Contra Costa County
Biographies
LEONARD EDDY
LEONARD EDDY. The name of Leonard Eddy is associated with
the successful ranchmen of Contra Costa county, where
in 1850 he entered a quarter-section of land and later purchased the same
amount of school land and engaged in its cultivation and improvement. He was
interested in general farming and stock-raising, and met with success in both,
bringing to a high state of cultivation his ranch in Contra Costa county, while
he later purchased a thousand acres in the San Joaquin valley and followed
farming exclusively, being one of the first to raise a crop near Cottonwoods,
Stanislaus county. He occupied an honored place among the citizens of this
section, won both by his ability and high sterling qualities.
Eight miles from Rochester, N. Y., Leonard Eddy was born
January 15, 1828, a son of Daniel and Martha (Pellet) Eddy, who
removed to Du Page county, Ill., in 1836. He was
there reared to manhood on a farm, and thereafter until 1849 was located in
Will county. In that year he followed the westward trend of civilization,
crossing the plains with ox-teams to California, where, upon his arrival, he
located at Coloma. During the first winter he mined near Dogtown
with success, but not liking the life, he came the following year to Contra
Costa county. In addition to the one hundred and sixty
acres of government land in the Sycamore valley which he entered, he afterward
purchased a quarter-section. He continued in this location until 1854, when he
returned east, and January 3, 1855, was united in marriage with
Mary A. Reed. She was born in Will county,
Ill., a daughter of Harvey and Cynthia (Kirkpatrick) Reed, the former of whom
came to California in the same train with Mr. Eddy. He remained in the
state two years, when he returned to Illinois and died there in 1869.
Mr. Eddy brought his wife to California via the
Isthmus of Panama, and they were soon located in the little house which he had
built upon the ranch. In 1860 he put up a larger one, turning their first home
into a granary. He continued in his farming operations for many years, the
greatest trouble experienced in their new life being with the wild animals
which came down from Mount Diablo, their ranch being located at the foot of the
mountain. Mr. Eddy, however, was a good marksman, the death of many bears
and lions evidencing his skill in this line. Among the improvements which he
made upon his property was an orchard of considerable extent, which furnished
various fruits for family use. In 1876 he purchased a ranch in the San Joaquin
valley and devoted it to general farming until he sold out. He died near
Martinez, while setting out a vineyard of one hundred acres, in 1885, and four
years later his widow located in Danville, where she now lives.
Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Eddy four
attained maturity, and are as follows: Mary C., wife of William McCarley, of Oakland, by whom she has two children, Lena
and Lina; Douglas, a rancher of this valley, who
married Emily Goold, their family consisting of three children, Frank, Marcia
and Reed; Harvey, a rancher of this county, who married Addie Call, and
Lewis, also a rancher of this county, who married Leonor Crow, by whom he has
one daughter, Lola.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 11 November 2015.
ญญญญSource: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page
868. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
ฉ 2015 Marie
Hassard.
Contra Costa County Biographies