Biographies
FRANCIS GIBSON
Upon the occasion of the jubilee parade in
commemoration of the annexation to Sacramento of the growing suburb of Oak Park
a gray-haired gentleman of about seventy-five years was observed in the line of
the march, easily and tirelessly pushing a decorated wheelbarrow loaded down
with flowers and vegetables taken from his own garden in Oak Park and raised by
his own personal work. At the various stops along the line of the parade he
regaled the onlookers with impromptu speeches, exhibiting his display of
home-grown products as the result of labor of a man advanced in years as a
forcible illustration of the possibilities lying before men young in years but
his equal in determination, industry and painstaking application. To one and
all he declared that a long residence had convinced him of the greatness of
Sacramento and its possibilities for future growth. The celebration occurred
October 21, 1911, and on the 15th of November the annexation jubilee committee
awarded him a handsome silver loving cup, appropriately engraved, as a
permanent testimonial to the originality and success of his entry.
This California pioneer of 1858 is a
native of England, born January 17, 1837, and at the age of twelve years came
to America with his parents, who made a brief sojourn at Fultonville
in the Mohawk valley of New York and then removed to the province of Ontario,
Canada, settling at Ingersoll not far from the shore
of Lake Erie. At the age of twenty-one years the young man left home to make his
own way in the world and proceeded via Panama to California, where he settled
in Sutter county near the Sacramento river. The years
that followed were filled with agricultural activities as well as the
management of a warehouse business and a cheese factory. To him, in partnership
with Mr. Baldwin, belongs the distinction of having made the first cheese in
Sutter county. As a dairyman he was progressive,
resourceful and sagacious, and the returns from his dairy investments were well
merited. In addition he made a specialty of the poultry industry and for years
had from one to two thousand turkeys on his ranch. Movements for the
agricultural upbuilding of the region received his
judicious support. No pioneer was more progressive than he and none more industrious.
Through his own unaided efforts he acquired the title to about thirteen hundred acres of ranch land in Sutter county. Over
these broad acres roamed his large herds of stock and his fine milch cows. Until advancing years taught him the need of
lessened activities he was one of the foremost farmers of the entire county,
always busy and usually successful in his ventures. As he studied the country
and became more familiar with its possibilities his own devotion to the country
increased and he has formed the opinion, as a result of long experience, that
no commonwealth surpasses our own in the vastness of its resources and the
magnitude of its opportunities.
During 1867 Mr. Gibson married Mrs. Esther
Bennett, who was born in England and died in California in 1883. The two
children of the union have also passed away, Fred dying at the age of eleven
years and George when a child of five. After the death of his first wife he
married her sister, Mrs. Zelina Prosser, of
Sacramento, whose death occurred in 1904, leaving him alone and without any
relatives (except by marriage) in the United States. Twice he has
returned to Canada to renew the friendships of youth and to visit his two
brothers, one of whom, Hon. Joseph Gibson, has become a man of prominence, frequently
addressing the Canadian parliament and otherwise identifying himself with
public issues. Retiring from agricultural pursuits in 1900 Mr. Gibson came to
Sacramento and has since bought and sold considerable property at Oak Park,
where he now resides at No. 3219 Fourth Avenue. After becoming a citizen
of the United States he gave his allegiance to the Republican party. Twice he had the privilege of voting for Abraham
Lincoln for president and he still continues to cast his vote in favor of the
men and measures advocated by his party.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 985-986. Historic
Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.