San Joaquin County
Biographies
PETER F. JAHANT
PETER F. JAHANT is a native
of France, where he was born February 12, 1827, a son of Francis and Marian (Boquete) Jahant. When he was
about six weeks old his parents emigrated to Ohio and
settled in Akron; the mother is still residing there, at a very advanced age;
the father died in 1858. In their family there were eleven children, all of whom
are living, and the heads of families. Six reside in this county, namely:
Victor, a prominent farmer of Liberty Township; Louis, residing in Stockton;
Mary, widow of John B. Nye; Marian, wife of Robert Winters; and Louisa, wife of
C. A. Ashley, both of Stockton.
Peter was raised in Ohio. In
1850 he started for California March 11: he started by water for St. Joseph,
Missouri, from there crossed the plains with mule teams, arriving at
Weaverville, about the first of July, after a very rough, unpleasant trip. In
the party were three or four young men who wanted to go to Sacramento. Our
subject preferred to remain where he was and go to mining. He had only five
cents in his pockets, and one of the others offered him some money, but he
refused it, thinking that he could soon get work. After hunting for work all
day he began to feel hungry, and having nothing to eat, he finally determined to ask advice. Accordingly he went to one Dr. Sargent, of Sargent Bros., and
told him of his condition. Sargent, who kept store,
told Peter to help himself to whatever he wanted and pay for it when he was
able, as was the custom of the country. He took a little pork,
that had come all the way around
the Horn, some flour and a few other things, and started in to get his first meal.
In crossing the plains he had been a teamster and knew nothing of cooking. The
bread which he manufactured out of the flour would have been a novelty to the
epicureans of to-day. It as blue and sticky, and he, not being accustomed to
bread of his own baking, could hardly eat it. The next morning he took a few
tools and asked Sargent where he should dig; upon
being told “out there, anywhere,” he went to work, worked hard all day and
earned $1. The second day $2, and on the fourth day $4; about that time an old
Californian came along and asked him why he worked so hard, telling him that he
would make himself sick. He also offered to take him with him and do better by
him than he was doing for himself. Peter went and the result was an ounce a day
and only four hours work. He mined about two months, then went to Sacramento,
bought a team, and went to teaming, which he followed a month and six weeks,
when he was taken with cholera, the expense of which took all his hard earning
and also his mule team, and when he recovered he found himself again penniless.
After that he returned to mining on the north Yuba until the stormy wet winter
of 1852-’53, which closed his mining experience. He returned to Sacramento,
which he found inundated, and finally came to this county, settling on the
place where his brother Victor lives, taking up
Government land. In 1865 he sold the place to his brother and went to Stockton,
where he bought a livery stable, in which business he continued till 1871. He
then returned to his old neighborhood and bought the ranch where he now lives.
He has in all 540 acres of valuable land, which is under the highest state of
improvement. His handsome residence was erected in 1885 at a cost of about
$5,250, and it formed a most comfortable home. He is one of our most successful
farmers, and carries on the business with the most improved methods.
In former years he was a
Democrat, but since the war has been a supporter of the Republican party, yet does not take much active interest in political
matters generally.
He was married in 1867, in
Stockton, to Miss Susan Maley, who was of Irish
descent, raised in Boston. They have eight children, namely: George, Frances,
Charles, Martha, Adeline, Lizzie, Susan and Carrie.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 467-468. Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
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