The San Luis Obispo County
CAGenWeb Project

JAMES BADASCI

Was the second of three children, born in Franco-Switzerland, October 9, 1849. His parents were Stephen and Mary (Lanini) Badasci. In his native mountain country he remained until fifteen years of age, receiving the education the schools afforded, and trained to the habits of industry that have enabled him to succeed well in life. In 1866 he emigrated to America, coming direct to California, and without delay engaging to work in a dairy in Marin County. In that employment he remained for nine years, when he removed to Cayucos, San Luis Obispo County, and bought a ranch of 480 acres, a view of which is given in these pages. On this he has since resided, engaged in improving his place, stocking it, farming and dairying. He now milks from seventy-five to one hundred cows, and makes large quantities of butter, which finds a ready market.

Mr. Badasci was married, August 4, 1879, to Miss Katie Muscio. Mrs. Badasci died March 30, 1880, leaving no children.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, p345. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

EDWIN PETES BEAN

In a pleasant cañada on the north slope of the Santa Lucia Range, eight miles north of the city of San Luis Obispo, is the well-known and popular hostelry of Bean Brothers whose place makes one of the fine landscape views illustrated in this book. These gentlemen are successful farmers and horticulturists, as well as hotel-keepers, and their orchard of a great variety of fruits is an example of what may be accomplished among the hills of this county. A description of this place has already been given in the biographical sketch of Mr. R. M. Bean, and it is not necessary to repeat it here.

The junior member of the firm is Edwin Petes Bean, who was born in Corinth, Penobscot County, Maine, May 1, 1844, his parents being Reuben and Mary (Smith) Bean, natives of Sutton, Merrimac County, New Hampshire, both of the stock of early New England settlers and desceridants of soldiers of the Revolution. The family of children was large, there being eight sons and four daughters, Edwin P. and Edward W. being twins. But this appears not to have been enough to make the “baker’s dozen” and the father adopted another boy bearing the name of Petes, and preserved this name by giving it to his son. The boys grew to manhood in their native town, dividing their time in attending the district school and laboring with their father on his farm and in his saw-mill, the latter being the great institution of the “Pine Tree State.” With such instruction young Edwin learned the way to battle for life wherever the pine tree flourished, or the soil yielded to cultivation, and in 1864, followed his brother to the Pacific Coast, seeking the forests of the Sierra Nevada, and engaged in the business of making lumber to supply the market of Virginia City and the mining regions of Nevada. In this he continued with good success until 1870, when he undertook farming in the San Joaquin Valley. A dry year followed and his farming was not a success, and renewing his efforts in 1871, another failure followed sweeping away the fortune he and his brother had made in Nevada. The details of his farming enterprise and the struggles of the brothers have been given.

In 1877 he purchased the place which he has since made his home. December 11, 1878, he married Miss Rebecca Maude Sumner, a native of California, daughter of Sandy and Nancy (Perigin) Sumner, who were natives of Lawrence County, Illinois. The marriage has been blessed with two handsome children, Nancy Marietta, born August 20, 1879, and Sandy Edwin, born April 9, 1881. The family is pleasantly situated and take delight in the entertainment of friends and in the social pleasures of the country.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, p232. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

R. M. BEAN

Is the Supervisor from the Salinas District, his home being in a pleasant valley on the northeastern slope of the Santa Lucia Range, where a perennial stream runs to the Santa Margarita and to the Salinas River. The district represented by Mr. Bean has an area as large as some States of the Union, and where the ranchos of some private citizens exceed some of the Dukedoms and Principalities of Europe. Lovely mountain potreros, rolling hills, rugged ranges, fertile river valleys, and broad plains comprise the region of the eastern part of the county, out of any portion of which it is usual to select a Supervisor. The present representative is Reuben Martin Bean, who is a native of Corinth, Penobscot County, Maine, where he was born March 21, 1842. The father was Reuben Bean, and the maiden name of the mother was Nancy Smith, who were born in Sutton, New Hampshire, in the first decade of this century. They were descendants of the earliest settlers of New England, and their parents had taken an active part in the war against England for independence. Soon after marriage the father and mother of our Supervisor moved into Maine and located at Corinth, one of the chief towns of Penobscot, although twenty miles from the great river which gives its name to the county. The family was large, consisting of eight sons and four daughters, being Reuben M., Edward W., and Edwin P., twins, Augustus L., Charles H., Sumner S., and David H. (deceased), and Albert; the daughters being Clarissa, Diana, Ianthe, and Mary, all married and having families excepting the bachelor subject whose name heads this sketch. The father owned a farm and saw-mill, which gave full employment to the sons as soon as they attained such age and strength as enabled them to be of service, and in thrifty New England the boys are set early at work, their home duties and their school duties keeping them too busily engaged to learn much mischief from the lessons of loafing and idleness. The long winters of Maine locked up both farm and mill, but opened the school, which all the youth attended, while the elders were in the pine forests getting out logs for the spring run of water. When the snows were melting and the mountain brook was a foaming torrent, then the boys could help about the mill,— not “making hay while the sun shone,” but making lumber while the water ran. When this work was over the farm labors began, and thus the year was profitably put in, gaining an education and learning the lessons of life. In this way Reuben M. passed the years of youth and early manhood, and when twenty years of age came to California, leaving his home on the 11th of March, 1862, taking the steamer at New York for a passage by the Isthmus of Panama, and arriving in San Francisco May 6th of the same year. He at once sought the interior, going to Sacramento, which was even then partly under water from the great floods of the previous winter. There was distress and stagnation in business at Sacramento, and, finding nothing to do, he went to Willow Creek, Calaveras County, and engaged in a saw-mill, for which his early training well fitted him. A Mr. Dennis owned the mill, but the country had been so denuded of timber that the last lot that could be gathered was soon cut into lumber, and the mill closed up.

The Washoe mining excitement was raging, carrying all who wished for adventure and were “foot-loose” to the “eastern slope,” and across the Sierra, in July, 1862, went young Mr. Bean.

The deep mines were not the only sources of wealth, and Mr. Bean was more familar with the saw, ax, and frow, than with the shovel, pick, and drill, and from the use of the former the product of the precious metal was more uniform and sure than from the latter, even if not so large at times. He therefore sought the work with which he was most familiar, and engaged with a man named Nelson in running a shingle-machine. This was the first shingle-machine ever set up in Nevada, and as he had had experience in managing one of the same kind in Maine, his services in this case were of great value. The machine was moved by hand power, and the toil was quite severe. For his labor Mr. Bean received his board and $75.00 per month, and the shingles sold at $12.00 per M. Owing to the hard labor and slow progress with the machine, Nelson was induced to send to Bangor, Maine, for another, with which Mr. Bean was also familiar. This was brought out and set up to run by water power, and with it from eight to ten thousand shingles were made daily. The locality was in a little valley about four miles from Lake Tahoe.

