San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN D. GILGERT
One of the pioneer families in the
Golden State is that which now finds a worthy representative in San Joaquin
County in John D. Gilgert, who is also a native son of the county where he has
resided all of his life. He was born on
the Gilgert homestead near Collegeville, May 30, 1864. His father, John G. Gilgert, was born in 1826
in Germany and in 1847 came to New York where he followed his trade of
wheelwright in Herkimer County until 1852.
He came to California via Cape Horn and from San Francisco came to
Stockton where he worked in a blacksmith shop until 1860 when he moved to
Collegeville and located on a farm of forty-eight acres, a portion of the Dan Kitchings ranch. The
blacksmith shop opposite the Kerrick Tavern, or
Eight-Mile House, on the Mariposa Road was conducted by a close friend by the
name of John Aust and Mr. Gilgert bought him out and
moving the shop to his farm, made wagons, carriages, farm implements and tools;
his products and workmanship were known far and wide and at the present time
his wagons can be found on many of the neighboring ranches. In 1857 he was married to Miss Sybella Martenstein, a native of
Germany, who came to California in 1852.
They were the parents of six children of whom John D. is the eldest
son. Since he was twenty-five years old
J. G. Gilgert had been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and in 1883
he passed away at the family home. His
wife now makes her home with her son John D., or subject, who obtained his education
in the public school at Collegeville and at the age of eight years, was set to
work doing odd jobs around his father’s shop and learned the trade. When he was twenty-three years old he located
near Oakdale where he farmed for eight years and on his return to San Joaquin
County he farmed the Jack ranch for twelve years.
In 1888 Mr. Gilgert was married to
Miss Christina Rapps, a native of Wisconsin, who came
to California in 1885. Her sister
Adaline married a brother of our subject and they reside in Stockton. Mr. and Mrs. Gilgert are the parents of six
children: Birdie is a graduate of the
Stockton high school, the San Jose State Normal, Los Angeles Bible Institute
and is at present doing missionary work at Sells, Arizona, among the Indians;
Walter, an engineer, married Miss Mabel Morris and they have three children;
Anna is a stenographer for the Western Electric Company at Oakland; Carlton
married Miss Chrystal Yandell and has two daughters
and is associated with his father in business; George R. married Hazel Ward of
Madera County, and is also interested with his father in business; Lillian is a
graduate of the Stockton high school.
About ten years ago Mr. Gilgert purchased the property on the northeast
corner of Jack Tone and Mariposa roads and remodeled the buildings on the place
and opened the Collegeville store, handling groceries and meats. He conducts three meat routes in the county,
one route covering a distance of seventy miles.
For twenty years Mr. Gilgert was a trustee of the Collegeville School
District. He is now deputy county clerk
and holds the office of registration clerk.
He is a Republican in politics.
He joined Oakdale Lodge of Odd Fellows in 1891 and became past grand;
about ten years later he transferred his membership to Truth Lodge No. 55 at
Stockton and with his wife is a member of Rainbow degree, Lodge of Rebekahs, of
which his daughter Lillian is also a member.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1332. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases