Sierra
County
Biographies
POMPEO JOHN LOMBARDI
One
of the most successful ranchers and best known residents of the Sierra Valley
is Pompeo J. Lombardi, whose home ranch is located
three miles west of Loyalton, in addition to which he
is the owner of other valuable lands, aggregating about four thousand
acres. He is also the owner of the only
hardware store in Loyalton and is recognized as a
business man of marked ability. He was
born in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on the 13th of June, 1861, and
is a son of Joseph and Clementina Lombardi. The family were
mountaineers and their home was a public place after the Order of St. Bernard,
where unfortunate travelers could be taken care of, and many tired and
stormbound wanderers through the deep snows of an Alpine winter were rescued
and cared for in their home. The parents
were granted an annual stipend by the Swiss government for their services. Their home was on Mt. Gotthard, and there Pompeo J. and his three brothers and two sisters were
reared. The oldest brother, Caesar L.,
lives in Dallas, Texas, where he is president of the Dallas News, and is
seventy-four years of age. Another
brother, Ferdinand, is seventy years of age and lives in San Francisco, while
the youngest brother, Pacifico, is retired and lives
in Redwood City, California. One sister
was a lifelong resident of Switzerland and the other one became a resident of
California.
In
his native land Pompeo J. Lombardi attended school
and learned the secrets of successful dairying under the instruction of his
father, who conducted a dairy during the summer months. He was not satisfied with the prospects for
individual advancement in his own country and, having knowledge of the splendid
opportunities offered in America, he immigrated to the new world when
twenty-three years of age, landing at New York City March 1, 1884. He crossed the continent direct to San
Francisco, where he was employed in a dairy for two years, and for the same length
of time drove a milk delivery wagon. He
next went to work for the California Wire Works Company, at North Beach, but a
few months later went to Santa Cruz and Alameda counties, where for a year he
was occupied in making cheese on various ranches in that locality. In 1889 Mr. Lombardi came to Sierra county and for a few months worked as a laborer. He then determined to start out for himself and
bought three hundred and sixty acres of land, which is now a part of his home
ranch. This purchase put him heavily in
debt, but, nothing daunted, he went to work to develop and improve his place
and in the course of time, through persistent industry and the exercise of good
judgment, he found himself out of debt and in the possession of a splendid
ranch. After that things came easier and
as he prospered he bought more land until he became one of the most substantial
ranchers of the valley. For many years
he specialized in dairy farming, for which his ranches are well adapted, but in
later years he has leased the greater part of land to his sons and others, each
ranch having its own set of farm buildings.
On January 12, 1886, at the bride’s
home in the Sierra Valley, Mr. Lombardi was united in marriage to Miss Angelina
Ramelli, who was born and reared in Switzerland and
became a resident of California at about the time of his arrival here. They have four children: Caesar P., Attilio,
Louis and Mary C. Since becoming a
citizen of the United States Mr. Lombardi has given his support to the
Republican Party and has shown a live interest in public affairs, though he has
never been an office seeker. He has
devoted his attention closely to his private affairs, in which he has been more
than ordinarily successful, and for many years he has stood among the leading
and influential men of this section of the valley, respected by everyone who
knows him.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 191-192. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Sierra County
Biographies