San
Joaquin County
Biographies
CLAUDE WHITNEY VAN GELDER
The nursery interests of San Joaquin
County are well represented by Claude Whitney Van Gelder, whose home and
business is located near Acampo, California, and who has been a resident of
California since he was two years old.
His has been a successful career, and one which indicates the
opportunities that are open to young men of determination, laudable ambition
and diligence. A native of Morley,
Michigan, he was born November 14, 1877, a son of Morris and Eva Yeckley (Whitney) Van Gelder. The father was a descendant of the Dutch and
English pioneer settlers of New York State; and the mother was a daughter of
Columbus Whitney of Seneca Castle, New York, who was also an early settler in
that state. Morris Van Gelder grew up on
his father’s farm in Michigan. His
natural bent was toward agriculture and horticulture, and when he grew to
manhood he acquired his own farm in Michigan and engaged in farming pursuits
until 1879, when he sold out and came to California, settling first at
Sacramento. He established himself in
the nursery business in Sacramento, in 1883, and when he moved to San Joaquin
County he bought property near Acampo, in 1887, and there he continued his
nursery business, being a pioneer in that industry. He became a prominent figure in the development
and improvement of his locality, devoting his energies untiringly to his
business, with the result that he wrought a wonderful transformation in his
property, which became productive and valuable.
Both parents are now deceased.
Claude Whitney Van Gelder began his
education in the district school near his home, and then entered the San
Joaquin Valley College at Woodbridge, from which institution he was duly
graduated. As soon as he was old enough
to handle the plow, he took his place in the fields and assisted in their
cultivation from the time of early spring planting until after crops were
harvested in the late autumn. He grew up
in the nursery business, so that he was enabled to follow in his father’s
footsteps in a thorough and systematic manner.
On October 25, 1902, at Oakland,
occurred the marriage of Mr. Van Gelder and Miss Charlotte Maud Jones, daughter
of Augustus St. Clair and Bertha (Hadlich) Jones,
natives of Australia and California, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Van Gelder are the parents of
three children: Homer Whitney, Edith
Constance, and Dorothy Elizabeth. Mr.
Van Gelder is, in his political views and adherence, a staunch Republican, and
has always been active in support of the party.
His fraternal relations are with the Lions Club, the Mokelumne Club of
Lodi, and just recently, with the Woodbridge Lodge of Masons. His labors and
influence have been effective in promoting the educational, social and material
advancement of his community, and he has taken a good citizen’s part in the
improvements that mean steady advancement.
Transcribed by Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page
764. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 Gerald Iaquinta.
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