Merced-Tuolumne-Mariposa County CA Archives Biographies.....Raynor, Andres S. 1865 - ************************************************ 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 February 7, 2006, 12:18 am Author: John Outcalt (1925) ANDRES S. RAYNOR Owner of 1700 acres and more in Merced County, besides large property interests in adjoining counties, upon which are carried on large ranching and stock raising interests, Andres S. Raynor has fully demonstrated his ability as a manager and has won a competence through his persistent efforts. Mr. Raynor was born on Long Island, N. Y., January 14, 1865, one of three children in the family of William M. and Jennie (Carmen) Raynor, the former an early pioneer of California. He was born at Hempstead, N. Y., in 1831, a son of Micajah and Ruth (Baldwin) Raynor, and he spent his youth on the farm, but when seventeen he went to Richmond County to learn the baker's trade. It was while he was learning that business that he felt the lure of California and accordingly embarked on, a steamer for Panama. Reaching Aspinwall, Mr. Raynor was five days traveling up the Chagres River, after which he took the steamer McKino for San Francisco. Bad weather delayed the vessel and both the coal and provisions ran out and after waiting several months he was at last obliged to take another boat, upon which he reached his destination after a voyage of five months. Going to Jamestown, Tuolumne County, Mr. Raynor followed mining for several years, then returned to New York, where, in 1861, he married Jennie Carmen, the only child of Joseph Carmen, who lived to reach his eighty-fifth year, dying December 26, 1904. Mrs. Jennie Raynor died in San Jose, Cal., December 21, that same year, aged fifty-nine. In 1868 William Raynor and his family made the trip to California via Panama, and in Tuolumne County he engaged in raising sheep until 1871. The next year he was in the same business in Mariposa County. In 1872 he located on what came to be known as the Raynor ranch in that county, and here he was engaged in the sheep business on an extensive scale. He settled in San Jose in 1881, but died in Fresno in 1893, aged sixty-two years. His children are Mrs. Addie Daulton, Andres S., and William N. Andres S. Raynor received a good education in the common schools which was supplemented by a course in the Garden City Business College, after which he devoted his time to ranching. He was assisted by his brother William N., who married Sadie Cleek, a native of Merced County. Our subject was married in San Jose to Miss Nellie McKee, born in San Jose, and they have three children: Howard; Ruth; and Joseph, who married Miss Anna Jones and is employed by the M. I. D. in the engineering department. Mr. Raynor is a stanch Republican and is very public spirited in all things. The family home is called "Rockhurst" and is situated nine miles east of Le Grand at the base of the foothills and is an ideal home site. An incident worthy of mention in connection with the history of the Raynor family is here given: On April 21, 1880, on the same ranch where is now the A. Raynor home, a cloudburst occurred during sheep-shearing time. There were a number of men employed in shearing sheep and two were in a cabin in the path of the flood of water that came rushing down the creek bed; as it struck the cabin it collapsed and killed Joe Thomas, a Portuguese, and Charles J. Smith, a partner of the elder Raynor in the sheep business. When the bodies were recovered they were taken over almost impassable muddy roads to Athlone for shipment. The same cloudburst also did some damage to the old Raynor Ranch situated five miles farther up the creek. Mr. Raynor was fond of a garden and had a nicely cultivated one at the home, with a picket fence around it to keep out the stock. There were loose weeds on the ground and when the water began coming through the fence Mr. Raynor thought to stop it and began to pile the weeds against the fence, but before he had made much headway the water was running over the top of the fence and through the house as deep as an ordinary chair bottom, carrying silt with it that made it difficult to clean up later on. Needless to say the garden was ruined. He later had a stone fence built on the creek side, part of which is still standing. Additional Comments: From: HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY CALIFORNIA WITH A Biographical Review OF The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Development from the Early Days to the Present HISTORY BY JOHN OUTCALT ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 1925 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/merced/bios/raynor459bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 5.0 Kb