CHARLES A. GUM

Sacramento County

Biographies

CHARLES A. GUM

CHARLES A. GUM.--Industry, perseverance and thrift are recognized the world over as the foundations of material prosperity. These three qualities are possessed by Charles A. Gum, who ranks with the substantial business men and most successful ranchers of Fair Oaks. A native of Highland County, Va., he was born at Monterey, the county seat, on January 12, 1850, and there resided until after the close of the Civil War. He then made his way westward, reaching Nebraska in the spring of 1869. On leaving that state he went first to Rochelle, Ogle County, Ill., and from there to Chatsworth, in Livingston County, that state, where he acquired a farm on which he raised grain and stock.

For six years Mr. Gum followed agricultural pursuits in Illinois; and then, in 1895, he sold his property there, having decided to make his future home in California. He purchased from the firm of Howard & Wilson of Chicago, Ill., a ten-acre tract on Sunset Avenue, in Fair Oaks, and was one of the first settlers in this district. The land was covered with heavy timber and the country was wild and undeveloped by the almost unsurmountable obstacles which confronted him, Mr. Gum resolutely set to work to improve his property. There was neither water nor roads, and six months before water was piped into this section of the valley he had cleared off all of his timber, selling the live-oak for a dollar and a quarter a cord and receiving a dollar per cord for the white oak. The Shelton store was the first constructed in Fair Oaks, and Mr. Gum hauled the material for the building from Sacramento. He bore with fortitude all of the hardships and privations of pioneer times and thoroughly appreciates the improvements of modern civilization. Through systematic, untiring labor he has transformed his land into a rich and arable tract. Everything about the place indicates that he follows progressive methods, and well-deserved success has attended his operations. In addition to caring for his own ranch he also supervises the development of other farms.

On November 26, 1889, while residing at Chatsworth, Ill., Mr. Gum was married to Miss Esabella Foreman, who was born near Columbus, Ohio, May 13, 1862, and was but three years of age at the time her parents made the journey from that state to Illinois with team and wagon. They were numbered among the early settlers of Livingston County, experiencing the hardships incident to frontier life, and Chatsworth was their nearest trading point. Mr. and Mrs. Gum have had two children but one of these, named Goldy, died at Fair Oaks when twelve years of age. Their son Perry is now a prosperous rancher of this section, owning fifty-five acres of land. He is married and has two children, Robert Irving and Wilma Charlene. Mr. Gum is ever ready to give his support to measures for the promotion of the public welfare, and is enthusiastic in exploiting the resources and attractions of his community. Diligence and determination have shaped his career, and in winning success he has also held the respect and good-will of his fellow-citizens.

Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.

Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical Sketches, Pages 946-947. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.