Sonoma County Biography
John Dambrogi
The little republic of Switzerland has given of its sturdy sons to aid in the development of thes western hemisphere. Particularly has California been fortunate in having added to her citizenship a large number of these Swiss, who have brought with them to the west the industry, economy and persevering traits characteristic of their forefathers. Numbered among the Swiss-American residents of Sonoma county is John Dambrogi, a native of Switzerland, born in 1848, but ever since 1875 a resident of the United States and a citizen thoroughly loyal to every interest of his adpoted country.
When Mr. Dambrogi landed on this shores a stranger in a strange and, he did not linger at the point of landing any longer than was necessary to make arrangements to proceed on his way to California, for here it was that his interests lay, owning to the fact that others of his countrymen has settled here in large numbers and were making a success of their undertakings. In his native country he had followed tilling the soil as a means of livelihood, and it was along this line that he sought and obtained work in his new home in the west. For a number of years it was necessary for him to work in the employ of others before assuming responsibilities of his own, this being necessary from the fact that he had no available means with which to purchase property, as well as from the fact that he was as yet unfamiliar with the methods of farming in this country. Both of these necessities were amply provided for as the years passed, for with the means which he accumulated he purchased land and began its cultivation with more vigor and assurance than would otherwise have been possible. It was in 1907 that he purchased the property which is now his home, and which lies ten miles from Petaluma, on Rural Route No. 4. Here he is the proud owner of two hundred and thirty acres of fine land, where his energies are employed in the dairy business, stock-raising and in the raising of chickens. Thirty cows of good breed supply his dairy, besides which he has fifteen head of hogs and five young horses which he is raising for the market. While his dairy industry alone netted him a profit of $700 during the year 1909, and is constantly on the increase, it is probably in his chicken industry that his greatest profit is made. In 1910 he had eighteen hundred chickens in his poultry yard, and it is his intention to increase his flock and make this part of his ranch enterprise his principal industry.
During the thirty-five years that Mr. Dambrogi has been a citizen of the United States he has returned to his native land only one, and that was to claim his bride in Miss Reginia Pronini. After their marriage in their native land they set sail for the United States, and here in California they have been content to remain and rear their children. Eight children have been born of their marriage, four sons and four daughters, as follows: Henry, Charles, John, Cecil, Mary, Delpini, Edith and Linda. The eldest daughter, Mary, has left the parental roof and is established in a home of her own as the wife of John Braga, by whom she has three children, William, Rosa and Neta. The other children in the family are still at home with their parents. In their childhood both Mr. Dambrogi and his wife were trained to a knowledge of the Roman Catholic faith, and it is in this faith also that they have reared their own children. Politically Mr. Dambrogi is a Republican, and fraternally is associated with one order, Lodge No. 149, Druids, at Petaluma.
History of Sonoma County, California
History by Tom Gregory : Historic Record Company, 1891
Los Angeles, Ca. 1911
Transcribed by Roberta Hester Leatherwood
June 2008
Pages 608-611
Sonoma County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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