Butte County
Biographies
SOLON LAWRENCE WADLINGTON
SOLON LAWRENCE WADLINGTON.
– Engaged in movements tending towards the advancement of Butte County, in
the work of improving and cultivating the land, and in promoting horticultural
pursuits, Solon Lawrence Wadlington finds his time
closely occupied, with little leisure for outside things. He was born in
Carroll County, Miss., February 9, 1869. His father was Dr. D. M. Wadlington, born in Kentucky. He worked his own way through
school and graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. During the time he
served in the Mexican War, as a young man, his company was brigaded with
Jefferson Davis’ Mississippi command, and he served under and became acquainted
with many men who were afterwards to become prominent in the affairs of the
state of Mississippi. For a few years after the war, Dr. Wadlington
was interested in farming in Carroll County and it was during this time that
Solon L. was born. Dr. Wadlington then practiced
medicine at Duck Hill, Miss., later engaging in the merchandise business in
Winona, and then, in 1871, he removed to Holmes County and engaged in the hotel
business until his death at Durant, Miss., in 1877. The mother was Martha
Moore, born in Abbeville, S. C. Her family originally came from Scotland
and can be traced to the Stuart family of that country. The great-grandfather (Wadlington) was picked up on a derelict on the Atlantic
Ocean. The captain of the vessel rescuing him, gave
him his name, Wadlington. He drifted into Kentucky.
His son, the grandfather of Solon Wadlington, was a
farmer in Kentucky. He had twenty-three children by three marriages. Dr. D. M. Wadlington’s mother was Mildred Carney, a German woman.
Most of the sons of the grandfather were unusually gifted and became
professional men. Dr. D. M. Wadlington had two sons
and two daughters, three of whom grew to maturity. Dr. Leon became a specialist
in eye, ear, nose and throat. He was accidentally killed while rushing to a
case, being carried by a hand car that was wrecked en route; Blanche is the
wife of Dr. S. H. Howard of Durant, and Solon Wadlington
is the youngest.
Mr. Wadlington
was reared in Durant, Holmes County, Miss., where he attended the public
schools until the age of fifteen, when he went to Madison County, Mo., to work
on a ranch, completing his schooling at the A. & M. College at Starkville,
Miss. Then he left for Iuka, Miss., to attend Iuka Normal Institute, taking the
Scientific course, later going back to Missouri. In
May, 1890, he made his first trip to California, engaging in business in Fresno
until the fall of that year, when he returned to Missouri and married Miss
Belle Burch, of Madison County, the daughter of George Burch, born in
Devonshire, England, and who was a farmer in Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Wadlington have five children: Leon; Harry; Blanche, Mrs.Metzer; Mildred, who is Mrs. L. E. Newton; and Thelma,
who is at home. All except the last-named reside in Chico.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Wadlington
returned to Holmes County, Miss., where he owned a one-hundred-twenty-acre
farm, and engaged in raising cotton. In 1892 he made a second trip to
California. After spending seven months at Durham, Butte County, he returned to
Mississippi and continued to raise cotton until 1900. The lure of California
still possessed him and he determined to locate here. He came in September,
1900, to his present place, purchasing thirteen acres of the Bidwell tract. He
built a residence and set out an orchard of peaches, almonds, and prunes. He
has sold three acres and still owns the remaining ten of his original tract.
Mr. Wadlington has the distinction of being one
of the first to set out an orchard in this locality.
Mr. Wadlington
belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and politically he is a
Democrat. He is a member of the California Peach Growers Association, the
California Prune and Apricot Association and the California Almond Growers
Association. Mr. Wadlington is a member of the
Presbyterian Church. He is widely known and respected, and the energy and
enthusiasm he has demonstrated on his ranch are exemplified in all of his activities.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard
23 October 2008.
Source:
"History of Butte County, Cal.," by George C. Mansfield, Pages
1052-1053, Historic
Record Co, Los Angeles, CA, 1918.
© 2008 Marie Hassard.
Golden Nugget Library's
Butte County Biographies