Sacramento County
Biographies
MARTIN DART
MARTIN DART, deceased. In the compilation of a work such as this there is no part of more value than that which relates to personal histories. In making mention of these honored veterans of pioneer time and in many instances departed, there is no one more worthy of notice and of the attributes paid him than the late Martin Dart, whose name heads this sketch, and, on account of long residence in this county, is familiar to every one. Mr. Dart was born February 23, 1811, in New London, Connecticut, a son of Joshua and Suan (Sabin) Dart. The line of his ancestry is traceable to the English and French. In 1840 Joshua Dart emigrated to Genesee County, Michigan. His wife died about 1844, and he survived a few years. They have three sons and three daughters, only two of whom are now living. As a boy Martin was raised on a farm, and was in Michigan twelve years. In 1862 he came over and to California, with one horse and one mule, which he rode alternately when not walking. He was in company with a train which left Council Bluffs May 3, the journey being a pleasant one considering the usual circumstances. They rested some time both at Salt Lake and in Carson Valley. Mr. Dart began mining on the north branch of Stephens Creek and at Grizzly Flats, and followed that pursuit in various localities for about two years, until the money gave out. Then he followed teaming and selling goods for about six years in the mining region. In this business he had to sell on credit so much that he failed to make it very profitable. In 1858 he took his wife in a lumber wagon and moved down into San Joaquin Township, this county, and as soon as the land came into market he purchased the present estate three miles from Elk Grove. The place, now comprising 160 acres, is so neatly arranged, equipped and cultivated as to attract the attention of all passers by. Twenty-five acres are in vineyard; and Mr. Dart devoted his attention almost exclusively to the vineyard and orchard, being as “smart as a cricket” up to the time of his death, which occurred May 15, 1889, when he had passed the age of seventy-seven years. He was married in 1835 to Miss Elme Stewart, a native of Connecticut. She died in 1844, leaving three children: Livy S., Franklin S., in the State of New York, and Maria, who returned to Connecticut, and died there.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Davis, Hon. Win. J., An Illustrated History of
Sacramento County, California. Pages 693-694. Lewis Publishing
Company. 1890.
© 2007 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.