San Joaquin County
Biographies
JOSEPH PUTNAM
JOSEPH PUTNAM, farmer of
Elliott township, San Joaquin County, was born in
Windsor County, Vermont, April 13, 1823. His father and mother died when he was
seven years old and he made his home with his grandfather, until he too died;
he then went to his uncle in Charleston, New Hampshire, where he lived until
nineteen years of age. He then went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was
employed by Boyd & Beard, who were in the bottling business, bottling all
varieties of liquors. He worked for them until twenty-five years of age, then came to California by water, on the ship Pharasalia, arriving in San Francisco, where he remained
but a short time. He took a row-boat to Stockton and went from there to the
mines, where he worked until 1850. Then he and a man named F. Lowern took up land on the Mokelumne
river. He sold out in 1851 and visited the States. On
his return he bought 160 acres of land, a part of his old claim. At the present
time he owns 380 acres of bottom land in Elliott Township, also 800 acres in
Tulare Township, where his son, Joseph F., has control of the land. On his old
homestead he has about forty acres of bearing fruit trees and raises fine
fruit, which he ships to Stockton and San Francisco. For a number of years he
gathered and sent fruit to the State Fair. He was the first man to raise hops
in this county.
He married Mary A. Fletcher, and they have nine children, namely: Nellie, wife of L. Athern; Joseph F., Lucy, wife of Wm. E. Whipple; William S., Edwin E., Mary, the wife of Wm. Siegel; Lora, Benjamin and Jennie. Mr. Putnam belongs to the Society of California Pioneers, and is a member of the Congregational church at Lockeford.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Page 400. Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
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