1847-’48 he was collector
of customs at San Diego. He represented the State of Monterey in 1849, being one
of the most popular members of the Spanish race in that lodge. He died in 1850.”
Mr. Altamirano’s family comprises seven daughters and four sons. He has a
pleasant home in the old town of San Diego, or North San Diego as it is now
called. He is an interesting and enterprising business man, having many
interests in the county. He is a stockholder in the San Marcos Land and Town
Company, and has live-stock in San Jacinto and in Lower California.
An Illustrated History of Southern California: Embracing the Counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the Peninsula of Lower California, from the Earliest Period of Occupancy to the Present Time.... - Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1890. pp 258-259 Transcribed by Carolyn Feroben