San
Joaquin County
Biographies
EDWARD WITTMEIER
Typical of the opportunities which
San Joaquin County offers to men of enterprise and industry is the story of
success won by Edward Wittmeier, the owner of a forty-acre ranch two miles south
of Lockeford. He was born on his
father’s farm in the southern part of South Dakota, on August 21, 1899, a son
of Simon and Christina Wittmeier. The
father was born in Germany and came to America when a young man, and settled
first in North Dakota, where he homesteaded a half section of land. In 1893 he sold this property and removed to
South Dakota, locating in the southern part, where he bought a half section of
land, residing there until his removal to California. There were ten children in the family,
namely: Samuel, Fred, John, Rosie,
Jacob, Henry, who lost his life in the late war in France; Christina, Edward,
the subject of this sketch, Martha, and Pauline. In 1902 the father brought his family to
California and settled on a half-section of land two miles south of the town of
Lockeford, and engaged in grain and stockraising with his sons until he retired
and moved to the city of Lodi, where he now resides. Sam Wittmeier, the oldest son, later went to
Visalia, Tulare County, and became foreman on the Kirk Company’s 10,000-acre
ranch, and for thirteen years retained that position. While in Visalia, he was married in 1909 to
Miss Mabel Gilberd., a native of California, born in Delano, Kern County, a daughter
of Dixon and Della Gilberd. In 1917 Sam
Wittmeier returned to Lockeford with his family, and now farms forty acres of
the old home place.
Edward Wittmeier was educated in the
Grant district school, after which he devoted his entire time to helping his
father on the ranch. On June 9 1920, at
Stockton, he was married to Miss Edna Ray, born two miles north of Lodi, San
Joaquin County, on the Krump place, a daughter of David and Mary (Tomich)
Ray. Her father, David Ray, was born on
a ranch ten miles west of Lodi and comes from the old pioneer family of Ray’s
who settled in section thirteen of Union Township. Mrs. Wittmeier was educated in the Houston
and Ray grammar schools and finished with a course in the Lodi high
school. They are the parents of one
daughter, Lois Marie. Mr. Wittmeier, in
partnership with his brothers, owns a thirty-foot header and threshing outfit,
which they run each fall, cutting and harvesting grain for other farmers
throughout the county. In national
politics Mr. Wittmeier is a Republican, and is proud that he is a resident of
California, and especially of San Joaquin County.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Pages
1623-1624. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2011 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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