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Collection: Books and Periodicals
A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California (1891) (713 pages)
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Page: of 713
HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
497
River to Missouri, where he married his first
wife, Miss Mary Ann Troutman, a native of
Kentucky. The same season he came with his
bride and a younger brother across the plains
with ox teams, arriving in California in October. Mr. Miller has made the trip across the
plains by wagon and horseback and on foot four
times, one of these, in returning from Oregon,
being the most difficult and dangerous journey,
and he has also crossed the continent twice by
rail.
Mr. Miller has four children by his first wife,
namely: Minerva C., now the wife of J. B.
Griffin, of Yolo County; James M., now in the
‘drug business in Vacaville; Cornelia T. and
Meredith R. In 1870 his wife died, and March
12, 1873, he married Miss Harriet Chrisman,
a native of Missouri, and she died March 27,
1877.
ES FS
AVID M. REAVIS.—The study of biog) raphy has always been an interesting one
in ages past and in climes remote from
ours, but especially is it interesting at a time
and in a country like this when the possibilities
for success are boundless, and where the « youth
to fortune and to fame unknown ” may by his
own pluck and enterprise win his way to wealth
and prominence. Among those who have
achieved a phenomenal success in Northern Cali
fornia, perhaps none are better known than
David M. Reavis. By his push and industry
and by his natural ability as a financier, he has
won his way to the front, and is known far and
wide as a stock-raiser and a wealthy rancher.
Mr. Reavis came to California in 1850, previous
to the organization and admissivu of the State,
and has been an eye witness to the many changes
that have taken place on this coast during the
past forty years.
given, is as follows:
His ancestors came from France and settled
in North Carolina at an early period. [lis
grandfather, Marcus Reavis, and his father,
34
An outline of his life, briefly
James Bradley Reavis, were both born in’ that
State. The latter was reared in Kentucky and
participated in the war of 1812. He married a
Kentucky lady, Hannah Morton. and of the
eight children born to them the subject of this
sketch was the fourth. His birth occurred in
Missouri, October 24, 1880, and it was in that
State that he received his education. When he
was twenty years old the gold fever brought
him to California. For a time he was successfully engaged in mining on Bear River. Then
he started trading posts at Cold Springs, Colfax
and Little York, hiring men and running pack
trains and doing an extensive business:
In 1858 he came to his present ranch. His
father-in-law, James Hill of Napa Connty, purchased a leagne of land, and Mr. Reavis came
here to manage the property. From time to
time he made purchases of it until he beca:ne
the owner of 11,300 acres of as fine land as
there is in California. He has improved the
property, built a good frame residence and a
whole village of ranch houses for the storage of
grain and the care and protection of the fine
blooded stock which he is raising. This property juins the celebrated ranch of General Bidwell for a distance of four miles. Indeed, for
large and valuable ranches Butte County may
be considered the banner one of California.
Mr. Reavis not only carries on his own ranch,
but has paid a cash rent for several other farms,
and has produced very large harvests of wheat
and barley. He is the owner of another ranch ~
of 6,000 acres in Dixie Valley, Lassen County,
ou which he has 1,000 head of brood mares,
horses and mules, and about 3,000 head of wellbred cattle. He is breeding Hambletonian and
Black Bird horses, and has many fine specimens
of both breeds equal to any in the State or in
the world. He devotes 6,000 acres of land to
grain, and has raised on 2,000 acres of sumiertallow forty-five bushels of wheat to the acre;
but the most of his soil is tuo rich to be summer-fallowed. For the past twenty years it has
been his pride to raise tine horses. Ile now has
some furty of them in training on the Chico