SPERRY W. DYE

Sacramento County

Biographies

SPERRY W. DYE

SPERRY W. DYE--A lover of water, Sperry W. Dye has served for many years on bay and river steamboats. He was born October 12, 1872, at Walnut Grove, one of four children born to Sperry and Elizabeth (Sharp) Dye. His maternal grandfather, John Sharp, was one of the pioneers of the county and the founder of Walnut Grove.

Sperry Dye, the father, was one of the daring pioneers of 1863, who crossed the plains from Iowa by ox team and suffered hardships and privations while opening up this beautiful territory. He settled at Walnut Grove, by the Sacramento River, and there farmed and reared his family. During the early part of the Civil War he was in the quartermasters department and in the government transport service, and took part at the battle of Pea Ridge. He was one of the first farmers to enter the asparagus industry, and also planted the first cherry trees in this vicinity. He succeeded John W. Sharp as postmaster at Walnut Grove. Sperry Dye, Sr., passed away in 1912, aged sixty-seven years. His widow survived him only a year, passing away in 1913. She was born at Dry Creek, Eldorado County, soon after her parents arrived in California; but she received her elementary schooling at Walnut Grove and finished her education at Hesperian College, Woodland, after which she engaged in teaching school till her marriage to Sperry Dye, July 4, 1869, the ceremony occurring at the Capital Hotel in Sacramento. Their union proved a happy one. They were successful as farmers and horticulturist; and they reared a fine family. Beside Sperry W. Dye, there are two brothers, Corodon and Milo, and one sister, Amy, now Mrs. Brown, all living at Walnut Grove. One brother, John Ira, died in his youth.

Sperry W. Dye is a graduate of the Walnut Grove grammar school and of the old college at Walnut Grove. When eighteen years of age, after completing his studies in the local schools, he started out for himself and obtained a position at steamboating on San Francisco Bay and its tributaries. He followed this life on the water, with the Union Transportation Company, the California Transportation Company, and the Santa Fe Railroad Company boats, working his way up from wheelsman to captain. When he resigned, he was captain on the "Capital City".

He is still keeping up his captain’s papers, and all these years he has been a member of the Masters and Pilots' Association of San Francisco, and its predecessors. About ten years ago, he gave up steamboating and settled down on the old Elizabeth Dye ranch. He now has 150 acres of land devoted to general farming, to orchards of pears, peaches, and plums, and to asparagus. He is married and has one little daughter, Marcella, eleven years of age.

While steamboating, Mr. Dye served on the following steamers: "Capital City," "Pride of the River," "Onward," "Aurora," "Dauntless," "Capt. Weber," and also on the tug "A.H. Payson," the ferryboats "San Pablo," and "Ocean Wave," the Southern Pacific Railroad Company's boat "Apache," and others. He was associated with Captain Tyler, who married Miss Mary Sharp, and with the late Capt. Thomas Corodon Walker. Tyler Island of the Delta country of Sacramento County was owned by and named after the father of "Captain Tyler of the River Boats." These two captains built the noted passenger boat the "T. C. Walker," that today plies between San Francisco and Stockton. He was also associated with the late Capt. William T. Fosman, who was pilot of the large side-wheeler "Yosemite," which ran between Sacramento and San Francisco in the days of the gold-excitement in California. Sperry W. Dye's uncle was Capt. Robert Sharp, who was a captain on the river boats for many years previous to his death.

Mr. Dye is a musician. He plays both the cello and saxophone, and is a member of the Walnut Grove orchestra. In national politics, Mr. Dye favors Republican policies; but in local matters he votes for the men and measures he thinks best adapted to serve the public welfare, regardless of party considerations.

Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.

Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical Sketches, Page 567. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.