San
Joaquin County
Biographies
HARRY W. BESSAC
When Harry W. Bessac was elected
county superintendent of schools of San Joaquin County in 1922, a man was
selected thoroughly qualified to fill the position with distinctive ability,
whose heart is in the educational work before him. First of all, Mr. Bessac is an educator by
training, bringing to the cause of education not only a well-trained mind, but
a fund of practical knowledge backed by years of successful teaching. He was born at Dover, Wisconsin, on July 29,
1876, and when a small boy was taken by his parents to the state of Washington,
where he attended the public schools of Montesano; later, in 1889, when his
parents removed to Los Angeles, California, he attended the grammar and high schools. Mr. Bessac then came to Stockton in 1897 for
the purpose of taking a course in the Normal School and upon receiving a
teacher’s certificate, taught in Placer County for five years, when he became
associated with the Western School of Commerce of Stockton. On September 1, 1902, this school was
incorporated with the following officers:
J. R. Humphreys, president; T. H. Wolfenbarger,
vice-president; and Harry W. Bessac, secretary; and for the next ten years he
was a successful instructor, officer and part owner of this institution. Mr.
Bessac then became the principal of the Washington School of Stockton; later of
the Jackson School, the largest grammar school in Stockton, and on December 1,
1921, was appointed superintendent of rural schools of San Joaquin County, a
position of responsibility and because of his wide experience in all branches
of educational work he is recognized as a leader, and a man in whom the public
has every confidence. He is a member of the
executive board of the Elementary Teacher’s Association of Stockton.
The marriage of Mr. Bessac occurred
in Stockton and united him with Miss Nell Hurd, a native of Stockton and a
descendant of a pioneer family. Her
maternal grandfather, Dr. Kerr, crossed the plains in 1849 and opened the second
drug store in Stockton and practiced medicine for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Bessac are the parents of three
children: Marion R., Arthur H., and
Francis B. Fraternally he is one of the
leading Masons of the district; is past master of Morning Star Lodge No. 68;
past high priest of Royal Arch Chapter No. 28; inspector of the twenty-sixth
Masonic district, which includes six lodges as follows: Morning Star No. 68, San Joaquin No. 19,
Delta No. 471, Stockton No. 498, Lodi No. 267, Valley Lodge of Linden No.
135. While inspector Mr. Bessac
organized two Masonic lodges in Stockton, Delta No. 471 and Stockton No.
498. He is also a 32nd degree
Scottish Rite Mason. The Bessac’s have been prominent in Masonic circles for two
generations. His father, Henry W.
Bessac, who resides at Riverbank, is a past master of his lodge, and a Mason of
more than fifty years standing. In the
spring of 1922, Mr. Bessac became a candidate for the office of county
superintendent of schools in San Joaquin County, and was elected November 7,
1922, taking office January 8, 1923.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
495. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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