Contra Costa County
Biographies
JOHN T. BELSHAW
JOHN T. BELSHAW.
Notwithstanding the fact that he has reached an age that justifies the
cessation of labor and the retirement from active business cares, John T. Belshaw retains important interests and in the many
questions demanding his attention displays a versatility of mind and quickness
of judgment not always found among men far younger than he. Seldom it is the
good fortune of any one to meet a man who, at the age of three score and ten
years, continues to a greater degree than does Mr. Belshaw
the activities of younger years, the alertness of mind and the vigor of body;
and these qualities enable him to oversee with accustomed promptness and system
the affairs of the large mercantile house of Belshaw &
Co., of Antioch, one of the leading establishments of its kind in Contra Costa county.
Mr. Belshaw was born in Herkimer county, N. Y.,
June 4, 1834, being a son of William and Hulda
(Durfee) Belshaw. As a boy
he attended local schools, availing himself of the meager advantages offered
for an education in that day. When he started out for himself at twenty years
of age he traveled through the northwest, seeking employment and a location.
During this period he familiarized himself with the carpenter’s trade and
assisted in building mills. At the time of the agitation relating to the admission
of Kansas as a free or slave state he joined the abolitionists in that
undeveloped country, where he entered land in 1857. After having witnessed the
John Brown campaign and assisted in making Kansas a free state, he returned
east and for some years was interested in the manufacture of scythe stones in
Vermont. Meanwhile his brother, Mortimer W. Belshaw,
had become interested in extensive mining enterprises in California, and
induced him to come west by offers of employment. After his arrival in 1869 he
acted as manager, ore weigher, assayer and paymaster
for his brother until 188o, when he turned his attention to an enterprise of a
different nature.
Under the firm name of
Landow, Belshaw &
Co. during the years 1880-83, Mr. Belshaw was
interested in a merchandising business at Judsonville,
Contra Costa county. On leaving that place he formed a co-partnership at
Antioch with Mortimer and Jay P. Belshaw, and
established a general store wherein may be found a full assortment of
merchandise of every kind excepting hardware. Under the wise and conservative
judgment of the proprietor a large trade has been established with the people
of the town and surrounding country. Integrity in business transactions and the
utmost probity in dealings with all have given to the firm a high standing,
while the sound financial basis upon which the enterprise is established makes
it an important factor in local commercial affairs. During the years of his
residence in Antioch Mr. Belshaw has been a
constant contributor to movements for the public good. His service as member of
the school hoard covered a period of many years, and was productive of good to
the educational interests of the place, while in the capacity of city trustee
he fostered projects of undoubted merit and aided personally in the carrying
through of progressive plans. While he has been influential in civic,
educational and business affairs, he has not been neglectful of religious
obligations, but has been a contributor to the support of the Congregational Church,
an active worker in assisting its various benevolences and a member of its
board of trustees for many years. The attractive residence which he owns and
which is one of the most valuable properties in Antioch is presided over by his
wife, formerly Margaret Rapp, a native of Rome, N. Y. Their family
consists of three children, namely: William W. and John T. Jr.,
who are employed in the store, and Imogene Violet, a student in the high
school.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 31 July 2014.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 255-256. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2014 Marie Hassard.
Contra Costa County Biographies