After working for Nelson three years. Bean bought a one-third interest in the Rose saw-mill, of which he took the management and continued in it for six years. In this he became connected with W. S. Chapman, known as the great Minnesota land speculator, who bought an interest in the mill and a large lot of timber land. Chapman continued as a partner in the mill for two years, when a company was formed called N. E. Bunker & Co., Bean being a member, buying Chapman’s interest. The business was very prosperous, as the mill would cut from 16 to 24 M. of lumber daily, which was delivered at Virginia City for $28.00 to $30.00 per M. During the first year or two the lumber sold at from $60.00 to $70.00 per M. in Virginia City. They also had a shingle-mill which made from 12 to 16 M. shingles daily, for which a ready market was found.

In 1870, having accumulated some money, and tiring of the hard work and severe climate of the summit of the Sierra Nevada, he took a tour through the farming and grazing regions of California, visiting San Luis Obispo County and the San Joaquin Valley. He concluded he would try farming, and taking some land belonging to his friend, Chapman, at Cottonwood, Merced County, in the San Joaquin Valley, cultivated 700 acres in wheat, but it being a very dry year in that section, nothing was raised, and he returned to his mill in Nevada. Being encouraged by Chapman, he tried farming the following year, cultivating in the same locality 1,500 acres in wheat, but with the same result as in the previous year. This was a succession of misfortunes enough to discourage almost any man. At that time the seed cost three cents per pound and had to be hauled forty miles, and hay cost $40.00 a ton, besides hauling it fifteen miles. In these enterprises he was connected with his brother, E. P. Bean, who had joined him in Nevada. The two dry years of farming on the San Joaquin had exhausted the fortune made in the lumber business in Nevada; but Chapman gave them employment to look after his land interests in Tulare County, by the Tulare Lake. There they dug wells, fitted the land for occupation, and leased it to others. From that point Chapman wished them to go into San Luis Obispo County, on the Carrisa Plain, where he owned land. This was in 1873. In settling on the Carrisa Plain the first necessity is to find water. The locality chosen was near the center of the valley, near the great salt plain. Water was found at a depth of three feet, but it was exceedingly salt. Another locality was sought, and at six feet in depth an abundance of good water was found. Kept there a large band of sheep, which they subsequently removed to the land now owned by Adams and Hollister, near the head of the San Juan River. There, in 1876, they had 5,000 head of sheep, but during that year one-half died, and the remainder were sold at seventy-five cents per head. After this backset, the Bean Brothers purchased the place now occupied by them, mentioned in the beginning of this sketch. This was purchased in 1877, and comprises an area of 183 acres, 60 of it being very fertile land fitted for culture or fruit growing, and the remainder grazing and timber. They now have an orchard of 800 trees of all varieties, some of the peach trees bearing the most luscious fruit as early as the middle of June, and yielding a revenue of $10.00 per tree. In the orchard are almonds, nectarines, apricots, cherries, pears, plums, apples, etc., of different varieties and luxuriant growth. Grapes, strawberries, and other similar fruit are grown in abundance. The locality is quite elevated, being about 800 feet above the sea, but is so sheltered by the hills that frost does not destroy fruit.

The principal road connecting the coast towns passes through the valley, and the Messrs. Bean Brothers have erected a large building and capacious stables for hotel purposes; also a large dancing hall, making their place one of pleasant resort for parties from the town of San Luis Obispo, or gathered in the surrounding country. It is also a favorite stopping place for farmers and teamsters hauling wood and produce to market, there being during the hauling season after harvest from 60 to 130 horses stopping at the place each night. There is used at the hotel from 250 to 300 tons of hay, and 50 tons of barley annually. The main road leads from San Luis Obispo north to Paso de Robles, San Miguel and the Southern Pacific Railroad at Soledad. Branch roads leads to Pozo (San José Valley) La Panza, Carrisa, Estrella, Cholame, and other localities north and east. The place was first settled upon as public land by a man named Brown, when it was a wild and uncultivated wilderness, in which condition it remained until after the purchase by Bean Brothers in 1877. They now have a hotel of two stories, 24x34 feet, with an L 16x20, a dancing hall in octavo form 61 feet in diameter, an arbor 100 feet in length covered by grape vines; and extensive stabling for the accommodation of teamsters.

This pleasant locality is also sought as a health resort by many people from the Tulare Valley, there being, at times, as many as fifty encamped in the vicinity. The climate partakes of mountain and valley, the ocean breezes which are sometimes quite severe on the west of the summit being broken by the intervening range, and blow gently down the valley. With the pure water and the genial climate of summer, it is a very desirable health resort for many classes of disease.

In this pleasant, healthful, and prosperous home, Mr. Bean now rejoices after many years of labor and vicissitudes. Besides the business of his hotel and farm he is not averse to lending aid in public matters, serving as School Trustee for several terms, and in November, 1882, was elected Supervisor of the county, which position he now fills.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, pp183-185. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

D. D. BLACKBURN

All visitors to the famous hot springs of Paso de Robles have formed the acquaintance of Daniel Drew Blackburn, the senior proprietor of that pleasant resort. Mr. Blackburn, of the old “Mother of States,” was born at Harper’s Ferry, Jefferson County, Virginia, April 8, 1816. His hale and hearty good looks and stalwart frame shows that he came of good stock, and he can boast of his family record as well as of their physical structure. His father was Joseph Blackburn, born at Charleston, Virginia; served in the war of 1812 and was wounded at the battle of Fort McHenry, in the desperate defense of the city of Baltimore in 1814, when the British were repulsed and their invasion of Maryland frustrated. The progenitor of the Blackburns came from England in early colonial times. The maiden name of his mother was Margaret Drew, daughter of Michael Drew, who was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and when a lad came to America, settling in Virginia while it was a colony of Great Britain, and served in the patriot army through the War of the Revolution. He was with Gen. Anthony Wayne at the storming of Stony Point, and with Washington at the crowning success of the war in the seige of Yorktown, witnessing the surrender of Cornwallis and the British army.

The parents of Mr. Blackburn moved to Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, in 1822, and in that pleasant section of the world he grew to manhood, attending school in Springfield acquiring a good education, and learned the trade of carpenter.

