Placer
County
Biographies
FREDRICK WASTIER
Frederick Wastier has been
associated with the upbuilding of Lincoln from the earliest inception of the
town and his labors have contributed in no small measure to its advancement and
progress along substantial lines of development. He arrived in California in September,
1852. His birthplace is Bavaria,
Germany, and his natal day the 11th of September, 1829. His parents, Louis and Mary (German) Wastier,
were also natives of the fatherland, and in 1852 they crossed the Atlantic to
the United States and resided in St. Louis, Missouri. They were farming people, but their last days
were spent in the city. They held
membership in the Presbyterian Church there and when called to rest their
remains were interred in one of the cemeteries of St. Louis. The father died in the sixty-fourth year of
his age, while the mother was called to the home beyond in her seventy-sixth
year. They had three sons and four
daughters.
Frederick Wastier, whose name forms
the caption of this article, was educated in his native country and learned the
trade of the butcher there. In 1847,
when eighteen years of age, he came to the United States, taking up his abode
in St. Louis, where he followed his chosen vocation. The discovery of gold in California induced
him to try his fortune on the Pacific coast, and in 1852 he crossed the plains
with oxen in company with three young men.
They traveled in a party of twenty and were five months upon the way;
and though the journey was a tedious one they met with no misfortune. When Mr. Wastier arrived at Downieville,
Sierra County, he had just twenty dollars in his pocket, and when he reached
Sacramento he had just ten cents remaining.
However, he at once sought employment, securing work at his trade, for
which he received eighty dollars per month and his board. He had been receiving only ten dollars per
month in the east, and the difference was so great that he felt well repaid for
making the long journey across the arid plains to the Golden state. For three years he remained in Sacramento,
during which time he saved his money, thus gaining the nucleus of his present
competence.
On the expiration of that period Mr.
Wastier went to Butcher’s Ranch, in Placer County, ten miles above Auburn and
at that place conducted a meat market for six years. He sold immense quantities of beef, but he
was forced to give much credit, and the miners whom he had trusted failed to secure
the gold which they had anticipated, so that many of his bills remained
unpaid. This led to his removal to Gold
Hill, six miles above Lincoln, where he continued business for four years. In 1865 he came to Lincoln and is one of the
two first settlers of the town still residing within her borders. Opening a meat market, he supplied the
population of the village and the surrounding country with an excellent grade
of meats until 1885, when he sold out and for two years engaged in the lumber
business, but for some time he has lived retired, enjoying the rest he has
richly earned. He has a nice home in the
city and is also the owner of several dwellings, the rental of which is a good
income.
Mr. Wastier was married in 1863 to
Miss Mary Rittenger, a native of Switzerland. Unto them has been born a son, Frederick
Wastier, who is in business in San Francisco.
After two years of a happy married life the wife and mother died, and in
1870 Mr. Wastier was joined in wedlock to Miss Elizabeth Shake. They have two daughters: Mary Elizabeth, now the wife of Charles
Edward Finney, a merchant of Lincoln; and Emily Louisa, who is at home with her
parents. Mrs. Wastier and her daughters
are valued members of the Catholic Church and our subject is identified with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has
been a life-long Republican. He was one
of the first trustees of the town, and either in office or out of it he has
supported the various measures that have been advanced for the benefit of the
city and its upbuilding. He is a most
highly respected and reliable citizen who enjoys the esteem of young and old,
rich and poor. He has reached the
psalmist’s span of three-score years and ten and can look back over the past
without regret, for in all life’s relations he has merited the respect of those
with whom he has associated.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 656-657. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.