Butte County
Biographies
THOMAS BYRNE
THOMAS BYRNE.—An enterprising pioneer who rose to prominence as a
ranchman and was called upon to fill the responsible office of supervisor, so
that eventually he passed away honored by all, was Thomas Byrne, whose
children, notably his daughter, Miss Alice G. Byrne, the educator,
following in his footsteps, have come to add honor to the family name. He was
born in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1830, and coming early to the United States,
spent three years in Georgia; after which, about 1850, he came to California,
landing first at San Francisco. He did not stay there, however, but pushed
inland, coming to Butte County, and for a few years followed mining on Feather
River. Then he engaged in stock-raising, and having bought a place three miles
north of Oroville, located upon it. This is the Byrne place, now owned by his
children, and here they make their home.
At that time he and Thomas Hawkins were
partners; and as the latter was a blacksmith by trade, they had a blacksmith
shop, and a very good one for that time and region. They also had a country inn
that became well-known as a stopping place. Not far away was a stock-ranch from
which the best of cattle, bearing the brand, T-H, were sold in the market.
After continuing together for some years, Mr. Byrne bought Mr. Hawkins out,
and then he continued cattle-raising alone. Adding gradually to his original
holdings, he at length had a fine ranch of six hundred forty acres, on which he
rapidly made all needed improvements.
There, at the ripe age of eight-three, Mr.
Byrne died in 1913–one of the oldest, as he was also one of the most honored,
settlers at the time of his death. An all-around man of experience and
usefulness, both to the circles in which he more frequently moved and to the
community in general, Mr. Byrne had served efficiently as a director of
the Oroville Union High School and also as a member of the County Board of
Supervisors.
Mrs. Byrne was Miss Annie McTiernan before her marriage, and she was a native of
County Sligo, Ireland. When only thirteen she crossed
the ocean to Boston, and while still a young lady came west to San Francisco,
traveling by way of the Isthmus of Panama. In 1859 she reached Oroville, and
here she met and married Mr. Byrne. When she died, in 1909, she was the mother
of six children, three of whom grew up, namely: Fannie, who died at twenty-four
years of age; James Emmett, who graduated from the Oroville Union High School
and is now engaged with his sister in operating the Byrne ranch, which they
own, and which is devoted to the raising of cattle and sheep; and Alice G.
Alice G. was born near Oroville, as indeed
were all the children of this estimable family. Having discovered that she was
especially interested in educational problems, she passed the county
examination for a teacher and in 1892 received a certificate, and since that
time she has been engaged in teaching each school year, without interruption.
For four years she taught in the Cottonwood District, and then for three years
in Thermalito; while for the last eleven years she
has taught in the Oroville schools. She is a woman of much ability, not only as
a teacher but in the transaction of business; and with her brother has made a
very creditable success in the management of their ranch. She is a member of
the Northern California Teachers’ Association, and a communicant of St. Thomas’
Roman Catholic Church.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
19 August 2009.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages
1236-1237, Historic
Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies