Sacramento County
Biographies
JOHN DONAHUE
JOHN DONAHUE.--In taking up the history of the men who are connected with
the development and progress of Sacramento
County, mention should be made of John Donahue, who has
continuously resided in the county since 1863. He was born in Graniteville,
Nevada County, Cal., May 23, 1856,
the eldest son of Cornelius and Margaret (Calhoun) Donahue. Cornelius Donahue
was born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1830, while the mother of our subject was born in Listowel, Ireland, in 1832. The mother passed away in Sacramento in 1864, survived by her husband and two sons, John, the
subject of this sketch, and Daniel; subsequently Cornelius Donahue was married
to Miss Mary Hayes of Sacramento and they have one daughter, Catherine Van Maren.
Cornelius Donahue came to the United
States as a boy of fourteen years of age and located in Boston, Mass., but
later went to New York, where he learned the moulder's
trade, which he followed as a journeyman, working from New York to Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Texas; in 1853, accompanied by his wife, he came via Panama to
California; he prospected in Grass Valley and later engaged in freighting by ox
and mule teams to Virginia City, Nev. In 1863 he purchased a tract of land on
the Auburn road, thirteen miles from Sacramento, where he began farming; later he added 320 acres to the
original purchase. Three hundred twenty acres of the original tract is now the
estate of Daniel Donahue. Cornelius Donahue was a Democrat and served one term
as constable of Center Township; he passed away at his home on the Auburn Road in 1881, aged fifty-one years. John Donahue and his
brother Daniel attended the public school adjacent to their home and were
always associated in their ranching activities until 1904 when they mutually
agreed to dissolve partnership. For many years the Donahue brothers were
prominent as barley and wheat growers on the Del Paso Grant, at times farming
as many as 1200 acres.
In 1892, Mr. John Donahue was united in
marriage with Miss Mary Jane Kelly, a native of Sacramento, Cal., the second child of the late Thomas Kelly, also
represented in this volume. The mother of Mrs. Donahue is now ninety years old
and makes her home with her daughter. In 1893 the Donahue brothers bought 313
acres adjoining the property of their father, Cornelius Donahue, which is now
the property of our subject, with the exception of seventy acres, which has
been sold for colonization purposes. Mr. Donahue has developed his ranch to
orchard and has built a fine residence, where he enjoys the peace and comfort
so well earned. Mr. Donahue served one term as justice of the peace of Center Township. Fraternally Mr. Donahue is a past officer of the M.W.A.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento
County, California With Biographical Sketches, Page 323. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.