Butte County
Biographies
DANIEL L. COMPTON
DANIEL L. COMPTON.--Proprietor of
the Ellen Rose Ranch, and engaged in horticulture on a profitable scale,
D. L. Compton has been a developer of the soil in Butte County since 1887.
Born in the town of Jasper, Steuben County, N. Y., March 29, 1852, he is a
son of George Henry and Dorcas (Hill) Compton. The
families on both sides were old New Yorkers, Grandfather George Henry Compton,
a native of Rhode Island, having settled in New York state
and engaged in farming. His son, George Henry also, was born in Oswego County
and was also a farmer in New York, then removed to Allegan County, Mich., where
he cleared a farm from the timber, beech and maple. He died at ninety-two years
of age. The mother was also born in New York, her parents coming from Rhode
Island, as did her husband’s ancestors. She died aged sixty-two years, and was
the mother of twelve children, ten of whom grew to maturity and six boys are
now living.
D. L. Compton, the sixth oldest in the
family, was reared in New York until twelve years old, then went to Michigan
with his parents, attending the public schools for his education. He early
learned farming on the home farm, and in 1865 went to Hamburg, Iowa, where he
worked on a farm two years, then returned to his home in Michigan. His marriage
occurred in that state, to Mary E. Wade, born in Ohio. In 1882 Mr. Compton
decided to start west, and went to Nebraska, locating at Albion, Boone County,
and taking up a homestead of one hundred sixty acres, which property he
improved and later sold. Still with the idea of western opportunities in his
mind, he came out to Salem, Ore., in 1887, and from there went on a tour of
investigation for a satisfactory location. In his travels he found Chico, Butte
County, and rightly judging the possibilities in this section of the state,
sent for his family and started anew, without a dollar, to make his fortune. He
first worked as foreman for E. T. Reynolds for three years, then moved
into Chico, and was employed in the woods for the Sierra Lumber Company. At
this time his boys had grown to be of help to him and he had prospered enough
to enable him to start ranching operations for himself. Fifteen years ago he
began by leasing the E. T. Reynolds ranch of two hundred acres, then
leased part of the Phelan ranch, and operated fifteen hundred acres. At the
same time he leased ten hundred eighty acres of the Jones ranch, north of
Hamilton, Glenn County, raising grain on all of his acreage; he also engaged in
the stock business, raising, buying and selling stock. His grain in Glenn
County matured so much earlier that he could harvest the crop on his holdings
there and then use the same outfit in gathering his Butte County harvest. He
used five eight-mule teams and a combined harvester. During all his years of
ranching the family home was in Chapmantown, where he
owned a corner on Third and Elm Streets. In 1905 Mr. Compton bought a ranch of
one hundred sixty acres at Ords Bend and on this property
raised alfalfa, grain and hogs, also renting adjoining land for cultivation. He
sold this ranch in 1911 and moved back to Chico. Watching his opportunity for a
suitable place, in 1916, he bought his present place of twenty-one acres on the
Park Road on Big Chico Creek. This ranch is fine loam soil and he has devoted
it to horticulture, growing French prunes on twelve acres in full bearing; on
the balance of the land he has dry yards and prune houses, and does some
farming. There is a profusion of roses in the yard and Mr. Compton
appropriately named his place after his wife’s first name Ellen, calling it
Ellen Rose Ranch.
The first wife of Mr. Compton died in Chico, in 1912, leaving four children: Ida, Mrs. Crawford, of Chico Vecino; Luman, resides in Chapmantown; Herman, lives in Pentz; and Charles, farming in Glenn County. The second marriage of Mr. Compton occurred in Oroville on January 13, 1916, and united him with Mrs. Mary Ellen (Button) Linn, born in Polk County, Iowa, a daughter of Augustus and Lydia (Burnight) Button. Mr. Button was born in Ohio but removed to Kentucky, where he married, then moved to Polk County, Iowa, later went to Pennsylvania, thence back to Polk County, Iowa. In 1882 he settled in Chico, where he purchased property and engaged in farming. He afterwards returned to Polk County, Iowa, and died there. His wife was born in Kentucky and died in Iowa. Her grandparents on the maternal side were pioneers of Butte County and crossed the plains with oxen in 1849. Mary Ellen was the youngest of seven children and was twelve years old when her parents came to California. She received her education in the public schools of Glenn and Butte Counties, and her first marriage was to John Linn, who was a member of the police force in Chico. He resigned on account of ill health and died in February, 1911. Of this union four children were born: Wilbert, living in Tracy; Albert, sergeant in the One Hundred Fifty-ninth California Infantry, United States Army; Edna, Mrs. Boyd, of Chico; and Clarence, at home. Mr. Compton is a member of the California Apricot and Prune Growers’ Association. Politically he is a Socialist and has served as a member of the county central committee.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
30 July 2008.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages
995-999, Historic Record
Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies