Contra Costa-Mariposa County CA Archives Biographies.....Meese, William 1824 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 27, 2005, 9:15 pm

Author: W. A. Slocum & Co., Publishers (1882)

WILLIAM MEESE.— Born in Stark county, Ohio, August 16, 1824. When seven years of
age his parents moved to Summit county, same State, and located on a farm, where
our subject was educated at the common schools, afterward learned the cooper's
trade, and for two years preceding his coming to this State, followed boating on
the canal. March 18, 1850, he, in company with eight others — R. O. Baldwin, of
this county, being one of the party—started for the New Dorado, with pack-mules,
and arrived at Cold Springs July 28, 1850, where he embarked in mining for a
short time. He then visited several mining camps, and finally located in
Mariposa county, where he spent his second Californian Winter. In the following
Spring, Mr. Meese returned to the mines, where he continued until 1852. In the
Fall of that he year came to Contra Costa county, and located on the place where
we now find him, in the beautiful San Ramon valley, at that time buying three
hundred and twenty acres in company with R. O. Baldwin. The first produce Mr.
Meese raised was one acre of onions, off which he gathered a crop of fourteen
thousand pounds. In 1855 our subject and the above-named gentleman divided their
ranch—the first-named taking the south one-quarter section on which he resides,
but has since added to his estate, until now he owns three hundred acres of
Contra Costa's best farming lands, being engaged in general farming. He has been
twice married, first, in San Ramon valley, March 27, 1855, to Miss Panthea L.
Cox, a native of Indiana; she died, in San Ramon, September 26, 1874. By this
union they had two children—Mary M. (died July 8, 1876), and Nellie F., born
December 12, 1871. Married the second time, in Sycamore valley, August 16, 1876,
to Mrs. Olive A. Porter, a native of Michigan, by which union they have two
children—George M., born July 4, 1878, and William R. G., bom December 29,1881.

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.


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