San
Joaquin County
Biographies
ANSEL WILLIAM POST
A worthy representative of the
native sons of the state, one who has been closely identified with the welfare
of their community is Ansel William Post, a lifelong resident of San Joaquin County
and a prosperous farmer and vineyardist, having a productive twenty-five acre
ranch five miles south of Lodi on Cherokee Lane. He was born on his father’s ranch about six
miles north of Stockton on April 29, 1892, a son of Frank and Cora (Ralph) Post.
Grandfather William H. Post was born
at Southampton, L. I., New York, on March 18, 1821, and at the age of nineteen
shipped before the mast of the whaling vessel Nimrod, bound for the Indian
Ocean. The vessel was filled with oil
within thirteen months and then returned to port at Sag Harbor, L. I., his next
voyage was on the bark Gem and the lad was given the position of boat steerer, and this trip covered a period of eleven months
and they returned with 3,200 barrels of oil; his third voyage was on the ship
Illinois, sailing from Sag Harbor to the Siberian Coast, being out eighteen
months and returning with 3,000 barrels of oil’ his next voyage was on the same
ship as second officer, bound for the same place and the ship returned with
about 2,500 barrels of oil. Upon his
return to Long Island he heard of the discovery of gold in California. He helped organize a company and they bought
the Sabina, a full-rigged vessel, and with a few passengers, set sail from Sag
Harbor on February 9. After being out
three days they encountered a severe storm, which damaged their ship, buy by
skillful management the vessel was brought safely through, and they made such
repairs as they could arriving at St. Catherine, on the coast of South America,
where they stopped and gave the ship a general overhauling and on August 9,
1849, reached San Francisco. The company
which they had formed was a joint stock company and it was agreed that all were
to stay together and work for the interests of the company. They had a large stock of provisions, which
they intended to sell. During the three
days they stopped in San Francisco they had trouble in keeping the crew
together; finally they procured a pilot and sailed up the bay to the mouth of
the San Joaquin River. Theirs was the
first three-master that, up to that time, had come up so far. While opposite the fort of Benicia they were
fired upon and compelled to lay to; some of the goods
were taken to Sacramento in small boats, with most of the crew, leaving a few
behind to look after the ship. At
Sacramento they bought a six-mule team and went up to the mines. Grandfather Post was left behind on the banks
of the river. One day he was taken
violently ill and as the days went by and he did not improve, he finally took
passage on a ship bound for the Sandwich Islands, where he completely
recovered. From the Islands he took the
position of officer on the ship Deucalion, bound for Australia. After being loaded with her cargo, she sailed
for San Francisco. Grandfather Post made
only one voyage after that. In March,
1850, he started for the mines where he spent about a year and a half. In 1853 he settled on the ranch, containing
300 acres, situated on the Cherokee Lane Road, where he resided until his
death. The ranch was then passed to his
two sons, Fred Post and Frank Post, the latter being the father of our subject.
The maternal grandfather, C. R.
Ralph, was born and reared in Vermont and at the age of seventeen went to live
in Michigan, residing there until he was of age. In 1849 he arrived in California with his
family and engaged in farming, stockraising and trading until 1856, when he
returned to Michigan with his family on a visit. After spending a short time in Michigan they
came back to California by the overland route and settled in San Joaquin
County, where he followed farming until he was elected to the position of
county assessor, which he filled for two terms to the entire satisfaction of
the public. He passed away September 17,
1882.
Frank Post was married in 1889 and
there were four children in the family:
Constance, Ansel William, the subject of this sketch, Ralph resides at
Lodi, and Warren, deceased. The father
passed away in 1899 and the mother still resides on a portion of the old Post
place. The father was a member of the
Knights of Pythias of Stockton.
Ansel William Post attended the Live
Oak, Stockton and Lodi grammar schools.
After his father’s death in May, 1899, the family moved to Stockton,
where they remained for three years, then returned to the home ranch where the
mother had built a house on the 150 acres, her portion of the old Post
ranch. After her husband’s death, she
sold seventy-five acres and then divided the remaining seventy-five into three
parts, the mother keeping the twenty-five acres with the house, buildings and
bearing twelve-year old vineyard and she gave her son Ralph twenty-five acres
and our subject twenty-five acres. Both
brothers have developed their property with irrigation plants and have planted
a portion of their land to vineyard.
Ralph Post married Jean Villinger and they have a daughter Isabel; he is
a member of the Masonic Lodge of Lodi and both brothers are Republicans.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
511-512. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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