San
Joaquin County
Biographies
JOSIAH TOMLINSON
A dependable citizen of the Elliott
district is Josiah Tomlinson, who has attained to his present position after
many years spent in varied lines of endeavor.
A native of Pennsylvania, he was born at Wrightstown, Bucks County, on
June 6, 1852, a son of Josiah and Mary (Croasdale)
Tomlinson, both natives of Pennsylvania, of English and Scotch descent,
respectively. The father was a farmer by
occupation and young Josiah had the advantage of a fair education in the Quaker
schools of his native state, which were the only schools in the vicinity in
which he lived. Remaining at home with
his parents until he was twenty-one years old, Josiah Tomlinson then came to
California where he remained for five years; then removed to Goldendale,
Washington, and engaged in the building and planning mill business, which he
continued until his marriage.
The marriage of Mr. Tomlinson
occurred at Summerville, Oregon, on June 15, 1881, and united him with Miss
Amelia B. Koontz, a native of Malaga, Monroe County, Ohio, a daughter of
William and Mary A. (Berry) Koontz. Her
father, William Koontz, came to the northwest in 1871 and was a pioneer
missionary minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was instrumental
in establishing many congregations throughout Oregon and Washington. After his marriage, Mr. Tomlinson removed to
Tacoma, Washington, and engaged in building contracting for five years; he then
went to Pendleton, Oregon, and there built and conducted a planing
mill for the next thirteen years; then removed to Oakland, California, and
engaged in the building business for the following ten years, making his home
on Lynde Street.
In 1912 the family removed to San Joaquin County and purchased forty
acres of land, one and one-half miles south of the Elliott schoolhouse, and he
has since been engaged in the fruit and poultry business. When Mr. Tomlinson
purchased his property it was a grain field; he has built his residence and
developed a twelve-acre peach, prune, almond, and plum orchard, and fifteen
acres has been set to Zinfandel and Mission grapes; besides he has a modernly
equipped poultry house, having at the present time 625 laying hens, which are
yielding him a good income for his labor.
Mr. and Mrs. Tomlinson are the parents of four children: Raymond lives at Benicia; Oreine
is Mrs. W. M. Hession of Oakland and has two
daughters, Wilma and Eva; Harry resides at Alameda; Eva is Mrs. C. W. Russell
of Sacramento and she has three children, Ruth Harriet, Phillip R. and Clyde
R. For several years Mrs. Tomlinson has
served the locality as a school trustee, being clerk of the board; in politics
he is a Republican. He is a member of
the Neighbors of Woodcraft of Fruitvale, California.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
1525. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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