San Joaquin County
Biographies
JUSTUS SCHOMP
JUSTUS SCHOMP was born in
Wayne County, Ohio, March 24, 1835, his parents being David J. and Eliza (Ditmars) Schomp. The former was
born in 1803, in New Jersey, in a small county called Hunterdon County,
bordering on the Pennsylvania line; the latter was also born in that county, in
1809, and they were school children together. In 1833 Mr. Schomp,
with his family, moved to Wayne County, Ohio. In the spring of 1851, having
sold out his property there the year previous, he moved to Allen County,
Indiana, near the city of Fort Wayne, where he made his home up to the time of
his death, which occurred in 1884. His wife died two or three years previous,
at the age of seventy-two years. She was the mother of ten children, all of
whom are alive except one.
Justus, the subject of this
sketch, remained at home until 1855, when he started out for California, across
the plains, with a train, which originally consisted of six wagons; when they
got out on the plains they were joined by other trains in order that they might
be better prepared to meet the hostile Indians. The Missouri river was crossed
at Council Bluffs, May 8, 1855. The train stopped on
Clear creek, in Carson valley, in order to recruit the cattle, which had
suffered very much from crossing the sandy desert. Our subject being a strong,
robust fellow, and very anxious to reach the gold fields, could not stand it to
wait there till the train should take up its line of march, so, with two other
young fellows, he started out afoot, crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains and
arriving at Hangtown, August 10, 1855. He engaged in
mining for two or three years; he then went to freighting, at times having
three or four teams of his own, besides employing a number of others engaged in
hauling the freight. He continued in this business up to the fall of 1866, when
he left El Dorado County and came to this county, settling on the place where
he now resides, which was then covered with brush. A man was considered lucky
if he made a bare living off it. He had originally but 160 acres, but
subsequently acquired 160 acres more, which latter piece he sold this last
summer. The ranch is situated on the Cherokee road, in Liberty Township, three
miles north of Lodi. It is to-day one of the most highly developed places in
the county, and, as recent developments have shown, it
is one of the finest fruit localities that we have seen. He has on the place an
orchard of 100 bearing trees of different varieties, and a small vineyard of
selected varieties. The most of the place heretofore been generally devoted to
wheat raising.
Mr. Schomp
has always taken a deep interest in politics and has been identified with the
Republican party, He was one of the five delegates who were selected by the
people of this county at a non-partisan convention to attend the Constitutional
convention, held in Sacramento, September 28, 1878, the object of which was to
frame a new constitution for the State.
Mr. Schomp
was married at Diamond Springs, El Dorado County, February 5, 1861, to Harriet
Jane Knight, a native of Caledonia County, Vermont. Their family consists of
four children, viz: Maude Eleanor, Elmer Justus,
Ralph C. and Ethel May. Maude Eleanor is now the wife of W. C. Kirkman, and a resident of Woodbridge.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 478-470. Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
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