Contra Costa County CA Archives Biographies.....Hodges, Benjamin 1825 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 27, 2005, 3:34 am Author: W. A. Slocum & Co., Publishers (1882) BENJAMIN HODGES.—This old and respected pioneer of Contra Costa county is a native of Greene county, Illinois, and was born March 22, 1825, residing in his birth place on a farm until he was fourteen years of age. His parents then moved to La Fayette county, Wisconsin, where the subject of this sketch dwelt until March, 1852. Leaving his native State on the above date, accompanied by his father, mother and three brothers, they started to cross the plains to the Land of Gold, beyond the Rockies, being fitted out with ox-teams. After a weary trip of six months, and the sad death of a sister and a brother-in-law from cholera, which was very fatal to the emigrants of that year, they came direct to Contra Costa county, and at that early date located on the place now owned by his brother Samuel. In the Fall of 1857, he bought his present farm, consisting of two hundred and ninety-three acres, two miles from Walnut Creek, and is now engaged in general farming, honored and respected by all his neighbors. Mr. Hodges was united in marriage in La Fayette county, Wisconsin, in 1851, to Miss Emily Seeley, a native of Illinois. They have two living children: Ellen and Minnie, now Mrs. Henry T. Jones. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION; TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE; ALSO, Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN; AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC. ILLUSTRATED. SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS 1882. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/contracosta/bios/hodges36nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 2.6 Kb