A goodly array of brothers and sisters made up the family of Mr. Blackburn, in the order of their age as follows: Mary Ann, now the wife of James Morgan, of Santa Cruz; William; Daniel D.; Maria, wife of the late Captain Findlay, of Wheatland, Yuba County; James H. and Jacob A., of Watsonville. Judge William Blackburn was one of the historical characters of California. He was one of the early pioneers, coming to this coast in 1844, and settling in Santa Cruz, at once taking a prominent part in the affairs of the country, becoming one of the active members of the American colony which led the way to the final transfer of California to the Union. In the war of conquest he joined the battalion of volunteers under Fremont and was Lieutenant of the company and marched with the army to Los Angeles. Returning to Santa Cruz he engaged in the business of merchant and was appointed Alcalde by Governor Mason. Many anecdotes are related of him, showing his decision of character, promptness of action, and his original manner of dispensing justice. Some are exceedingly humorous and some quite tragic. On one occasion a young man was brought before him charged with having sheared the mane of a horse close to the neck and the hair of the tail, leaving but a bare stump. The ludicrous appearance of the horse was proof of the act committed, and the evidence of the prisoner’s guilt was conclusive. Alcalde Blackburn sent for a barber, ordered the culprit to be seated and directed the tonsorial artist to shear and shave the dark flowing locks and curling moustache, which were the pride and glory of the vain wearer. The shearing and shaving were hardly accomplished when the counsel for the prisoner entered and moved an arrest of judgment. “Oh, yes,” said Blackburn, “as the shears and the razor have done their work, judgment may now rest.” “And under what law,” inquired the learned counsel, “has this penalty been inflicted?” “Under the Mosaic,” replied the Alcalde; “that good old rule—eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hair for hair.” “But,” said the Biblical jurist, “that was the law of the Old Testament, which has been abrogated in the New.” “But we are still living,” returned the Alcalde, “under the old dispensation, and must continue there until Congress shall sanction a new order of things.” “Well, well,” continued the counsel, “old dispensation or new, the penalty was too severe—a man’s head against a horse’s tail!” “That is not the question,” rejoined Blackburn; “it is the hair on the one against the hair on the other; now as there are forty fiddles to one wig in California, the inference is just, that horsehair of the two is in most demand, and that the greatest sufferer in this case is still the owner of the steed.” “But then,” murmured the ingenious counsel, “you should consider the young man’s pride.” “Yes, yes,” responded the Alcalde, “I considered all that, and considered too the stump of that horse’s tail and the just pride of the owner. Your client will recover his crop much sooner than the other, and will manage, I hope, to keep it free of the barber’s department in this court;” and with this client and counsel were dismissed.

Another instance was of a different character. A Californian murdered his wife and fled to the church for refuge, it being understood that from the portals of the sacred edifice no person could be taken by officers of the law. The church was closed but he thrust his finger in the keyhole and thought himself safe. But there were Americans among his pursuers who knew no such law, and the murderer was taken, and before Alcalde Blackburn was tried for his crime. It seems a strange court in which to try a person for a capital offense, but it was under Mexican law and by his own countrymen the prisoner was convicted and under Mexican law he was sentenced to be shot. In such cases Governor Mason required the findings of the court to be reported to him for approval before carrying the sentence into execution. The prisoner was guilty of an enormous crime yet there were fears that the Governor would disapprove the sentence, therefore to make sure of justice Blackburn ordered the execution simultaneously with forwarding the report of the case to the Governor. As was expected the Governor ordered a stay of the execution until he could inquire more fully into the case, but was answered that satisfaction had been given and the man was dead.

Many other anecdotes are told of the manner of meteing out justice in the Alcalde’s court of Santa Cruz in 1848. Judge Blackburn was elected to represent Sacramento District in the Constitutional Convention of 1849, but being engrossed in the exciting business of that time he did not attend. Upon the organization of the county of Santa Cruz he was elected its first County Judge, and was afterwards a successful merchant in that town. He died a few years since in San Francisco while there on business, and his remains were taken to Santa Cruz by the Society of Pioneers and there buried.

D. D. Blackburn remained at his home in Springfield until 1837, when he went to Oquakee, Henderson County, Illinois, and there worked at his trade of carpenter, continuing in that work two years and then engaging as clerk in the store of a Mr. Phelps, where he remained three years. He then formed a partnership in the company of Sweezey, Seymour & Blackburn in the business of pork-packing in the town of Oquakee, and continued in that business until the spring of 1849. The business had been successful, packing from 65,000 to 75,000 head of hogs annually and shipping them down the Mississippi to market. But 1849 opened a new field. His elder brother, William, had gone to California in 1844, and wrote home glowing accounts of the fair country, and all the family desired to join him in the land of promise. The discovery of gold was hardly needed to cause him to emigrate, but it was an additional incentive, and he and his brothers, James and Jacob, and brother-in-law Findley, his partner Henry Seymour and James Westerfield, prepared at once for the journey. A fine outfit was provided, consisting of three wagons with three yoke of oxen to each and a two years’ supply of provisions. Joining a train of 120 men under Captain McCullough, they crossed the Missouri River at Iowa Point on the 5th of May, 1849, and proceeded on their way across the plains and mountains to California, enjoying the journey as hale and hearty men can, arriving without other loss than one ox in the gold mines on Deer Creek on the 12th of August, 1849. At that time there was no sign that a white man had ever been in that neighborhood, and the Blackburns and party were the first to mine in the region since celebrated as Nevada City. The mines were very rich and they took the gold out by handfuls. Better mines were looked for and some of the party went to the South Yuba where for two weeks they made about $50.00 a day each, then tried the North Fork, and returned to Deer Creek. They mined with astonishing success until November 1st, when, Captain Findley becoming sick, they sold their teams and the remaining provisions for more than the original cost of all, and went to the Sacramento Valley. William Blackburn was then at Sutterville, in company with John McDougal, afterwards Governor, attempting to build a rival city to Sacramento.

After spending a week or two in Sacramento and San Francisco, D. D., James, and Jacob Blackburn and Mr. Seymour went to Santa Cruz, arriving there in the latter part of November, with $3,000 each as the result of their mining and sale of outfit. Captain Findley, the brother-in-law, soon followed. D. D. Blackburn engaged in farming on his brother William’s land, on shares, cultivating potatoes which sold in the field at from six to twelve cents per pound, and one lot from one acre in September, 1850, brought clear $1,200. He farmed eighty acres in various products. Leased some land at $100 an acre. Continued in the business until 1857 when, in June of that year, he went to Paso Robles and in company with James H. Blackburn and Lazarus Godchaux, purchased of Petronillo Rios the Paso de Robles Rancho, of six leagues of land including the famous hot springs, paying therefor $8,000. In 1860 the firm divided the rancho, Daniel taking one league including the springs. There has since been his home, finding it a barren wilderness and making it in the course of years the pleasant village and favorite resort of the State. He sold a half interest to a Mr. McGreel, who in 1865 sold to D. W. James for $11,000, and in 1873 sold another one-fourth interest to James H. Blackburn.

