Butte County
Biographies
WILLIAM HENRY DUNAHOO
WILLIAM HENRY DUNAHOO--A gentleman farmer and rice grower, whose lines have been cast in such pleasant places that, with his good wife, who shares with him the memories of the same school days, he may look back, in excellent health and spirits, to the stirring scenes of pioneer days, is William Henry Dunahoo, who resides in a handsome residence in Biggs, the old Virgil Bunnell home, which he bought three years ago. He was born on April 1, 1864, in Arkansas, near Little Rock, and was nurtured on his father’s farm until he was six years old, when he came with his parents and brothers and sisters by means of ox-teams across the great plains to California. His father was William Calvin Dunahoo, a native of Alabama, who married Elizabeth A. Hutchison of Tennessee, the ceremony taking place in the East. For years, the Dunahoo lived in Arkansas, where ten children were born; and when Mr. Dunahoo came to California, five children were still living to accompany him and his wife. Only three now survive: Elizabeth A Brown, who resides in the state of Oregon; Olivia C. Hobson, living at Gridley; and William Henry, the subject of our sketch. William C. Dunahoo stopped for a season in Sutter County, and then, during the gold excitement, went to Pitt River. But he soon came back to the Sacramento Valley, and settled on a farm near Biggs, where he died in the early seventies, about fifty-two years of age. His wife lived to be five years older, passing away at her home.
William Henry Dunahoo attended the Biggs public school, and worked on his mother’s farm as long as she lived, when he went to work, while only ten years of age, for his brother-in-law, Mr. Hobson, a rancher near Gridley. There he remained until he was fifteen years old, and then engaged with Daniel Streeter, the pioneer, to work for wages on his farm. Seven years went by there, after which Mr. Dunahoo was ready for the next important step in his life.
In his twenty-second year, Mr. Dunahoo was married to Miss Olive Streeter, daughter of the pioneer just referred to, thereby joining himself with another early family with an interesting history. Mr. Streeter was a most progressive citizen, who donated land for the first school, while among his business ventures he was instrumental in building up the old creamery at Biggs. He welcomed every additional business man settling in the vicinity, and every new industry coming to Biggs; and although not at all wealthy, he left an honored name for good and generous deeds. He was perhaps the most highly respected and best beloved man who ever lived in this community. A son J. W. Streeter, elsewhere told of in this volume, is a well-known Californian. There is only ten months’ difference in the ages of Mr. and Mrs. Dunahoo and they both attended the first school here, taught by Abe Bradford. They well remember the building, in 1870, of the Central Pacific Railway, now the Southern Pacific, and the establishing of the station at Biggs.
Following his marriage, Mr. Dunahoo bought his brother’s interest in his mother’s home place, and settling there, began a strenuous career at farming. He equipped his place with late devices, and drove one of the first combined harvesters and threshers seen in this valley. Three years ago, he was able to buy a city home, in one of the finest locations anywhere around; and here, blessed with a numerous family and a still more numerous circle of friends, he and his wife are enjoying life. Mrs. Dunahoo owns one hundred sixty acres of adobe rice land two miles west of Biggs, which Mr. Dunahoo operates, together with three hundred twenty acres which he rents of the Streeter estate. He also rents forty acres for grain and hay. In fraternal life, Mr. Dunahoo is a Woodman of the World.
Mr. and Mrs. Dunahoo have seven children and six grandchildren. Eve is one of the daughters, and is now the wife of C. E. Boulware, of Biggs; Cassie is the wife of W. M. Moreland, who owns a farm near Gridley and works in the rice mill at Biggs, in which town he and his wife dwell; Georgia married J. O. Kearns, the machinist, who lives at Biggs; William Calvin chose for his wife, Reita Gassaway, of Grass Valley, and has a neat home at Biggs; Perry D. is a machinist, and lives at home; Olive is the wife of W. R. Thompson, a clerk at Chatfield and Smith’s store in Biggs; and Zella enjoys home life with her parents, while attending the Biggs High School.
Transcribed
by Joyce Rugeroni.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1017-1018, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Joyce Rugeroni.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies