Placer
County
Biographies
ADANIRUM J. GODING
Among the leading representatives of
the fruit growing interests of Placer County is Adanirum
Judson Goding, whose interests in this direction are
extensive and yield to him a good financial return. His farm is located about one mile from Towle
Station in Placer County, and its neat, thrifty
appearance indicates to the passer-by the careful supervision of the owner, who
since the spring of 1852 has been a resident of California.
He was born in Livermore, Oxford
County, Maine, on the 30th of May, 1823, and is of English lineage,
although the family for many generations has been connected with American
interests, having been founded in New England in colonial days. Jonas Goding, the
father of our subject, was born in the Pine Tree state and married Miss Jane
Hathaway, also a native of Maine. After
their marriage they removed to Brighton, Massachusetts, locating on a farm in
that vicinity, and were known as industrious, worthy farming people for many
years. The mother lived to the advanced
age of eighty years, while the father passed the eighty-fourth milestone on the
journey of life. They were the parents
of eleven children, of whom four still survive.
On the old homestead farm Adanirum J. Goding spent his
youth. He arose early in the morning to
assist in the work of clearing, cultivating and improving the fields and worked
until the dewy eve. Through the winter
months, after the crops were safely harvested and the fruit gathered, he
entered the district school of the neighborhood, where he pursued his studies
until spring again forced him to take his place behind the plow. He continued farming in the east until 1852,
when attracted by the rich discoveries of gold in California he bade adieu to
his friends in Massachusetts and started for the golden west, making the long
voyage around Cape Horn on the sailing vessel, Samuel Appleton. Although they were on the water for six
months, the trip was accomplished in safety and the passengers reached San
Francisco, the anchor being dropped in that harbor on the 1st of
July, 1852.
Mr. Goding
remained in that place only a short time, when he went to Rattlesnake Bar, where
he secured work, at five dollars a day, spending the remainder of the season
there. Subsequently he removed to Nevada
City, where he engaged in mining for about three years. His efforts there were crowned with excellent
success. On the expiration of that
period he was the possessor of thirty thousand dollars in twenty-dollar gold
pieces. He continued mining and took out
a great deal of the precious metal, but paid eighty thousand dollars for water
and the expenses were so great that he had but little surplus remaining.
Tiring of the hard work and the
great outlay, he went on a hunting expedition in the mountains east of Dutch
Flat and came upon a splendid, well-watered tract of undulating land. He was delighted with the country, and
looking over the ground he found a number of springs upon it. He believed that he could make a good fruit
farm there; and as this was government land he went home and informed his wife
of his decision. They soon removed to
the farm and there he has since labored, securing from the development of the
soil and the cultivation of the crops and orchards a handsome competence. He now has one of the best and most
profitable farms in the county, comprising two hundred acres of land. He has perfected arrangements so that he can
distribute the water from these springs all over the farm and irrigate it at
will. When he was clearing the place of
the timber he furnished to a railroad company and also raised potatoes, which
were then a very profitable crop. In
1865 he had twelve acres planted with the vegetable and raised a crop of sixty
tons, which he sold for five cents per pound.
This brought him some thirty-six hundred dollars. As the years have passed he has added to his
orchards and now has four thousand winter-apple trees in bearing. From these he has taken thirty-five hundred
boxes of apples in a season and receives for the same seventy cents per
box. He has extensive strawberry beds
and blackberry patches, and also raises large crops of cabbages. His splendid farm, now highly cultivated,
represents years of earnest toil and diligent and unremitting effort, for
Nature, although bountiful in her resources, does not prepare the land for the
plow or the planting. This is man’s work,
and when this is well performed Nature is bountiful in her compensations.
Mr. Goding
has led an active and useful life. He is
now in his seventy-fifth year, a hale, hearty pioneer and one of the highly
intelligent citizens of northern California.
His success has been honorably won through the legitimate channels of
trade. It has not come to him through
the sacrifice of the rights of others, but has been the reward of the work of
his willing hands, the product of the farm that he hewed out of the forest. Not alone have his labors contributed to his
own prosperity, but have resulted to the benefit of the community in showing
the capabilities of Placer County for fruit and vegetable growing. Others have followed his example and now
there are many fine fruit ranches in Placer County, the prosperity of this
section of the state being thereby materially increased.
In 1851 Mr. Goding
was united in marriage to Miss Ann Spelman, who was
born in Ireland, but was reared in the United States. Their union has been blessed with eleven
children and the family circle yet remains unbroken. Following is the record: Francis is now engaged in mining; Mary is the
wife of E. J. Robins, of Sacramento; Judson is a railroad conductor; Nellie is
the wife of Fred Whitten; Louisa is the wife of James Allen; Edwin is at home;
Hattie is now Mrs. King; Mattie became the wife of Robert Wilson; Charles A. is
on the farm; George is married; and Jane is the wife of John Fry, of
Sacramento. The wife and mother died in
1893, in the sixtieth year of her age.
She had been a faithful helpmate to her husband, was devoted to her
family, and to her neighbors was a faithful friend. She enjoyed the esteem of all who knew her
and her loss has been a very heavy one to her husband and children. Mr. Goding still
resides on his fine fruit farm that has been developed through his intelligent
effort and he is justly counted one of Placer county’s best citizens and most
honored pioneers. He votes with the
Republican Party, which he has supported since its organization, yet he has
never sought or desired party reward for his allegiance to its principles.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 728-730. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.