Stanislaus
County
Biographies
MARTIN VANBUREN MANN
M. V. Mann, who is now practically
engaged in the undertaking business at Oakdale, was born in West Monroe, Oswego
County, New York, January 5, 1836, and his Scotch ancestry were early settlers
of the Empire state. His father, Moses
T. Mann, married Miss Abigail Paine, also a native of New York and a daughter
of Thomas Paine, a Revolutionary soldier, who was born in Scotland and became
one of the early settlers of the state in which her birth occurred. Two of their sons and a nephew fought in the
Union army in the Civil War. With his
family Moses T. Mann removed to Wisconsin in 1855, and in 1858 went to Kansas,
locating in the Miami reservation, where he remained throughout the troublesome
times that preceded the rebellion. His
good wife departed this life at the advanced age of ninety-three, and he was
ninety-five years of age when called to his final rest. Throughout his life he was a strong
temperance man and served as president of the Temperance Society in New
York. His total-abstinence principles
were undoubtedly one of the means of prolonging his life. He was a thoroughly reliable and worthy citizen
and enjoyed and merited the respect of all with whom he was associated. Of the Methodist Church his wife was a
consistent member. They became the
parents of thirteen children, eight of whom are living, and with one exception
all reached years of maturity. One of
the sons, A. J. Mann, is now a resident of Oakdale.
M. V. Mann, whose name introduces
this record, acquired his education in the public schools of New York, but his
privileges were limited and the greater part of his knowledge has been obtained
through reading, observation and experience.
He arrived in Los Angeles, California, on the 10th of May,
1861. He followed mining in Nevada and
also worked at farming and did carpentering for a time, and in October of the
same year became a resident of Stanislaus County. However, he afterward engaged for some years
in sheep raising in the southern part of the state and
found that industry a very profitable one.
For a long period he engaged in farming on Sherman’s Island, but a flood
caused him to leave that place and in 1870 he returned to Stanislaus County,
taking up his abode on a farm a half mile south of Oakdale, where he remained
for two years. On the expiration of that
period he took up his abode in this city, invested in town lots, erected a
store building and embarked in the grocery business, which he continued until
1888. He then sold out and after a short
time opened a cigar and stationery store, which he carried on for two years,
when, in 1890, he again took up the farming business, which he successfully
followed for three years and then devoted his time to carpentering in Oakdale
until the spring of 1897. He then
launched in the undertaking business in Oakdale, becoming the manager for Howe
& Smallwood, where he continued until July, 1899, when he purchased their
business and became the sole proprietor and manager. He keeps a good stock of undertaking supplies
and has the entire business of the county over a radius of fifteen miles.
Mr. Mann was married on the 24th
of December, 1861, to Miss Ellen Rodgers, a native of Virginia and a daughter
of Hayden Rodgers, who came to California in 1853. They lost their only child. Mr. Mann is a valued member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, with which he has been identified since 1880,
and in both its branches he has filled all the chairs. He was made a Master Mason in Oakdale Lodge,
No. 275, and is an exemplary representative of that organization. He has twice served as master and was
presented by the lodge with a splendid past master’s jewel, which he prizes
very highly. He is in thorough sympathy
with the work of the craft, which is based upon the underlying principles of
mutual helpfulness, benevolence and brotherly kindness. Since 1856, when he cast his first
presidential vote for John C. Fremont, he has been a loyal Republican and is a
citizen who is true to all interests that are calculated to promote the welfare
and progress of the town and county with which he is identified. His has been an upright career, worthy of
public confidence, and his circle of friends is almost co-extensive with the
circle of his acquaintances.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 671-673. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2011
Gerald Iaquinta.