San
Joaquin County
Biographies
FREEMAN B. MILLS
A representative viticulturist of
the Lodi section of San Joaquin County, Freeman B. Mills was born on the ranch
where he now resides, near Woodbridge, on March 28, 1860. He is a son of Freeman and Minerva (Grace) Mills,
the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Massachusetts. The mother’s people date back to the
Revolutionary War period. His father
came to California in 1853, across the plains from Illinois, and was engaged
for a time in mining gold in Sierra County and then in business in Colusa
county. In 1857 he came to San Joaquin
County and located at Woodbridge and bought a squatter’s title to eighty acres;
later he added another eighty acres adjoining.
In time he became an extensive grain farmer and was thus engaged until
his death on September 20, 1875, at the age of 63 years. He was a prominent man in San Joaquin County,
and for one term he served in the office of sheriff of the county. He was a charter member of Jefferson Lodge,
I. O. O. F., at Woodbridge, and was generally public-spirited and enterprising
in all that concerned the welfare of his county. The mother survived her husband about twenty
years and passed away at the age of eighty-two years. There were six children in the family, as
follows: William G., deceased; Mary L.,
Mrs. Barron of Lodi; Mrs. Charity S. Kincaid, deceased; George A., deceased;
Alice G., Mrs. Taylor of Los Angeles; and Freeman B., of this sketch.
Freeman B. Mills was reared in his
native county, and was fifteen years old when his father died, after which for
several years he remained at home and assisted his mother in the conduct of the
home place. He began his education in
the public schools of Woodbridge; then attended the Los Angeles Academy, which
the next year became the University of Southern California; then in 1881 he was
graduated from the University of the Pacific at San Jose with the degree of B.
S. He then returned to Stockton where he
received his diploma for teaching, and first taught at the Salem school, the
only school in Lodi, two terms; then in the Woodbridge grammar school for three
years, and two years at the Houston district school. Since then he has been exclusively engaged in
his present absorbing pursuit of grape culture, in which he has gained fine
success.
Mr. Mills was married August 11,
1885, to Miss Carrie C. Ellis, of Lodi, a daughter of the late Ralph Ellis of
that place. Her father was a former sheriff
and member of the board of supervisors of Napa County, and was prominent in
state politics and also one of the pioneers of California, coming to the state
about the same time as the father of our subject. Mrs. Mills received her education in Napa
Seminary, a private school for girls.
She is one of a family of five children:
Wilson R.; Frank, at Stockton with the Morris Plan Bank; Henry; Carrie
C., Mrs. Mills; Mrs. Margaret E. Porter of Woodland. Ralph Ellis lived to be sixty-five years old
and his widow survived him until 1921.
Mr. and Mrs. Mills are the parents of two children: Everts F., a
rancher at Lodi, and Ralphine. When Mr. Mills started his agricultural
pursuits he owned thirty-five acres of unimproved wheat land. About thirty years ago he set this to table
grapes and was among the first men to plant a vineyard in the Lodi section for
commercial purposes. From time to time
he added to his holdings until he now owns and operates 250 acres in bearing
vineyard in the Lodi and Woodbridge sections.
Mr. Mills has installed a thorough irrigation system, the entire 250
acres being piped with concrete water main.
About three years ago Mr. Mills built a modern two-story stucco house on
his ranch in the suburbs of Lodi. In
1921, Mr. Mills was interested in organizing the Woodbridge Fruit Company, of
which he is president; this company purchased 400 acres of land lying due north
of Lockeford on the north side of the Mokelumne River, one-half of which is
rich bottom land. They have improved the
tract until it is nearly all in vineyard and peach orchard. Mr. Mills was the organizer and now serves as
president of the Rio Oso Fruit Company that recently
purchased 900 acres of grain land on the Bear River near Wheatland. This land is under development; over one-half
of it has already been set to peach trees, and the intention is to have it all
set out by 1924. Mr. Mills is a member
of the board of directors and is secretary of the California Fruit Exchange at
Sacramento since its reorganization about twenty years ago, and a director in
the Citizens National Bank of Lodi. In
politics he is a Republican, and fraternally is a member of Woodbridge Lodge
No. 131, F. & A. M., and is a past master of the lodge.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
983. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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