San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN ELTRINGHAM
A rancher whose specializing in
vineyarding and orcharding has met with great success is John Eltringham, a
native son from Calaveras County, who is now living three miles to the
northeast of Acampo. He was born at Douglas
Flat, on January 13, 1874, a son of John and Elizabeth (Reese) Eltringham. His father was an early settler in
California, who came from Pennsylvania in 1848, and mined in Tuolumne
County. He was of English descent, but
the mother’s people were of Welsh extraction.
They also came west in the early days, crossing the plains, as did the
father, in order to reach the Golden State.
Mr. Eltringham mined all his life.
He lived to be eighty-eight years of age, and was the father of nine
children. Hattie has become Mrs. Zwinge, and lives in Valley Spring, California; Mary is
Mrs. Seibert, of Lodi; Katherine died at the age of ten; Henry is at Wedge
Flat, in Calaveras County; Will is farming at Stockton; John was the
sixth-born; Walter is deceased; David is at Douglas Flat, on the old home place;
and Vina is at Angels Camp, California.
John Eltringham left home when he
was fourteen years old and worked for three years for P. A. Buell, in the
planing mill at Stockton. Then he became
an engineer, working for the Wagner Leather Company for thirteen years. The next three years were spent at Topman & Brant’s planing
mills at Stockton. In 1914 he bought
twenty-three acres of open land, which he developed as an orchard, growing
apricots and prunes. An excellent
pumping plant furnishes a seven-inch stream of water.
At Stockton, in November, 1898, Mr.
Eltringham married Miss Lena Seifert, who was born at Stockton, the daughter of
Lorenz and Lena Seifert, whose life-story is elsewhere sketched in this
work. She was reared and educated in
Stockton, and grew up at home. They have
one son, Reese Eltringham, who assists his father. They operate their own farm, and also lease
of Mr. Van Valkenberg some sixty acres in vineyard,
ten acres in alfalfa, and fifty acres of open farm land. Mr. and Mrs. Eltringham are Republicans. Mr. Eltringham belongs to the Woodmen of the
World at Stockton.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1075. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases