Tuolumne
County
Biographies
JOSEPH B. POWNALL
Joseph Benjamin Pownall is numbered
among California’s native sons and is now filling the important position of
secretary and superintendent of the Tuolumne County Water Company, of which he
is one of the heaviest stockholders.
Through the years of his manhood, as well as through the period of his
youth, he has always resided in Columbia; therefore, his history is familiar to
its citizens. His large circle of
friends is an indication that his has been an upright and honorable career, and
his prominence in business circles is widely recognized by all who know
him. He was born on the 5th
of January, 1858, and is of English descent, although four generations of the
family have been born in the United States.
His father, Dr. Joseph Pownall, was
a native of Hackettstown, New Jersey, born on the 8th of August,
1818, where he received his primary education.
He was one of the California “Argonauts,” joining a party which started
out in search of the “golden fleece” on the 28th of March, 1849, for
the tales of the wonderful discovered on the Pacific Coast led many men to
believe that they might rapidly acquire a fortune in the far west. He crossed the plains on the southern route,
making the journey from Texas with a party that traveled under the command of
Captain J. H. Duval. There were between
one hundred and twenty and one hundred and thirty in the company and I. G. Messec, who now resides in Gilroy, California, was their lieutenant. They secured their outfit at El Paso, Texas,
and started on the long journey across the alkali plains of the south and over
the mountains that had hardly been trodden before by white men. They met a number of hostile Indians, but
succeeded in purchasing their good will by gifts of food and tobacco, the
latter being in great demand by the red men.
They swam the Colorado River near the present site of Fort Yuma, where
they arrived safely about the 20th of July, 1849. They then proceeded on their way to Los
Angeles, and thence to San Francisco.
At the age of nineteen Dr. Pownall
commenced the study of medicine under Dr. William Rea, and in the spring of
1841 attended a course of lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at
New York City, followed by another course during the summer and fall at
Pittsfield, Massachusetts; then returned and entered the medical department of
the University of the City of New York, at its first session in the fall and
winter of 1841-2, at which he was graduated on the 9th of March,
1842. After graduation he went south to
practice his profession, locating first at Savannah, Georgia. Then he went to Laurens County, Georgia,
where he remained for six months. He
then went to Micanopy, Alachua County, Florida, remaining there until about
July 1, 1846, when he went to New Orleans.
He then went with the American army to Matamoras and Monterey, Mexico,
intending to join the staff of surgeons connected with the army. Not liking this kind of practice, he returned
to New Orleans January 1, 1847, where he remained until September, 1848, when
he moved to Keachie, De Soto Parish, Louisiana, where he practiced until his departure for
California.
Notwithstanding the fact that Dr.
Pownall was a practicing physician, he engaged in mining at Goodyear’s Bar,
near Marysville, where he took out about fifteen hundred dollars. He also mined on Mariposa Creek, with good
success, and the same fall followed the business of “packing” provisions to the
mines from Stockton, after which he returned to Mariposa and again engaged in
mining, securing about sixteen hundred dollars.
Later he followed mining at Red Mountain Bar on the Tuolumne River and
also mined at Big Oak Flat, where he arrived March 18, 1850. He was there at the time of the Indian
uprising, when several white men were killed.
In 1852 he became interested in an enterprise for procuring water for
the miners and became one of the organizers and incorporators of the Tuolumne
County Water Company. One of the
greatest difficulties connected with the development of the rich mineral
resources of California was to secure water sufficient to wash the gold. In the mountains and hills were never failing
springs, and this ditch company was formed for the purpose of bringing the
water from the mountains to the mines.
From the inception of the plan he was the secretary of the company, and
was also secretary and superintendent at the time of his death, which occurred
on the 30th of November, 1890, at the age of seventy-two years. He was likewise the owner of valuable mining
interests, and his well directed labors brought to him good success.
In his political views he was a
Democrat, but he declined office, not wishing to have political duties
interfere with his business affairs. He
was an honored member of the Society of California Pioneers, being one of the
earliest members, and also belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
which he joined soon after his arrival in California, becoming a member of
Sacramento Lodge, No. 2. He was a man of
superior intelligence, of high integrity of character, and during his long
residence in Columbia he was identified with every enterprise that had for its
object the promotion of the welfare and progress of the town. He enjoyed the respect and confidence of his
fellow men in an unusual degree and he left the impress of his individuality
upon public progress so that his name should be inscribed high upon the roll of
the honored pioneers of the Golden state.
He was married after his arrival in
California, the wedding ceremony being performed in Columbia which united his
destiny with that of Mrs. Mary C. Newell, a daughter of Benjamin Harrison. Their union was blessed with one son and one
daughter, the latter now being Mrs. Lucy A. H. Senger, living at Berkeley,
California. Mr. Senger is an assistant
professor of the German language in the University of California. Mrs. Pownall is still living, in the
seventy-second year of her age, and has a pleasant home in Columbia, where she
is most highly esteemed by reason of her many excellencies of character and her
long identification with the interests of the town.
The son, Joseph Benjamin Pownall,
acquired his education in the schools of his native town, in the schools of
Sonora, in the San Francisco Boys’ High School, in which he was graduated with
the class of 1879, and in the University of California. Of the last institution he is a graduate with
the class of 1883. He had taken an extra
course in chemistry, intending to pursue a course in medicine, but on account
of his father’s failing health he was obliged to return home and take his
father’s place in the office. He has
since been a stockholder and the superintendent of the Tuolumne County Water
Company and is also a member of the board of directors. He is prominently interested in the mining
industries of Tuolumne County. In the
management of the water company he has displayed splendid business and
executive ability, showing that he is well qualified for the important duties
which devolve upon him.
On January 1, 1896, Mr. Pownall was
united in marriage to Miss Sadie Arnold, a native daughter of Sonora, and they
have three beautiful and interesting little children, viz.: Elaine, Josephine and Ruth. They have a charming home in Columbia and
their circle of friends is limited only by the circle of their
acquaintance. An air of culture and
refinement pervades the place and its hospitality is proverbial. In his fraternal relations Mr. Pownall is an
Odd Fellow, belonging to both the subordinate lodge and encampment, and is a
past noble grand of the former. He is
also an interested member of the Native Sons of the Golden West.
In politics he is an
independent. In business he is following
closely in his father’s footsteps, fully sustaining the untarnished family
reputation for integrity and business honor.
He deserves mention among the most prominent of the citizens of Tuolumne
County and should find a place in the history of the men of business and
enterprise in the great west whose force of character, sterling probity and
marked success in conducting important industries have contributed in such an
eminent degree to the solidity and progress of this entire section of the
country.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 226-228. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.