San
Joaquin County
Biographies
ALBERT F. RODGERS
Among the active representatives of
the viticultural industry in San Joaquin County, is Albert F. Rodgers. About three miles northeast of Lodi he has a
vineyard of twenty-seven acres, where he resides when not looking after his
rental property in Pacific Grove, California.
He was born at Jenny Lind, Calaveras County, California, on August 23,
1859, the youngest of a family of four children of Joseph A. and Marry Ann
(Milliken) Rodgers. Joseph A. Rodgers
was a native of Holland who came to the United States and settled in Maine;
then in 1852 he came around the Horn to California, and two years later the
mother came. The father mined at Rich
Gulch, east of Jenny Lind, for some time, and then opened a hotel, called the
Fremont House in Jenny Lind; meantime he pre-empted a quarter-section of land
adjacent to the town. Their family
consisted of four children: Joseph, who
died in Boston, Massachusetts; Amanda, deceased; Anna, deceased; and Albert F.,
of this review.
Albert F. Rodgers received his
education in the district schools of Calaveras County, and remained on his
father’s ranch until his parents passed away; then the ranch was sold in
1909. After leaving the ranch, Mr.
Rodgers worked on the Calaveras River dredges for the next four years, and then
at Folsom for a short time, after which he decided to go back to farming. Removing to the vicinity of Lodi, he
purchased his present ranch of twenty-seven acres located near Dougherty
Station on the traction line, all in vineyard, with the exception of a few
acres surrounding the house and outbuildings.
Modern equipment is found upon the place, and everything about the ranch
is attractive in appearance. Mr. Rodgers
divides his time between his ranch property in San Joaquin County and his
residence and other property in Pacific Grove, California.
Mr. Rodgers’ first marriage occurred
at Elliott, California, in the fall of 1884, and united him with Miss Lilly
Dustin, a native of San Joaquin County, California, born on the old Dustin
ranch, a daughter of Fornatus and Rosaline (Call)
Dustin. Fornatus
Dustin first settled in San Bernardino County, California, and farmed there
until 1858; then he went to Utah for a short time, but in 1859 returned to
California. In 1861 he settled in
Stockton, where he engaged in teaming for six years, and in 1867 settled on the
place now occupied by Charles R. Dustin, his son, and a brother of Mrs.
Rodgers, buying a squatter’s title to 160 acres; but afterwards he lost his
title to the railroad company, the said company having won in the courts on a
claim to the land. Then he paid for the
land a second time, giving the railroad company $12.50 an acre. Mrs. Rodgers passed away in 1886. Mr. Rodgers’ second marriage occurred on
October 14, 1889, and united him with Miss Sarah Jordan, a native of Williamson
County, Illinois. Mrs. Rodgers came to California
in 1887 with her aunt and uncle, who lived at Elliott. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers are the parents of four
children: Bethel met a tragic death by
drowning when four years old; Emile married Miss Velma Athearn, a native of Clements,
California, and they have two children, William and James; Leslie married Miss
Irma Smith, a native of Ripon, California; and Ross died in infancy. Fraternally, Mr. Rodgers is affiliated with
the Odd Fellows, No. 259, of Lodi; and the Woodmen of the World, at Lodi. While residing in Calaveras County, he was
for years a member of the school board.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1143. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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