Biographies
JOHN REESE
As secretary and manager of the Florin Supply
Company, Florin, Cal., for the past ten years, Mr. Reese has displayed the good
management and business foresight which have distinguished his entire career,
the increasing prosperity and firm condition of his organization bearing
witness to the good judgment of his associates in placing him in charge of its
affairs. A man of exemplary principles and quiet, magnetic, personality, he has
met life with both optimism and power, and retains, in spite of varied opinions
on all sides, an individual discrimination in all matters which come to his
attention.
A native of Utah, his birth having
occurred in Payson, January 9, 1856, Mr. Reese came to Sacramento, Cal., four
years later with his parents, John and Elizabeth (Anthony) Reese, natives of
Wales. During his youth he displayed a power of concentration and studious
temperament that stood him in good stead, enabling him to advance rapidly, and
he graduated at the age of eighteen. Choosing an outdoor life he took up
farming, varied by occasional carpentry, and after conducting these pursuits
with fair success until 1898, he turned his attention to a new field, becoming
salesman for the Florin Fruit Growers' Association, a position which took him
through the northwest. After two years, during which period he proved many
times his exceptional worth and firmness of character, he was placed in charge
of the Sacramento office, resigning in 1902 to become manager of the Farmers'
Mercantile Company at Florin, and upon the purchase of the latter concern by
the Florin Supply Company, was unanimously chosen secretary and manager. From
time to time he added to his stock holdings and now owns a large interest in
the business.
Mr. Reese was married November 23, 1873,
in Sacramento, to Miss Addie Shaler,
whose birth occurred in Sacramento and whose parents, Thomas and Adelia Shaler, were early
settlers of Sacramento county. The family of Mr. and
Mrs. Reese numbered nine children, as follows: Mabel, Mrs. Milton Browning of
Sacramento; Myrtle, postmistress at Florin; Llewelyn,
now a successful stenographer in Sacramento; Howard, who died November 7, 1911;
David, clerking for the Florin Supply Co.; Winifred, attending the Sacramento
high school; Mildred, and Melvin, all of whom have in no wise disappointed the
hopes of their parents, who realize that they are particularly blessed in their
ambitious children.
As a Republican Mr. Reese is deeply
interested in political developments and prompt to lend his influence as an
elector to party candidates. He served as deputy sheriff under his brother
David Reese and is now under the present sheriff. He maintains a thorough
understanding of all matters relating to the public good and as a member of
Florin Lodge No. 364, I. O. O. F., of which he is Past Grand, and as a member
of Rebekah Lodge No. 20, is enabled to keep in touch
with the needs of humanity, his standard of life embracing nothing less than
the Golden Rule.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Willis,
William L., History of Sacramento County,
California, Pages 955-956. Historic
Record Company,
© 2006 Sally Kaleta.