San Joaquin County
Biographies
RUFUS B.
& CHARLES H.
NEAL BROTHERS
NEAL BROTHERS, Rufus B. and
Charles H. - In writing the history of these gentlemen we will take them
together, as in fact they have always been inseparable and all their business
transactions are usually done together. There were originally three of them,
who came to this State together, one of whom, Joseph W. Neal, has since died.
The parents of these boys were Joseph, a native of Massachusetts, and Hannah
(Hutchinson) Neal, the latter a native of Middleton, Massachusetts. They made
their home in that State up to the time of their death. In their family were
ten children, five sons and five daughters. One of the daughters came here in
September, 1883, in a very delicate state of health and died about six weeks
afterward. Another of the family came here in 1869, when the Central Pacific
road was built, lived a year and a half and then died.
Rufus B. was born March 9,
1829, and Charles H. was born November 2, 1831. All the children were natives
of Salem, Massachusetts, where the parents resided. The three brothers attended
the same school in Salem. Rufus afterward learned the bricklaying trade, at which
he worked a while; Joseph was a carpenter by trade. After leaving school,
Charles took a trip to the eastern coast of Africa,
from where he had just returned when the gold excitement broke out. The boys
then concluded to cast their lots together and come to California after riches.
November 29, 1849, they sailed from Newburyport in the brig Ark. Captain Marsh,
around the Horn, and landed in San Francisco, May 6, 1850. They went to
Sacramento and thence to Salmon Falls on the South Fork of the American river.
The next season they went to Hangtown. They wanted to
go prospecting toward the north but the trouble with the Indians was then in
progress, Colonel Rogers having command of a regiment of troops. They
prospected in the mountains around Placerville for about two months with a
party of sixteen others on account of the Indians, then
they returned to Placerville. The following winter they built a cabin and spent
the winter below Mud Springs, working at mining.
The next spring they gave up
mining, came to this valley and took up a ranch, the one on which they now
live. They afterward went back to the diggings and worked out a lot of loose
dirt there. In the spring of 1853 they returned to this valley and extended
their claim by putting Joseph’s name in. The land was completely covered with
heavy timber and undergrowth of bushes. At that time the ranches were those of
Benedict and Staple. There was a post office at the latter place. Since that
time the population has been steadily increasing. Their ranch contains 500
acres, situated in Liberty Township, on the north bank of the Mokelumne river; it is fertile
land, well adapted to the raising of almost anything, but is principally
devoted to wheat. There is a fine orchard and vineyard. In the exciting times
of 1860, when Lincoln was elected, a convention was called and Charles Neal was
nominated and elected for the office of Constable. At that time a good reliable
man was required to hold the office, and probably no better choice could have
been made; Mr. Neal says it was the hardest work he ever did.
Politically they have always
been Republicans and are influential supporters of the party, both of them
being well informed both in local matters and the political and general history
of ancient and modern times. Joseph Neal died January 14, 1883.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 463-464. Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Biographies
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