Sierra
County
Biographies
ALONZO B. HUNTLEY
Prominent
among the pioneer settlers of the Sierra Valley was the late Alonzo B. Huntley,
who took up land about ten miles southeast of Beckwith about 1865, and from
that time until his death was an active factor in developing and advancing the
agricultural interests of this region.
Born on the 20th of November, 1833, in Plainfield, Otsego
County, New York, he moved with his parents, when a small boy, to West
Winfield, Herkimer County, that state, and was there reared on a farm,
acquiring his education in the public schools and the village seminary. In 1854 he went to Whitewater, Wisconsin,
where he remained several years. He
taught school at Sugar Creek during the long winter terms and farmed during the
summer seasons. In 1861 he went to
Pike’s Peak, spending that summer in Colorado, and then returned to
Wisconsin. In the spring of 1862 he came
to California by way of the overland route, driving his own four-horse team,
and located at Grand Island, Colusa County.
In the fall of that year he went back to his old home, by way of the
Panama route, and in the spring of 1863 again came overland to the coast, and
located at Grand Island. After a year,
he took over a sawmill, which he operated for the same
length of time. Subsequently he located
at Sierraville and purchased a ranch, which he
operated for a while and then sold. In
1867 he came to Plumas County and homesteaded and preempted three hundred and
twenty acres of land, which he developed into a fine ranch. He was a man of great enterprise and good
judgment, keen to take advantage of all favorable opportunities, and won
success in his affairs. For two or three
years he made annual trips to Oregon, where he purchased cattle, which he
brought down to his range, fattened them and sold them for beef, deriving a
good profit. He subsequently devoted his
attention to general ranching and dairying, keeping at times as many as
thirty-five cows, but in his later years discontinued the dairy business and
confined his efforts to general farming until his death, which occurred at his
home, September 4, 1905.
On November 3, 1860, Mr. Huntley was
married to Miss Julia Ferris, who was born in Yates County, New York, April 8,
1836, and was reared in Wisconsin, where her parents settled when she was six
years of age. Mrs. Huntley joined her
husband in California in 1869. Two
children blessed their union: Camilla,
the wife of R. C. Mercer, who carried on the home ranch for Mrs. Huntley; and
Herbert Harold, mentioned elsewhere in this work, who
became one of Loyalton’s leading merchants, but is
now deceased. Alonzo B. Huntley was a
Republican in politics and was active in all matters pertaining to the
community welfare. He was on the county board
of supervisors for one term and was regarded as one of the representative men
of his community.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 185-186. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Sierra County
Biographies