San Joaquin County
Biographies
GEORGE R.
GARRETSON
An early settler who has seen much
of California grow from a wilderness and his is, therefore, a natural lover of
the Golden State, is George R. Garretson, a resident of San Joaquin County for
the past thirty-seven years. He was born
at Bedford, Pennsylvania, on April 28, 1845, a son of Aaron and Hannah (Miller)
Garretson, both natives of Pennsylvania, whose ancestors were pioneers in that
state, all engaged in farming pursuits.
His father passed away in 1848 and George grew up on the home farm, the
youngest in a family of ten children.
The mother lived to be ninety-two years old.
George R. attended the district
schools of the county and grew to young manhood on the farm. At the outbreak of the Civil War he
volunteered for services in Company H, 55th Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry; later he served in Company G, 101st Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry, and was a member of the Army of the Potomac. He served under Generals Grant and Butler,
and during April, 1862, was at Yorktown under General McClellan. On September 29, 1864, he was wounded at
Chapin’s Farm, near Richmond, and was sent to Fortress Monroe and then to New
York; then was granted a furlough to go home to Iowa, whither his mother and
family had removed and settled near Cedar Rapids. He left New York with twenty-five cents in
his pocket for Iowa on furlough, during which time he had the great privilege
of casting his first vote for Lincoln in 1864; he then returned to his regiment
and was at Appomattox Court House when Lee surrendered; he was also in the
Battle of Williamsburg and the Seven Days’ Battle. During September, 1865, he was discharged at
Richmond and was mustered out of service at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he
had enlisted. Returning to his home in
Iowa he remained there until December 28, 1869, when he was married to Miss Lavinia C. Lanning, a native of Ohio, a daughter of Martin
Lanning, who had removed to Iowa when she was two years old. Martin Lanning became an extensive farmer of
Iowa.
After their marriage the young
people removed to Phillips County, Kansas, and preempted a quarter-section of
land; later he bought a section of school land; his entire farm holdings
amounting to about 800 acres. Here he
engaged in general farming and stock raising for five
years, during which time he conducted a butcher shop in Phillipsburg. In 1874 he made a trip to California, but it
was not until 1885 that he brought his family to reside permanently in the Golden
State. He first settled at Woodbridge,
remaining there for one and a half years, when he settled in Lockeford, where
he has continuously resided. He
purchased a twenty-acre ranch about one mile from Lockeford on the Stockton
Road, on which he raises alfalfa and stock.
Twenty-six years ago he was elected justice of the peace of Lockeford
and has served in that capacity ever since to the entire satisfaction of the
people of the community. During his
tenure of office he has received eight notarial commissions from eight
different California governors. His
years of active service as an official have been the most enjoyable of his life
and his duties have been performed with a faithfulness and thoroughness
characteristic of all his actions. Three
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Garretson: Elveda, Mrs. Hevey of Brentwood, has one son, Edward, a teacher at
Stanford University; Lulu is Mrs. Reynolds, of Los Angeles; Rolla Lee is
principal of the Lafayette grammar school in Stockton. Mr. Garretson as a Republican has taken an
active interest in national politics, and has always worked hard for civic
improvements. Fraternally he is a member
of the Masonic order of Lodi.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page 1534. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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