San Joaquin County
Biographies
JAMES M. LEARNED
JAMES M. LEARNED, one of the
leading stock-raisers of San Joaquin valley, is a native of Hamden County, Massachusetts, where he was born March 5, 1817. He was raised and
educated in his native county, graduating from the high school of Springfield, and afterward attending the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Mass. The winter before he was seventeen years of age he
taught school at Enfield, Massachusetts, and later at Ludlow,
Hamden County. He then became a carpenter and an architect,
following that business until he came to this country. He purchased his ticket
in November, 1849, but could not get passage on account of the crowds that were
making their way westward, until January, at which time he was promised a
passage, but was obliged to lay over until February. The voyage was made by way
of Panama. On the Pacific side of the Isthmus they chartered an
English ship named Sarah Sands, but were detained six weeks on the Isthmus
before the ship came to take them, arrived in San Francisco last of May, came
direct to Stockton, paying $5 for his passage up the river. Here he hired a
pack-train and packed 7,000 pounds of provisions up to the middle fork of the
Calaveras river, but not being satisfied with the diggings there came back to
Stockton and followed the old trail to Sacramento, passing between the house
and barn where he now lives, to Long Bar, where he was quite successful at
mining until the rains drove him away. It commenced raining just at dark
September 25, 1850, and at 2:30 A. M. the water was
up to his armpits. He then fished his tools out of the water with his toes and
the next day every one wondered who it was that had pulled them out of the
water. He then went to Auburn, where it had been rumored that a party had the
previous year taken out $75,000. He took a look at the place, saw the large
hole they had made and noticed a clump of willows that grew on the edge of it.
He first dug a hole, 3 x 8, but did not obtain much. Then he dug up the bunch
of willows and found directly under them $1,500 in pieces, the smallest of
which was as large as a dollar piece.
January 1, 1851, he came to Sacramento,
fitted out with horse, provisions, etc., and started for Rich Bar, Feather
river, but on the way met
men who told of a rich place at Marysville, and he changed his course. On the
way to Scott Bar he met Lane, afterward the Governor of Oregon, so
they joined forces and both pushed on to the bar. When there they found that in
order to commence mining operations they would require heavy machinery, which
neither of them had, so gave up the project.
Mr. Learned then returned to Sacramento,
thence to Rich Bar, on the Feather river, where he took up a claim, but not
being successful he went to Downieville, where he purchased two claims paying
for each of them $1,000. After working them for about two months he sold them
out and started for Mariposa river, but stopped on the way at Nevada City, where he cast his first vote in this State, on the
admission of the State into the Union. Not being satisfied with the diggings at Mariposa,
and finding that the greasers were making more than the Americans, he became
disgusted and turned back. This was about the last of his mining experience.
He then went to San Francisco, where he built a house, intending to have it
finished by the time that his wife arrived, for whom he had sent. He bought a
small dairy of twenty-six cows, for which he paid $7,000, it being the first
that had been started in San Francisco. It proving to be very profitable he continued at it for two years. He
made the first cheese that had been made in this State, and it sold for one
dollar a pound. During all this time in all his transactions the partner and
companion of Mr. Learned’s was Henry P. Fales, who came out to this country
with him, and is now a resident of Madison, Wisconsin. After leaving the dairy business there he invested
in real estate, which he left in the hands of an agent. In 1854 he went back
East, spending some time at different places, finally going to Wisconsin,
remained there for six years, then found that the climate was too cold for his
health and returned to San Francisco in 1861 across the plains. He made his
home there until 1866, when he returned and went to Oakland, where he entered into the flouring business with a
Mr. Pendleton. In 1872 the mill was destroyed by fire. In 1871 Mr. Learned
purchased his property in this county in partnership with Sabin Harris, of Oakland. Including some subsequent purchases they had about
4,000 acres of land, part of which was tule land, purchased with the intention
of reclaiming and dividing it off into smaller lots. Their operations were
frustrated, however, by other parties turning water into the land, which
resulted in a litigation in the courts, which has been a heavy loss to Mr.
Learned. He has made his residence in San Joaquin County since 1872, and is now turning his attention to the
breeding of fine horses, a number of which are on the place where he lives.
Mr. Learned lost his wife, who died in the
winter of 1869. She was the mother of two children--Charles B., who is a
graduate of the State University, and Ella M., a graduate of the Stockton High
School and of the State
Normal at San Jose; for the past three years she has been teaching in
the public schools of the State.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 364-366. Lewis Pub.
Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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