San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN C. CHRISMAN
A citizen of Tracy, whose worth has
been recognized in that he was elected secretary of the West Side Irrigation
District, is John C. Chrisman. His
father, John Chrisman, crossed the plains with an ox team in 1859, from Mt.
Carroll, Illinois, and settled in French Camp.
In 1869 he removed to Tracy, San Joaquin County, and here John C. was
born on November 5, 1878.
John C. as a lad received his
schooling in Tracy, and many were the days spent in the wheat field. In 1900 he was appointed to a clerical
position at the County Hospital, where he remained for three years; he then
entered the employ of the Santa Fe Railroad in the same capacity and remained
with them until 1907, when he removed to Oakland and became clerk of the store
department of the Southern Pacific Railroad and occupied that position for the
next three years. He then entered the
Dixon Business College in Oakland and upon the completion of the course went to
Stockton and entered the Stockton Business and Normal College, taking the
normal course, from which he was later graduated. He then followed teaching and was principal
of the grammar schools at Live Oak, Linden, Ripon and Tracy.
In Stockton on December 29, 1908
occurred the marriage of Mr. Chrisman and Miss Leona A. Patton, a daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Patton, honored pioneers of San Joaquin County. They are the parents of two children, Robert
P. and Greta. The family returned to
Tracy in 1915, and two years later Mr. Chrisman was elected to the office of
secretary of the West Side Irrigation District, which position has received his
undivided attention. Fraternally he is a
past grand of Sumner Lodge of Odd Fellows, and past Patriarch of Tracy
Encampment, and at the present time are historian and publicity manager of this
organization. Mr. Chrisman has
frequently contributed to the newspapers of the county articles on local
institutions, which have been well received.
Republican in politics, he has always given his time and means to the
advancement of the principles of that Party.
He and his family are associated with the First Presbyterian Church of
Tracy, and since the retirement of his father, John Chrisman, from the board of
trustees, he has taken his place. His
property interests are at Linden in the eastern portion of the county and are
growing more valuable each year. During
the War Mr. Chrisman was deputy food administrator for the West Side.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1367. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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