Ventura County
Biographies
Thomas Harwood
Thomas Harwood, of Saticoy, is a California pioneer, who came into the State in 1850. He was born in Gibson County, Indiana, November 24, 1841. He was the son of Thomas Harwood, Sr., a native of New York, and the grandson of Ruthland Harwood, who came from England. His mother, Sarah Harwood, was a native of England, They had six children, only three of whom survive. Thomas Harwood obtained most of his education in California, as he was only nine years of age when he came to this State. For fifteen years he was engaged in the freighting business from Marysville to Virginia City, with a ten-mule team and a large wagon. The distance was 120 miles, over mountain roads; the round trip was performed in twenty days. They hauled five tons and cleared nearly $500 each trip. Some of the mountain sides were steep, and the road formed many loops to make the grade possible, and then the hind wheels were dragged down on shoes to keep them from revolving. From there Mr. Harwood went to Butte County, and engaged in ranching; he had 2,400 acres of land, on which he kept about 2,000 sheep. The net income while he was on this ranch was about $3,000. He continued in this business about twelve years when he sold out and came to Ventura, and bought a fine ranch where he now resides. The ranch contains 152 acres, for which he paid $18,000. There are twenty-five acres of bearing apricot trees, the fruit of which they market both green and dry, and a large orange and lemon grove and other citrus fruits; and he is now raising large quantities of beans and corn, both being a paying crop. In two years, at the present prices, the property will have paid all expenses and will have returned the purchase money. He raised 2,100 pounds of Lima beans to the acre, on forty acres of land, which are now worth five cents per pound; the land only cost him $70 per acre. He has raised ninety bushels of shelled corn to the acre, and it is now worth $1 per hundred pounds; he is also raising some Belmont horses.
Mr. Harwood was married in 1876, to Miss E.A. Mastin, born November 14, 1859, in Quincy, Plumas County, California; her parents were natives of Georgia and South Carolina. They have four children, three born in Butte County, California, as follows: Thomas F., born September 26, 1879; Oliver, December 4, 1881; Henry Irvin, October 9, 1883; and Frederick W., born in Ventura County, August 21, 1887. Mr. and Mrs. Harwood are members of the Congregational Church. In his political views Mr. Harwood is a Republican, and has frequently held the office of School Trustee. He is an intelligent California, and is alive to the interests of his State, and highly esteemed by his neighbors.
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTIES OF SANTA BARBARA, SAN LUIS OBISPO, AND VENTURA, CALIF. by Ida Addis Storke, 1891, p 308 Transcribed by Sandy Neder
R. B. Haydock
R. B. Haydock is the Principal of the Hueneme school in Ventura county. He was born in Paducah Kentucky, March 20, 1867. His father, R. M. Haydock, was also a native of Kentucky, born in 1831, and now resides in Monrovia, Los Angeles County. His grandfather, John Haydock, was born in North Carolina. Mr. Haydock's mother, nee Elizabeth Watts, was a native of Kentucky, and her father, David Watts, was born in North Carolina and removed to Kentucky, being one of the pioneers of that state. The subject of this sketch is the fifth of a family of seven children, all of whom are living. When a child he was brought to California by his parents, in 1873, and received his education in the public schools of this State. He graduated at the State Normal School of Los Angeles, December 17, 1885, taught one year in the Arnaz district, Ventura County, and since that time has been connected with the school at Hueneme, as Principal. In 1888 he was appointed by the Supervisors of Ventura County, a member of the Board of Education, which position he now occupies. In 1890, for County Clerk on the Democrat ticket, he ran 125 votes ahead of his fellow candidates, while the average Republican majority for that year was about 300. Mr. Haydock has chosen teaching as his profession, and thus far has met with excellent success, gaining the confidence and respect of his pupils, as well as of the patrons of the school. His qualifications as a teacher, combined with his love for the work, make him a fitting instructor for the young.
Mr. Haydock was reared a Methodist, but is not a member of the church. Politically he is independent in his views, trying always to select the best man.
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTIES OF SANTA BARBARA, SAN LUIS OBISPO, AND VENTURA, CALIF. by Ida Addis Storke, 1891, p 447 Transcribed by Sandy Neder