San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOHN D. SOWLES
A veteran of the Civil War and a
resident of California since 1868, John D. Sowles has contributed his share to
the development of this section since his removal here in 1880. He was born in New York State, but was taken
to Eaton County, Michigan, where he was reared.
His father was Nathaniel Sowles, a farmer of Michigan, who came to
California in 1853 and went into the mines at Marysville on the Feather
River. The opportunities for schooling
were meager and John D. attended school for a limited time, but years of
experience in brushing up against the world have afforded him a liberal and
practical education.
In October of 1861, Mr. Sowles
enlisted in Co. B., Tenth Michigan Infantry, U. S. A., and served in the Army
of the Cumberland under Generals Thomas and Sherman, serving throughout the
duration of the war and was discharged in 1865.
Then he returned to his home in Michigan to remain until 1868, when he
set out for California coming via the Panama route. Reaching California he settled on Sherman Island
and rented 200 acres on which he produced grain for six years, the venture
proving a success; then he went to the West Side between Byron and Tracy, and
still later, about 1880, he came to the Elliott district of San Joaquin County
and has continued his operations in this locality to the present time. He now leases a tract of land comprising
ninety acres.
The first marriage of Mr. Sowles
occurred in 1873, on Sherman Island, and united him with Miss Emma Ward, a
native of Pennsylvania, who passed away in 1877. Mr. Sowles’ second marriage occurred in
Stockton on December 20, 1915, and united him with Mrs. Gladys Morgan, who
before her marriage was Miss Selkirk, born in San Francisco, a daughter of W.
R. and Adell (Aldrich) Selkirk. The father, W. R. Selkirk, was a newspaper
man. His father came to California in
1849, during the gold rush, and mined at Gold Hill, where he resided for many
years. W. R. Selkirk became an active
figure in politics and was the editor of the Mountain Democrat; later he removed
to San Bernardino, and edited the San Bernardino Sun, and still later the Alta
Californian at San Francisco. When Mr.
Selkirk settled in the northern part of San Joaquin County he had charge of
Reclamation District No. 548 of California, and in association with George
Athearn had full charge of this work.
Mr. Selkirk now resides in Seattle, Washington, at the age of
sixty-four. Mrs. Sowles inherits her
literary tastes from her father, for she is a frequent contributor to the
Sacramento Bee and various stock papers on the care of farm animals. Politically, Mr. Sowles is a Republican; and
fraternally is a past grand of the Odd Fellows Lodge of Lockeford. He is a man of true worth, and both he and
his estimable wife are popular in the community because of their generous,
liberal views.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1076. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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