Colusa County
Biographies
JAMES EDGAR MITCHELL
JAMES EDGAR MITCHELL. James Edgar Mitchell, of Williams, Colusa
county, junior partner in the firm of Houchins &
Mitchell, marketmen and shippers of live-stock, was born in Napa county, Cal., January 20, 1871, son of Benjamin F. and
Tabitha Elizabeth (Miner) Mitchell. His
father was born in New York state and his mother was a
native of Texas. His maternal
grandfather, John Miner, crossed the plains with his family with ox teams to
California. The maternal grandmother is
still living and is now Mrs. Osborn of Springville, Tulare county. Benjamin F.
Mitchell was reared in Canada and coming to California a young man in 1860,
followed for a time the occupation of a stage driver. He subsequently became foreman of a large
ranch in Berryessa valley, and from there came to Colusa county in 1877, and
engaged in farming near Williams. From
there he went to Arizona, where he spent two years, and returning to Williams
he established himself in the stage and livery business. He is now residing in Nevada county, Cal. Tabitha
Elizabeth Mitchell, his wife, who died in Sacramento in April, 1898, was the
mother of three children, two of whom are living.
James Edgar Mitchell’s educational
advantages were confined to the ordinary branches of study taught in the
district schools of Colusa county. When eleven years old he was apprenticed to a
butcher in Williams, and in his thirteenth year he went to Tehama county, where he was employed on Andrew Simpson’s ranch for
two years. He then resumed his trade in
Sacramento and subsequently followed it as a journeyman in various places,
including Williams, Porterville and Arbuckle.
In the last-named town he first met his present partner, Mr. Houchins, by whom he was employed until acquiring a one-half
interest in the business in 1902. He
managed the business in Arbuckle until March 1, 1904, when he took the
management of the Houchins & Mitchell market
in Williams. Their market business in
Arbuckle and Williams is large and constantly increasing in volume,
necessitating the maintenance of extensive cold-storage plants. The firm are also
extensively engaged in the live-stock business, being among the largest dealers
in the Sacramento valley, shipping cattle, sheep and hogs to Sacramento, San
Francisco and Oakland.
Politically Mr. Mitchell is a
Democrat. He was made a Mason in
Meridian Lodge No. 182, F. & A. M., at College City
(now of Arbuckle), and is a member of Colusa Chapter No. 60, R. A. M. He is also a member of the Independent Order
of Foresters. He was married in Fresno,
Cal., to Miss Nettie Matheson, a native of Williams, and they have one son,
Edgar.
[Inserted by D.
Toole.]
James Edgar
Mitchell
Findagrave Memorial:
James
E. Mitchell
Birth:
1871
Death:
1954
Burial:
Williams Cemetery, Williams, Colusa County, California, USA
Created
by: Scout731
Record
added: Mar 01, 2016
Find
A Grave Memorial# 158772703
Findagrave Memorial:
Nettie
Mitchell
Birth: 1876
Death: 1921
Burial:
Williams Cemetery, Williams, Colusa County, California, USA
Created
by: Scout731
Record
added: Mar 01, 2016
Find A Grave
Memorial# 158772704
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 444-445. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Donna Toole.
Golden Nugget Library's Colusa County Biographies