Mr. Blackburn has been mentioned in the history of the Vigilance Committee of 1858. At that period there was a call for the strong and the brave to come forward and risk their lives in overpowering the murdering banditti who made the roads a terror, and to establish a reign of law and order. Blackburn was the man for the occasion, and was made sheriff of the committee. Castro was the legally elected sheriff of the county, but he stepped aside while the Vigilance Committee was in possession of affairs, and Blackburn as its officer had full power. He made many arrests of desperadoes, and drove the infamous Jack Powers out of the State. This is all the office he has held or would accept. In politics he is a Democrat and exercises much influence in his party. In social affairs he is the genial gentleman that makes his guests at home in the well-kept hotel of the Paso de Robles Hot Springs .

Mr. Blackburn is a member of the Masonic Order and has passed through all the degrees to Royal Arch, joining Santa Cruz Chapter, No. 38, R. A. M., June 7, A. I. 2,400.

Mr. Blackburn was married in San Luis Obispo by Rev. Father Sastre, September 15, 1866, to Miss Celia Dunn, daughter of Patrick and Mary Ann Dunn, a native of Australia and of Irish descent. Mrs. Blackburn is the sister of Mrs. D. W. James, who was married at the same time and place, and is the sister of P. H. Dunn, Esq., the Postmaster at Paso Robles and business manager of the Hot Springs Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn have had born to them ten children, nine of whom are living: James W., Francis J., Henry H., Margaret, Daniel E., Nellie, Annie, Harriet, and Frederick. A daughter, Jennie, was killed by the upsetting of a wagon, the others are in the usual health of that healthy locality, bright, handsome, and vigorous.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, pp372-374. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

J. H. BLACKBURN

In the preceding sketch have been given many of the prominent incidents in the life of Mr. Blackburn’s family. James Hanson Blackburn, younger brother of D. D. Blackburn, was born at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, September 8, 1820. When but two years of age, his parents removed to Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, where his father died four years later, leaving a family of six young children dependent upon the mother to support, with such aid as the elder children could render. The struggle was necessarily a hard one, but such as laid the foundation of a future character of self-reliance, frugality, industry and forethought upon a natural energy and innate principles of right. While a lad he went to live in Logan County, and there attended school. In 1837, he removed to Oquakee, Illinois, where his brother Daniel had gone, and there worked as a carpenter though but seventeen years of age, and attended school during several winters, acquiring a fair education. He did not serve an apprenticeship to the carpenters trade, but being handy with tools and working with his brother, learned his trade as he worked and thus went into business in which he continued until 1849, when he joined the great caravan crossing the plains to California. His companion was his brother Daniel, with whom he continued sharing the same adventures and meeting the same successes until they engaged in different pursuits at Santa Cruz in November, 1849.

Three miles from Santa Cruz, on Restodara, or Blackburn’s Creek, Judge Wm. Blackburn had commenced the construction of a saw-mill, and this James H. completed and engaged in the very profitable business of making lumber. At that time nearly all the lumber used in California was imported, some from Chile, but most from the Atlantic Coast, by ships around Cape Horn. The rush for gold was too great for people to stop to saw lumber or to do anything but dig, but the few who had the coolness of head to disregard the excitement and look to supplying the wants of the miners proved in the end the successful ones. There were abundant pine and redwood trees in California, but saw-mills were very rare and labor was very high. There were no roads to the forests, and on the coast no wharves and very few suitable vessels for shipping lumber; therefore, although lumber brought fabulous prices, there were obstacles to its manufacture. The mill of Blackburn was very advantageously located, and the lumber sold readily at high prices. At the beach of Santa Cruz, in the spring of 1850, the price was $75.00 per thousand feet, and in San Francisco $500 per thousand. The great prices and the abundant forests induced many others to engage in the business, and prices became reduced, but many of the millionaires of California owe their wealth to the products of the forests.

In 1853 Mr. Blackburn sold his saw-mill, and on the 1st of August of that year, in company with Lazarus Godchaux, commenced the construction of the first substantial building in the town of Watsonville. This was for a store and in it he engaged in business, the firm being Blackburn & Godchaux, and so well has this firm prospered and so well the partners agreed, that they continue as partners to the present day. Mr. Godchaux is now also of the firm of Brandstein & Co., wholesale butchers of San Francisco. Blackburn & Godchaux continued their business with success, but in 1856 an incident occurred which admonished them that it was advisable they should possess more secure property than a store of combustible goods. Their store took fire, but by prompt action the flames were extinguished without serious damage. A conflagration then meant a total loss of property, as insurance in the wooden towns of California was not to be thought of. They concluded to buy land and went out to look over the country. In June, 1857, the brothers Blackburn visited the Paso de Robles Rancho, of whose fame they had heard. The grand scenery, the luxuriant growth of grass and the pleasant climate were attractions that could not be excelled in any part of the country, and the price suiting them, in July following they made the purchase, buying six leagues, or 26,400 acres, for $8,000. The rancho had first been occupied by the missionaries of San Miguel as one of their farms and stations, and the farm or rancho-house standing upon it was supposed to be contemporary with the mission, as none of the natives recollected when it was constructed. Upon the secularization of the missions, the lands were given to private individuals, usually to those of wealth and influence, or to officers and soldiers in compensation for services. The rancho of Paso de Robles was, in 1844, granted to Petronillo Rios upon his petition and he expending $300 in the preparation of the proper papers.

The rancho was purchased in July, 1857, and D. D. Blackburn moved upon it, but Blackburn & Godchaux continued in business in Watsonville until 1859, when they sold out and J. H. Blackburn removed to San Luis Obispo County. At that time the town of San Luis Obispo was but a small, mud-built, poor looking place. It was, however, at a time when a spirit of progress was awakening, and although hard times have occasionally prevailed, the progress has continued with accelerating motion.

The old adobe ranch-house at Paso de Robles was made to serve the purpose for a number of years, but in 1872 the handsome building—shown on another page —was erected. This is six miles south of the Paso Robles Hot Springs. In front of the house is a flourishing garden of flowers and grassy lawn, and near is a large and thrifty orchard of many varieties of fruits and vines. A wind-mill raises water for domestic purposes and for irrigating the garden, but not the trees, which do not need it. Near by he cultivates about 500 acres in wheat, barley, and oats, but the rancho is chiefly devoted to grazing sheep. Of these he has 7,000 head which yield an average of seven pounds of wool per head each year. Were the rancho, comprising 22,000 acres, fully fenced, it would support 10,000 head of sheep. There are also on it from thirty to forty head of horses and as many cows for the necessities of the farm. A steam saw-mill is also one of the conveniences of the rancho, used in sawing lumber for fences, bridges, and other purposes, the forests of oak furnishing the material. The mill is capable of cutting 6,000 feet of oak lumber a day.

