Placer
County
Biographies
JOHN COLEMAN SAFFORD
Figuring gas one of the prominent
and active business men of Auburn, Placer County, California, is the subject of
this sketch, John Coleman Safford, who has for several years been a dealer in
furniture. He is a native of New York,
born in Perry, Wyoming County, August 14, 1851, and is descended from English
ancestry.
His forefathers were among the early
settlers of Connecticut, their identity with that state dating from the
seventeenth century; the family was represented in the Revolutionary War and
was prominently connected with civil affairs also at an early period in this
country’s history. Samuel Safford, the
grandfather of John C., married Miss Ellen Moss. Their son John, born in Perry, New York, grew
up at that place and there married Miss Caroline Coleman, also a native of
Perry. She was the daughter of John and
Julia (Ainsley) Coleman. They became early settlers of Seneca Lake,
where he was a farmer. John Safford was
a farmer and local minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in the thirty-sixth year of his age,
his death resulting from the effects of a cold contracted while baptizing some
converts in the creek in winter. The
mother was fifty-six years of age at the time of her death. They were the parents of three sons and one
daughter, all of whom are living, John C. being the eldest son. The others are George S., Charles S. and
Helen. George has been a resident of Los
Angeles, California, since 1873. Helen
is now the wife of Edwy Knight and resides in
Jackson, Michigan.
John
C. Safford was educated in New York, and his first business experience was in a
book and stationery store, after which he was engaged in the painting and
decorating business. He came to Auburn,
California, in 1881, seeking a change of climate, which has proved
beneficial. He first pursued the
occupation of painter and decorator here, after which he became associated as
partner with W. C. Crowell in the furniture and undertaking business. At the end of five and a half years this
partnership was dissolved, Mr. Crowell taking the undertaking department and
Mr. Safford the furniture. The latter now
has a large furniture store, well stocked with a fine line of furniture, carpets
and wall paper, and he also deals in paints and oil. From three to five persons are employed in
the store, the business is successfully conducted, and the proprietor enjoys
the reputation of being one of the enterprising, up-to-date business factors in
town.
Mr.
Safford was married in 1871 to Miss Mary Ann Appleby, a native of Warsaw,
Wyoming County, New York. She is the
daughter of George Appleby, a native of England, while her mother was of French
descent. Their union has been blessed with
two sons: Lucius
Elbert, a clerk in his father’s store; and Edwy
Knight, a student in Berkeley College.
Mr. Safford built the pleasant home he occupies in Auburn, and has
surrounded his residence with an attractive lawn, dotted over with flowers,
shrubbery and shade trees, making it an ideal home.
Fraternally
he is identified with the Masonic order, blue lodge, chapter and council, also
as a member of the I. O. R. M., and politically is a Republican.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 412 -413. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.