San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN F. LAYMAN
Of the hardy pioneers who settled in
the wilds of the Golden State in the early days none were more worthy than the
late John F. Layman, who passed away February 25, 1922, at the age of eighty-eight
years. He was born in Ohio, January 7,
1834, a son of John and Frances (Fry) Layman, who were farmer folk there. At Bloomfield, Iowa, March 19, 1861, Mr.
Layman was married to Miss Phoebe Dieffenbach, a native of Bavaria, Germany,
and a daughter of Katherine (Nauert) Dieffenbach, both born in Germany, and farmers there. When Phoebe was eight years old, her parents
left Germany for America. They first
settled in S. Louis, Missouri, where they remained only three months, and then
moved to Lee County, Iowa, and later to Davis County, where Phoebe met and
married John F. Layman. Mr. and Mrs.
Layman’s eldest son, Joseph, was born in Iowa, and when he was six months old
Mr. and Mrs. Layman started across the plains intending to go to the state of
Washington but en route they changed their minds and came to California,
arriving here in the spring of 1863 bringing with them two spans of
horses. The family traveled over the
central route through Utah and Nevada where the Union Pacific Railroad now runs. By chance they stopped at what is known as
the Fowler Ranch, southwest of Lodi, where Mr. Layman was asked, in keeping
with the early California hospitality, to remain a few days until his teams
were rested. It was during this period
that he made a trade with a man named William Spencer for 160 acres of land for
a span of his horses. The land was then
all covered with brush, so thick in places that a passage could hardly be
forced through it. West of his land,
however, there were more open places sprinkled with magnificent oak trees. As Mr. Layman’s ranch was covered with brush,
he leased several acres from a man named Wardrobe, who owned the land east of
his, and went into debt for seed barley at one dollar a bushel, purchased from
John Levinsky at the store in Woodbridge. His bill at the store this year was $700,
including seed and groceries, which at the end of the season he paid for in
full. He then purchased eighty acres
more of land at two dollars and fifty cents an acre. During this first year Mr. and Mrs. Layman
lived in a little rude cabin without a floor, and with the crude furniture of
the time. It was located near what is
now known as Sacramento Street on West Walnut Street. Mr. Layman in time came to own what is now
most of the western part of the city of Lodi, including 240 acres lying west of
what is now the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks and north of Lodi Avenue and
the Sargent Road. However, in 1867 he
sold his entire holdings to Allen Ayers for $6.50 an acre. He then removed to Merced County, and later
to Lake County, but finally came back to Lodi, where he leased 160 acres from
John Pope and raised a crop of barley.
Then he returned to Merced County and bought 500 acres of wheat
land. Mr. Layman crossed the plains, or
a good part of them, several times. He
was in the mining business in Colorado in 1859, and returned from there to Iowa
and was married. He passed away at his
home at 333 East Walnut Street, Lodi, on February 25, 1922, leaving his widow,
Mrs. Phoebe Layman, and six children.
Joseph D. Layman, librarian in the University of Nevada at Reno, is
married and has five boys: Randall, a
civil engineer of Los Angeles; Harold, a professor in the schools of Kansas;
Oliver, a C. E., residing in Los Angeles; Everett, an attorney in San
Francisco, and Theodore, at school; Harold, Oliver, and Everett were all in the
World War. Mary F. Layman, born in Lodi,
married Nathan Bartlett, who was a farmer near Ukiah. There Mr. Bartlett died, leaving a son,
William L. Bartlett, who served in the World War and is now in San
Francisco. Mrs. Bartlett resides on her
ranch in Ukiah. Edward Layman resides in
Ukiah. He is married and has two
children: Lawrence, also in the World
War, and Leona. Daniel Layman also lives
in Ukiah. Anna Elizabeth Layman became
the wife of J. M. McKisson, of Ukiah, and has a
child, Phoebe. Lulu N. Layman, the
youngest daughter, was born in Lakeport, California, and received her education
in the Ukiah and Merced grammar schools.
On August 9, 1904, she was married to James W. Hake, a native of
Wisconsin, who came to California in 1900.
They became the parents of four children: Mary Phoebe, now Mrs. Doster;
Lilly Elizabeth; and Ruby and Jewel, twins, deceased at the age of three
months. Mr. Hake is a carpenter by trade
and the family resides at 333 East Walnut Street, Lodi.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1023. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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