Butte County
Biographies
JOHN WESLEY BENNETT
JOHN WESLEY BENNETT.--In California,
more than in any other state in the Union, the vigorous prosperity of the state
is directly traceable to those pioneers who came out of the East to help build
up the West, leaving behind them all the comforts of civilization, to confront
a life of untiring effort, full of hardships and rough edges, but with promise
of rich rewards to spur them on with renewed energy when they found their
spirits flagging. Among those who chose Butte County
as the scene of their activities, John Wesley Bennett, now located on his
fertile ranch near Cana, has become one of the thrifty and successful
agriculturists of the Sacramento Valley.
Though his responsibility may not be as large as that of some of his neighbors,
yet he has followed the even tenor of his way and, as he has prospered, he has
added to his holdings until he is accounted one of the successful men of the
county.
Born
at Coldwater, Branch County, Mich.,
May 4, 1844, J. Wesley Bennett is a son of the late Hiram Bennett, a native of Fairfield,
N. Y., where the latter was married to Christiana Hull, also a native of that
state. The father moved to Michigan with his wife and
five children and settled in Branch County,
where he continued his farm pursuits. His wife died on their farm in Michigan
in 1848.
When
news of the discovery of gold in California reached Michigan,
the elder Bennett was fired with a desire to try his fortunes in the mines, but
was dissuaded from his purpose by his oldest daughter, Mrs. Myra Page, who
declared the younger children were too small to undertake the trip across the
plains, and he gave it up. In 1854 the family moved to Iowa
and settled in Muscatine County,
where he farmed for five years.
In
1859, when the Pike's Peak gold excitement ran high, Mr. Bennett outfitted with
two wagons, three yoke of oxen to each wagon; three cows, and the necessary
provender, and with his four sons, Isaac, James Nelson, Marcus, J. Wesley, and
one married daughter, Mrs. Lucretia Williams, started
on May 9, via Omaha for the supposed Eldorado. On the
way they met so many people returning to their homes "flat broke,"
who pronounced the gold mines a failure, that the Bennett outfit decided to go
no further in that direction. Then Mr. Bennett said, "I have always wanted
to go to California and will
never have a better opportunity nor be better fixed to make the long
journey." They all decided to come West together
and changed their course to the land of the father's desire. He had a span of
horses which he traded for three yoke of oxen and a wagon and they made the
trip without mishap.
Arriving
in Butte County
in September, 1859, Mr. Bennett took up a claim near what is now Nord and began
farming. He traded this claim in 1862 to his son, J. Nelson Bennett, for forty
acres near Laporte, Ind.,
and returned East via Panama.
He remained four years and in the fall of 1866 again started for California,
coming across the plains. It was late in the season and upon arriving at Council
Bluffs, he decided to winter there and continue the journey in the spring. He never resumed his
trip for while waiting for spring to open up he was accidentally killed by
being kicked by a horse. His family consisted of: Mrs. Myra Page, who died in
New York; Hiram, who died in Nebraska; Isaac, who died in Chico leaving two
children, one of whom, Mrs. Mamie Entler, is living
in San Francisco; James Nelson, who died in Butte County; Mrs. Lucretia Williams, who lives in Chico Vecino;
Mary Matilda, Mrs. Culver, of San Francisco; Mark J., who was born in 1840 and
died in California in 1878; and John Wesley.
John
Wesley Bennett was reared in Michigan
until 1854, and while living there attended school in a crude log cabin used
for a school house. In 1854 he accompanied his father to Atalissa,
Muscatine County, Iowa, and five
years later came with him to California.
He had just passed his fifteenth birthday and the journey was most interesting
to the young lad; on the Platte River
he saw buffalo by the thousands, in herds as far as the eye could see. On
arriving in Butte County,
in September, 1859, he went to school for a short time, his advantages being
somewhat limited, but by observation and reading he has become a well informed
man, obtaining the greater part of his education in the school of life. At
first he did not like the new country and could see no good in California
until he had made a trip into Nevada, then he really
appreciated the beauties of California
and could understand, to some extent, its possibilities. In 1862 he struck out
for himself and began working on a farm, and the following year went to Nevada,
where he was employed at the Crown Point mine until the
spring of 1864, when he returned to the Sacramento
Valley. It was green and beautiful
and a great contrast to the desert wastes of Nevada,
and to add to his content he brought back four hundred fifty dollars in gold.
With the money he had
made in mining, Mr. Bennett bought a claim of one hundred sixty acres from
William Thrower, which he farmed one year, then went back to Nevada and assumed
the same position he formerly had at the Crown Point mine. He retained it for
eleven months, and it was during this period that news of the assassination of
President Lincoln reached the mining camp. Mr. Bennett came back to Butte
County with money enough to pay off
the debt on his ranch; he purchased a team and had four hundred dollars to
begin farming with. In 1868 he sold out as the place was not what he wanted and
then bought one hundred sixty acres, the northeast quarter section of his
present holdings. Here he built a house and barns, fenced the land and began
raising grain. As he prospered he added to his holdings and now owns eleven
hundred acres. He used to run four eight-horse or mule teams and a combined
harvester; as new machinery has come into use he has kept abreast of the times
and now uses a Best caterpillar seventy-five horse-power engine and a Best combined harvester. In 1917 he had six hundred acres
planted, principally to wheat, and in 1918 he had eight hundred acres. He also
raises stock to add to his annual income.
On
December 9, 1866, Mr. Bennett was married to Miss Anseneth
J. Cooney, born in Peoria County, Ill.,
a daughter of William and Hannah (Bittner) Cooney, natives of Pennsylvania.
William Cooney was a strong Union man and served in the Civil War as a member
of a Missouri regiment, having enlisted at Chillicothe.
In 1862 he brought his family across the plains to Butte
County, Cal., and here he died
in 1864. His widow died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. J. W. Bennett, aged
eighty-eight years. Thirteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bennett; Mathilda, Mrs. Hale, of Washington; Wesley Evan, of Chico Vecino; Mettie, Mrs. Schuyler
Bennett, of Nord; Cynthia, Mrs. Crawford, of Chico; Sarah Dean, married R. H. Messinger, of Chico; Addie, Mrs. Pennington, of Stockton;
James Nelson, assisting on the home ranch; Grace, Mrs. Lock, was killed by a
falling tree in the Placer County; George Clark, on the home ranch; Lucretia, Mrs. Frohn, of Oakland;
Lillian C., John Walter and Hallie Allison, the three
last named dying in infancy.
Mr.
Bennett has always been a stanch advocate of good schools and for years was a
trustee in Pine Creek district. In politics he is a Republican. A very pleasant
gathering occurred on December 9, 1916, when Mr. and Mrs. Bennett celebrated
their golden wedding anniversary at their home. The numerous relatives and
friends were served a bountiful dinner that had been prepared by members of the
family. Of the seventy-five persons present, Mrs. Dicy
Bennett was the only guest who was present at the wedding fifty years previous.
A
man of keen intelligence; a close observer; a well-read and a well informed man
on current topics, Mr. Bennett is an interesting conversationalist. He and his
wife are generous and dispense the old-time hospitality of the true
Californians. Liberal and kind-hearted, they are ever ready to help those less
fortunate than themselves. A man of energy, Mr. Bennett is never idle and
continues to be active and gives substantial aid and encouragement to every
plan for the promotion of public welfare.
Transcribed by Sande Beach.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 727-729, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Sande Beach.
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