Sacramento County
Biographies
MRS. ADA L. OSGOOD
MRS. ADA L. OSGOOD.--Among the honored pioneers of Fair Oaks is numbered Mrs. Ada L. Osgood, who for twenty-seven years has made her home
in the village; and there is no phase of its history with which she is not
familiar. She was born in Winneshiek
County, Iowa, September 12, 1863, the eldest daughter of Horace and Caroline C. (Taber)
Williams, the former a native of New York and the latter of Vermont. Mrs. Osgood has an interesting genealogy of the Taber
family, which was compiled by Russell Taber and shows that the American
progenitor of the name left his home in England in the year 1634 and settled in Massachusetts.
Ada L. Williams
was reared and educated in her native state, where her parents were among the
early settlers. On December 31, 1881, she married Samuel I. Osgood, who was born in New York
State, November 17, 1851, a son of Daniel and Prudence (Darrow)
Osgood, who were also natives of the Empire State, whence they removed to Minnesota in an early day. For some time Samuel I. Osgood engaged in
carpentering in Iowa, and later took up the occupation of farming, which he
there followed until 1896, when he came with his family to California,
establishing his home in Fair Oaks soon after that colony was founded. He
purchased a ten-acre ranch, and his attention and effort were concentrated upon
the development and improvement of that property until his demise, which
occurred on January 15, 1910.
He was honorable and straightforward in his business dealings, loyal and
progressive in matters of citizenship and true to the ties of home and
friendship. He stood high in the community, and his loss was deeply regretted
by all who knew him. His father, Daniel Osgood, made his home with the family
during his later years, passing away on July 19, 1914. Two children were born to Samuel I. and Ada L. Osgood: Carrie, who married DeWitt Rice and has two
children, Iva and Daniel; and Ethel, the wife of
Bertram R. Kerns, of Fair Oaks.
Mrs. Osgood is a good business woman, and
since her husband's death has sold a portion of the ranch, which will be
utilized for commercial purposes. She is a member of the Fair Oaks
Parent-Teacher's Association and devotes much time to church work, in which she
takes an active and helpful part. She has many friends in Fair Oaks,
where she has so long resided; and she has watched with interest the work of upbuilding and improvement, rejoicing in what has been
accomplished.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento
County, California With Biographical Sketches, Page 304. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.