Biographies
WILLIAM R. GALLUP
Above is the name of an honored pioneer
and in his day a leading business man of Sacramento. Born at Stonington, Conn.,
May 19, 1828, William R. Gallup passed most of his active life in California
and died while busy at his ranch in Yolo County, January 8, 1906. He was of old
New England ancestry which came of Revolutionary stock and the names of his
forefathers were made prominent in the early history of our country and have
been handed down as those of patriots and soldiers. The originator of the
Gallup family in America was Capt. John Gallup, who came from Parish of Mastern, County of Dorset, England, to Massachusetts in
1630 on the Mary and John. Mr. Gallup is also a lineal descendant of Major John
Mason, born in England about 1600, who was a lieutenant in the English army and
served under Lord Halifax in the Netherlands. He came to America in 1630,
served in the early Indian wars of Massachusetts as a major and finally settled
in Dorchester, Mass. It was in 1853 that Mr. Gallup came to California by way
of the Isthmus of Panama, accompanied by several persons from and near his
former home, and all looked forward to the adventure into strange lands and new
and memorable experiences. In the absence of railroads freighting was a leading
business in the new state, and it was to that that Mr. Gallup gave his
attention. In 1863, nearly ten years after his arrival he returned east and on
May 3, 1864, he married Miss Eliza Morgan, who was born in Ledyard, Conn. She
is a lineal descendant of Elder William Brewster, a passenger on the Mayflower
in 1620. Returning via Panama, with his young wife, he settled down in
Sacramento and began acquiring real estate. One of his purchases was ground
which included the present site of the Sacramento Bee building, on
which he built and made his home till 1901. Then the extension of the business
district had made the land too valuable for residence purposes and the locality
less pleasant as a home neighborhood than it had been, and Mr. Gallup bought
a fine house at No. 1521 I street, which is still included in his estate. For
many years from 1862 he was extensively engaged in sheep raising
in Yolo County, his two ranches being located near Woodland, but he maintained
his home at Sacramento, where his numerous important interests centered. Since
his death Mrs. Gallup has continued the farming and stock business started by
her husband fifty years ago.
Two daughters were born to Mr. Gallup and
they were named Ida M. and Effa M. The latter married
J. D. Lord of Sacramento, who is manager of the extensive Gallup real estate
holdings in Yolo County. The wife of this pioneer, mother of the daughters just
referred to, has been an almost lifelong member of the Baptist Church, in the
work of which he always took a generously helpful interest. In his political
affiliations he was a Republican, but he was never active in political work,
preferring the tranquility of his pleasant home to any honors that might have
come to him in a public career. At the same time he was so public spirited that
there were few movements looking to the general good that did not command his
co-operation in one way or another. He was a worthy citizen in every way and
built up and improved his flocks and farm lands in Yolo County. He was
literary, and was much appreciated by his old friends and acquaintances for his
conversational ability and his many acts of kindness and charity.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 1025-1026.
Historic Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.