San
Joaquin County
Biographies
CHARLES J. SWEEM
A representative of an old pioneer
family who is himself a native son, is Charles J. Sweem, born in Stockton,
December 30, 1856, a son of J. B. and Nancy (Blankinship)
Sweem, natives of Virginia, who came out in 1847 to
Missouri, where they outfitted with ox-teams and wagons and in 1848 started
across the plains. Arriving in
California, they settled near Stockton and engaged in ranching until 1861 when
they removed to Fresno County and Mr. Sweem built the first flour mills and
also took out the first ditch in the county at Centerville which was used for
water power. He ran the mill until 1876
when he returned to Stockton; and here he and his wife both passed away. This pioneer couple had thirteen children,
twelve of whom are living: Franklin, of
Merced; John, living at Chico; Charles, of this sketch; Thomas, who died in
Arizona; George, a resident of Napa; Jeff, of Oroville; Lee, living in Chico; Stirling and Mrs. Mary E. Riggins, twins, both residing in
Stockton; Mrs. Jennie Brown, of Stockton; Edward of Chico; Fred of Stockton;
and Mrs. Nellie Creason, residing in Richmond.
Charles Sweem remembers Stockton in
the early days as a small hamlet, with its sloughs where wild cattle and
antelope roamed at will. In 1861 he went
to Centerville, Fresno County, with his parents; and there he attended
school. He assisted his father in the
mill and in time learned the miller’s trade, even to dressing the burrs. His father surveyed and took out the first
ditch in Fresno County, from three miles above Centerville, and brought it to a
bluff sixty feet about the town; and people came from different places to see
it, for it seemed he had brought the water up hill. Once the water got beyond control and flooded
a large section of the county. Trees
afterwards sprang up all over, and thus people’s eyes were opened to what could
be done by irrigation.
In 1876 Charles Sweem returned to
Stockton. He followed farming for
awhile, and thereafter was employed in various ways. For fifteen years he was with H. B.
Riggins. He purchased a lot and built
his home at 1725 South Stanislaus Street, where he still resides. Mr. Sweem is now in the employ of the city,
having charge of McLeod Lake Park and Tuxedo Park.
He was married in Olympia,
Washington, to Lulu Maud Couch, a native of Illinois, and they had seven
children: Mary (Mrs. Jorgensen) and Mrs.
Annie Purrish both died in Stockton of influenza;
Emma and Lena are also deceased; Mrs. Goldie Gropner
resides in Stockton; Nellie makes her home with her parents; and Charles is a
musician and also lives here. Mr. Sweem
is a Democrat; fraternally he is a member of the Loyal Order of Moose.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1447. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County Genealogy
Databases