San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN W. FREDERICK
A native son and lifelong resident
of San Joaquin County, who is also a prosperous and enterprising agriculturist is
John W. Frederick, residing on his 160-acre ranch three miles west of Ripon,
which he farms to wheat and barley. He
was born on the place where he now resides, November 4, 1871, a son of John and
Nancy (Underwood) Frederick. John
Frederick was born in Indiana and later was taken to Iowa by his parents, where
the family lived until 1860 when they crossed the plains with an emigrant train
to California. The Frederick family
located near Stockton, on the Peter Clapp ranch, where they remained for one
year; later they removed to the salt grass land and range country three miles
west of Ripon. At that time the land was
thought to be worthless for farming.
John Frederick had married in Iowa Miss Nancy Underwood, a daughter of Philip
Underwood, born in Iowa, and the Underwood’s accompanied the Fredericks to
California in 1860. Seven children were
born to this pioneer couple: Mary Ellen
resides at home; Flora, Mrs. Frank Stephenson, has two daughters and one son,
and are ranchers on the homestead near Ripon; Mrs. Birdina
Curtis resides in Ripon; Ida, Mrs. H. A. Buchanan, resides at Folsom, and has
four sons; Eliza, Mrs. John Garrison resides in Ripon and has four daughters and four sons; John
W., the subject of this sketch, and James W., resides with his wife in Modesto,
where he is engaged in the real estate business and ranching.
John Frederick homesteaded 160 acres
and purchased 160 acres, making 320 acres, which he farmed to grain; he also
raised considerable stock on his ranch.
He bought ten acres of timber land near Taylor’s Ferry on the Stanislaus
River, which is now owned by our subject.
John Frederick served as a school trustee of San Joaquin school district
until he passed away in 1885. The mother
and sons managed the ranch until 1896, when our subject took full charge of it
and leased other lands on which he raised large quantities of wheat and barley,
besides having considerable stock. In
1900 the original house built by his father more than a half century ago, was
replaced by a more commodious residence which stood for seventeen years and
then was destroyed by fire; three years later Mr. Frederick built his modern
residence where he and his family now reside.
The mother passed away in Ripon in 1916, and John W. became
administrator of the estate.
In 1920 John W. Frederick was
married to Miss Kathryn Nutt, a daughter and third child of thirteen children
born to Henry D. and Sarah M. (Hull) Nutt, natives of Indiana and Iowa,
respectively. Mr. Frederick purchased
the interests of all his brothers and sisters and owns the original 160 acres,
as well as the ten acres of timber land on the Stanislaus River, which his
father purchased so many years ago for the permanent home of the Frederick
family. The irrigation activities of San
Joaquin County has always found an ardent supporter in
Mr. Frederick and his influence for the advancement of his particular locality
has been given enthusiastically.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
947-948. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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