San
Joaquin County
Biographies
IRA CLARK BARRON
From young manhood Ira Clark Barron
was a resident of the Golden state, having arrived in California in 1863; and
after locating near Lodi, he was continuously identified with agricultural interests. Early in life he learned the value of
industry and enterprise as the initial steps towards success, and he made these
qualities his salient characteristics throughout a business career in which he
worked steadily upward. He was born at
Marengo, Illinois, December 23, 1838, a son of Francis and Emily (Perry)
Barron, natives of Canada and Vermont, respectively. Grandfather Barron was a commissioned officer
of the English Army and during the Revolutionary War was sent to America in
charge of English troops. Arriving on
American soil, he became convinced that the Americans were fighting for a just
cause; and recognizing the privations and sacrifices the American people were
making for their liberty, he resolved that he would take no part in such a
struggle. He went home to England,
resigned his commission, married, and with his wife moved to Canada, where they
reared their family. Grandfather Perry
was a cousin of Commodore Perry, and was a native of Vermont. Francis Barron married Miss Emily Perry in
New York State and engaged in farming there for awhile, and then moved to
Marengo, Illinois. They were the parents
of six children: Emily Minerva, Mrs.
Dinsmore, deceased; Garret Albert, deceased; Ira Clerk, deceased; Francis
Edwin, a veteran of the Civil War, now deceased; George Decker, deceased;
Harriet Julia, the only one living, who resides at Huntington Park, California.
Ira Clark Barron received his
education in the grammar school in Marengo and early in youth learned practical
lessons in agriculture. In 1863 he came
via Panama to California and worked for wages on a ranch at Elk Grove,
California, for one season, and then came to San Joaquin County. Here he worked on the Tredway ranch for a
short time; then, in 1864, in partnership with his brother, he rented a half-section
of land on the Lower Sacramento Road near Lodi, which they farmed to grain for
three years. Afterwards they rented a
quarter-section of land on the corner of Cherokee and Kettleman Lane roads,
where they also raised grain. He then
purchased a half-section of government land southeast of Lockeford, which he
farmed until 1871. He sold out and moved
to Ventura County, near the present site of Oxnard, farmed for one year, and
then moved to near Nordoff, California, where he
farmed until 1881.
On October 26, 1870, Mr. Barron was
married on the Freeman Mills ranch, west of Lodi, to
Mrs. Mary L. (Mills) Peters, a native of Peru, Illinois, daughter of Freeman
and Minerva Mills. Mary Mills was a
young girl of thirteen when her parents moved to California and settled in San
Joaquin County. She first married James
V. Peters, a native of Michigan, who came to California in 1858 and mined for a
time, and then came to San Joaquin County and purchased a quarter-section of
land on the Davis road in the Woodbridge section. Mr. and Mrs. Peters had two children: Mrs. Fronia May Dinsmore, a widow residing at Inglewood, and James Edward
Peters, of Pomona, California. Mr.
Peters died in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Barron
had four children: Harriet Louise, widow
of F. L. Coe of Los Angeles, California, who has one son, F. Llewellyn; Lillian
Irene, Mrs. J. W. Dinsmore, who resides at Moorpark, California and has one
son, Glen; Flora M., Mrs. J. G. Blazer, who lives on the home place near Lodi;
and Ira M., who married Miss Mabel Williams, and resides on part of the home
place, the father of two children, Elizabeth and Mary Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Barron had to grandchildren, who
served during the late war. James Elwin
Peters entered the army serving overseas for two years with the 42nd
Division. Llewellyn Coe trained at
Arcadia and Camp Kearney, and then went to France where he became a motorcycle
dispatch rider. He suffered severe
injuries when thrown into a deep shell hole.
Mr. Barron usually gave his support to the Republican candidates, but
weighed well the qualifications of the candidate before casting his vote. From the age of nineteen he was a consistent
member of the Methodist Church. A
public-spirited citizen, he favored every movement calculated to improve his
locality and advance the interests of the state. In 1881 Mr. Barron removed to Los Angeles
County, purchased ten acres a mile and a half west of the University of
Southern California, and there resided for twenty-five years, nearly seven of
which he was employed by the City of Los Angeles. In November, 1907, he moved back to Lodi, and
later bought eleven acres on the corner of Stockton and Vine streets, which is
irrigated with a four-inch pump, driven by a ten horse-power motor. Upon locating in the vicinity, Mr. and Mrs.
Barron settled on twenty-five acres on Sargent Road, about a mile west of Lodi,
which was an inheritance of Mrs. Barron from her mother’s estate, and which she
had set out to a vineyard prior to settling on the place. In 1921, Mr. Barron erected a modern bungalow
on the ranch. Mrs. Barron died on
February 16, 1923, and Mr. Barron passed away the 18th of that same
month, and both were buried on February 20.
On October 26, 1920, this pioneer couple celebrated their golden wedding
anniversary at their home.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
617. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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