Previous to the dry years of 1863-64, the principal stock upon the rancho was cattle, but in that period Blackburn & Godchaux lost 3,000 head. They were, however, so situated with abundant means that they could buy others, and in 1865 bought a great many at eight dollars a head and sheep at fifty cents, and soon recovered all their losses. Then Mr. Godchaux took up his residence in San Francisco, Mr. Blackburn still continuing as his partner.

Soon after coming to the county he purchased property in the town of San Luis Obispo, one piece of which is the Cosmopolitan Hotel. The beginning of this was a small adobe on a good foundation, built by Juan Cappe for a saloon. A second story was added with a few rooms, which were profitably let, and other additions were made until the hotel is completed. Blackburn & Morriss were the first proprietors of this hotel, and so continued until 1880, when Mr. Fredericks succeeded Morriss. In April, 1883, Mr. E. B. Morriss again became the lessee. Mr. Blackburn also owns other property in the town.

He also owns a rancho of 1,300 acres six miles north of Cayucos, on which he has a dairy of 200 cows. This is conducted on shares by Mr. Shaw, who bears all expenses of labor and care, and divides the proceeds equally, with the addition of giving Blackburn fifteen calves annually and dividing the balance. Blackburn’s share of the receipts in 1882 was $3,904.23, from butter, calves, hogs, and fruit.

The firms with which he is connected are Blackburn & Godchaux in the Paso de Robles Rancho, Cosmopolitan Hotel, and in butchering in San Francisco, etc.; Blackburn Bros. & James, in the Hot Springs Hotel, and Blackburn & Shaw in the dairy. With this multifarious business and an abundant income, together with a happy disposition and pleasant manner, he enjoys life and is fond of society. With his stalwart form, lithe step, cheerful looks and dark hair, he shows no evidence of the sixty-three years of life passed that is told by his record. Mr. Blackburn is a member of the Masonic Order, having joined in Santa Cruz in 1854, and is now a member of King David’s Lodge, No. 209, and of the Royal Arch. In politics he is Democratic, is active and influential in his party, and is public spirited, generous, and progressive.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, pp374-375. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

J. M. BONILLA

Going back to the earliest dates to find a member of the legal profession a resident and practitioner of San Luis Obispo, our researches exhume the name of Don José Mariano Bonilla, the first to occupy the judicial bench of the county.

He was born in the city of Mexico, in the year 1807, and received his education at the National College of San Yldefonso, in said city, where he received various diplomas, and was made a Bachelor of Letters. Through application and talent, he became a prominent member of the Bar of the city of Mexico. In 1834 he came to California with one of the colonies sent from Mexico, as Secretary to Governor Figueroa. From that he was promoted to Judge of the First Instance.

He married the daughter of Don Inocente Garcia in 1837, that gentleman then being the Administrator of the mission of San Miguel, and acted as Secretary to his father-in-law. He was afterwards appointed, by Gov. Juan B. Alvarado, Administrator of the mission of San Luis Obispo, at which place he made his subsequent home.

After the annexation of California to the United States, and before the Constitution of this State was adopted, he held the position of Sub-Prefect and Alcalde under the Military Government, and after the adoption of the Constitution, he became the first County Judge of San Luis Obispo County. During the time that Hon. Romualdo Pacheco was County Judge, Señor Bonilla was District Attorney. He was afterward elected Supervisor, holding the office for several terms, until in 1866, he retired to private life. He was also engaged in numerous private enterprises, one of which was the building of the Cuesta Flouring Mill, in the early days of the county. Don J. Mariano Bonilla died in San Luis Obispo, March 19, 1878, at the advanced age of seventy-one years. In private as well as in public life he was always found honest and worthy of every trust reposed in him, and his death was sincerely mourned by all classes of people.

During his incumbency as County Judge, attorneys were very few in San Luis Obispo, and it is related that on one occasion, in 1849, a case was on trial before him involving the right to a horse between two Mexicans. There were but two lawyers in the county, W. J. Graves and Judge Bonilla. Graves was the attorney for the plaintiff, while the defendant had none. This appeared to the Judge a hardship for the defendant, with no one to present his case against so able an opponent, and he called upon the Sheriff to preside over the Court, and leaving the Bench, took up the cause of the defendant, and tried the case with all the energy and earnestness of which he was capable. But his eloquence and skill availed not, as after careful deliberation he rendered judgment for the plaintiff.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, p284. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

FRANCIS ZIBA BRANCH

Among the great land-holders, prior to the conquest, were Wm. G. Dana, John Wilson, John M. Price, Francis Z. Branch, Isaac J. Sparks, of the foreign element, and many native Californians of whom mention has incidentally been made in various parts of this book. The names of all we have endeavored to preserve, and have related such incidents as were obtainable.

Francis Ziba Branch belonged to that old line of pioneers to California, now almost vanished from the earth, around whose lives there gathers the glamours of romance more interesting than the tales of ancient chivalry, and more instructive than the lessons of philosophy.

“To some are given spirits high and daring,
And stouter hearts than others of their kind;
Who never know the sense of fear and fearing,
Who never in the race are left behind.”

The poet’s laudation of the pioneers pertinently applies to the subject of this sketch. Mr. Branch was born at Scipio, Cayuga County, New York, July 24, 1802. The region of his birth was then in the wild West—but twenty years after the close of the Revolutionary War, in which his grandfathers had served as soldiers—and where General Sullivan had made his celebrated campaign against the Indians. On such a frontier was Mr. Branch born, and there passed his youth, there among the lovely and romantic lakes of western New York, the favorite hunting ground and home of the Iroquois, many of whom still lingered around the graves of their fathers, soon to be obliterated from the face of the earth. It was a pleasant section in which to grow to manhood, and a favorable period to inure one to hardship, to self-reliance, and to that manly independence and individual courage which were so characteristic of Mr. Branch, and had such an influence in shaping his future life.

BECOMES A SAILOR.

His father died while he was a mere child, and of him he retained no recollection. The mother was left poor and with a family of children who, at whatever age they could earn their living, were required to take care of themselves. When eighteen years of age Ziba Branch left his home and went to the city of Buffalo, then coming into prominence as the terminus of the great New York and Erie Canal, and the principal shipping port of Lake Erie and the chain of lakes reaching into the distant West. Then there were no railroads in existence, and the steamboat was scarcely known. The commerce of the lakes was carried on by sailing vessels, and upon one of these the young adventurer obtained employment. Continuing the life of a sailor for five years on the lakes, he then went forward to St. Louis, in Missouri, then the extreme frontier of civilization. St. Louis was then almost a French city, much of its business being with the voyageurs who followed the great rivers of the West with their light birch bark canoes, trapping and hunting for furs, and trading with the Indians, that city being the center of the fur trade. These voyageurs and trappers were, as explorers of the great wilderness, what the mining prospectors are of the present day, or rather have been during the last quarter of a century.

