Butte County
Biographies
FRED W. REIMERS
FRED W. REIMERS.—A successful rancher of Butte County, and one who has made his influence felt in the county as a dairyman and stock raiser, is Fred W. Reimers, of the vicinity of Gridley. He was born near Heide, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, November 11, 1862, and was educated in the common schools of his neighborhood. He worked for wages on farms in his native country, but could see little prospect there for one of his ambitions, and decided to try his luck in America. Accordingly, he set out on the sea voyage to this country, and landed in New York City in 1884, with just one dollar and fifty cents in his pocket, and a ticket for Lone Tree, Iowa. On arriving at his destination in Iowa, on May 2, he secured work on a farm for twelve dollars and fifty cents a month and board, as his remuneration.
This position gave Mr. Reimers an opportunity to study conditions in that part of the country, and also to become somewhat familiar with the English language. In time he secured another position that paid him nineteen dollars per month; and he continued to work for wages until 1887, when he came to California. He journeyed to Colusa County, and on Stony Creek secured employment with George and Albert Troxel as a ranch hand, and later in work on their threshing machine. He had a brother-in-law, John Johansen, on Stony Creek; and he worked for him for a time, and for George Baker and others. Meanwhile he was getting a practical knowledge of farm work.
In 1892, Mr. Reimers’ parents and his three brothers came from Germany and joined him. The brothers leased a ranch of eleven hundred twenty acres in Clark’s Valley and farmed to grain, also raising hogs, but with no success, on account of poor crops and low prices; and at the end of three years, he had lost what he had previously made. In 1896 they settled in Butte County and rented a half section of land on the plains west of Gridley, and during the following five years they raised good crops of grain. These successful ventures gave Mr. Reimers a good start, and he began farming independently, renting a section of land from Del Setcer, west of Gridley, which he farmed profitably for four years on shares. In 1905 he purchased his present place of one hundred sixty acres, three miles southwest of Gridley, and began making improvements by erecting buildings suitable for his needs. This he has developed into a fine, paying ranch property. He sold off forty acres at a good profit, retaining one hundred twenty acres. He has a dairy of Holstein cows and thirty acres in alfalfa, which furnishes ample feed for his stock. He raises fine horses, and has done much to bring the grade of stock to a higher plane. To add to his revenue he markets many hogs in a season, and also raises grain.
Mr. Reimers was married in Clark’s Valley, on November 17, 1895, to Miss Lena Soeth, also a native of Heide, Germany, who has proven her worth as a good helpmate. Her father, Peter Soeth, brought the family in 1891 to Colusa County. He was a farmer and stockman. His wife died in San Francisco in 1917, and he resides in Oakland. Mrs. Reimers was the oldest of four children. Mr. and Mrs. Reimers have one daughter, Ella Christina, born in Butte County, and now attending Gridley High School. Mr. Reimers is a self-made man. What he has to show for his labors has been acquired as the result of hard work and good management on the part of himself and wife. They have many friends, and are highly esteemed in their community.
Transcribed
by Sharon Walford Yost.
Source: "History of
Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages 1127-1128, Historic Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2009 Sharon
Walford Yost.
Golden Nugget Library's Butte County Biographies