Santa
Clara County
Biographies
AUGUST PETER BAILLAIGE
In the great west, where one finds men hailing
from every state in the Union and from almost every country on the globe,
France has her representatives in goodly numbers, and among them is August
Peter Baillaige. Having lost both his parents when he
was very young, he was unable to attend school and is entirely self-educated.
Both natives of Bordeaux, France, his parents were A. P., Sr., and Helen
(Massey) Baillaige; the former, a wine manufacturer,
died in 1843 and the latter three years later, at about forty-one years of age.
Of the two children born to this worthy couple, August Peter is the only one
now living, death having claimed the younger, Joseph, many years ago.
Like his parents, a native of Bordeaux,
France, where his birth occurred April 16, 1836, Mr. Baillaige
was early forced to shift for himself, for, left an orphan at ten years of age,
he went before the mast as a cruise boy from Bordeaux, advancing in 1854 to a
seaman. During the seven years of his seafaring life he worked on many
different vessels, which landed in the principal ports of every nation in the
world. However, when his vessel landed, November 19, 1850, (sic) at San
Francisco, Mr. Baillaige left the ship permanently
and has ever since been content to remain of land. He experienced many
hardships while sailing around the world and had many narrow escapes; his
vessel was twice stranded and both times the crew and passengers were forced to
abandon it; although a good seaman, he received but $4 per month and
consequently left the ship to work in San Francisco at $8 per day. Experience
soon showed Mr. Baillaige that he could save money
easier on a ship at $4 per month than in San Francisco at $8 per day.
One year after landing he located at
Gilroy and engaged in herding sheep in the Santa Clara valley for three years,
at the end of which time he began working in the mines at Jackson and continued
there two years, being quite successful, but failing to save anything. He
returned to Gilroy and herded sheep there again for two years. In 1858 he
commenced work in the first butcher shop in the city, working there until 1863.
In the following year he started out in the butcher business for himself, at
the fifteen-mile house, running a butcher wagon over the southern part of the
Santa Clara valley.
After two years, his present stand
in Gilroy was established, and in 1866 Mr. Baillaige
opened up a general butcher business and has conducted it since, in connection
with an extensive packing business. He ships quantities of bacon, lard and hams
and has a large patronage. As a proof of his fidelity to his city and county he
has served as school trustee of Gilroy for eighteen years and as justice of the
peace for eight years, having been elected on the Democratic ticket. A member
of Lodge No. 26, A. O. U. W., at Gilroy, Mr. Baillaige
has been through all the chairs and has served as delegate to the grand lodge.
His political convictions coincide with those of the Democratic party. Miss Katharina Baker, born in Germany in 1843, became
the wife of Mr. Baillaige, July 30, 1863, the
ceremony taking place in Gilroy. This union was blessed with the following sons
and daughters: Cecilia, now deceased; Hannabetta,
still at home; August, also dead; Artellia, who
wedded Lee Halloway, of Watsonville, Cal.; Nellie,
the wife of Tom Maloney, of Redwood City, Cal.; Katharina, wife of Antony Michaelson; Helen, wife of William Lundy, of Watsonville,
Cal.; and Carl Frederick, a citizen of Gilroy, Santa Clara county.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast
Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 1307. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.