Sacramento County
Biographies
CHARLES A.
DRIVER
CHARLES A. DRIVER--For the man who realizes early in life the necessity of choosing a specific vocation, success lies in the near future, and such an individual is Charles A. Driver, who was born on November 25, 1874, on the old Driver homestead, near his present home place. He is the son of Elisha Sample Driver, one of the early pioneers of 1850, who crossed the plains in search of gold. His mother, Mary E. (Forsyth) Driver, is deceased. Charles A. Driver has resided on the surrounding ranches of his native city all his life. For many years he assisted his father on their extensive grain and stock ranch. Nineteen years ago, he bought 160 acres of land, then known as the Keys ranch, and with the 320 acres, which his father bestowed upon him as his share of the property, he has become owner of a choice strip of land along Dry Creek. He planted almond trees and grape vines on a forty-acre ranch which he cultivated fourteen years ago, but at the present time he intends to plant a part of this ground to pear, cherry and prune trees. The irrigation on one part of his ranch is operated by the pumping process; the water is obtained from a nearby creek, which passes through one end of the ranch; the rest of the land is sub-irrigated.
In 1904, at Sacramento, Charles A. Driver married Lorena Johnston, born at Pleasant Grove in 1884, the daughter of the late Thomas Johnston, a native of Sacramento. Her father, now deceased, was born on December 25, 1855; her mother, now Mrs. Jones, of Grass Valley, formerly Miss Mary J. Strauch, was born on October 29, 1862, the daughter of David Strauch, a pioneer. Charles A. Driver and his wife are the parents of the following children: Melville A., born November 25, 1904; Charlotte L., born January 9, 1907; C. Alfred, born March 19, 1909; Gertrude K., born December 9, 1911; Dorothy E., born September 13, 1915; Florence M., born October 3, 1918; and Willis T., born March 10, 1921. All of these children were born in Sacramento County. Mr. Driver has closely followed in his father’s footsteps, both in public spirit and in the community welfare work. He has served as trustee of the Center Union school for fifteen years.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With
Biographical Sketches, Page 934.
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2007 Jeanne Taylor.