San
Joaquin County
Biographies
LELAND MEYER
A foremost rancher of the Delta
district, Leland Meyer is a pioneer and a son of a pioneer of this section of
the state. His residence and home ranch
consists of 509 acres on Roberts Island, and not only have his diligent efforts
rewarded him in material circumstances but he has also acquired a position of
esteem and public worth among his fellow citizens and business associates. He was born September 8, 1866, on the Meyer
homestead, seven and a half miles south of Stockton. The father, Andrew Meyer, came to California
as a pioneer of 1849, and was among the first to establish the fact that
California offers great opportunities to the agriculturist. He was a native of Canton Aargau, Switzerland,
born on October 23, 1823. His father
also bore the name of Andrew Meyer, and was of Swiss parentage and
ancestry. He brought his family to
America in 1829, the family locating in Seneca County, Ohio, where Andrew
Meyer, the father of our subject, was reared to manhood and made his home until
he came to California.
Attracted by the discovery of gold
on the Pacific Coast, Mr. Meyer left his Ohio home and came to California,
making the journey across the plains in 1849 with mule teams. He engaged in mining and freighting, which he
followed until 1852, when he returned east via Panama. In the fall of 1852 he again crossed the
plains to California with ox teams, bringing both horses and cattle. He made his way direct to San Joaquin County
and settled on a farm near the present site of Lathrop and was among the first
settlers in this locality. Here he began
the development of his 600-acre farm, transforming the land into richly
cultivated fields, while he also raised good grades of stock. He was one of the pioneers in the
agricultural development of this part of the state, and his efforts resulted in
producing a fine and highly improved farm.
On February 26, 1861, Mr. Meyer was
married to Miss Cynthia Cooley, a native of Seneca County, Ohio, a daughter of
Orange and Mary (Pettis) Cooley, the former a native of New York and the latter
of Massachusetts. Orange Cooley was a
pioneer of Seneca County, Ohio, settling there prior
to his marriage and taking an active part in the early development. Three sons were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Meyer: Leland, the subject of this
review; Arthur, and Andrew C. Andrew
Meyer passed away August 24, 1898, at his home where for many years he was an honored
and respected citizen. His widow
survived him until May 25, 1921, then over eighty years and six months of age.
Leland Meyer attended the Lathrop
grammar school until he was fifteen years old and from that time on worked on
his father’s farm and stock ranch. In
1892 he purchased seventy acres on the upper division of Roberts Island, one
and a half miles from the Brandt Bridge and the same year the reclamation
district No. 544 was founded. The work
of building levees was started at once and for twenty consecutive years, Mr.
Meyer was superintendent and trustee of the district. He was superintendent four years and trustee
sixteen years and was chairman a part of the time. By the capable management of his business
affairs he has added to his holdings from time to time until he now has 509
acres of productive land. Mr. Meyer
irrigates his land in the fall of the year by flooding, plants wheat and barley
in November and December, and by the latter part of May harvest begins and
continues until the middle of August. He
has experimented until he has found that Early Bart wheat produces the heaviest
crop.
The marriage of Mr. Meyer occurred
on May 11, 1892, at Sacramento, and united him with Miss Abbie E. Snapp, a native of Banta, California. Her father, Rufus Snapp,
was born in Tennessee, coming to California in an early day when he was a young
man, locating first at Woodbridge and there he married Miss Nancy Cain, whose
parents, George and Martha Abigail Cain, brought their family across the plains
when Nancy was a girl; she lived to be a very aged woman, passing away in this county
at the age of ninety-eight. The father
is also deceased. Abbie R. was the
eldest of their five children, four of whom are living. She was reared and educated in Sacramento and
has been of much assistance and encouragement to her husband in gaining his
ambition. The fortunate union of Mr. and
Mrs. Meyer has been blessed with six children:
Herbert L. served with the Eleventh Aero Squadron, A. E. F., going
overseas with the first 100,000 troops in 1917, serving until May, 1919, when
he returned and received his honorable discharge. He is married, has one son, and resides in
Stockton; Robert A. served with the Quartermaster’s Department in the A. E. F.,
is a rancher assisting his father and is a member of the Native Sons of the
Golden West at Stockton; Joseph L.; La Verne; Wilma and Irene are students in
the Stockton high school. In politics
Mr. Meyer is a Republican and for seven years served as a school trustee of the
Garden district. Mrs. Meyer has also
served as a school trustee in her district.
In matters of citizenship Mr. Meyer is progressive and takes a helpful
part in promoting the progress of the county which has been his home all his
life and where he is numbered among the honored citizens.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
796-799. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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