San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JAMES P. CARROLL
Many have been the years that have
come and gone and great the changes that have occurred during the residence of
James P. Carroll in San Joaquin County; he now makes his home on the French
Camp Road some eighteen miles southeast of Stockton at Carrolton Station on the
Tidewater Southern Electric Railroad. He
was born near New London, Connecticut, October 23, 1852, and is a twin brother
of Michael O. Carroll, a resident of Stockton.
His father, Michael C. Carroll, was born in Kilkenny,
Ireland in 1828 and at the age of eighteen years came to America and followed
the blacksmith’s trade in New London, Connecticut, until 1852 at which time he
embarked for California via Panama. He
arrived in San Francisco in the spring of 1853 and at once went to the mines in
Placer County, where he followed mining for about five years. He then worked at blacksmithing for two years
in Stockton, then in 1861 purchased a ranch in Dent Township from John O’Malley
and from time to time purchased more land until he finally owned 720 acres,
which he improved and put under cultivation, and in the fall of 1876 he erected
a fine residence. On October 27, 1850,
he was married to Miss Mary Mulroney and they had four children, three sons and
one daughter. The cause of education
found in him a warm friend and he served as a school trustee in his
locality. He was a liberal contributor
to churches and charities; he was also a strong Democrat and kept well informed
on the issues of the day. His belief in
and advocacy of irrigation led him to donate a right of way through his land to
the Tulloch system of irrigation, used prior to the present adequate system.
James P. Carroll was only one year
old when he accompanied his parents to California and he has since resided in
San Joaquin County. His education was
received in the Van Allen district school and he remained on the farm and did
so until he was twenty-five years old, then went to Stockton and was employed
for three seasons in the J. Kilpatrick Barley Mills; he also worked on
threshing outfits throughout the county.
Mr. Carroll’s marriage united him
with Miss Nellie C. Dempsey, a daughter of William Dempsey, a pioneer of
Stockton. Three children were born to
them: Alfred B. married Miss Annie
Clinton and they have two children, Dempsey A. and Kathryn; Mamie died at the
age of six years; Gwendolyn is employed in the Motor Vehicle Department of the
State of California at Modesto. The wife
and mother passed away in 1921 beloved by all who knew her. Mr. Carroll has spent twenty-five years of
his useful life in public service. In
1880 he became constable and was in close association with Thomas Cunningham,
sheriff of San Joaquin County, and for four years he was chief of the fire
department of Stockton. Since retiring
from public office, he has served for eight years as director of the South San
Joaquin Irrigation District. His ranch
is a model alfalfa ranch, which has been turned over to his son. For four years, Mr. Carroll was the manager
of the Stockton baseball team and in 1888 Stockton won the championship
pennant, Coast League.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
812. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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