San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN A. COLEY
A very representative citizen of
Stockton is John A. Coley, who was born on a farm in Scott County, Virginia, on
August 31, 1872, and when a young man of about eighteen, arrived in Stockton on
October 15, 1889, since which time he has been one of the most enthusiastic and
effective “boosters” in the Golden State.
He was first employed near Sonora, in Tuolumne County, at cutting wood,
and then he followed various occupations.
On May 1, 1891, he went to Oakdale, in Stanislaus County, and worked on
a ranch; and having saved his money, he was able to begin farming for
himself. Later he bought 320 acres east
of Escalon, which he farmed to grain; he rented land, and farmed as many as
3,000 acres of the Jones ranch; he made money, and he erected buildings in
Escalon, of which town he can be truly called “the father,” for he founded that
now thriving village at the southern end of San Joaquin County. He built the first store building and had the
post office and the telephone established there. He was one of the promoters of the Tidewater
Southern Railroad, and served as its vice-president, working hard to secure the
right of way for the road, and to sell stock in the enterprise. By unwearying labor, he secured the right of
way from Stockton to the river, although in some cases he was obliged to buy
the land needed by the company. When the
Santa Fe Railroad built through Escalon he erected a grain warehouse there, and
later another one, and one also at Avena; and on
selling out to G. W. McNear of San Francisco, he became the latter’s manager
and bought grain for him for seven years.
Then he bought back the warehouse and conducted the business for
himself.
He next formed a partnership with J.
L. Craig, to operate in the real estate field, under the firm name of Coley
& Craig; and they subdivided the tract of land at Escalon, described in the
interesting Craig sketch given on another page of this work. At one time the Coley & Craig Company
owned over 4,000 acres of land there and later they operated in Stockton,
erecting business houses and private residences. On his own account, Mr. Coley built a number
of first-class homes in Stockton, in one case putting twelve in the
northwestern part of Stockton, and after the fire at Escalon, three years ago,
he also erected business blocks there, some of which he still owns. He has large real estate holdings, besides
those in Stockton, in Oakland and San Francisco, and he has been one of the
leading factors in the upbuilding of southern San Joaquin County, thereby
becoming notable as a self-made man who has met with exceptional success. He has written fire insurance for the past
twenty years, and he still has customers who, having taken out their insurance
with him at the start, have remained his good patrons ever since. Mr. Coley belongs to the Oakdale Blue Lodge
of Masons, No. 275, and to Lodge No. 218 of the Stockton Elks. He has one son, Cyril L. Coley, who is
associated with him in business.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
658. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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