Butte County
Biographies
RICHARD J. NUGENT
RICHARD J. NUGENT.—Among the successful and
enterprising farmers of the Gridley section in Butte County, mention is made of
Richard J. Nugent, who was born at South Butte, Sutter County, September 25,
1871. The father, Patrick Nugent, came to California in the early days and was
a farmer in Sutter and Butte Counties. In about 1873 he located a homestead in
Butte County and engaged in farming on the Gridley lands until his death. His
wife, the mother of our subject, was Catherine Sullivan, who has preceded him
to the land beyond.
Richard J. was the eldest of their five
children and received his education in the West Liberty school district,
assisting his father on the farm until the latter’s death, after which the four
brothers continued farming together for a number of years.
For the past twenty years, Richard and his
brother Michael have been raising grain and cattle, and dairying, under the
firm name of Nugent Brothers, and they are doing a large and successful
business. Until the last two years they operated the place with three
eight-mule teams, but now they have a seventy-five horsepower Holt caterpillar
engine and a combined harvester. They sow about seven hundred acres to wheat
and barley each year, besides raising cattle and running a dairy.
In Marysville, on September 1, 1914,
occurred the marriage of Richard J. Nugent and Rebecca Keppel, who was born on
the old Keppel ranch, Butte County. She is the daughter of Garret Keppel, who
was born at Gorkum, Holland, and who came to the
United States and crossed the plains in an ox-team train in the pioneer days,
engaging in farming with his brother, Halbert. They
became large farmers on Dry Creek, Butte County. Garret Keppel’s wife was
Rebecca Hurlburt, a native of Missouri; they both
passed away in Butte County. One of their children is Mark Keppel, Superintendent
of schools of Los Angeles County. Mrs. Nugent is the youngest of their eleven
children.
Mr. and Mrs. Nugent have one child,
Catherine Mary Belle. They are enterprising and progressive, and are well
thought of in this community.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
06 July 2009.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1207-1208, Historic Record Co, Los
Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies