Santa
Clara County
Biographies
ALBERT
L. DEXTER
A successful orchardist and
dairyman, Albert L. Dexter is located upon the old home ranch of the Dexter
family, within five miles of Gilroy, Santa Clara county.
He is the third in a family of four sons and was born January 31, 1859, in
Lawrence Station, this county. A sketch of his father, Albert Dexter, appears
on another page of this work. Albert L. Dexter was reared in Santa Clara county, and in 1867 entered the public schools at Old
Gilroy. He remained at home until attaining manhood, when he entered upon
independent operations in his chosen work, engaging in general farming and
stock-raising on a ranch on Coyote creek. This consisted of seventeen hundred
acres of land just back of Gilroy and in the neighborhood of Hot Springs, which
he improved and cultivated until 1888, engaged principally in the cattle
business. In the last named year he disposed of this property and located upon
the home ranch, one hundred and eighty-seven acres passing into his possession.
Of this land between twelve and fifteen acres is devoted to an orchard of
various fruits, but principally prunes, which he himself set out, and twenty
acres is given over to the cultivation of alfalfa. He has a dairy of fifteen or
twenty cows and owns his own separator, shipping his cream to San Jose. He was
the first man in this neighborhood to put in a well and pumping plant,
inaugurating this movement in 1901. Since that time he has put in another one.
Each well is seventy-five feet deep and with a capacity of seven hundred
gallons per minute. His pumping plant is operated by a twenty-five horsepower
gasoline engine.
Mr. Dexter was married in Gilroy to
Mary Willson who was born in Old Gilroy, a daughter of Dorson
Willson, a pioneer of Gilroy, where his death occurred. Of this union were born
three children: George Clinton, Frank Harrison and Edith May. In his political
convictions Mr. Dexter is a stanch Republican, and in the interests of his
party has held office as a member and clerk of the school board. Fraternally he
affiliates with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
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 1278. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Cecelia M. Setty.