Collection: Books and Periodicals

About This Item:

Title: A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Publisher: Lewis Publishing Company Published: 1891 Copyright: In the public domain or published before 1925 Source(s): Google Books # of Pages: 713 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2024-07-22 00:25:09 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 03:11:29 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 06:30:36

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 713  

224 HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. of about 44,000 acres of land, in the heart of what is now San Joaquin County, called Rancho del Campo de Los Franceses, whereon the city of Stockton now stande. Weber, however, did not move his residence upon this land until after the close of the Mexican war, in which he took a conspicuous part, for the United States. Moving upon the grant he proceeded to lay out a town, which he at first named Tuleburg, on account of the great quantity of rank tules in the vicinity. Soon afterward he named it Stockton, because Commodore Robert F. Stockton, while meeting him at Los Angeles during the war, made great promises as to what he would do in Congress for him by way of imroving the navigation of the San Joaquin diver, etc., but which were never fulfilled, and Weber was sorry afterward that he had named hie pet village in his honor. Another name he had reserved for it was Castoria. Weber was an exceedingly generous man, making many large donations to all the churches and schools, etc., although, especially toward the latter part of his life, his idiosyncrasies became rather conspicuous. Had he been as penurions as the average man he would have been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars more than he was at the time of his death, which occurred May 4, 1881. In 1850 he married Miss Helen Murphy, a member -of the celebrated Murphy party of 1844, and they had three children, namely: Hon. C. M. Weber, who resides in the Santa Clara Valley, and is managing their vast estate there; Julia H. and T. J., residing at Stockton. THE OOUNTY is probably the best part of the great San Joaquin Valley, and is characteristic of that level section of the country, being but twenty to 100 feet above the sea level. The lower portions are of adobe soil, which prevails mostly in the western part of the county, while the rest is more sandy. It has always been a great grainraising section, but, like most other parts of California, it has of late years been drifting more into fruit-cultare. All the fruits raised in California do well here, in streaks and spots, especially where irrigation can be had, for the county is greatly dependent upon this. Many artesian wells are in operation, and schemes are contemplated fur the more thorough supply of water by canals from the mountains. The digging of artesian wells has developed the fact that there is at least a thousand feet of “ mountain wash” here, and that therefore the valley has, geologically speaking, been but recently elevated above the sea. But, to the surprise of the world, natural gas is found in the county, and already Stockton and other points are abundantly supplied with this most useful product. San Joaquin County, where now live about 30,000 inhabitants, is the next south of Sacramento; is bounded on the east by Amador, Calaveras and Stanislaus, on the south by Stanisalaus, and on the west by Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara. The lines of latitude 38° north and longitude 121° 20’ west cross near the center of the county. Politically, this is one of the original counties of February 18, 1850. In 1860 slice was taken off its southeastern corner and attached to Stanislaus County. For the purpuse of forming a State government, General Bennett Riley, by virtue of his office as military governor. issued a proclamation in 1849, calling for a convention to frame a constitution, and dividing the Territory into districts in order that there bea fair geographical representation. The San Joaquin district comprised all the territory south of the Cosumnes River lying between the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The delegates elected were J. McH. Hollingsworth, O. M. Wozencroft, Thomas L. Vermeule, B.S. Lippincott, B. F. Moore, J. M. Jones, C. L. Peck, S. Halley, M. Fallon, B. Ogden, G. A. Pendleton, J. Ford, B. L. Morgan, Colonel Jackson and Walter Chapman,—only the first six named serving. March 2, 1850, the county organized by the election of the following officers: Benjamin