Sacramento County
Biographies
JACOB ZUMWALT & ELIZABETH A. ESKRIDGE
JACOB ZUMWALT and ELIZABETH A. ESKRIDGE--A venerable pioneer woman, who is now deceased, was Elizabeth A. Eskridge, a native of Illinois, the youngest child of Jacob and Susan (Smith) Zumwalt, both natives of Ohio. Jacob Zumwalt's ancestors came from Germany and settled at York, Pa., in 1768; a member of this family was a fur trader and settled in the Middle West, where he built the first log house on the north bank of the Missouri River in 1798. The maternal ancestors of Elizabeth A. Eskridge were of English descent and members of the family were prominent in the early history of our commonwealth, being identified as office holders during the years from 1770 to 1790 in Massachusetts. The Zumwalt family removed to Illinois in 1834 and settled near Joliet, where they became successful farmers; there they reared three sons and three daughters. An uncle of our subject, Joseph L. Zumwalt, also settled in Illinois, where he farmed until 1844, when he left for California as a military scout and spent five years, returning to Illinois in 1849. Soon after, an ox-team train started across the plains to California and the Zumwalt family arrived in Sacramento, then a thriving mining town, in 1850. Within two weeks after their arrival in California, Jacob Zumwalt had located on a place near Dixon. There is only one of this pioneer family living, John D. Zumwalt of San Mateo. Daniel K. Zumwalt was one of California's prominent attorneys; he was called the father of irrigation in the Tulare district, as he was one of the builders of the Tulare canal in 1876.
The marriage of Elizabeth A. Zumwalt united her with Alexander W. Eskridge, a pioneer contractor and builder and an expert cabinet-maker. They were the parents of three children: Mrs. E. H. Tryon of San Francisco; C. J., residing in Eldorado County; and Leonard W., a retired rancher near Sacramento. Mr. Eskridge lived to be seventy-nine years old, while Mrs. Eskridge survived him for a few years.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Reed, G.
Walter, History of Sacramento County,
California With Biographical Sketches, Page 695. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA.
1923.
© 2007 Jeanne Taylor.