Sacramento County
Biographies
ERIC E. FULTON
ERIC
E. FULTON.--No resident of Sacramento
County has made greater
contribution to its improvement and development than has Eric E. Fulton, the
builder and superintendent of the Fair Oaks Irrigation District. He is the architect of his own fortunes, and
his life history constitutes an example of industry, determination and
honorable dealing that others might profitably follow. A native of Kansas, he
was born July 2, 1886, and is a son of McFarland and Nancy E. (Hoffman) Fulton,
who were married in Osborne County, Kans.,
April 13, 1880. The father was born in Belmont
County, Ohio, October 22, 1855, a son of
Andrew and Margaret (Gay) Fulton, who were there married, having removed from Philadelphia,
Pa., to that section with their parents
during the early forties. Andrew Fulton
acquired a tract of school land comprising 270 acres, situated eleven miles
east of Sinclairville, Ohio,
and by arduous labor removed the dense growth of timber from his place,
prepared the soil for crops, and eventually transformed his property into a
highly productive farm. He was a man of
strong convictions, whom neither fear nor favor could swerve from the course he
believed to be right.
McFarland
Fulton went to Osborne County, Kans.,
in 1879, and there met and married Nancy E. Hoffman, a daughter of Rasmus and
Elizabeth (Gilmore) Hoffman, pioneer settlers of Monroe
County, Ohio. Her paternal grandfather, Joseph Hoffman, was
of German ancestry and followed the occupation of farming in Pennsylvania.
The Gilmore family is of Scotch-Irish
lineage, and its members have gained distinction in judicial affairs as well as
in religious activities as adherents of the Presbyterian Church. In 1905 Mr. and Mrs. Fulton came to California
to join members of their family, and resided at Richmond Point until 1918, when
they removed to Fair Oaks, where they have since made
their home. For more than a quarter of a
century Mr. Fulton has been identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, and
is a charter member of Fair Oaks Camp No. 7014.
He formerly belonged to the camp at Salina,
Kans., and filled all of the offices
therein. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton have reared
a family of five children, namely: D. O.
Fulton, of Sacramento; Ora May, the wife of F. W. Hayes,
also a resident of Sacramento; Eric E., of this review; Mabel, who married S.
G. Linnell, of Woodland; and Ethel Blanche, the wife of C. R. Hayes, of
Sacramento.
When but
thirteen years of age, Eric E. Fulton left home and started out in the world on
his own account, going to Salina, Kans.,
where he obtained work in a flour mill.
He was advanced to the position of flour tester and was thus occupied
until 1902, when his health became impaired and he started for California
to join his brother, D. O. Fulton, who was in the employ of the Standard Oil
Company at Point Richmond. Eric E.
Fulton also entered the service of that firm and, ambitious to progress,
enrolled as a student with the International Correspondence Schools of
Scranton, Pa., completing a course in mathematics, another in carpentry, and a
third in blacksmithing. For nine years
Mr. Fulton remained with the firm at Point Richmond, and then resigned his
position owing to ill health. In 1911 he
arrived in Orangevale, and finding the climate
beneficial he decided to establish his permanent home in this locality. He at first worked on the Hinkle estate, and
in 1913 became connected with the Fair Oaks Irrigation District, with which he
has since continued. As his experience
and value increased he was intrusted with heavier responsibilities, and at
length assumed the duties of superintendent, which he is now ably discharging,
having been reelected to that office on February 7, 1923. He is rendering to the residents of this
section a service of great value and importance, and recently completed the
laying of irrigation pipes and the replacing of old laterals installed by the
first private company. Ninety-five men
have been frequently employed in the construction crews. In directing the labors of those under him
Mr. Fulton displays tact, consideration and good judgment, thus securing that
cooperation and good-will of his subordinates which made for increased
efficiency of operation.
On February
7, 1906, in San Francisco, Cal.,
Mr. Fulton was married to Miss Viola Parks, the youngest daughter of Israel
and Martha (Green) Parks, both now deceased.
She was born in St. Paul, Minn.,
October 23, 1889, and in 1895 accompanied her parents on their removal to California. They established their home at Richmond,
Cal., and there the
father met an accidental death on the morning of April 23, 1904, while working
in the shops of the Santa Fe Railroad Company.
He was identified with the Yeomen Lodge, and his life was an upright and
honorable one. The mother passed away at
Vallejo, Cal.,
June 27, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Fulton have
four children: Faith Lucille, Travine,
Edwin and Victor. Mr. Fulton’s home is
situated on a tract of two and a half acres in Fair Oaks,
and he also owns a ten-and-a-half-acre ranch one mile east of the village. He has unbounded faith in the future of his
district and utilizes every means at his command to promote its
development. He is a valued member of
the Pacific Improvement Club of Fair Oaks and acts as one of its
directors. He has taken cognizance of
his opportunities, utilizing them to the best advantage. He is a young man who has not yet reached the
zenith of his powers, but judging from what he has already accomplished the
future holds for him great possibilities.
Transcribed by Barbara Gaffney.
Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical Sketches,
Pages 525-526. Historic Record Company, Los
Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2007 Barbara Gaffney.