San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MRS. MARY CECELIA JACOBSEN
A native daughter who is giving of
her best efforts towards building up and developing her county, Mrs. Mary
Cecelia Jacobsen was born on the Selby ranch near Redwood City, San Mateo
County, a daughter of Edmund and Sarah (McSorley) Elligott, born in Limerick, Ireland, and New York
respectively. Her father came to
Minnesota as a lad and when sixteen came to California via Panama. For a time he followed mining and then coming
to San Jose he was married to Sarah McSorley.
Her parents, James and Mary (Martin) McSorley, born in County Tyrone,
Ireland, had come to Oneida County, New York, where the daughter, Sarah, was
born and there the father died. The
mother then in 1862 came via Panama with the children and she spent the
remainder of her days in San Juan. Of
the six children in the McSorley family there is only one, Dan McSorley, now
living, and he resides on his ranch adjoining Mrs. Jacobsen.
Mr. Elligott
was foreman of the Selby ranch in San Mateo County, later for Alexander Groghan at Palo Alto.
He removed to San Juan, San Benito County, and purchased a sixty acre
ranch; engaging in fruit raising. Selling out, he purchased a wheat ranch, a
part of the Curran ranch at Gilroy, and when he sold that he moved to Petaluma,
where he followed farming and dairying.
He came to Stockton in 1880 and in 1881 he purchased 119-1/2 acres and
later 27-1/2 more from John Tretheway, and on his 177 acre ranch he farmed
until his death, March 5, 1908. The
mother had passed away October 21, 1895.
Mary Cecelia, their only child,
completed her education in the Petaluma high school, coming to Stockton in
1880. She was married in St. Mary’s
Church October 3, 1893, to Jacob Jacobsen, a native of Denmark, born December
18, 1860, whose father, Louis, was a farmer, and there Mr. Jacobsen was reared
and educated. When eighteen years of age
he came to New York State, later removing to Kansas, whence he came to
California. Mr. Jacobsen inherited the Elligott ranch and after their marriage they engaged in
farming the place.
The Jacobsen ranch is devoted to
grain, hay and fruits, some of the acreage being devoted to raising table
grapes. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen’s union
has been bless with two children: Louis
E., a graduate of St. Mary’s College and Heald’s Business College, is now
engaged in viticulture and in buying and shipping grapes, as well as managing
his mother’s ranch. Edmund D. entered service
in the World War, June 3, 1918, and was sent to the recruiting barracks at
Angel Island and afterwards to Camp Johnston, Florida, and then transferred to
Newport News and at Camp Hill served in the 312th Remount Squadron. Three weeks later he was sent to Brest,
France, where he continued in the service in remount work. During his seven months of service in France
he was in the Meuse-Argonne offensive and upon the termination of hostilities
his regiment was sent into Germany as a part of the Army of Occupation, and his
particular company was stationed about seventeen kilometers west of
Coblenz. During the Meuse-Argonne
offensive he received a slight shrapnel wound from
which later blood poisoning set in and it took three months’ treatment in the
hospital before the infection was eradicated.
Returning to the United States, he received his honorable discharge at
Mitchell Field, Long Island, as a private first class. After his discharge he returned to Stockton
and for two years was employed with the Holt Manufacturing Company and then he
entered his present position with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He was married September 17, 1919, to Miss
Blanche Duncan, a daughter of Charles H. and Ethel (Tupper) Duncan, of Linden,
and they have a lovely daughter, Meredith, who is the pride of Grandmother
Jacobsen. For some years Mrs. Jacobsen
was a member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Loyal Order of Moose. In national politics she is a Republican.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
847-848. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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