Sonoma County Biography
Newton Jackson Grider
While practically all of his life from his earliest recollections has been spent within the state of California and in the same section of the commonwealth, Mr. Grider is by birth an Iowan and was born in Davis county during the year 1863, shortly before the migration of the family across the plains to the Pacific coast. The family of which he is a member became identified with American history at an early period and his parents, Henry and Sarah (Fulkerson) Grider, were born in Indiana in the years 1829 and 1830 respectively, removed to Iowa prior to the Civil war and during the progress of that struggle turned their faces yet further toward the west, becoming residents of California, where the father died in 1872; the mother is still living. For a long period he had been prominent in local Masonic work, holding membership with the blue lodge at Lakeport, this state, and contributing generously to its philanthropies.
The parental family included five children, William, Theodore, Elmer, Newton J. and Armilla. The second-named son married Clara Fulkerson and makes his home in Tulare county, this state, his family consisting of wife and six children, Henry, Walter, Mabel, Eva, Edna and Erma; the eldest daughter, Mabel, is the wife of Harry Hamilton, and Eva also is married. When one year old Newton J. Grider was brought to California in 1864 by his parents and in this state grew to manhood, meantime receiving a common-school education. In common with many of the progressive men of Northern California he is a landowner and a thorough believer in the possibilities of the soil responding to proper methods of cultivation. At this writing he owns a ranch of nine hundred and seventy-eight acres in Sonoma county, the tract containing considerable timber and pasture, also twenty acres of meadow and a family orchard. For some time, in addition to superintending the land, he was engaged in the livery business at Cazadero, where he had a well-equipped barn with accommodations for seventy-five head of horses and a complete outfit of vehicles. These were let to the public at reasonable prices. He sold the livery business in November, 1910, and located in Guerneville, where he now makes his residence, having leased his farm.
The Republican party has received the steadfast allegiance of Mr. Grider ever since he attained his majority and he upholds the principles of that organization as favoring the best interests of the people. Besides being active in Masonry he has been identified with the Foresters of America for the past twenty years, holding membership in Santa Rosa Camp No. 24 and contributing to the maintenance of that body. During the year 1884 he married Miss Jessie Hall, who was born in Minnesota and grew to womanhood in Shasta county, this state. Their union was blessed with five children, namely: Loren T., Clyde, Harold, Eva and Hallie, Mrs. John Dillon. The older daughter is the wife of Frederick Pollard and has two daughters, Hallie and Blanche. The Hall family is of Canadian ancestry, Joseph Hall, who was born in Canada in 1843, came to the United States in early life and for three and one-half years served in the Union army during the Civil war, removing to California in 1873 and making his home in Shasta county. By his marriage to Luena Banker he had twelve children, namely: Halbert, Stephen, Joseph, Ernest, George, Ralph, Archie, Eva, Edna, Jessie, Grace and Effie. The first named son was married and has two daughters, Marie and Inez. Ernest has a wife and two children, Halbert and Velma. Edna is the wife of Harry Larned and has one child, Effie. Grace is married and has a son, Kenneth Zachary. George chose as his wife Miss Bertha Wange and Ralph married Fay Henderson, by whom he has one son, Richard.
History of Sonoma County, California
History by Tom Gregory : Historic Record Company, 1891
Los Angeles, Ca. 1911
Transcribed by Roberta Hester Leatherwood
October 2009 Pages 1032-1033
Sonoma County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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