Charles Welch
Sonoma county has one of its best-known ranchers in Charles Welch, who came to California as early as 1875 and has witnessed its subsequent development with the keenest interest. The part that he has played in this advancement has not been inconsiderable, for his is a man of action and energy and throws his whole heart and soul into whatever he undertakes.
The boyhood years of Mr. Welch has been passed in the middle west, his birth having occurred in Boone county, Mo., in 1852, the son of parents who gained a livelihood by tilling the soil. They were McDonald and Amanda (Tucker) Welch, natives of West Virginia and Terre Haute, Ind., respectively, and the greater part of their live was passed on the Missouri homestead, where they reared their four children, Larentine, Larrah, Lilly and Charles. Not content with the outlook in his native locality, Charles Welch determined to come to the west and establish a ranch along special lines, and as is well known, he is one of the largest raisers of Angora goats throughout this section of Sonoma county. Located ten miles from Guerneville, the Welch ranch comprises three hundred and twenty acres, a part of which is used as pasturage for the eighty head of Angora goats which constitute his herd at the present time, and which increases each year at the rate of fifty head. Some idea of the profits realized from this industry may be gathered from the statement that during the year 1910 he received $1 per head for the wool from these animals. While the raising of goats is his chief interest, still it does not represent all of the activities in which he is engaged, for he also raises hogs extensively, having sixty-two head besides forty-two head of young pigs, all of which are fattened for market purposes. He also has a well-established vineyard of seven acres, also a fine orchard of three acres. Taken in its entirety Mr. Welch’s ranch is one of the best in this section of Sonoma county, and it is safe to say that there is no one more enthusiastic as to the possibilities of the goat industry than is he, and it is his purpose to develop his own business along this line as rapidly as circumstances will permit.
Mr. Welch’s marriage united him with Miss Anna E. Donivan, and they have one son, Albert L. The latter is also married, his first marriage uniting him with Anna Travers, after her death marrying Allie Trageer. They reside in San Francisco. Mrs. Welch is a daughter of John and Annie Donivan, to whom were born seven children, five sons and two daughters, as follows: John, William, Walter, James, Cornelius M., Anna and Ella. William is married and has one son, William, Jr. Walter and his wife, who before her marriage was Lawrie Best, have six children, five sons and one daughter. Cornelius M. chose as his wife Nellie Bloodsell and they have one daughter, Mabel. Ella is the wife of Henry Woolsey. Politically Mr. Welch is a Republican, and while he is not identified by membership with any church organization, he squares his actions by the Golden Rule, that which there can be no better guide.
History of Sonoma
County, California
History by Tom Gregory : Historic Record Company, 1891
Los Angeles, Ca. 1911
Transcribed by Roberta Hester Leatherwood
January 5, 2012 Pages 906-907
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