Alameda County
Biographies
HENRY P. MOHR
Probably very few estates in Alameda county excel in point of fertility and improvements the Amador Valley grain and stock farm, which forms a part of the old Rancho Santa Rita and is owned and occupied by Henry P. Mohr. On every hand may be seen evidences of the thrift and progressive spirit of the proprietor. The buildings are substantial and adapted to their varied uses, fields have been divided from one another by well-built fences, modern machinery has been introduced to facilitate the cultivation of the land and harvesting of the crops, and each year witnesses some improvement of a noteworthy nature. A portion of the property is cultivated by renters, while the balance is used for the pasturage of stock and the raising of hay and grain. About fifty head of Holstein cattle are raised each year, and the same number of standard-bred Clydesdales are usually to be seen on the place.
The entire life of Mr. Mohr has been passed within the limits of Alameda county. He was born at Mount Eden in May, 1858, and is a son of Cornelius and Cecilia (Toaspern) Mohr, natives of Holstein, Germany. His father followed a seafaring life for some years in early manhood, working his way up from a humble capacity to one of importance. In 1852 the whaling vessel on which he sailed cast anchor in San Francisco after a voyage around the Horn. He was then a young man of thirty-two years, weary of a sailor’s life and anxious to get a start in the world. Being pleased with California he determined to seek a livelihood here. For a time he worked in the employ of others at San Francisco and Mount Eden. As soon as his means permitted he bought a tract of raw land at Mount Eden and there he spent the remaining years of his life, busily engaged in bringing his land under cultivation. At the time of his death, which occurred at the age of fifty-eight years, he owned about seven hundred acres, a larger part of which is now worth $200 per acre. When it is considered that he started in this country without means, influence or friends, his success proves him to have been a man of excellent judgment and more than ordinary ability. After becoming a citizen of the United States he voted the Republican ticket. The only local office he ever consented to occupy was that of school trustee. Fraternally he held membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while in religion he was connected with the Lutheran Church, his wife and children being identified with the same denomination. Two years after he came to California he was joined by his wife, who remained here until her death at sixty-four years of age. They were the parents of seven children, one of whom died in infancy, and John C. at thirty-five years. The others are: Anna, Paul, Henry P., Herman (a rancher near the homestead), and William, who owns the old home place.
At the time of his father’s death Henry P. Mohr had attained his majority and he was one of the executors of the estate, which he assisted in settling. On the completion of that work, in 1895, he settled upon a tract of six hundred acres, which was his share of the property, and here he has since engaged in raising stock and following general ranch pursuits. His family consists of his wife and four children, the former, having been Ernestine Schween, a native of Mount Eden, Alameda county. In politics he maintains an independent attitude, voting for the men and measures which he believes to be best adapted to the welfare of the people and the development of his county and state. Though eminently qualified for public service he has never cared to hold office, his tastes lying rather in the direction of private affairs, and he finds his greatest pleasure in superintending his valuable property. As master of Alisal Lodge No. 321, F. & A. M., he is actively interested in Masonry, and his fraternal relations are further enlarged by his connection with the Grange at Haywards. The success which has already rewarded his efforts in the improvement of the estate bequeathed to him furnishes an indication as to the enterprise and sagacity which are dominant traits of his character and leads one to predict for him further successes in future years.
Transcribed
Joyce Rugeroni.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 790. The Chapman Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Joyce Rugeroni.
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