San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MRS. SOPHIA BOLLIGER
An esteemed resident of San Joaquin
County since 1861, Mrs. Sophia Bolliger, widow of the late Samuel Bolliger, has
borne her full share of the duties and responsibilities that were the lot of
successful Californians from the early days to the present. Her home is on an excellent farm in the
vicinity to which she came as a bride in 1861, located eight miles east of
Stockton on the Copperopolis Road. Its
present fine appearance, however, is in marked contrast to the appearance which
it presented when it came into her possession.
Great changes, too, have occurred throughout the county during her
residence here, and she has seen its wild lands reclaimed for farming purposes,
while towns and villages have sprung up and all the comforts of an advanced civilization
have been introduced. With the onward
march of progress she has kept apace, as is evidenced by her fine ranch. She was born in Lichtenberg, Bavaria,
Germany, in 1839 and in that country she was reared and educated. In young womanhood she came to America and
while residing in New York City in 1859 she met her future husband, Samuel
Bolliger, and in 1861 the young people were married, following the return of Mr.
Bolliger from a visit to his home in Switzerland.
Samuel Bolliger was born in Kettinger, Canton Aargau, in 1820, and was reared to
manhood years in his birthplace. In 1837
at the age of seventeen years, he first set foot on American soil, visiting the
larger places of interest. The
breaking out of the Mexican War was followed by his enlistment in the U. S.
Army, and at the close of hostilities he came with the troops overland to
California and received his honorable discharge. He arrived in Stockton in 1848, early in the
mining history of the state, and he may be classed among the first who mined
for the yellow metal in Tuolumne and Calaveras counties. He also followed teaming and freighting and
in the early fifties purchased a ranch on the Copperopolis Road, ten miles from
Stockton, which he improved and cultivated for twenty years. In the meantime, in 1861, he had made a visit
to his old home in Switzerland, and upon his return to the United States he was
married in New York City to Miss Sophia Huebsch,
whence he returned with his bride via the Isthmus of Panama to this ranch. When he disposed of this property in 1874 it
was his intention to make another visit to his boyhood home, but instead, after
remaining in Stockton for a short time, he purchased a ranch eight miles from
this city, also on the Copperopolis Road, upon which he spent the remainder of
his life.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Bolliger: John M. married Cora Winters
and they reside in Stockton and have two children: Leland W. and Mrs. Francis Dees; Sophia M. is
the wife of Albert E. Mapes, a successful rancher
near the old home, and they have three sons:
Clarence Wells, Carol Bolliger and Albert Eugene; Nanette is a
registered trained nurse and resides in Sacramento; Elizabeth M. married David
Young, a prominent stock and grain farmer of Bellota and Farmington; Rudolph A.
passed away at the age of twenty-three years; Lydia B. is the wife of J.
Malcolm Young, a prominent farmer operating the Bolliger farm as well as his
own ranch at Farmington, and their three sons are named Malcolm S., Francis B.
and Lester E.; Esther A. married Charles Osborn, a successful rancher residing
near Waterloo and they have two children, La Verne and Charles; Wilhelmina, the
youngest born, passed away at the age of four years.
Mr. Bolliger was not permitted to
enjoy the fruits of his labors, for his life was cut short by his demise on
March 6, 1883. One of the early
frontiersmen, a Mexican War veteran, and an Argonaut and pioneer of 1848, he
had given of his best years and efforts to develop the great commonwealth in
which he had such great faith and pride.
Since the death of this estimable pioneer his widow continues to reside
on the homestead, surrounded by her children who shower on her their love and
devotion. She is still active in the
management of her business, is well read and keeps abreast of the times and
takes a keen interest in civic and social affairs. She is an active member of the Woman’s
Auxiliary of the California Pioneer Society, of which she is now a senior
member.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1296-1299. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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