Contra
Costa County
Biographies
GEORGE VAN GORDEN
As rancher and breeder of fine
race horses, George Van Gorden is located near
Danville, Contra Costa county, upon a finely developed and improved ranch of
seventy-five acres, which was originally a part of the Hemme
property, the beautiful home having been built by Clarence Hemme.
In 1899 he purchased this property, since which time he has given his entire
time and attention to its improvement and cultivation. The property includes a
twenty-acre orchard of the very best variety of pears, prunes, walnuts, apples,
etc., while in the same neighborhood he bought two hundred acres which he
utilizes for pasturing purposes. He had bred many fine horses upon his ranch,
having recently sold a three-year old, called Venator
by Brutus, for $3,000.
Born in Niles, Mich., September 8,
1845, George Van Gorden was a son of the late Ira Van
Gorden, a well-known and honored pioneer of
California. He was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Gilbert and Mary (Ives) Van
Gorden, the former of whom spent two years in
California but returned to Michigan, his home for many years, where his death
occurred at the age of ninety-seven years. When a boy Ira Van Gorden went with his parents to Indiana, where he grew to
manhood and in time married Rebecca Harlan. They removed to Michigan and
engaged in farming until 1845, when he and his family crossed the plains to
California, traveling from Council Bluffs in company with the ill-fated Donner
party. On their arrival in the state Mr. Van Gorden
located at San Jose Mission in Alameda county. Shortly
afterward the Mexican war broke out and he enlisted and served under General
Kearney. On returning to civil pursuits he came to the redwoods in Contra Costa
county and whipsawed trees to build a house. He put up a small one for his
family and made that his home for some time. On the report of the discovery of
gold he sent Thomas Smith on horseback to verity the information. Following his
return with a confirmation of the report, Mr. Van Gorden
went to Coloma, having to cross the straits in whale boats as that was the only
means of passage. He entered into the life of a miner and met with success, but
not liking the mountains, climate or hardships which were essentially a part of
such an experience, he returned in 1849 to San Jose Mission, and began farming
with Thomas Smith. A year later they went south to buy saddle horses and
prospected to San Diego, where he entered into the cultivation of a vineyard in
partnership with John Broder in 1855. They finally
sold out and went to Tulare county, and there Mr. Van Gorden
bought a ranch and built a home, set out one of the finest orchards in the
county, and went into the cattle business, going south to buy his stock. In
1865 he sold out and removed to San Luis Obispo county
and bought a large ranch, upon which he continued in the stock business until
his death, December 13, 1902, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife died
in 1848. They were the parents of four children, namely: Jerome, of Visalia;
Charles, deceased; George, the subject of this review; and a daughter who died
in infancy. Mr. Van Gorden married for a second wife
Mary Balaam, and six children were born of this union.
Left motherless when three years
old, George Van Gorden was reared to the age of fourteen
years in the home of his aunt, Mrs. Henry C. Smith. He then returned to his
father’s home and engaged in the stock business with him until 1868, in the
meantime, however, in the year 1863, engaging to some extent in mining on the
King’s river, in Fresno county. In 1868 he began the stock business in San Luis
Obispo county, following the same until 1892. In that
year he sold out his interests in that county, and having in the meantime
become associate with mining interests and the breeding of fine horses and
cattle, he purchased a ranch of one hundred and fifty acres of land in Alameda county. This property he now rents. He also bought an orange
grove in Butte county, consisting of twelve acres, and
this is now in most excellent condition. In 1899 he bought seventy-five acres
which comprise his present home, and at once entered upon the business which now
engages his attention. He has met with success and is justly numbered among the
representative men of the county. In addition to his ranching interests he owns
the controlling stock in the Drinkwater Gold Mine, in Trinity county, a mine of considerable value. He has traveled
considerably and has prospected in California, Alaska, Mexico and various other
states, in his mining interest.
In 1868 Mr. Van Gorden
married Annie Stiner, a native of Mariposa county,
Cal., and the daughter of Calvin M. and Elizabeth (Ridgeway) Stiner. Her father was born in Aberdeen, Miss., and the
mother’s parents were Jarrett and Ann (Mitchell) Ridgeway. They all came to
California in 1849 and settled in Mariposa county, engaging in mining. Later
Mr. Stiner settled in Visalia, his death occurring in
San Francisco in April, 1871, at the age of fifty years. He was a respected
member of the Masonic body. His wife is still living. Mr. Ridgway made his home
in Mariposa county until his death at the age of fifty-six years, his wife
dying in August, 1903, aged eighty-three years. He improved a substantial
property, putting out the first orchard in that county. To Mr. Van Gorden and his wife were born the following children: Anna,
who married Dr. H. S. Kergan, of Oakland, and has two
children: Marian A. and Janice; Maurice, at home; and Laura Emma, who married
Fred W. Grunig, of San Jose and died at the age of
twenty-four years, leaving one child, Durward.
Fraternally Mr. Van Gorden is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Transcribed by: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 975-976. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.
Contra Costa County Biographies