Biographies
MRS. MINNIE BARTON SHOWERS
MRS. MINNIE BARTON SHOWERS.--Mrs. Minnie Barton Showers of Folsom City, was born on May 23, 1862, in Eldorado
County, on a ranch two miles west of Lincoln. Her father, Timothy Guy Barton,
was born in New York on February 25, 1836, and he was nineteen years old when
he arrived at Hangtown in August, 1849, having had little
difficulty in journeying across the great plains.
He went into the placer mines, but soon took up land, raising stock and
farming, as a sturdy pioneer, and sending provisions into the mines from the
ranch. He also engaged in teaming, transporting freight from Sacramento to
Virginia City, Nev.
In 1858 Mr. Barton was married to Miss Jane
McLevy, a native of Liverpool, who arrived in
California the year before, accompanying her sister, and their happy union was
blessed with the birth of five children among whom our subject was next to the
youngest. H. D. Barton of Sacramento was the first born; then came James T. of
El Dorado; and after them Albert R., Minnie and Emma Dunlap, now of
Clarksville. Mr. Barton passed away in 1893, at the age of sixty-three, while
Mrs. Barton lived to be seventy, and breathed her last in El Dorado County in
1906.
Minnie Barton attended the Carson Creek
Joint School, where her father served for years as a trustee, and on January 1,
1888, she was married to Silas Showers, a native of Nine Mile House in El
Dorado County, whose parents crossed the plains with ox teams in the early
fifties. Both Silas Showers and Minnie Barton had been schoolmates together,
and in their married life, they were to prove an ideal couple. In June, 1891,
the Showers moved to Folsom City, and in April, 1901, they purchased the
present residence of Mrs. Showers. For many years Mr. Showers was in the employ
of P. C. Cohn, the dealer in general merchandise, and he proved a faithful and
praised employee.
In 1904, Mr. Showers established himself
in business, selling confectionery and sundry supplies, and he conducted the
first telephone exchange in connection with his store. In 1912 due to ailing
health, he sold out and retired from business, and on February 26, 1914, he
passed away, one of the highly honored merchants and pioneers, a member of
Granite Lodge, I. O. O. F. He had served his community well in various
capacities and particularly as a school trustee and as an influential citizen
of democratic political views, and he is survived by five sons of
excellent character. The eldest is James H. Showers, of Marysville, and the
second-born is Frank S. Showers, who lives at home, an employee of the Natomas Company of California and prominent in the
Native Sons of the Golden West and the Odd Fellows. Harold H. served in the
World War as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces abroad and died
October 10, 1920, as a result of sickness contracted in France; Fred S. served
in the Aviation Squadron A. E. B. Ted B. is a student at the University of
California, class of 1924. Mrs. Showers has been an active member of the Rebekah Lodge and a past noble grand.
With exceptional foresight, Mrs. Showers
handles her business affairs successfully, and directs the operation of her 100
acres of land in Eldorado County. As a mother she is
kind and generous hearted, and it is not surprising that she is highly esteemed
by the many who know her, and especially beloved by her devoted sons.
Transcribed by Sally Kaleta.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento County,
California With Biographical Sketches, Page 329.
Historic Record Company,
© 2007 Sally Kaleta.