Walter Joseph Zweifel
Into whatever portion of the world the Swiss race migrates they take with them the qualities that form the heritage of their nation. Honor and industry comprise their creed; patient perseverance in the face of discouraging obstacles lays the foundation for ultimate success in any occupation to which they devote their earnest efforts. It is to industry and perseverance that Mr. Zweifel owes his present standing as a horticulturist and farmer in Sonoma county. When he came to this country from Switzerland (where he was born in 1849) he had no means to aid him in getting a financial start in the new world, nor did he possess a knowledge of the language or the customs of the people. Yet notwithstanding obstacles and impediments he has gained a commendable degree of success.
The farm which Mr. Zweifel purchased in 1881 and which he still owns comprises one hundred and sixty-five acres of valuable land lying on section 23. Of the tract forty acres have been planted to a vineyard from which he sold one hundred tons of grapes during the season of 1910. Twenty acres are in an orchard of apples, peaches and pears, that netted him $900 in the same season. Forty acres are in meadow and pasture. The fine condition of the land is due to the owner’s untiring exertions since he came here about thirty years ago. Painstaking in his industrious efforts, he has labored unceasingly to develop the property and its profitable cultivation represents the results of his forethought and wisdom. It has not been possible for him to participate in neighborhood activities, for he has felt that his time must be devoted to his farm, but he has studied political affairs and gives his allegiance to the Republican party. Ever since he became a citizen of California he has been loyal to its welfare and enterprises for the well-being of his home county.
The first marriage of Mr. Zweifel united him with Anna Hett, by which union he had three daughters, Pauline, Anna and Lena. Coming to California in 1880 and settling in Sonoma county he here married in 1885 Miss Carrie Scheidecker, by whom he has three daughters, namely: Edith, Mrs. George Henry Silk; Lulu, who attended the Santa Rosa Business College prior to her marriage to C. W. Butcher, of Windsor; and Minnie, who also was a student in that institution before her marriage to Emil Small of Windsor. It was in 1907 that Edith Bertha Zweifel became the wife of George Henry Silk and they have two children, Andrew George and Lillian Edith. In religious views Mr. Silk is a Methodist, while politically he favors Republican principles. Interested in various branches of agriculture, he owns a finely-improved farm of ninety-six acres in Sonoma county. During 1909 this place brought him $680 in the hay crop, also four tons of prunes, $900 from the vineyard of twenty-four acres and $234 from the poultry, besides which he has a small income from his four milch cows. Born at Alexander Valley, Sonoma county, in 1870, Mr. Silk is a son of Henry John and Ann Silk, natives of Germany. By a former marriage Henry John Silk has one son, Thomas, now a resident of Forestville, Sonoma county, and married to Ida Jewett, by whom he has two children, Thomas and Margaret. The second marriage of Henry John Silk was solemnized in 1869 and the following year he brought his family from Germany to America, settling in California, where he became a prominent early resident of Alexander Valley. Both the Silk and the Zweifel families have many warm friends among the people of Sonoma county and their high standing is due to industrious application, loyalty to their adopted country and devotion to the welfare of their home county.
History of Sonoma
County, California
History by Tom Gregory : Historic Record Company, 1891
Los Angeles, Ca. 1911
Transcribed by Roberta Hester Leatherwood
May 22, 2012 Pages 650-653
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