Sierra
County
Biographies
WILLIAM ALBERT SCHROEDER
William
A. Schroeder, who is one of the oldest citizens of Loyalton, is also widely
known as one of the ablest and most efficient supervisors in this section of
the state, a fact that has been emphasized in his repeated elections to that
office over a period of a quarter of a century.
He was born at Hawkinsville, about three miles from Yreka, California,
on the 19th of May, 1859, and is one of twelve children of John and
Ann (Katon) Schroeder. Of this large
family, six are now still living. John
Schroeder was born in Plymouth County, Indiana, and when a young man joined a
large train of Argonauts, who crossed the plains for the gold fields of
California. Only fifty of the eighty who
started reached their destination. Mr.
Schroeder was married in Siskiyou County, this state, and there engaged in
truck gardening, his produce being carried by ten to fifteen pack mules to the
homes and the mining camps of that section of the state. The great flood of 1861-62 washed away
practically half his land, devastating his garden and so discouraging him that
he started out with his wife and three children for a new location. After settling them near what is now
Loyalton, he started to explore new gold fields and went as far as the Black
Hills of Dakota. He was gone an entire
year. When he settled up his affairs in Siskiyou
County he had sixty thousand dollars, but on his return to California he had
but nine thousand dollars left. He then
took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he built a
house. At first this was known as the
Freeman place, but later, after Mr. Schroeder had made improvements and the
official survey had definitely established his boundaries and title, it became
known as the Schroeder ranch. This tract
lies one and a half miles west of Loyalton, on the Sierraville Road. The mother died in her fortieth year, when
her son William A. was nineteen years of age.
The father, who never remarried, died when almost ninety-three years
old. Of his is twelve children, three
were born in Siskiyou County and nine in Sierra County. William A. Schroeder attended the public schools at
Loyalton and was reared on his father’s farm in this county. Virginia City was then booming and the
farmers cut hay, mostly bunch grass in the Sierra valley and hauled it to
Virginia City, where they sold it for one hundred and fifty dollars a ton. When a youth of fourteen years, Mr. Schroeder
drove six horses hauling hay to that city.
His next occupation was that of stage driver on the passenger stage from
Reno, Nevada, to Summit, Plumas County.
His recollection goes back to the time when there was no town where now
stands Loyalton. Dr. Doon, then known as
the “Sage Brush Doctor,” lived here and built a hotel. He was anxious to have a post office
established, but before a commission could be issued to him as postmaster it
was necessary that the place should have a house. The Civil War was then in progress and the
feeling regarding slavery and secession ran high. Many places in California were strongholds of
secession, but the Union sentiment in this locality was strong enough to give
the Union ticket the majority of votes, Lincoln receiving a substantial
majority. Because of this fact the place
was given the name of Loyalton. Mr.
Schroeder did considerable carpenter work in those days, becoming a proficient
builder, and erected a number of residences and barns, also doing most of the
carpenter work on his own commodious residence at Loyalton, which stands in
evidence of his careful workmanship.
In
1906 Mr. Schroeder, who has always been a staunch Democrat in politics, was
elected supervisor of Sierra County, which is strongly Republican. He served his term of four years and was then
prevailed upon to become a candidate for the office of sheriff on the
Democratic ticket, but was defeated in the fall election. In the meantime Sierra County was
redistricted to its supervisorial districts and the primary system of
nomination was adopted. He became the
candidate for supervisor from the fourth district and was duly elected. He was reelected in 1916, 1920, 1924 and
1928, and can undoubtedly hold the office as long as he so desires, for his
recent elections have been without opposition, so eminently satisfactory has
been his service in office. He is well
acquainted with the needs of this community and has stood consistently for
every good thing for Loyalton, the Sierra valley and Sierra County. As supervisor he is de facto highway superintendent
of his district. He has very practical
ideas in regard to the building and maintenance of roads, and is not afraid of
work, personally mounting the road grading machine and managing the blade. When he first became supervisor many of the
roads in this district were mere trails, but through his judicious efforts and
persistence they have been brought to a creditable condition, considering the
money available for road purposes. Mr.
Schroeder is also a member of the city council of Loyalton, a position which he
has held with credit for several terms.
In that loyal capacity he is in charge of the roads and streets of the
city of Loyalton and is maintaining them at a high standard. He has served one term as chairman of the
board of supervisors and is one of the veteran supervisors of the state of
California. He is a member of the
Supervisors’ Association of California, which comprises its membership many of
the leading citizens of their respective communities.
In
1886, at Sierraville, California, Mr. Schroeder was united in marriage to Miss
Annie W. Keyes, who was born in Nevada City, this state, but was living in
Sierra County at the time of her marriage.
She was a daughter of David and Elizabeth (Gardner) Keyes, who were
married in Massachusetts before coming west.
David Keyes built and operated a small sawmill a little way above
Downieville and furnished much of the lumber which entered into the building of
the courthouse at Downieville as well as into the commodious home which he
built for his own family. To Mr. and
Mrs. Schroeder were born four children, namely:
Kate, the wife of R. W. Thorne, of Minden, Nevada, foreman of a retail
lumber yard; Edith, who is the wife of Charles Schleef,
manager for Swains Lumber Company at Oroville, and has two children, Annie
Marie, who graduated from the University of California in 1930, and Allen, who
is a freshman in the University of California; Leone K., who is a graduate of
the University of California and is a teacher and inspector in the high school
at Oakland, where she lives; and Albert, who died at the age of fourteen
years. Mrs. Schroeder died in 1899, at
which time their eldest daughter was a student in high school in San Francisco,
but she returned home at once and became the head of the household, though but
fourteen years old at the time. The
children were all brought up in the home by Mr. Schroeder, who has never
remarried, and now that they are all gone and have homes of their own, he is
alone in the house. During the years of
his residence here he has proven a good citizen in the highest sense of the
term, has stood for the things which make for the good of society and the
material advancement of the town, and his sterling character and fine personal
traits have gained for him a warm place in the hearts of the people among whom
he has lived for so many years.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 3 Pages 102-106. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Sierra County
Biographies