Santa
Clara County
Biographies
HENRY A. SINGLETON
To a large degree the population
of our western states is composed of people born in other parts of the country,
and even in foreign countries, but in Mr. Singleton we find a native son of
California, his birth occurring September 2, 1865, in San Jose. His father,
James Singleton, was born of southern parents in Kentucky, but he subsequently
made his home in Missouri. The rumors of the rich finds of gold in California
had reached his ears, and not without leaving a deep impression, for in 1849 he
was among those who crossed the plains, bent on wresting a fortune from
nature’s secret treasure store. Mr. Singleton confined his operations to the
mines along the Calaveras and
Feather rivers, and whether or no his hopes were more than moderately realized
may be judged when it is known that he discontinued mining and engaged in the
more dependable occupation of tilling the soil. Coming to San Jose, he
purchased five hundred acres of land four miles southeast of town, in the
Franklin school district. He met with a sudden death in 1890, at the age of
sixty-nine years. One night when returning to his home from San Jose he was
drowned while attempting to ford Coyote creek, and thus his family lost a
loving husband and father, and the community a valuable citizen. His wife,
formerly Miss Pauline Cottle, was a native of Missouri, and now makes her home
in San Jose, at No. 852 South Third street. James and
Pauline (Cottle) Singleton became the parents of seven children, one of whom,
Charles, is deceased. The others are: Laura; Thomas, who is interested in
mining; Marshall, secretary of the police department of Los Angeles, Cal.;
Henry A.; Walter, a practicing dentist in San Francisco; and Hazel, the
youngest of the family, who resides with her mother.
Far more educational privileges fell
to the lot of Henry A. Singleton than bless the childhood and youth of the
majority of boys. After laying a substantial foundation for knowledge in the
common schools he added to this by attending San Mateo College, Brewer’s
Military School and the state normal at San Jose. His school days over, he went
to Salem, Ore., in 1888, and remained there until 1891, when, his father’s
estate having been divided among the heirs in the meantime, he came home and
settled upon the seventeen acres which fell to his share. He has ever since
resided on this ranch, which is now devoted entirely to the raising of fruit,
in the cultivation of which he is eminently successful.
In 1888, in San Jose, occurred the
marriage of Henry A. Singleton and Miss Minnie G. Buck, also a native of
California, and they have been blessed with four children, three sons and one
daughter, as follows: Norma, James, Paul and Herbert all of whom are at home.
Politically a Republican, Mr. Singleton has long been a leader of his local party,
and has always taken an active interest in both local and national issues. For
the past eight years Mr. Singleton has served the interests of his fellow
citizens in the capacity of road overseer, having charge of the East San Jose
road, in District No. 2. Mr. Singleton bears the reputation of an honest man,
and is universally respected by friends and neighbors.
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 1404. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2017 Cecelia M. Setty.