San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MRS. MARIA SANGUINETTI
Since 1879 Mrs. Maria Sanguinetti
has been a resident of California, and has borne her full share of the duties
and responsibilities that were the lot of successful Californians from the
early days to the present. She resides
on her forty-one-acre orchard and vineyard home seven miles northeast of
Stockton, on which she has built a modern bungalow home. She was born at Paggi
in the province of Genoa, Italy, April 28, 1867, a daughter of Gio Batta and Anna (Podesto) Podesto, also natives of
that town, who were substantial farmers.
Her father was a soldier in the Italian army for eleven years and was a
veteran of the war with Napoleon. He received
a silver medal from the government, a mark of honor for distinguished services
in the war. He resided on his home farm
until his death in 1910 at the age of eighty-three years, leaving a fine and
honorable record, a much esteemed and highly respected man; his widow is still
living at the old home at the age of seventy-seven years. Maria is the oldest in a family of five
children, the others being Katherine; Louise, deceased; another daughter Louise
who became Mrs. Sturla, living in Italy; and Stefano,
deceased. Maria Podesto
was educated in the private schools near her home. She had an uncle in Buenos Aires named Louis Podesto and another, Albert Podesto,
in California, and so had an opportunity to go to either South America or
California, finally deciding to come to the land of gold and sunshine on the
Pacific Coast, a decision she has never regretted. On June 12, 1879, Maria Podesto
left her native land for California in company with her uncle, John Podesto, her mother’s brother, and after her arrival in
California kept house for him for a year, then she worked at various places
until her marriage. In Stockton, on February
5, 1882, she was married to John Sanguinetti, also a native of Genoa, Italy, a
son of Augusto and Katherine Sanguinetti, farmers in Italy. John Sanguinetti was educated in Italy and
was a horticulturist and viticulturist.
He first married Miss Maria Prato in Italy and they had three
children: Angelo, deceased; Annie and
Jennie of Stockton.
John Sanguinetti and his first wife
came to California while young and settled at Stockton where John Sanguinetti
engaged in truck gardening on land where now stands the Sperry Four Mills, and
his wife passed away while residing there.
Subsequently he met and married Maria Podesto
and they purchased a ranch about six miles northeast of Stockton in the Morado section, consisting of twenty-seven acres of bare
land, which was developed to orchard.
John Sanguinetti died on that place November 21, 1896, aged fifty-one
years, and the home place was divided equally between Mrs. Sanguinetti and his
two daughters by his former marriage.
Mrs. Sanguinetti received thirteen acres as her share of the estate, and
two years ago she sold her portion of the old home place. Twelve years ago she had purchased twenty
acres in the Morado precinct where she now resides,
and she has added to her original purchase, so it brings a fine income. While Mrs. Sanguinetti leases most of her
ranch, yet she has demonstrated her ability to make good along agricultural lines. In politics she is a staunch supporter of the
Republican Party. She has seen a great
improvement in the county in the forty-three years of her residence here,
Stockton having grown from a small place to a large city with handsome buildings
and paved streets. She loves her adopted
state and would not be content to live elsewhere.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1000-1003. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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