Siskiyou
County
Biographies
J. K. FOSTER
J.
K. Foster, of Weed, who is now living retired from active business affairs, had
many years of experience in mining and other enterprises, in which, through his
sound judgment and good management, he was successful to a degree that now
permits him to take things easy and spend the golden sunset years of his life in
well earned leisure. Born in Dayton,
Ohio, on the 19th of December, 1859, he is a son of Isaac and
Elizabeth (Fiat) Foster, the former a native of Ohio, the latter a native of
Pennsylvania. The father, who was
actively identified with political affairs, served for a number of years as
county clerk of Montgomery county, Ohio. Both parents died at the age of thirty-seven
years. They had six children, three of
whom reached the age of maturity.
J.
K. Foster received his early education in the public schools, after which he
was a student at Ohio State University, completing his studies in the in the
commercial department at Miami College, at Dayton, from which he was graduated
in 1879, at the age of twenty years. He
then became a bookkeeper in a grain elevator, which position he held for four
years, after which he went to Independence, Kansas, where he was employed as a
bookkeeper in a drug store, and later in a bank. In 1882 he went to Indian Territory, where he
engaged in ranching for five years. In
1887 he crossed the plains to Colorado, where for seventeen years he devoted
his attention to mining. In 1904 he went
to old Mexico, where he spent two years in mining, and in 1906 came to
California and did some mining at Randsburg, after
which he retired from active business pursuits and is now making his home in
Weed.
In
1883 Mr. Foster was united in marriage to Miss Caldona
Martin, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Martin.
To them were born six children, as follows: Joseph, who is engaged in the oil business in
Taft, California; Fred, who is in the oil business at McKittrick;
Maude, the wife of Francis Henry, of Aurora Grande, California; Grace, who is a
business woman in Pueblo, Colorado; Clyde, who enlisted for the World war and
died of influenza at Camp Fremont; and Kenneth, who is engaged in the practice
of dentistry in Los Angeles. Mr. Foster
votes the republican ticket at national elections, but is inclined to act
independently in local affairs. He is a
man of strong character and sterling qualities, holds well defined views on
politics and ethics, and commands the uniform respect of his fellowmen, being
regarded as one Weed’s worthy and substantial citizens.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Wooldridge, J.W.Major History of Sacramento Valley
California, Vol. 2 Pages 157-158. Pioneer Historical
Publishing Co. Chicago 1931.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's Siskiyou County Biographies