JOINS A PARTY FOR NEW MEXICO.

At St. Louis Mr. Branch joined a trading party commanded by Captain Savory and bound for Santa Fé, in Neuvo Mejico, called at the present day New Mexico. For this distant land the party journeyed with a large train of one hundred and fifty men and eighty-two wagons, chiefly drawn by oxen. This was the largest party that had ever crossed the plains to that date. Being well armed and having a small cannon to protect themselves from the Indians, who were ever hostile and treacherous, they made the passage in safety.

EXTENDS HIS JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA.

Subsequently Mr. Branch joined a trapping party under the leadership of William Wolfskill, and thus exploring the western country arrived in California in February, 1831. In their journey the party passed by the head-waters of the Grand and the Green Rivers, which make the Colorado, then to Great Salt Lake and to a river called by the Indians “Poonaca,” which they “followed until it emptied into a salt lake near the California mountains.”* This was in the month of November, and snow had so fallen as to render the crossing of the mountains very difficult, and they were nine days making

*As related by Mr. Branch, the changed names render the description of the locality unintelligible.

the passage. Previous to their arrival in the settled regions of California, they had wandered along the Colorado, trapping and trading with the Indians and suffering much for food. They then took the route by the Mohave River and through the Cajon Pass to the old mission of San Bernardino, and thence to Los Angeles. Of the party Messrs. Wm. Wolfskill, F. Z. Branch, Geo. C. Yount, Samuel J. Shields and Lewis T. Burton remained in California; the others returned to Santa Fé. Mr. Branch then engaged in hunting, the most valuable game being the sea otter, with which the coast abounded. After pursuing this business for several years he invested his means in a store of general merchandise in Santa Barbara, subsequently disposing of his business to Alpheus B. Thompson.

MARRIES AND SETTLES.

In 1835 he married Doña Manuela Corlona, and settled in the region now included in San Luis Obispo County. In 1837 he received from the Mexican Government a grant of land on the Arroyo Grande, the Santa Manuela, comprising, as confirmed by the United States courts, 16,954.83 acres, subsequently becoming the owner of the Huer-Huero, Arroyo Grande, Pismo, and other large tracts.

Mr. Branch, like many of the early pioneers, came to California with nothing but his rifle to earn his living and make his way in the world; but in the hands of brave and self-reliant men that trusty weapon was not only capital in business, but a power that commanded respect and raised the holder to influence. His youthful experience as a sailor upon the great lakes was of great assistance to him in the pursuit of the sea otter on the Pacific. The hunting of that valuable animal proved very remunerative, and laid the foundation of that fortune he afterwards acquired.

THE WILD ARROYO GRANDE.

At the time of his making his home on the Santa Manuela Rancho the region was almost a complete wilderness. Dana had obtained the grant of Nipomo, but had not yet settled with his family upon it, and the mission of San Luis Obispo was almost the only inhabited locality in all that region. The valley of the Arroyo lay in front of his home, but it was a thicket of swamp and willow and cottonwood, a monte, as it was called, a lurking place for wild-cats, lions, and grizzly bear. Eastward was the cañon of the Arroyo Grande, well stocked with game and a favorite route for Indians from the Tulare Valley to make raids upon the stock of the coast. Against the Indians, the bear, and other vicious animals it was necessary for the pioneer to wage continual war in self-defense, and many desperate encounters he had. The Indians were very bold and cunning, and in their repeated forays drove off a great deal of stock.

AN INDIAN RAID.

In the early years of his residence on the Arroyo Grande it was customary to keep his horses at night in a corral near, with a bell on one, the tinkling of which would notify the owner’s family that the horses were all safe. On one occasion the quick and experienced ear of Branch noticed that the tinkling of the bell maintained a more continued and monotonous sound than seemed natural, and he hastened to the corral to find his horses gone, and one of the dusky thieves, well mounted, gently ringing the bell. Finding himself discovered he gave a whoop and swiftly followed his companions. Branch could only send a rifle ball in the dark after the Indian, as his discovery was too late, and he was left powerless to pursue.

But it was not always so. Shortly afterwards. Price, Sparks, Dana and other rancheros aided in the contests against the Indians, and many of the marauders were made to pay with their life the temerity of their raids.

ADVENTURES WITH GRIZZLIES.

The grizzly bear were very numerous, often killing young stock and causing all to be very wild. On one occasion a bear had killed a cow, and it was thought to afford a good opportunity to slay the savage monster. The bear had but partially eaten its victim, and it was presumed would return on the succeeding night to continue the feast. On a slight elevation at a convenient distance from the carcass, a pit was excavated and a strong cover of timber and brush put over it, rendering it safe and thoroughly concealed. Into this Branch and a companion secreted themselves with their rifles and awaited the coming of bruin. In the night an immense she bear with a cub approached the dead cow. The hunters thought best to follow the rule in such cases, and first shoot the cub, thinking the dam would remain and thus prove an easy capture. The cub was accordingly shot, making most dolorous howls before breathing its last. These pitiful cries and death enraged the old bear beyond anything Branch had ever before witnessed, and fearing for their safety dared not move to reload nor venture another shot. The maddened beast rushed in a circuit around her slain cub, looking into the trees and leaping at them, as if thinking her enemy was there, tearing great pieces of bark and wood from them with her powerful claws and terrible teeth, uttering frightful howls, as if nothing but the destruction of something cou’d appease her wrath. Thus she continued during the night, and it was not until the next day did she leave so as to release the prisoners.

At another time Branch was in the cañon of the Arroyo Grande and saw a grizzly eating berries in a thicket on the hill-side. Having his rifle with him he thought he would secure a good position and have the sport of slaying the troublesome brute. Obtaining the desired position he took the precaution to look about him, and the savage animals were seen on all sides; but as berries were plentiful they were engaged and did not notice him. This was a time, he concluded, when discretion would be the better part of valor, and he carefully made a good retreat. In relating the adventure, he said he counted nine grizzlies, “and it was not a very good day for bear either,” and further he said he was not ashamed to acknowledge that he made good time in getting out of that neighborhood.

Mr. Branch was a very entertaining narrator of the incidents of his life, and having so well an established reputation as an Indian fighter of undoubted courage and a hunter of great skill and success, he would not suppress a good story although the joke might be upon himself.

MICHAEL DAUGHHIG.

