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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
556 HISTORY OF NORTHERN OALIFORNIA.
eight miles northeast of Elmira. The farm
consists of 800 acres, all of which is under cultivation for general farming and stock-raising,
except a small portion which is set to vines and
orchard for home use.
Mr. McElwain was married in Butte County,
October 9, 1871, to Miss Louisa Celia Beiler, a native of Illinois. They have six children living, viz. :
William, Robert, Elizabeth, John, Mary, Jacob,
and one deceased. Politically, Mr. McElwain
is allied with the Democratic party, although
he is now activein politics. He takes an active
interest in school matters, and is one of the
Board of School Trustees in the Binghamton
District. Socially, he attiliates with the
I. O. O. F., Monteznma Lodge, No. 172, of
Dixon. His people were of a long-lived and
prolific race.
on ot Fo ttt ree —farmer of Butte County, landed on Johneon’s Ranch on Bear River, below Marysville, California, September 1, 1849. He was
born in Berkeley County, West Virginia, May
29, 1828, the son of William and Catherine
(Grove) Bowers, both natives of Virginia. His
grandfathers, William Bowers and Jacob Grove,
were both natives of the State of Pennsylvania;
‘oo WILLIAM BOWERS, a prominent
the Bowers family had their origin in Hesse, .
Germany, and the Groves in Switzerland.
John W. Bowers, the seventh in a family of
twelve children, was reared in Virginia until he
was twenty years of age, and was educated a
little in that State, but mostly in California.
Upon arriving in this State he went into the
mines at Weber’s Creek, Placerville, where he
met with fair success, always making good
wages. He mined there three years, and during
that time took vut over $5,000. He then went
to Mud Springs and mined a short time, after
which he took a trip East. He next went to
the Feather River, six miles below Oroville, .
and rented the Henshaw Ranch and engaged in
farming, after which he engaged in farming in
two other places. Mr. Bowers next purchased a
squatter’s right to 200 acres of land, but after
residing on it six years he was obliged to leave
on account of its being grant land. They gave
him the use of the land, however, for two years
more to pay him for his improvements. He
then took his wife and two children and returned to Virginia, where he bought a farm
near Harper’s Ferry, and remained one year
and a half. At the end of that time he sold
out and returned to California, purchasing
2,200 acres of land, on which he has since
made his home, and where he has a large brick
residence. He raises large quantities of grain,
and also horses, cattle and hogs, and sows annually 1,000 acres of grain, harvesting as high
as forty bushels to the acre, but considers
twenty bushels a good average crop.
Mr. Bowers was married in this State, November 9, 1855, to Miss Catherine Van Fessen,
a native of Ohio, and they have had fourchildren,
namely: Henry W., Hannah E., Helena W.,
. John A. The mother died November 13, 1877,
and in 1879 the father was married to Miss
Mary M. Mitchell, and they have one daughter,
Virginia. Mr. Bowers’ political views are Democratic. He was elected one of the Supervisors
of his county in 1884, which office he held four
years. He was made a member of the Masonic
fraternity in Virginia. His youngest son, John
A., is at home.
ARY SELLICK, one of the early and
aval well-known settlers of Butte County,
is the widow of Joseph Sellick, a native
of England. He came to California in 1854,
and for five years was a gardener and horticulturist for General John Bidwell. In 1860 he
returned to England, and was there married to
the lady who now survives him, her maiden
name being Mary Clifford, also a native of
England. They came to California and purchased their present ranch, which they improved by planting a vineyard and orchard.