Sutter County
Biographies
THOMAS
S. CLYMA
At the foot of
North Butte, and located near Pennington, Sutter county, Cal., lies a ranch of
eight hundred acres of rolling pasture land, owned by Thomas S. Clyma, a man
past seventy-one years of age, but still hale and hearty and enjoying the best
of health. He is one of the first
pioneers of this section, having purchased his land in 1852, when the town of
Pennington was a barren, unsettled waste, and since his location here has
devoted his time and energy to the development of his community.
Francis Clyma,
the father of Thomas S. Clyma, was born in Cornwall, England, March 16,
1792. There he was reared to manhood and
in 1815 married Frances Maynard, and some years later
came to the United States, being employed in the salt mines of Virginia and
Kentucky for several years. In 1821 his
wife joined him and six years later they located on land now the site of
Galena, Ill., where he engaged in lead mining.
During his residence in the Prairie state he participated in the
Winnebago and Black Hawk wars, in the latter serving as a lieutenant. Interested in farming in Wisconsin he took up
government land which he cultivated until the year 1865, when he sold out and
moved to Apple River, Wis. There he
lived until his death, which occurred September 12, 1874. His wife survived him for five years, dying
June 13, 1879. During the gold
excitement in California Mr. Clyma made a trip overland in 1850 and for two
years was interested in mining, meeting with fair success. He afterward returned to Wisconsin, where he
made his home.
Born in
Lafayette, Wis., July 6, 1834, Thomas S. Clyma remained at home until 1850,
when he came to California with his father and worked in the mines with him for
two years. In the fall of 1852 he came
to the Sacramento valley and took up government land upon which he and his
brother Frank lived until they had received a deed of ownership, when they sold
out for a good sum. Mr. Clyma engaged in
mining again until 1867, when he purchased his present home, which then
comprised four hundred acres. He has
since added to this property until now he owns about eight hundred acres, the
greater portion of which is devoted to pasturage, as it is a hill range, only
about one hundred and sixty acres being valley land. He also rents the nine hundred acres
adjoining, seven hundred being farming land while the rest is wet
pasturage. At one time he was an
extensive sheep raiser and at the present time raises horses and cattle.
In 1861 Mr. Clyma
married Annie O'Brien, who was born in Ireland and came to America in
girlhood. They are the parents of six
children, namely: William R., who now
conducts the home ranch for his father; George, deceased; David, a rancher in
this section; Frank, deceased; Alice, the wife of Edward Hubbs, a rancher of
Sutter county; and Jane, the wife of Alison Manaugh. Mr. Clyma is a stanch Democrat and always
votes the party ticket. He is a liberal
minded man, conscientious and upright in all the walks of life. Fraternally he is a member of Yuba City Lodge
No. 70, F. & A. M., of Yuba City, Cal., and takes a lively interest
in all of its affairs.
Transcribed by Alison Bentley.
Source: “History of the State of California and
Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley, California” by J. M.
Guinn. Page
619. Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1906.
© 2017 Alison Bentley.
Golden
Nugget Library's Sutter County Biographies