Alameda County
Biographies
WILLIAM ALBERT HENRY KOOPMAN
The earliest recollections of Mr. Koopman are associated with Alameda county, for he was only an infant when his parents settled in the Livermore valley near Pleasanton, and here he passed the years of boyhood and youth, received a common-school education, entered upon the occupation of a farmer, stock-raiser and fruit-grower, and has won deserved prominence among the honorable and progressive citizens of the locality. His father, John, who was a native of Germany, is remembered as one of the far-seeing, keen and resourceful pioneers of Alameda county, who, coming here at a time when land was cheap, made considerable investments in unimproved farm property and accomplished results greater even than he had dared to hope. As a boy and youth he had followed a sea-faring life, but the work on a sailing vessel was distasteful to him and when the ship anchored in San Francisco Bay about 1852 he abandoned the occupation for that of mining. At that time he was about twenty-one years of age, and inured to hardships through his life as a sailor, so that the privations of a miner’s life did not daunt him. However, after a few years, not meeting with any success, he returned to San Francisco and bought an interest in a schooner running to Sacramento.
During 1864 John Koopman made his first purchase of property in Alameda county, buying two hundred acres for $3,000. Thereupon he disposed of his interest in various boats and moved to his new farm. The land had been only partly improved and the remaining years of his life were devoted to placing it in a condition for profitable work. From time to time he added to his original purchase until finally he acquired seven hundred acres, and of this amount one hundred and fifty acres of hill land were utilized for the pasturage of his stock. After becoming a citizen of the United States he voted the Democratic ticket, but never took an active part in politics. On the organization of the Masonic blue lodge in Pleasanton he became one of its charter members and took a warm interest in its work. At the time of his death, April 11, 1873, he was only forty-four years of age, yet he ranked among the most prosperous farmers of the county. Coming to this country wholly without means, a stranger in a strange land, the fact that he gained success in such a short time proves him to have possessed unusual qualities of mind. At his death he left one-half of his estate to his wife, who was Catherine Stindt, a native of Germany, but after 1860 a resident of California. The remaining one-half was divided between his two sons, William Albert Henry (commonly known as Albert) and William Henry, the latter a jeweler in Pleasanton. After his death his widow was again married, becoming the wife of John Thiessen, by whom she had a son, John, now occupying a part of the old homestead. Her death occurred February 8, 1894, at fifty-seven years of age, and her estate was divided among her three sons.
W.A.H. Koopman was born in 1863. When ten years of age he lost his father by death and upon attaining his majority he took charge of the property. August 27, 1897, he was united in marriage with Miss Dena Feldman, who was born in Germany, but has made her home in the United States since childhood. Their children are Catherine, John, Allan, Edith, Ernest and Milton. In national affairs Mr. Koopman votes with the Democratic party. He has never been a candidate for local offices nor had the inclination to identify himself with politics, preferring the quiet enjoyment of his home and the energetic supervision of his property. At this writing he owns one hundred and seventy-eight acres of valley land, which is under cultivation to grain. In addition he owns a one-half interest in three hundred and eighteen acres, all of which is in pasture except a vineyard of forty acres. On this land may be seen his fine herds of cattle, together with numerous horses. Stock-raising has been one of his principal occupations and is proving a source of considerable profit. Since the death of his mother he has owned a one-third interest in the valley homestead and now rents his brother’s share of the ranch. Under his supervision these various properties are maintained under high cultivation, forming altogether one of the most valuable estates in the valley.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 759. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Joyce Rugeroni.
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