Santa
Clara County
Biographies
WILLIAM
TARLETON WRIGHT
WILLIAM TARLETON WRIGHT. Prominent among the younger generation of
horticulturists who bring to bear upon their work a cultured mind and well
directed enthusiasm, is William Tarleton Wright, a native son of the state, and
born October 15, 1875. The ranch of
one hundred and sixty acres three miles southeast of Mountainview,
on Fremont avenue, in the Collins district, which he
has owned and occupied since the death of his father, William Wright, has been
in the possession of the family since the older man purchased it in November,
1850. More than half a century of effort
has developed latent and unexpected possibilities of growth on the ranch, and
to-day its products are representative of their kind in the state. The forty acres set aside for fruit has
fifteen acres under prunes, ten acres under apricots, eleven acres under
cherries, and four under peaches. The
balance is devoted to hay and grain. One
is impressed with the prevailing order and neatness, with the thrifty condition
of the trees, the excellent quality of the crops, and the modern aspect of the
buildings and general improvements.
The Argonauts of ’49 included none more
worthy to share in the resources of the west than William Wright, the father of
William Tarleton. Born in Harford county, Md., March 18, 1826, he came of reliable and
industrious ancestry, and received a practical home training on the farm of his
father, another William. At the age of
fifteen he left home and learned the miller’s trade, but owing to the
consequent confinement was obliged to change his occupation to that of
merchandising, with his brother in Havre de Grace, Md., where he remained
until the spring of 1849. In the
meantime he had become interested in the glowing reports of wealth on the
coast, and after visiting for three weeks in New York City came to California
with the Gordon Association, sailing around the Horn in seven months and six
days. Leaving New York February 6,
he arrived forty-eight days later at Rio de Janeiro, then
proceeded south to Cape St. Roque, where the ship was becalmed forty-five
days, scarcely making five degrees during all that time. Arriving in San Francisco Mr. Wright had
the sum of four dollars in his pocket, and as meals were a dollar apiece he could
not look forward to many days of inactivity.
In some way he reached Stockton, and from there went to the mines on
Woods creek, sixty miles distant. In
1850 he made his way to the Tuolumne river, where he
bought into a company known as the Missouri Bar, and also invested in stock in
the Chinese Camp. During the winter of
1850-51 he engaged in a merchandise business at Chinese Camp, and in November,
1852, came to the Santa Clara valley with his partner, and bought his son’s
present place of one hundred and sixty acres, to which he later added a similar
amount. Engaging in grain and
stock-raising he was successful in realizing his expectations of moderate
wealth, and lived until 1890, his death occurring April 22. In September, 1863, he was united in marriage
with Helena Treadwell, born in Havre de Grace, a daughter of
Dr. Samuel E. and Ann Treadwell, both of Havre de Grace, and
both deceased. Mrs. Helena Wright
is still living in Santa Clara, Cal.
William and Helena Wright were the parents of two children,
Mrs. Dora T. Gibson, of Santa Clara, and William T. Wright.
William Tarleton Wright was educated in
the common schools and at the University of the Pacific, graduating from the
latter institution in the three years’ course.
In 1898 he entered the employ of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. of
Chicago, as order clerk, and in October, 1899, returned west to assume the
management of the home property.
November 12, 1902, he married Ada J. Allen, a native of San
Bernardino, Cal., and brought his wife to the ranch, which is noted for its
hospitality and good cheer, its thrift and resourcefulness. Mr. Wright is active in many avenues
which contribute to the stability of his neighborhood, and has taken a
prominent part in its Republican undertakings.
He is president of the McKinley Republican club of Mountainview,
and is active in several fraternal lodges, among them the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, No. 244, of which he is treasurer and past grand; the Woodmen
of the World, of which he is past council commander; and the Grange. With his wife he is a member of the
Presbyterian Church. Mr. Wright is
an able and conscientious gentleman, a son of the soil who appreciates its
possibilities and opportunities, and a broadminded and generous student of western
conditions.
Transcribed by Donna Toole.
Source: History
of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast Counties,
California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Pages 391-392. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2015 Donna Toole.