JOHN A. LEE

       The various states of the Union have furnished their quota of citizens to California, and the different characteristics seen in different portions of the country have combined in making an amalgamation that contains the best elements of all.  The shrewdness and ingenuity of New England, the conservation of the east, the substantial qualities of the south and the progressiveness of the middle states have contributed to the upbuilding of the commonwealth of the Pacific coast, of which the entire country is proud.

       John Andrew Lee came to California from Indiana.  He was born in Fort Wayne, that state, on the 9th of September, 1841, and was of English and Scotch ancestry.  His great grandfather James Lee was the progenitor of the family in America and established his home in New York.  There Henry Lee, the grandfather, was born, reared and married Miss Margaret Courter, a native of Pennsylvania, of Scotch lineage, becoming his wife.  They removed to Indiana and reared their family upon a farm in what was then a new and largely undeveloped country.  They were industrious, honorable people and in the Presbyterian church held membership.  The father departed this life in the sixtieth year of his age, and the mother passed away at the age of seventy-two.  They had five children, but as far as is known, Mr. Lee is the only one living.

       Upon his father's farm the subject of this review was reared.  Throughout the long summer days he worked in the fields, plowing, planting and harvesting, and through the winter months he pursued his education in the public schools.  At the early age of fourteen years he began to earn his own livelihood, working as a farm hand.  He was an active, stout and willing boy, and earned fifteen dollars per month.  As he grew older he was paid twenty-five dollars per month, which was considered high wages for farm help at that time.  He also learned the cooper's trade, which he followed in Chicago, Illinois, and in St. Joseph and Kansas City, Missouri.

       In 1875 Mr. Lee arrived in Sacramento, California, and followed coopering in that city and in San Francisco until 1877, when he came to Rocklin, and entered the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, acting as engine wiper for three years.  He worked in the blacksmith shop for two years and was a machinist's helper for two months.  Since then he has been stock inspector and boiler-maker, keeping the boilers of the locomotives in repair.  For twenty-three years he has been one of the most faithful and reliable employees of the company.  He possesses excellent mechanical ability, thoroughly understands the work with which he is connected, and is very conscientious in its execution.

       In 1873 occurred the marriage of Mr. Lee and Miss Mary Steel, a native of Utah, and unto them have been born four children, namely:  Mary Bell, who became the wife of J. D. Thomas and died in the twenty-sixth year of her age; John Walter; James Garfield, and Alice.  Mr. Lee is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in his political affiliations is a Democrat.  In 1898 he was elected as one of the trustees of Rocklin and has since served in that capacity, taking a deep interest in all that pertains to the prosperity of his town.  He and his family occupy a nice residence which he erected in 1889.  He is a citizen of intelligence and marked industry and richly deserves the comforts of life which have come to him through his honest toil.