San Joaquin County
Biographies
ANTONIO ROSSI
A. ROSSI, one of the old-time
Californians now residing in Stockton, is a native of Italy, born twenty-four
miles from Genoa, November 4, 1832, his parents being Antonio, Sr.,
and Maria (Barvnia) Rossi, the father a farmer. He spent his boyhood at his
native place, assisting his father at farm work, and being helped in his
education by an elder brother. In 1849 he emigrated to America, sailing from Genoa,
on the 24th of April, and landing at New York on the 2d of July. The voyage was made eventful by
the fact that they were for a time in danger of attack from a pirate vessel.
They put a double guard on both sides of the vessel, and prepared for combat
with the pirates, but the later evidently concluded not to attack them, for
they were not molested.
At New York Mr. Rossi witnessed for the
first time the celebration of an American Fourth of July. He remained at the
metropolis a couple of weeks, then went to Cincinnati, where he remained nearly two years. While there he
was for a time engaged with a dairy, hauling milk into the city by wagon. While
in Cincinnati he was also for a time engaged with an ice firm
there. From Cincinnati he went back to New York. In 1852 he left the latter city for California via Nicaragua, and landed at San Francisco. Over a month later, meeting about a dozen friends,
they decided to go to the mines, and went up to Jackson, Amador county. They were
engaged in mining in that district about a year, and then Mr. Rossi bought his
partner out, remaining there altogether about eighteen months, and doing a
profitable business. They then went to French Bar, Mokelumne river, where they
built a flume, and remained for a long time. One day their baker told one of
Mr. Rossi’s partners that his wife had come out to meet him, and was at Jackson,
Amador County, where she wanted him to come for her at once. So the
baker and Mr. Rossi’s two partners started for Jackson, leaving Mr. Rossi alone at the camp. They had made
up seventy-five pounds of flour that morning and the batch was in the oven
baking when they left. After they had gone, Indians kept coming along by the
camp, and finding Mr. Rossi alone, would demand something to eat. He was in a
locality remote from other white people, and knowing that it would be useless
to resist, kept giving to the Indians, who kept constantly coming until all the
bread and everything else was gone. On the night of the next day, two drunken
men, coming down the mountains, rolled a lot of pine burrs and stones down upon
the cabin, making an awful racket. They finally came down, walked into the
cabin, and kept singing all night; then they went to sleep, and waking up a few
hours later, they disappeared. Mr. Rossi remained there a week, but finding it
intolerably lonesome there by himself, and being unable to sleep, he rolled up
his bedding, clothing and a few articles one morning, and started away. He
proceeded to Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County, where he stopped two or three days with a friend who
was mining there. He fell in with three friends, and they went to Albany Flat.
A storekeeper there invited them to remain, and they made headquarters in his
store for four days. The merchant told them they could make money mining in
that vicinity, and they set to work repairing ditch communications, arranging a
water supply, etc., and built a log house with a rock chimney, to which next
day they added a bake oven, and started mining with good prospects. There were
numerous hogs in the vicinity, which caused them much trouble, eating up their
bread, etc., no less than seven times. One of the men shot a hog, but did not
kill him. They had considerable fun at his expense, and he went away. His mule
got away from him, however, and he had to walk back. They remained in that
vicinity seven or eight months, making only enough to pay their bills, and one
of the partners went back to Europe. Mr. Rossi became disgusted with mining and went to
Stanislaus river, two miles from Robinson’s Ferry, where he started in the
grocery business. He remained there about two years and a half, and did very
well; toward the last he had a partner, and sold out to him, and went to Columbia, Tuolumne county. There he, in connection with a number of
others, built a flume seven miles in length from Sawmill Flat to Hardscrabble,
and Mr. Rossi was foreman of the work. He remained there three years, doing
well, and then sold out. A merchant made him a proposition to go to Italian
Bar, and buy a store there. Mr. Rossi went there, took account of stock, and
made the purchase. He ran the store for three years, then he sold it out to the
man he had bought it from in 1862. He then spent considerable time collecting
money due him, and in 1863, while in Sonora on that business, was married. He was in business
there fourteen months, doing well, then sold out, and going to San Francisco, took passage by sea for Mexico. He did considerable trading in that country, and on
returning, started a store in San Francisco, and was successfully engaged in business there over
a year. After that he made two business trips into the mountains, and in 1867
located in Stockton. He embarked in the first business on El Dorado
street, and for eighteen months carried on business also, where he was engaged
in settling up and collecting and sending fruit, etc., up and down between
there and Stockton. Finally having closed out his business in the mountains, he
bought the property where he now resides, on Main street, and has since that time made many improvements. His
business interests since that time have been diversified, and he has also done
much business as a capitalist and money lender. He has considerable real estate
in Stockton, and has two ranches in San Joaquin county, containing 360 acres.
Mr. Rossi was married in 1863 to Miss
Maria Rocca, a native of Italy, born
about twenty-seven miles from Genoa. They have eight children living, viz: Alexander, Eugene,
Colombo, Angelo, Clorinda, Julia, Adelina and Mary.
Mr. Rossi is a prosperous man of business,
his success in life has been due to his own industry and ability.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 330-340. Lewis Pub.
Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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