San
Joaquin County
Biographies
ROBERT PROUD
A successful rancher and the ditch
tender of twenty-four miles of canal for the upper division of the South San
Joaquin Irrigation District in San Joaquin County, Robert Proud has become well
and favorably known in the Manteca section.
He was born at Bingley, Lancashire, England, June 7, 1869, the son of
Matthew and Elizabeth Proud, the former still living in England, but the latter
died in August, 1922. Robert received a
good education and learned the trade of textile worker in his native land,
being employed in woolen mills until he became an expert weaver. In 1891 he left home and came to America,
traveling on the Etruria to New York; soon he located in Lawrence,
Massachusetts, and easily found work in the woolen mills of that section and
spent eighteen years at the trade. It
was while there that Mr. Proud became an American citizen in 1898; and he was
president of the Sons of St. George and exalted chief ranger of the A. O.
F. In many ways he showed his loyalty to
his adopted country and gained a host of friends.
In 1908 Mr. Proud decided to come west
and after his arrival here he worked in the Stockton Woolen Mills for a
year. In 1909 he made a purchase of
twenty acres of raw land in the Summer Home district in San Joaquin County,
improved the same with good buildings and put the land in alfalfa and has since
operated a dairy ranch. From 1909 to
1912 he was employed as a pumper in the Kern River oil fields and then came
back to take up his ranch duties and became ditch tender and ever since has qualified
for his responsible position to the satisfaction of all concerned.
On November 28, 1891, Mr. Proud was
married to Miss Margaret Ellen Holmes Duerden, a
friend of his boyhood, and she has shared with him the trials and joys of life
in the United States. They had two
children: Charles Richard died in
England while Mrs. Proud was visiting there.
The other is Richard T., who has been manager of the home ranch since
1918. Mrs. Proud’s
parents were Charles and Alice Duerden, the latter
living at Methuen, Massachusetts, and the former died in 1900 in England. Richard T. is an Odd Fellow and belongs to
the local Farm Bureau, as does his father.
In 1896 Mrs. Proud made a visit of several months in England, and again
in 1900 she made a trip to her native land.
Mr. Proud made two trips, in 1897 and in 1902, and also enjoyed renewing
acquaintances with old friends. Mr.
Proud and family are Republicans and are ardent boosters of San Joaquin County.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1492-1493. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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