JOHN E. MANLOVE

      John Edward Manlove owns and operates one of the fine farms of Brighton township, Sacramento County, and he has taken the lead in many departments of agricultural and horticultural labor.  He was born at his present home--the beautiful old farmstead which his father located--on September 9, 1861.  His ancestry can be traced back to colonial days, for prior to the Revolution Christopher Manlove was commissioned surgeon to his Majesty's Hospital on the 5th of August, 1761, during the reign of George III, king of England, by General Amherst, commander-in-chief of the British troops in this country.  Accordingly he left his home in Yorkshire, England, and crossed the Atlantic, taking up his abode in New Jersey and a few years later removed to Virginia.  It was fifteen years after his arrival before the Declaration of Independence was written.  He was married in Petersburg and resided there until his death.  He had five sons and five daughters, his third child being John Manlove, who was born in Dinwiddie county, Virginia, on a plantation adjoining the city of Petersburg, and who became the grandfather of our subject.  He was reared to manhood in his native locality, studied medicine under the direction of his father and was a prominent physician of Dinwiddie county for about twenty years or until his death in 1825.  He married Ann King, who was also born in Virginia and survived him about thirty five years, her death occurring in 1857.  Their only son, William Stark Manlove, was born December 9, 1824, at the old Virginia homestead in Dinwiddie County.  His elementary education was acquired in private schools, and was supplemented by an academic course and by study in the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. Subsequently he attended medical lectures and afterward a course in the medical department of University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, being graduated in 1847.  He practiced his profession in Virginia until 1849, when he joined a stock company of about one hundred and twenty-five members  which was being organized in Richmond for a trip to California during the gold excitement.  A committee was sent to New York to purchase a vessel, and the Mary Ann became the property of the company, was brought to Richmond, there loaded with supplies and in March embarked on the long journey around Cape Horn.  Four days later the vessel sprung a leak, and from that time until they reached Rio de Janeiro they had to keep a gang of men pumping, the passengers assisting the sailors in their arduous task.  They experienced severe storms, but at times the voyage was most delightful, and the last day of September they arrived at San Francisco.  

  After six week spent in that city, Dr Manlove went to the southern mines in Amador county, where he remained until spring of 1851, engaged in mining, trading and in the practice of medicine.  He then sold his interest and went to Nevada City.  For a time he engaged in mining and prospecting in the northern part of the state, but not meeting with the success he anticipated, and tired of this roving life, he made a permanent location in Sacramento County, where he purchased  a half section of valuable land.  From that time until his death he engaged in the cultivation of cereals and fruits, and also practiced medicine to some extent.  His business career was interrupted only by two years' service as sheriff of Sacramento County, from 1857 to 1859.  He was one of the pioneer grape-growers of this section of the state, beginning the cultivation of that fruit as early as 1858.  He did much to perfect the grape-growing interests of California and for many years his opinions were regarded as authority in matters of fruit culture.  He was especially enthusiastic in regard to the raising of cherries, and his opinions in that matter were borne out by practical experience.  He also had good crops of peaches, apricots, plums and oranges, and likewise raised pecans, butternuts, eastern and English walnuts, Japanese persimmons and dates.  His farm became one of the most highly improved in this section of the state, and through his efforts he largely promoted the interests of fruit-growers in California.  In 1887 he was appointed by Governor Bartlett a member of the board of viticulture, a position which he filled with credit.  He also did an important work in connection with the patrons of husbandry and succeeded in establishing at least fourteen successful local granges.  In politics he was a Democrat and filled a number of places of trust and responsibility.

    Dr. Manlove married Miss Frances L.,  daughter of Hon. Shubel N. Baker, who came to California from Coldwater, Michigan, in an early day.  He was a merchant of Sacramento and associate county judge under the old constitution. The Dr. and Mrs. Manlove were married in September, 1859, and became the parents of two children,--J. Edward, and Catharine A.

    John Edward Manlove, whose name heads this review, has spent his entire life on the old family homestead where his birth occurred September 9, 1861.  He pursued his education in the schools of the neighborhood and spent three years in a private school conducted by E. P. Howe.  Sixteen years ago he assumed the management of the home farm, which comprises more than three hundred acres of the arable and fertile lands of central California.  He was married in 1892, to Miss Elizabeth Manlove, who was born in Lake county, California, and died in Sacramento, April 25, 1893, at the age of twenty-two years, leaving a son, William A., who is now six years of age.  On May 10, 1900, Mr. Manlove married Mrs. Margaret I. Leach, of Ross Station, Marin county, California, and since that time they have lived near that place, in a cozy home owned by them; but still Mr. Manlove retains his business interests in Sacramento county.  

     Politically he is a prominent representative of the Peoples’ party, assisted in organizing the party in Sacramento county and was a delegate to its first convention.  He has always labored earnestly and actively in its support and his efforts have been effective in the promulgation of its principles among his fellow townsmen.  For ten years he was a member of the Native Sons of California.

     Mr. Manlove is one of the best known and most popular citizens of Sacramento county.  He has spent his entire life here and has been an active factor in business circles and has gained a very wide acquaintance.  The old family homestead which he occupies is situated on the Jackson road, seven miles east of the capital city.  It is bisected by the Placerville Railroad; and the Manlove station, which was named in his father's honor, on account of its close proximity, affords excellent shipping facilities.  The house is a comfortable and commodious structure, sheltered by gigantic oak trees and surrounded by beautiful flowers.  Its hospitality is widely celebrated and the members of the household occupy leading positions in social circles.  Mr. Manlove gives his time and attention to the cultivation of field and orchard and his harvests indicate earnest labor and excellent business methods.

 

 

Source: “A Volume Of Memoirs And Genealogy of Representative Citizens Of Northern California” Standard Genealogical

Publishing Co. Chicago. 1901. Page 83-85.

 

Submitted by: Betty Tartas.