Michael Daughhig was an old and attached servant of Branch, emulating his master in every way possible, following him with a loyalty that knew no deceit or abatement. “Old Mike,” as he was familiarly known, was as brave as a lion, and would at any time risk his life to please or protect his patron. At one time a bear had been committing depredations near the ranch house, and it was very desirable that it should be put out of the way. A calf had been killed, and Mike conceived the idea of laying a trap for the bear. Therefore dressing himself in the calf’s skin, with head and limbs complete, and thus disguised and well armed he crawled out as a decoy, near the chaparral where the bear was supposed to be lurking. Soon the monster made his appearance and made for his victim. But Old Mike was prepared for the encounter and as the bear approached he sent a well directed bullet into his brain and arose with triumphant shouts to announce his success to Branch, who was anxiously watching the result of the bold stratagem.

As a reminiscence of an eye-witness of the old home of Branch and of his faithful servant is introduced the following from a letter by Hal Williams, to the San Luis Obispo Tribune entitled

A RELIC OF THE LONG AGO.

October 4, 1877. — The school of Santa Manuela District is now taught in the old adobe building occupied by the Branch family during the life of the elder of that name. The old gentleman has passed from earth, and the noble estate over which he once reigned king is divided and occupied by his sons, daughters, and son-in-law. Handsome cottage residences dot the valley here and there; hundreds of acres of the richest Arroyo Grande bottom lands have been cleared and this once howling wilderness abounds in corn, barley, hay, and vegetables in profusion. It is a rich treat for the eye, after riding a few miles over the barren dry hills of this season of drought, to take a bird’s-eye view of this rich productive region.

How wonderful is the change since Mr. Branch first gazed upon the scene! Then San Luis and the Nipomo were his nearest neighbors; now, within the walls of the building which years and years ago he erected, I count fifteen children who have his blood in their veins. The old house is unoccupied except in one room of an “L” old “Mike” is domiciled. Poor old Mike! For many years a member of the Branch household, and active and useful in promoting the interests of the family, he is now blind and useless. But he wants for no comfort in his old age and helplessness. He is well cared for, and many a yarn of the old times and the famous old house will he spin for you if you will listen. He will tell you how it has been armed and garrisoned to repel a threatened Indian attack. How the Indians stole the horses almost from under the noses of the occupants. Of hunts, of feasts, of frolics, and of many interesting events in the days lang syne.

Old Mike has not many more weary days to grope in darkness around the old homestead, and he knows it. One day in talking over the events of the past, he said;

“Well, I don’t know where ould Branch has gone, but wherever he is he wants Mike.”

One day while prowling around the old building I found an old account book. On the back it is marked, “No. 1, Leger.” In it Mr. Branch kept accounts from the year 1837 to 1843. There are some entries in it which read strangely to-day. Think of a man working in California for two dollars a month. This book shows that Mr. Branch had several hands at that price, and others at four, five, and as high as seven dollars per month; but remember that was way back in 1837-38-39-40. There are entries here of hands who worked for two dollars a month and paid one dollar and a half for a shirt, one dollar and four cents for a bottle of rum, etc. There is one thing about the old book which is a mystery to me, and I have puzzled my head not a little to understand the why of it, and that is the frequent charge of four cents. For instance:—

The copyist was not aware that accounts were kept in pesos and reales, or dollars and “bits;” and that the mysterious “four cents” meant four reales, or four bits, and $1.04, was $1.50.

OBITUARY.

The end of old Mike is told in the following obituary in the Tribune of November 10, 1877.

At the residence of J. F. Branch on the Arroyo Grande, November 6, 1877, Michael Daughhig died, aged 80 years. “Old Mike,” as he was familiarly called, had been a faithful servant of the Branch family for twenty-seven years, and revered the name of his old master, F. Z. Branch, as only simple, confiding natures can, and longed for the day when the Angel of Death should call him to meet him on the other shore. He has gone and we trust the greeting beyond the river was all that faithful service entitled him to.

HOME OF BRANCH.

The house erected by Branch was for many years the most noted one in the country, and is spoken of by Bryant and other travelers as partaking of the American style, and furnishing comforts and luxuries unusual in California. He was a careful and active business man, and at one time was the wealthiest man in San Luis Obispo County, being the owner of over 37,000 acres of land, and vast herds of cattle and horses. But the dry years of 1862-63 and 1863-64 brought a great change in his fortunes. In the beginning of 1863 his herds numbered over 20,000 head of large cattle, and before the close of 1864 he could gather but 800 alive. The balance had died of starvation. It is related that in 1863 he was offered $24.00 a head for all his grown cattle, by a large dealer from the North, but that insisting on $25.00 each the sale was not effected. The dry weather following they were not salable, but remained on his hands to die, a difference to the owner of over $400,000.

Seasons of bountiful rain followed and Mr. Branch profited by it, but it was impossible to recover only through many years of toil and success the great fortune taken from him in those most disastrous years of California’s history.

At different times Mr. Branch was elected to positions of public trust, as has been mentioned in the chapters devoted to the political and financial history of the county, having been Treasurer and Supervisor, positions which he filled to the entire satisfaction of the people. He died at his home on the Santa Manuela Rancho, on the 8th of May, 1874, at the advanced age of seventy-two years, and was buried in the family burying-ground on the rancho. The disease with which he was afflicted and which proved fatal was bronchitis, to which he had long been subject. He was a man of a hardy constitution and well-knit frame, though rather slight in structure. His acquaintance was large throughout San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties, and he was held in great esteem by all. A large family of children and grandchildren now represent the pioneer on and in the vicinity of the old home.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, pp216-219. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

FRANCIS ZIBA BRANCH—To the permanent settlement of the West the citizenship of the East has made heavy contributions. From densely populated rciiions of the Atlantic coast settlers have been drawn to the promise and fertility of the Pacific coast environments. One of these was this pio- neer, whose life story can never be fully told, so intricately is it interwoven with the early history of the state and particularly of this county. Francis Z. Branch was horn in Scipio, Cayugaa county, N. Y., on July 24, 1802. Both of his grandfathers served in the War of the Revolution. At the age of fifteen he left home and went to Buffalo, and for five years found work on sailing vessels of the lakes. Using his experience as a capital with which to begin, he then went to St. Louis, at that time on the western frontier. From there he went with a trading party commanded by Captain Savory, to Santa Fe, N. M., their party consisting of one hundred fifty men, with eighty-two wagons, by which they reached Santa Fe in July, 1830.

That same year Mr. Branch joined a party of trappers under the leadership of William Wolfskill, making the journey from New Mexico by Great Salt lake, across the headwaters of the Red river, which they followed until it emptied into Little Salt lake near the California mountains. It being November, the country was covered with snow, and they found it impossible to cross the Sierras and consequently struck south for the Red river, and through Cajon pass. They were nine days crossing and had to break a path through the snow; they found but few beaver and no game, and soon their provisions gave out, and they were obliged to eat their horses and mules. Finally, reaching the Mojave country, they arrived eventually in San Bernardino, February, 1831, from which point they went on to Los Angeles; and after hunting in the mountains three years, Mr. Branch bought a general merchandise store in Santa Barbara, later selling to Alpheus B. Thompson.

