San
Joaquin County
Biographies
WILLIAM JAMES REYNOLDS
Among the pioneer families of San
Joaquin County is that which now finds a representative in William James
Reynolds, who have ever borne their part in the building up and development of
the county, and all members of the family have been citizens of progress and
liberal ideas upon all subjects. He was
born near Lathrop, March 31, 1863, on what was known as the Howell Ranch, which
adjoined the Elkhorn Ranch, so called from the fact that many elk horns were
found on the ranch in early days of pioneer development. William James Reynolds is the eldest son of
Richard Reynolds, born in Indiana, March 20, 1833. His parents migrated to Wisconsin, and there
their son was reared and schooled. He
married Miss Elizabeth Hall, a native of Grant County, Wisconsin, a daughter of
William and Priscilla (Warfield) Hall, the former born near Bowling Green,
Kentucky, and the latter in Missouri, and they crossed the plains to California
in 1861. Richard Reynolds purchased 160
acres in the environs of East Union, near Lathrop, and the ranch was a
well-known landmark of the county. The
father passed away in 1915, the mother surviving him until February, 1922.
William James Reynolds received his
education in the East Union district schools, then
worked on his father’s ranch until 1891, when he went to the mines in Mariposa
County. He mined and prospected in
Fresno, El Dorado, Plumas and Sierra counties for a period of fifteen years,
and in 1910 returned to this county, where he has since been employed as
towerman for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company at French Camp.
The marriage of Mr. Reynolds
occurred at Merced, which united him with Miss Annie E. Jack, a daughter of
William Jack and a granddaughter of Captain Moss, all prominent in pioneer
circles of Stockton’s early history.
William Jack married Elizabeth A. De Laney, who came to California in
1868. Mrs. Reynolds was born at
Stockton, but reared and schooled at French Camp. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds are the parents of
seven children: Annie Elizabeth; Rose
M.; Eldridge R.; Edna and Ella are twins; John E.; and William J., Jr. Both Mr. Reynolds and his wife have a wide
acquaintance in San Joaquin County, and Mrs. Reynolds takes an active part in
civic affairs at French Camp.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1502-1503. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases