San
Joaquin County
Biographies
GEORGE FRANCIS THOMPSON
A distinguished Californian to whom
the citizens of the Delta district near Stockton owe much for his great work in
the development of that important section, a task which would have been impossible
except for optimism and courage, and hard, almost heroic work, is George
Francis Thompson, the well-known pioneer farmer now residing at 1138 North
Center Street, Stockton, in which city he was born on July 24, 1866. He was the son of J. W. and Margaret (Carlin)
Thompson; both natives of Ireland and both now deceased. The father crossed the great, untracked
plains to reach California in the famous Argonaut year of ’49; and after mining
for awhile, he teamed to Sonora in Tuolumne County, and as a veritable pioneer,
did much to open the way for those that came after him. Five children were born to this worthy
pioneer couple: Anna, Mrs. Gofield, of Stockton; James, who died at sixty-two years;
W. J., of Stockton; Sarah Jane, who died when fifty; and George Francis, of
this sketch. The father died about 1870,
and Mrs. Thompson afterward married Sol Hurey, a
fruit grower on Roberts Island; later they sold out and returned to Stockton,
where they both passed away, the mother at the age of sixty-five years.
George Francis Thompson attended the
Franklin School at Stockton, and later the Stockton Business College, where he
graduated in 1884. As a boy he went to
Roberts Island and there learned the rudiments of farming on the ranch of his
stepfather. Later, with John O’Brien as
a partner, he rented 320 acres on Roberts Island and farmed it to grain,
continuing until they were operating 3,000 acres. Later still, the floods ruined their crops,
and then Mr. Thompson bought 160 acres on the Island and also worked for Frank
Lane, farming a large acreage. In 1898,
with Ralph P. Lane as a partner, he farmed 3,000 acres on Union Island, using a
steam tractor, and they were among the first to break the soil after the reclamation
of this island. They raised grain and
vegetables and were very successful until 1906, when the land was again
flooded. While farming on the islands
Mr. Thompson was through seven different floods, but he persevered and in time
made a success raising grain, cattle and fine Percheron horses. He has gone through the different phases of
California agriculture, from the old header to tractors and combined
harvesters, and at times has raised crops of as high as 90,000 sacks. When he was twenty-two years old, he spent a
year at Huron, Fresno County, as superintendent for Bowles & McNear, in
developing water to prove up six sections of land, tapping Big Cantua Creek and bringing the water by ditch to the land.
With Dr. C. L. Six as a partner, Mr.
Thompson rented the Gillis ranch, 320 acres of the Woods brothers’ tract, and
598 acres of the St. Catherine ranch, all on Roberts Island. They also operated the Jacobs & Flack
ranch of 720 acres, raising potatoes there in 1912; but owing to the low prices
of that year, they lost heavily. In
partnership with Peter Dentoni and J. Campodonico, he at length bought the St. Catherine ranch,
and in 1915 he bought out his partners and then sold a half-interest to Mr. Ruess; and now, with Robert T. Melton, present city
commissioner of Stockton, as a partner, he owns the other half. He also farms 320 acres on Woodward
Island. Mr. Thompson has invested a
portion of his profits in Stockton real estate and is now the owner of a fine flat
building and two residences besides his own home, on Center and Rose streets. He is one of the best-informed men on land
values in the Delta district, for all his life he has farmed there.
On Roberts Island, November 26,
1897, Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Clara Fox, a lady of many
accomplishments, a native daughter of Lodi, and three children have been born
to them, Ralph, George and Ruth. Mrs.
Thompson’s father, William Morgan Fox, who was born in Clark County, Ohio,
served in the Civil War and was a prisoner at Andersonville for nine
months. He was married in Canton, Illinois,
to Miss Mary J. Sproul, and in 1867 they came to
California via Panama, settling at Stockton.
He was a shoemaker, but followed farming here. He passed away at Manteca, survived by his
widow, who makes her home near Oakdale.
Of their six children, Mrs. Thompson is next to the youngest. Mr. Thompson is a member of the Fraternal
Order of Eagles, the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Native Sons of the Golden
West. Always interested in the
community’s progress, he served as public administrator of San Joaquin County
from 1907 to 1911, and he has been on the Democratic County Central Committee.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1055. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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