In 1835 he married Doña Manuela Carlona, who was born January 1, 1815, in Santa Barbara, and they settled in San Luis Obispo County in 1839. It was here that he obtained a valuable Spanish grant in 1837, of many thousands of acres located in the Arroyo Grande valley. Later he added to his holdings the Pismo and Huer Huero tracts and raised vast herds of cattle and horses. The dry years of 1862-3-4 caused the loss of some 70,000 head. He held many public offices in the county and died on the Santa Manuela rancho, May 8, 1874. The children born of this marriage were: Ramon, born in 1836; Leandro R., born in 1838; Maria Josefa, born in 1840; Anna L., born in 1842, who married D. F. Newsom; Francisco, born in 1844; Josefa, born in 1846; Manuela, born in 1848; Eduarda, born in 1850, Mrs. E. W. Jones of Arroyo Grande; Jose Frederico, owner of part of the home ranch; Loisa, born in 1856, who married H. A. Sperry; and Ysabela, born in 1857. All are deceased except Ramon, Mrs. E. W. Jones and J. Fred.

Mr. Branch established the first school in Arroyo Grande. He gave one acre of land, erected the building, secured the teacher, and paid all the expenses himself the first year, after which he turned the school over to the county. Part of the old adobe where he lived and raised his children is still standing, being one of the old landmarks of the valley. He was a self- made man, and at one time was one of the wealthiest men in San Luis Obispo county. Fur additional data regarding his early activities, see the mention made of him in the narrative history.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs, California, p394. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

JOSÉ FRED BRANCH

Son of the prominent pioneer, F. Z. Branch, was born on the great rancho of his father, in San Luis Obispo County, March 15, 1853, being the youngest of a family of ten children. His father, Francisco Ziba Branch, whose biography has been given, was a native of New York, and his mother, whose maiden name was Manuela Corlona, was a native of California. The elder Branch, being a resident of this coast for near twenty years before the transfer of the country to the United States, marrying a native lady of high family, and from an early date possessing wealth and influence, makes the family one of the oldest and most prominent in the State. Upon the rancho of his father José Fred Branch grew to manhood, becoming familiar with the business of farming and stock-raising. During his youth he attended the public schools, and finished his education at a college in San Francisco.

Mr. Branch was married March 5, 1881, to Miss Herlinda Bonilla, a native of California, and still resides on the old homestead , where he carries on the business of farming and stock-raising.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, p219. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

STILLMAN F. BREED

Was born January 23, 1829, in Monroe County, New York. His father was Silas Breed, and his mother’s maiden name was Nancy Bangs. In 1835-36 occurred the period of great excitement through New York and the New England States regarding the grassy prairies and “oak openings” of the Territory of Michigan, then struggling to be admitted as a State in the Union. The fertile lands of the embryo State offered the brightest opportunity that had ever opened to the people of the East, and a rapid emigration ensued. The parents of Mr. Breed joined in the movement, and when seven years of age he became a resident of the “Wolverine State.” Being of a studious nature and of scholarly tastes, he acquired in the schools of Michigan an excellent education, and at an early age entered the field as a teacher of youth, adopting that most honorable and worthy vocation as his profession. When twenty-four years of age he was elected County Clerk of Van Buren County, which position he held through two successive terms. While County Clerk he published a Republican paper in the town of Paw Paw. In 1858, after serving his second term of office, he sold his paper and printing establishment, and came to California, where he soon engaged as a teacher. For the following five years he taught school in the counties of Contra Costa, El Dorado, and Monterey, and in the latter county was, while teaching, interested in the business of sheep and wool-growing. Mr. Breed returned to the East in 1864, remaining at his old home in Michigan for two years, going from there to Kansas, where he remained one year. In Kansas he resumed his editorial work, and published a real estate paper at Eureka. He then went to Texas and engaged in teaching in various places, teaching in the schools of Austin, where were five hundred students. From Texas he went to Springfield, Missouri, where he taught in a seminary for young ladies until 1874, when he returned to California. Remaining two years in San Francisco, he then came to San Luis Obispo, where he has since lived, engaged in farming. Mr. Breed’s residence and surroundings are the subject of a sketch illustrated in this book.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, p362. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

MORGAN BRIANS

Is one of the veteran dairymen of California, being one of the early immigrants to the State, bringing with him his family of grown sons and daughters. This gentleman was born in the State of Kentucky, November 24, 1807, remaining in that State until 1817, when his parents removed to Missouri. In that comparatively wild region, wild in the extreme to what it is at the present day, Mr. Brians spent the next thirty-five years of his life, there he married, and there his six children were born. He was married in 1835 Miss Elizabeth English. This lady is a native of Tennessee, born in 1811. In 1852, Mr. Brians brought his family to California, crossing the plains in the long and toilsome journey of five months. Arriving safely, he located near Petaluma, in Sonoma County, and there engaged in the business of dairying. In that pleasant locality and profitable business, he continued until 1868, when he came to San Luis Obispo County and settled in Green Valley, where he now lives on his ranch of 1,335 acres. The residence , shown in an engraving on another page in this book, is situated on the road between Cambria and San Luis Obispo, five miles from the former and twenty-five miles from the latter place. He milks from 150 to 165 cows, and devotes the product exclusively to the manufacture of butter.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, p229. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.

Among those resident who have been most closely identified with school affairs, the name of

JAMES QUINCY BUFFINGTON

is presented. He is one of the native sons of California pioneers, having been born in Nevada County, November 15, 1850. His father was Abraham Columbus Buffington, and his mother, before her marriage, was Amanda Layton. Ten children graced the festive board of this happy family. The parents removed to Marin County when the subject of this sketch was seven years of age, and in that county of milk and butter he passed his years, and in the public schools acquired his education. In 1867 he came to San Luis Obispo County, where he has since made his home, successfully carrying on the business of dairying. His rancho, situated on Little Cayucos Creek, one mile from the town of Cayucos, contains 480 acres of land, furnishing grazing for the dairy of seventy-five cows. A view of his place will be found elsewhere in this book.

Mr. Buffington was married, October 26, 1870, to Miss Mary Cook, a native of New Brunswick, and they have five children, one daughter and four sons. Mr. Buffington in his social and business life is a very popular gentleman, and takes a great interest in public affairs, showing himself prominently where he can advance the prosperity and enlightenment of his community. While public-spirited and intelligent, he has not sought high political positions, but has been selected by his neighbors to act as Trustee in his school district, which is evidence of the esteem in which he is held.

Source: History of San Luis Obispo County, California, p345. Transcribed for the CAGenWeb Project by Cathy Portz.