Sonoma County Biography
Manuel de Rezendes
Few of the foreign-born citizens of the United States have come from the location which was the scene of the birth of Manuel de Rezendes, a dairyman in the vicinity of Bodega, and a citizen whose contentment with his adopted home would be hard indeed to exceed. He first saw the light of day on one of the Azore Islands, a part of the territory of Portugal. There he was born in 1868, and there he continued to make his home until about 1886, when he set sail from his island home and in due time landed in the harbor of Boston, Mass. California was his objective point, and instead of lingering in the east, he immediately made arrangements for his transportation to the Pacific coast, coming to his journey's end in San Francisco.
From the wester metropolis, Mr. De Rezendes went first to Marin county, spending two years in the vicinity of Tomales, where he was variously occupied, doing whatever came to his hand that would furnish him with a livelihood until he could familiarize himself with his new surroundings. From Tomales he came to Sonoma county in 1888 and located near Bodega, and so satisfied was he with the outlook that he has made this his home ever since, a period of twenty-two years. Much of this time was employed in farming, and employment which he took up readily, for in his native land he had become familiar with farming as there conducted and he readily adapted his knowledge to the requirements in his new surroundings. Since 1905, however, he has been superintendent of the Bodega Creamery Company's plant, an industry which has had considerable influence in placing this town on a substantial commercial footing. That he is the right man for the place is evidenced by his long retention in office, and under his management the plant has had a steady, prosperous growth.
In 1894, Mr. De Rezendes was united in marriage with Miss Emma Sepes, a native of California, and six children have been born of their marriage. Named in the order of their birth they are as follows: Mathew, William, Victor, Anneta, Clara and Virginia. The eldest son has become self-supporting and is now employed in the saw-mill in Bodega; the three children next younger are pupils in the home school, while the others have as yet not attained school age. Mr. De Rezendes' father is deceased, but his mother is still living and a resident of California.
History of Sonoma County, California
History by Tom Gregory : Historic Record Company, 1891
Los Angeles, Ca. 1911
Transcribed by Roberta Hester Leatherwood
July 2008
Page 1045
Sonoma County Biographies ~ Archive Biography Index ~ Archive Index
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