San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN J. SCHMIEDT
Among the additions to the
substantial citizenship of California is John J. Schmiedt, a prosperous
vineyardist of the Victor section, in San Joaquin County, residing on his
200-acre ranch and vineyard three-quarters of a mile north and one-quarter of a
mile east of Victor. He is a progressive
and enterprising man in all his undertakings; and he has been successful,
gaining and retaining the respect and confidence of his fellow-men wherever his
home has been. He was born in Hutchinson
County, South Dakota, on July 14, 1879, a son of John and Dora (Foda) Schmiedt. His father was an early pioneer of South
Dakota, where he had settled upon land from his native country of Russia. There he homesteaded 160 acres and also a
timber claim of like amount. In 1890 he
removed to Eugene, Oregon, where he farmed for five years. He then located near Biggs, Butte County, and
later came on to Manteca, San Joaquin County, where he was among the first to
engage in intensive farming and helped improve that section. He and his wife now live in Lodi, retired and
in the enjoyment of a competency. They
were the parents of twelve children, of whom John J. is the oldest.
John J. Schmiedt received his
education in the public schools of South Dakota and Oregon. When he was seventeen years of age his
parents moved to California, and he immediately started working on large farms,
driving the big teams in the grain fields.
He worked for George W. Pierce, west of Davis in Yolo County and soon
became his foreman, a position he held for a period of four years. Resigning his position to begin farming on
his own account, he came to Lodi in 1902 and bought twenty acres of unimproved
land, twelve acres of which he set to vineyard and the balance to orchard of
peaches, pears, plums and apricots.
Later this property was sold and he purchased thirty acres north of
Victor, stubble field which he improved to an orchard and vineyard. In partnership with Herman Vollbrecht he owns 105 acres due south of the Christian
Church, of rich river-bottom land, where the partners have an eighty-acre
vineyard, the balance being set to Bartlett pears. With Charles W. Hoag he owns two ranches, one
of thirty and one of forty acres, in the Christian Colony section, all devoted
to vineyard. Individually he owns a
ranch of eighty-two acres three-fourths of a mile east of his home. Twenty acres of this is in vineyard and the
balance he will set to orchard. Then he
owns a seventeen-acre vineyard and a sixteen-acre cherry orchard and vineyard,
both near Victor, and also twenty-three acres of plums and vineyard just south
of Victor. He is progressive and
constructive and has erected and owns business and residence property in
Victor. His is a stockholder in the
Woodbridge Vineyard Association and the Community Winery of Lodi. Mr. Schmiedt has also made a good success as
a salesman from the auction block and is both a bonded and licensed auctioneer.
On December 27, 1902, at Lodi,
occurred the marriage of Mr. Schmiedt, which united him with Miss Barbara Erfla, born in Russia in the vicinity of the city of
Odessa, a daughter of David and Barbara (Fink) Erfla. Her father is a farmer who on coming to America
settled in North Dakota and homesteaded a tract of land. He now resides in Lodi. Mr. and Mrs. Schmiedt had eight
children: Pauline, Freda, deceased; George,
Gus, Henry, Clifford, Melvin and Virginia.
Mrs. Schmiedt is a woman of much native ability and business
acumen. Some years ago, receiving a
legacy of $300, she invested it in land, and by selling and buying land and
crops she has been very successful. Her
profits on the different deals have accumulated until she now owns a
full-bearing sixteen-acre vineyard, a splendid source of income. Mr. Schmiedt has surrounded his family with
comforts and plenty. The fine modern
home he has just completed is much enjoyed by the family, and his thrift is
shown by the fine orchard and vineyard, and irrigation system, the results of
his industry and good management. In
politics he is a Republican, and fraternally he is a member of the Modern
Woodmen of America at Lodi. They are
members of the German Baptist Church in Lodi, of which he is a trustee. He is also trustee in Victor School District.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1080-1083. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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