Contra Costa County
Biographies
ANDREW GEHRINGER
ANDREW GEHRINGER. The arrival upon the coast of Andrew Gehringer March 19, 1847, was not in response to
a craving for gold, nor yet to the spirit of adventure which led men forth from
comfortable homes to dare the obstacles and dangers of the plains. He came
rather as a soldier of the Mexican war, his patriotism aflame not for his own,
but for his adopted country, which he afterwards served as one of the foremost
promoters of agriculture of Contra Costa county.
Mr. Gehringer was born in Wurtemberg,
Germany, January 12, 1823, and in early manhood learned the trade of
linen weaver. At the age of twenty-one he sailed for America, arriving in New
York City in July, 1843. Though without knowledge of the
language or customs of the people on this side of the ocean, he found
employment on a farm near New York City, remaining there for three years, and
then enlisted in Company H, First Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry,
for service in the Mexican war. Aboard the Susan Drew he came with his
regiment around the Horn to San Francisco, arriving March 19, 1847,
and until his discharge was installed in the Presidio. Pleased with the climate
and prospects of the far west, he went from garrison duty to the mines of
Tuolumne county, and in 1851 moved to Santa Clara
county, where he engaged in farming for twelve years. Supposing the land to be
his own, he labored faithfully for its improvement; but owing to a defective
title he lost his ranch of three hundred acres and was forced to begin life
anew.
In the fall of 1863 Mr. Gehringer
located in Contra Costa county, purchased seven
hundred acres in the Mount Diablo valley, two miles east of Concord, commencing
to farm under discouraging and handicapped circumstances. As his spirit had
never quailed before the cannon of the enemy, so his resource never failed in
this his hour of financial trial; and as success came to him with the passing
years, he more and more believed in the virtues of energy, courage and
perseverance. He became one of the most honored and prosperous ranchers of his
locality, and when the snows of age began to whiten his hair and his step to
lose its buoyancy he was able to retire from active life with the consciousness
that those dependent upon his care were far from want, and to loan out at
reasonable interest the money which had been gained by his honest toil. In 1861
he married in San Jose Mrs. Henrietta (Rengstorff)
Bollman, a native of Hanover, Germany; and of their
union two children were born, Lena Christina, wife of Joseph McKean,
who reside on the old family homestead; and Andrew C. Mr. Gehringer was foremost in all movements for the betterment
of his district, and was a stanch promoter of
education, being one of the organizers of the Lime Quarry school district, of
which he served as trustee for many years. In politics he was a Republican, but
never active. During the period of its pioneer development he had a wide
acquaintance with the leading men of the state, and acted as guard over the
assayer’s office while the first gold discovered in California was being
assayed. His death occurred April 19, 1896, his wife surviving him
until May 6, 1903.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 02 April 2016.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California
by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages
1061-1062. The Chapman Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Marie Hassard.
Contra Costa County Biographies