Yolo County
Biographies
Earl T. Anderson
One mile south of Woodland, on the Davis road, lies Victoria orchard, a beautiful fruit farm which throughout the county is renowned for its high state of cultivation and the excellent quality of its products. The owner of this property, (which was known as the old Briggs ranch at the time he acquired it) is Earl T. Anderson, one of Yolo county’s youngest horticulturists. He was born November 10, 1888 in Lewis county, Mo. His father, William T. Anderson, is engaged in breeding thoroughbred horses on his stock farm near Lexington, Ky. Earl T. Anderson was educated at LaGrange, Mo., and also attended the Gem City Business College at Quincy, Ill. In Lewis county he assisted his uncle in the management of his stock farm consisting of three hundred and sixty acres, upon which fine horses and mules were raised, the herd numbering at one time one hundred head. Mr. Anderson had long felt a desire to locate in the golden west, concerning the beauty and prosperity of which he had heard so many glowing tales; therefore, in 1909, he came to California and after carefully surveying the various opportunities presented to him chose his present ranch in Yolo county, which had the advantages of being in a greatly improved condition and in being in close proximity to the rapidly growing town of Woodland, thus easily answering the question of shipping. The high standard of excellence enjoy by this property at the time of Mr. Anderson’s purchase has not only been maintained, but in the short period it has been in the hands of its new owner has shown various phases of improvement which are the result only of his thoroughly modern and progressive methods. Victoria orchard, located at Mullen station on the South Pacific, comprises eighty acres, divided as follows: Apricots, twenty acres; grapes (Muscat and Thompson seedless raisin varieties), sixty acres; fifty fig trees (the drying species); thirty-five fine English walnut trees; one hundred and fifty almond trees; five hundred olive trees (Mission and Navodella, pickle and oil varieties); seventy-five silver prune trees; seventy-five peach trees; also a number of orange, lemon, nectarine, chestnut, persimmon, quince and cherry trees. Besides his fruit, Mr. Anderson raises a fine quality of alfalfa on a small portion of his land.
Mr. Anderson has for some time been keenly interested in thoroughbred horses, and with his father is interested in breeding them in Kentucky, where have been raised many of the notably swift runners which have taken part in California meets. Though not a native of this state, Mr. Anderson is intensely interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of Yolo county, and his friends are aware that he may be counted upon to respond to the best of his ability to the various calls for the betterment of the community.
Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: “History of Yolo County, California” by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 482 – 485.
Thomas Hall
One of Madison’s oldest and one of her best citizens is Thomas Hall. He began life in Herkimer county, N. Y., October 6, 1828, and today in Yolo county, Cal., his farthest past and his nearest present are eighty-four years apart and the two places are separated by several thousand miles of American continent. He lived in his native town until he was fourteen years of age, when the family moved to Racine county, Wis. Ten years afterward, in 1852, he found himself aboard a very crowded steamer westward bound. The New Yorker landed in Yerba Buena (San Francisco) safely and from there came on to Sacramento, where he went to work in the spring of 1853. He began ranching on the river bottom, remaining there until 1867, when he located on Cache creek near Madison, Yolo county. There was plenty of land for the mere taking up and he took up a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of government land, improving his holdings and making additional purchases until he had four hundred and fifty acres of land under high cultivation. There was not a tree on the place. He set out groves and orchard, barnyard fences and buildings. One fig tree now measures nine feet in circumference.
Thomas Hall was married in Racine, Wis., in July, 1850, to Miss Fidelia Hutchins, a native of Steuben county, N. Y. Of the eleven children born to them, eight are living, as follows: Charles, Adelbert, Florence, Martha, Nellie, Maud, Mary and Minnie. Charles resides on a part of the old home place. Florence is Mrs. John B. Sankey, of Oakland. Martha is Mrs. L. T. Brock, of Winters. Nellie, Mrs. E. K. Caldwell, resides in Oakland. Maud is Mrs. G. A. Weihe, of San Francisco. Mary is Mrs. P. S. Grant, of St. Helena. Minnie is Mrs. George Warren, of Fruitvale. Adelbert resides on a part of the home ranch.
Mr. and Mrs. Hall are now living retired on the old home ranch, having been married for sixty-one years. Mr. Hall never aspired to official life. He is now the only one left of those who settled on the Sacramento river when he did in 1853. After eighty-four years of activity, he is now enjoying a well-earned rest, surrounded by his family and respected by his neighbors.
Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: “History of Yolo County, California” by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 485 – 486.
William Edward Roach
One of the most prosperous and highly esteemed farmers and viticulturists of Yolo county is Mr. Roach, who since 1892 has been identified with Woodland and Madison. He was born February 18, 1872, near Ironton, Lawrence county, Ohio, and in that state too his parents Eli and Mary (Dillon) Roach, were born. They became farmers of Lawrence county and there, they now reside. The son received his education in the schools of his home locality and at the age of seventeen he went to Douglas county, Ill., where for two years he was employed on a farm. It was in 1892 that he came to California and located in Woodland, and after being variously employed for a time he became an employe on the place of Dr. H. P. Merritt, remaining there for about twelve years, all of this time excepting the first year being foreman of the ranch. Subsequently, going to San Francisco, he secured a position in the shops of the Union Iron Works and remained there about eighteen months. Later on he leased the old Dr. H. P. Merritt ranch near Madison, a tract of twelve hundred acres, and this he has farmed every since with increasing success. In January, 1911, at Mullen station, one mile south of Woodland, he purchased eighty acres for $227.50 an acre, all set to vineyard, mostly table grapes. He leases his vineyard profitably, his 1912 rent netting him $1500, showing an increased valuation of over one hundred percent. He operates his ranch with eight mule teams, and gathers his crops with a combined harvester, which he propels with thirty head of mules. Besides raising grain and alfalfa he also raises cattle and hogs.
The marriage of Mr. Roach occurred in San Francisco in September, 1897, and united him with Miss Nellie Kerr, who like himself was a native of Lawrence county, Ohio. The two children born to them are Floyd D. and Mary B. Mr. Roach has one brother in California, John C. Roach, who makes his home with him. A member of Madison Lodge No. 287, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand, Mr. Roach is also affiliated with the encampment at Woodland. Politically he is a stanch Democrat, keenly interested in both civic and national issues. As a citizen of the highest type and worth, he enjoys the universal esteem of his associates, and may always be relied upon to contribute his share toward the progress of the community.
Transcribed by Bea Barton
Source: “History of Yolo County, California” by Tom Gregory. Published by the Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1913, pages 486 – 489.