Santa Clara County
Biographies
ANDREW BEERMAKER
ANDREW BEERMAKER. Among the many capable and thriving
horticulturists of Santa Clara county, Andrew Beermaker, of San Jose, holds a noteworthy position. A man
of versatile talents, energetic, experienced and progressive, he has met with
excellent success in his business operations, and is everywhere respected as a
citizen of worth and integrity. He was born October 15, 1831, near Saargemünd, Lorraine, then a French possession, but now a
part of Germany. That was also the birthplace of his father, John Peter Beermaker, and of his grandfather, Peter Beermaker.
The descendant of one of the old and honored families of
Alsace-Lorraine, John Peter Beermaker was reared,
educated and married in his native town, his surname in the Fatherland being
spelled Biermacher. Hearing the wonderful stories
told about the riches acquired by his countrymen in America, he immigrated to
the United States in 1843, settling first with his family in Cleveland, Ohio.
Removing from there to Lorain county, Ohio, he bought
land that was in its virgin wildness, and by dint of industry and perseverance
cleared a farm from the wilderness. In 1855 he moved still farther toward the
western frontier, going to Solon, Johnson county, Iowa, where he bought a farm,
which he managed successfully until his death. He married
Magdalena Schwartz, who was born in Alsace-Lorraine, and died in Iowa.
Four children were born of their union, namely: Mrs. Margaret Wetzel, of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa; Peter, who died September 14, 1903, in Crawford county,
Iowa; Andrew, the subject of this biographical sketch; and John, a retired
merchant, living in Wahoo, Neb.
Coming with his parents to Ohio when a
lad of twelve years, Andrew Beermaker assisted in the
pioneer labor of clearing a farm from the forest. Six years later he
began working at the carpenter’s trade in Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained
until 1852. Removing then to Toledo, Ohio, he followed his trade for some time
and then moved to Johnson county, Iowa, working first as a journeyman
carpenter, and later as a contractor and builder in Solon and vicinity. He next
removed to Iowa City, where he engaged in the lumber business successfully, and
also built a distillery near that city. He subsequently became one of the
incorporators and the secretary of the Iowa Alcohol Company, which carried on a
good distilling business, using about sixteen hundred bushels of grain a day.
Mr. Beermaker also made investments in Republic county, Kans., buying nearly one thousand acres of land just
north of Belleville, near the Nebraska line. Disposing of that property to good
advantage, he bought a bank in Chester, Thayer county,
Neb., where he conducted business for several years. Coming to California Mr. Beermaker was impressed with its many advantages as a
residence and business state, and in April, 1892, located permanently in San
Jose. He at once embarked in horticultural pursuits, buying a five year-old
orchard of twenty acres, which he is still managing with characteristic
success. Ten acres of his land he devotes to cherries, two acres to prunes, two
acres to peaches and six acres to apricots. In the culture of fruit he has been
fortunate, harvesting large quantities of each kind every year, and finding a
ready market for all that he can produce. He has a very pleasant and attractive
home, which he erected at No. 513 South Sixth street.
He is active in agricultural circles, and takes great interest in the Farmers’
Union, of which he is a stockholder.
In Iowa City, Iowa, Mr. Beermaker
married Amanda Ann Steinberger, who was born in Champaign county,
Ohio, but moved with her parents to Iowa in 1851. Of the children born of the
union of Mr. and Mrs. Beermaker, three are
living, namely: John Peter, a bookkeeper in St. Louis, Mo.; Mrs. Mary
Margaret Breene, of Iowa City, Iowa; and Ida A.,
living at home. Politically Mr. Beermaker is a stanch Democrat, and religiously he is a member of St. Mary’s
Catholic Church.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 15 November 2015.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page
898. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Marie
Hassard.