San Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN M. BUFFINGTON
J. M. BUFFINGTON, an old,
honored pioneer of the Pacific coast, and one of the most influential of the
early settlers of Stockton, was born in Somerset, Bristol County,
Massachusetts, February 15, 1818. Originally of English descent, and in the old
Massachusetts colony his ancestry dates back to the early settlement of Salem,
when three brothers--John, Joseph and Jonathan--immigrated to that place about
1660. The subject of this sketch attended school in his native State, and at
the age of fourteen he took a thorough course in English, mathematics and the
Latin classics at the State Normal School of Rhode Island, and after reaching
manhood he entered the business of manufacturing boots and shoes at Providence,
that State.
On the breaking out of the gold excitement
from California, he came hither, by the Isthmus, landing at San Francisco June
13, 1849, from the steamer Oregon, on her second trip. He joined the throng of
miners, and searched for gold for over a year, averaging fifteen ounces per
day. Coming then to Stockton, he started a bakery, when flour was $12.50 a
barrel; in a few months it advanced to $50 per barrel and bread sold for 32
cents a pound. But Mr. Buffington was not the man to be limited to an
underling’s life. Being public spirited, he made his mark in the “city of the
plains,” which is yet strikingly visible. He organized the public schools of
Stockton, was elected Superintendent and served as such from their organization
until 1853, when he was elected Alderman. In April, this year, he was elected
Mayor of Stockton, and held this office one term of two years. Being also
actively interested in the political interests of the country, he organized the
first Republican club and was chosen its first President. He also served as
superintendent of the Sunday-school for several years.
In 1857 he removed to San Francisco, and
since then, for over a third of a century, he has been actively engaged in
business and prominently identified with commercial and mining interests. He
was elected member of the Board of Education of San Francisco, and served in
this position several years. For a time also he was Registrar of voters, when
the enrollment was in the different wards. In 1884 he changed his residence to
Oakland.
He has been prominently identified with
the Masonic fraternity for over thirty-six years, having become a member of
Morning Star Lodge, in Stockton, in 1854, and he is Knight Templar and a
Thirty-third-degree Mason, Scottish rite.
March 8, 1843, Mr. Buffington married Miss
Mary West Eddy, daughter of one of the oldest families of Providence, Rhode
Island, and they have had two sons and three daughters.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 561-562. Lewis Pub.
Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
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