Santa Clara County
Biographies
HORACE
WILLSON
HORACE WILLSON.
Distinguished from all other classes of men whose courage and daring appeal to
the gratitude and admiration of the world are the pioneers who left comfortable
homes in the eastern part of the United States and risked their all on the
findings at the end of a journey appalling in its distances, and terrifying
from the standpoint of danger and deprivation. Courage of this kind is the
foundation of the civilization of the west, and its continuance to success
after arriving at the goal of his ambition, makes the pioneer and upbuilder of the west a man of more than historical moment.
Such a one was Horace Willson, to whom the green
hills of New Hampshire presented limitations, and who sought a larger outlook
upon the Pacific washed coast in 1853. Born in Swanzey,
Cheshire county, N. H., February 18, 1822, he was reared on a
small farm sloping toward the hills, and where his parents, Charles and Lavina (Collins) Willson, had
lived since the beginning of their married life. His father was a brick-mason
by trade, combining that with farming, and the son naturally followed in his
footsteps, profiting by his knowledge and becoming a master workman.
Mr. Willson’s trade took him to different parts of the east,
and while pursuing it in Keene, Cheshire, N. H., he met and married,
May 2, 1846, Eunice Eliza Chickering,
a native of Westmoreland, N. H., and who was born
March 30, 1828. The Chickerings were also
early residents of New Hampshire, Alvin Chickering
having been engaged there in buying and selling and shipping cattle for many
years. He married Eunice Gleason, whose ancestors had engaged in
agriculture for generations in New Hampshire, and who bore him a large family
of children, who, like Mrs. Willson, were educated in
the public schools and reared in a typical New England home. Seven years after
his marriage, in 1853, Mr. Willson came to California
by way of Panama, and after getting a start by working at his trade purchased
forty-nine acres of land in Old Gilroy in Santa Clara county. Industrious and
frugal, he not only made but saved money, and owned a large ranch at Paicines, San Benito county, Cal., which was subsequently
sold. He afterward bought eleven hundred and eighty acres of land east of
Gilroy, and not far from Hot Springs. From a small beginning he branched out
into an extensive cattle business, understanding well his occupation, and
becoming known as one of the principal stock men of his neighborhood. During
his entire life in the west he made his home in Old Gilroy, where his death
occurred June 1, 1896, and where he was buried in the little
churchyard adjoining the town. He found time while immersed in the cares of his
ranch to identify himself with politics and general affairs, was a stanch promoter of schools and public institutions, and an
ardent worker in the Presbyterian Church. During the war he was a strong
sympathizer with the Union, and lent his influence to further the cause. The
Republican party always claimed his vote and support, although he was averse to
assuming official responsibility.
Since her husband’s
death Mrs. Willson has disposed of his ranch, and in
1899 built a beautiful two and a half story house in Gilroy, which she has
surrounded with flowers and shrubs, and made comfortable and home-like. She has
nobly performed her mission as one of the pioneer women of the west, assisting her
husband in his upward struggle, and rearing a family of five sons and five
daughters, of whom two sons and five daughters are living. In the order of
their birth the children were: Charles, deceased; Dan, who died at the age of
eight years; Frank, deceased; Edwin, living in Old Gilroy; Lyman, occupying the
home place; Mrs. Amanda Cochran, of San Jose, Cal.;
Mrs. Ida McKinney, an educator, and for five years principal of the
Old Gilroy school; Mrs. Lucy Reavis, wife
of T. C. Reavis, a merchant of Salinas,
Cal.; Mrs. Luly Onyon,
wife of John Onyon, a railroad man with
headquarters at San Francisco; and Mary, the wife of Charles Eckhart, ticket
agent of Redwood City, Cal. Mr. Willson was a
highly respected member of the community, his judgment and success making him
an important factor in its upbuilding life. His word and opinion had a high
value with all who appreciated integrity and honor in a man, and his children
and friends looked up to him as the personification of kindliness, good nature
and loyalty.
Transcribed by Marie Hassard 21 April 2015.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 475-476. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Marie
Hassard.