Santa Clara County
Biographies
HON. THOMAS REA
HON. THOMAS REA. For almost a third of a
century Hon. Thomas Rea has been an important factor in the business and social
life of Santa Clara county, and as councilman and mayor of Gilroy and state
representative, has proved his efficiency as a public official and a man of
worth. The paternal grandfather of Thomas Rea, a native of Ireland, whose
mother was born in Scotland, in company with a brother came to America and
located in Virginia, thus becoming the first of the name to take up their abode
in this country. From that day on the members of the family clung to each other
and never became widely scattered. March 9, 1799, marks the date of
the birth of James Rea, the father of Thomas, which occurred in the western
part of Virginia, where he continued to live until he reached early manhood. He
then accompanied his parents to Ohio, locating in Gallia county, and there he
married Miss Hannah Hudsonpillar. The latter, also a
native of Virginia, was born the same year as was her husband and with her
parents removed to Ohio about the same year the Reas
did, both families settling in Gallia county.
For some time after
their marriage, James Rea and his wife lived on a farm near Gallipolis, Ohio,
and it was there that Thomas Rea first saw the light of clay, November 22, 1820.
When he was thirteen years old the family removed to Hancock county, residing
at Fort Findlay until the fall of 1838, when they removed to the vicinity of
Decatur, Macon county, Ill. The father died in February, 1879, when nearly eighty
years of age, the mother having died in 1871.
Educated in the common
schools of Ohio and Illinois, Thomas Rea remained at home until 1842, when he
became interested in lead mining and for several years thereafter was employed
in the lead mines of Wisconsin. In the meantime gold had been discovered in
California, and being young and unmarried, he swelled the tide of immigration
to this state in the hope of realizing a fortune. Starting in November, 1849,
he made the trip via the Isthmus of Panama, landing, in San Francisco
February 22, 1850. He followed mining in Auburn until May, and after
prospecting for a good claim during the summer, found a more promising location
in Sierra county in the fall of the same year and followed mining there until
the spring of 1852. Not meeting with the success he expected, however, he
returned to Illinois by way of the Isthmus.
The marriage of Mr.
Rea took place April 11, 1853, and united him with Miss Mary Anne
Jones, who was born in Illinois in 1826, of Kentucky parentage. The day
following their marriage the young people started on the overland trip behind
ox teams. Arriving at Gilroy September 3, 1853, Mr. Rea
purchased land in the vicinity and took up the occupation of a farmer. For a
number of years he carried on general farming, but subsequently turned his
attention to dairy farming which proved to be a successful venture in fact,
success crowned his efforts from the first, and although he retired from active
farm life in 1872 and removed to his present fine residence in Gilroy, he still
owns a nine hundred and forty acre farm near by,
which is one of the finest and most productive farms in the state.
The death of Mrs. Rea,
October 19, 1899, was a sad blow to her husband and family, which now consists
of six children, as follows: James W., of San Jose, Cal.; Addie, wife of
E. W. Strange, of San Francisco; Emma, wife of Louis Loupe, of San Jose;
Carrie, who is still at home; Clara, wife of Jacob Hanna, of Berkeley, Cal.;
and George E., of Gilroy. Two children died in infancy, and in addition,
Mr. Rea has one adopted daughter, Mary, now the wife of E. M. Pyle.
Mr. Rea became interested in municipal affairs soon after his removal to
Gilroy, serving on the city council. In 1873-74 he served as state
representative from Santa Clara county, having been elected on the Republican
ticket, and on the same ticket was elected mayor of Gilroy, filling the office
with dignity and credit. In his political convictions he has ever been loyal to
the Republican party and its interests; as a citizen, he is broad-minded and
liberal, and although a member of no church, he is a generous contributor
towards all church denominations in his vicinity, and is benevolent and
charitably inclined.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 14 August 2014.
ญญญญSource: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 425. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
ฉ 2014 Marie Hassard.