San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MRS. REBECCA J. IVORY
For sixty-nine years Mrs. Rebecca J.
Ivory has been a resident of San Joaquin County, where she has witnessed the
transformation from a barren stretch of sand to its present high state of
development. She was born in
Steubenville, Ohio, August 3, 1846, a daughter of Sylvester V. and Isabelle
Tredway, natives of Tennessee and Ohio.
Sylvester V. Tredway first came across the plains from Ohio to
California in 1849 and engaged in mining and conducted trading posts for four
years, though he made his headquarters on his ranch. Then he returned to Ohio and the following
year, 1854, brought his family across the plains and on September 9 they
located southwest of what is now Lodi, on what is known as the old Tredway
ranch which had been purchased in 1850.
In 1852 an uncle, James Tredway, sailed around Cape Horn to
California. Sylvester V. Tredway became
a partner of David Kettleman, owning at one time about 9,000 acres in San
Joaquin County, besides a large tract of land in Fresno County; he also had an
interest in mines at Winter’s Bar, where he conducted
a store across the river from Lancha Plano.
The father and his brother James, always close partners, established a
number of butcher shops, one as far north as Volcano, and these shops were supplied
with meat from the Tredway ranch; they also sold a large amount of meat to
Miller & Lux. On account of his
large land holdings and the vast herds of cattle, the father was obliged to
employ many men and he was noted the country over for his
humanitarianism. If a man was injured
while in the discharge of his duty, he was made comfortable and was given every
care until he recovered. His great
kindness was rewarded by faithful service of his many employees. Two Mexicans were so devoted to the family
that they would have given their lives to protect Mrs. Tredway and the children
from harm. Mrs. Ivory is the only one
living of her family, George W. and William H., her brothers, both having
passed away.
Rebecca J. Tredway received her
first schooling in the school at Lancha Plano.
Every morning her two brothers and two cousins, children of James
Tredway, and herself were ferried across the river from their home at Winter’s Bar to school and returned home in the same manner
in the evening. A schoolhouse was
finally built at the place now known as the Burton Town Corners, south of
Woodbridge, and Rebecca used to ride eight miles on horseback to school; a few
years later the Henderson school was built and still later the Lafayette school
was built and she only had about three miles to go to school; she also attended
school in Stockton and finished her education at Hunt’s Seminary in Stockton.
On November 1, 1870, Miss Rebecca J.
Tredway was married to Charles Oscar Ivory, a native of Smithville, New York,
born March 8, 1834, a son of Horace and Miralda
Ivory, a pioneer New York family. In
1853 Charles Ivory came to California and settled in Stockton where he remained
until 1867 when he removed to Woodbridge and engaged in business with John M.
Burt. In 1868 the business was moved to
Lodi, where he built the first business block and was the first merchant; later
the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Ivory continued in the general
merchandise business until in 1886, when he sold out. He passed away in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Ivory owned a beautiful home,
consisting of a half block on Elm and School streets, on which was a fine
two-story house, surrounded by a rose garden and all kinds of flowering shrubs
and for many years was a show place of Lodi. Mrs. Ivory disposed of her home
when her husband died, although she has continued to live in Lodi. Mr. Ivory was a charter member and past
master of the Masonic Lodge in Lodi and belonged to the Royal Arch chapter in
Stockton, and was also a charter member of the Odd Fellows in Lodi. Mr. and
Mrs. Ivory were the parents of the following children: Sylvester Horace died at the age of two years
and two months; Carrie Bell, Mrs. Warren Hull, resides in Hoquiam, Washington,
the mother of three children, Beatrice Ivory, Dorothy and Charles; George
Oscar; Edith King is Mrs. Frank Henning, who makes her home with her mother;
and Edna Louisa, a trained nurse, died in 1918.
Mrs. Ivory is a charter member of the Eastern Star and Rebekah lodges of
Lodi and is a past noble grand of the Rebekah lodge, and served as treasurer
for nineteen consecutive years and has filled all the other offices of the
lodge except secretary; she was also the first treasurer of the Lodi Chapter of
the Eastern Star. Mrs. Ivory has reached
the age of seventy-six years, alert in mind and agile in body, and it is indeed
a pleasure to hear her relate experiences of early days.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
587. 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