Butte County
Biographies
NOAH ALEXANDER ARCHER
NOAH ALEXANDER ARCHER.—The son of a
pioneer who crossed the plains to California, via the ox-team route, in 1857,
and himself a resident of the state since 1876, Noah Alexander Archer has
watched the growth of this wonderful country and has developed into a veritable
"booster" for the state, and particularly for his section of it, Butte
County, where he has made his home
since 1881. His father, James A. Archer, journeyed west from Corydon,
Wayne County, Iowa. A blacksmith by trade, he followed that line of work
in various mining camps in the early days. He married, in Illinois,
before removing to Iowa, Miss Martha Jane Brock, of Quincy,
Ill., and they became the parents of three
children, two boys and a girl. The mother continued to reside in Iowa,
after their removal there, and brought up the family there.
Noah
A. Archer was the second child born to his parents, his birth taking place in Illinois,
December 12, 1852. He has no recollection of Illinois, however, as the family
moved to Iowa when he was but three years old and there he grew up, in Wayne
County, receiving his education in the district schools. On finishing his
schooling he was apprenticed to learn the trade of carriage-making, which
business he learned thoroughly, making his own way in life from the age of
fifteen, and helping his mother to the best of his ability, though but a
lad. He later worked at carriage-making at Humeston,
Iowa, where he owned and operated a wagon-shop until
1876, the year of his journey to California. Mr.
Archer was married, in Wayne County, Iowa, April 3, 1876, to Hannah Jane Kaylor, a native of Appanoose County,
Iowa.
Arriving
at Fall River, Shasta
County, in November, 1876, the
young couple took up a homestead, Mr. Archer doing carpenter work in the
meantime. He helped build the first circular saw mill in Fall
River Valley and also helped to
build a mill for Florin Brothers in Siskiyou
County. He afterwards came to Chico,
in 1881, and worked as millwright for twenty-five years for the Sierra Lumber
Company. He also worked on the Soda Springs (Butte County) mill for that
company; also on one for the Diamond Match Company, at Lyonsville,
Tehama County; built a mill for Joe Terry at Round Mountain, Shasta County; a
small mill for Clarence Marshallman at Coateland, Butte County; and helped repair and put in new
machinery in two different mills for the Feather River Lumber Company in Plumas
County.
Upon
coming to Butte County,
in 1881, Mr. Archer bought from General Bidwell a house and lot in Chico,
which he sold, then purchasing another lot and built on it, and this he still
owns. He then came south of the Little Chico Creek and purchased eight
acres on the Dayton Road, suburban property, which he subdivided and platted as
Archer’s Addition to Chico, in 1904. Upon this he erected six houses, four
of which he sold. Mr. Archer has worked hard and prospered, having always
had faith in the prosperity of Butte County,
and not being afraid to demonstrate it. He owns several pieces of property
in Chico besides his beautiful home
place on the Dayton Road. In
the spring of 1918, Mr. Archer deeded a lot in Archer’s Addition, to each of
his children. In Mrs. Archer he has always had a true helpmate to spur him
on towards success, and they have reared a family of seven children: Bessie,
now the wife of Robert L. Humphrys, of Chico, they
have one adopted child; Edward Guy, machinist, residing in San Francisco, who
married Miss Lena Thomas; Otta, carpenter by trade,
living at home with the parents; James Elmer, who married Miss Lulu Carmack, they have one child, Austin; Jessie Leo, wife of
Albert A. Gangloff, residing near Greenwood, Cal.;
Elsie B., wife of Martin Bland, residing near Chico; Herbert, who was
accidentally drowned in Little Chico Creek, when ten years of age.
Mr.
and Mrs. Archer are member of the Baptist
Church, in Chico. On
March 20, 1916, Mrs. Archer suffered a stroke of paralysis and has since that
time been confined to the house as an invalid.
Transcribed 11-30-07
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 535-536, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
©
2007 Marilyn
R. Pankey.
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