Merced-San Joaquin County CA Archives Biographies.....Wilson, Lewis B. 1883 - ************************************************ 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 6, 2006, 11:11 pm Author: John Outcalt (1925) LEWIS B. WILSON A prominent rancher and stockman of Merced County, and the descendant of a pioneer of '49, Lewis B. Wilson was born in Stockton, Cal., April 10, 1883, the only child of L. P. and Martha A. (Field) Wilson. A resume of their lives will be gained from the following extracts, copied from newspaper items, printed in memoriam of the late L. P. Wilson at the time of his death, in 1907, and showing the high esteem in which this venerable pioneer of the San Joaquin was held:— "Pioneer of '49 Joins Silent Majority on the Other Shore "L. P. Wilson, known among his friends all over the county as 'Hookey' Wilson, died this morning at his home on the Bouquet ranch, ten miles north of Snelling. Mr. Wilson had been quite sick for some time, and as he was eighty years old, his passing was not unexpected. "The deceased was born in New York, but came to California with the gold-seekers in 1849, across the plains. He first settled on the San Joaquin River, but after a short time moved to Merced Falls, where he ran the ferry. Later he moved to Snelling and engaged in the hotel business, and a few years afterward located on the Bouquet ranch, between Snelling and La Grange, which was his until the time of his death. "Mr. Wilson cast his first vote at Snelling in 1850. He was an Odd Fellow for forty-four years, and was a man highly esteemed and respected by all who knew him. He leaves a widow and one son, L. B. Wilson. A more extended account of his life will appear in the Sun in a few days. The funeral will be held in Snelling tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 10 o'clock." The following is an account of a visit made by Mr. Wilson to Stockton, in 1906 :—"L. P. Wilson of Merced, the man who built the first schooner to sail the upper San Joaquin River, is in Stockton on a visit to his brother-in-law, A. D. March, and to old friends. Mr. Wilson is 79 years of age and is familiarly known to old-timers as 'Hookey' Wilson. He came to Stockton before there were any houses here and when the only residents of the place were camping in tents along the levee. He is an old-time friend of Andrew Wolf, and the two pioneers spent last evening in driving about the city, Mr. Wolf pointing out the many improvements to Mr. Wilson. Mr. March's wife is the sister of Mr. Wilson's wife. "Messrs. Wilson and March visited the Record office last evening and the pioneer recounted many interesting experiences here. "Mr. Wilson, then but a boy, came to Monterey on the United States man-of-war Ohio in 1848. With some of the other jackies, who had caught the gold fever, he deserted, and they made their way on foot toward San Jose and then through the Livermore pass to this valley. The others went on to the mines, but Mr. Wilson remained on the San Joaquin River, where now the steel bridge is at what, up to the time the bridge was built, was known as Shepherd's ferry. Three men—Doak, Bonsai, and Scott—were then operating a ferry-boat across the river at that point, and Mr. Wilson hired out to them to operate their ferry-boat. They charged $1 each for ferrying men, mules, or packs over the river. For six weeks Mr. Wilson operated the ferry and took in $600 a day during all of that time, including Sundays. "Then he and Mr. Scott cut down oak trees growing on the river bank there and whipsawed the logs into lumber and built a trim little oak schooner, which they christened 'San Joaquin.' In their schooner they sailed down the river, which in those days was a broad, deep stream, to San Francisco, where they sold the craft for $3000 in gold dust, and with the gold on their backs started to walk back. They arrived with their gold safely after many hardships and adventures, during which Mr. Wilson lost one boot and was forced to walk with one foot bare. "About that time a lumber vessel sailed up the San Joaquin to the mouth of Marsh Creek on the West Side near Byron, and Mr. Wilson went there and bought a part of the cargo. He lashed the lumber into a raft and floated it up to Stockton on the tides, eight days being consumed in the trip. He had 110,000 feet of lumber in his raft, and he sold it for a good price in this city, which was then but a camp. It was the first lumber brought here, and from it the St. Charles Hotel, the first hostelry in Stockton, was built. It stood where the C. N. & I. Co.'s steamer landing now is." In the spring of 1850 Mr. Wilson moved from Stockton to Merced County, where he resided until his death. He took the first threshing outfit to that county, having purchased the machine in Stockton, and he also established the oldest ferry in the county, at Merced Falls. Later he moved to Snelling and engaged in the hotel business, and a few years afterward located on the Bouquet ranch, which remained his home and still is the family home. On December 13, 1874, occurred the marriage of L. P. Wilson and Martha A. Field, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson resided in Snelling until 1878, when they moved to the Bouquet ranch. Mr. Wilson cast his first vote in Snelling in 1850; in 1865 he became a member of Willow Lodge, No. 121, I. O. O. F., of Snelling, and continued as a member of high standing in the order until his death, which occurred in his eightieth year, leaving a widow and one son, Lewis B. Wilson. Lewis B. Wilson was brought to Merced County as a boy, and attended the Anderson district school. Brought up on the home ranch, he early learned the rudiments of ranching, and has brought the property to a high state of cultivation; it comprises 320 acres, a portion of the old Bouquet Rancho, and is now owned by his mother, who has a life interest in the estate. Like his esteemed father, Mr. Wilson has been prominent in Odd Fellowship, having joined in 1904, and he is a Past Grand of Willow Lodge No. 121, and has served as a delegate to Grand Lodge conventions many times. He is a Past District Deputy, serving in 1909-10 in District No. 56 under Grove L. Johnson. Deeply and actively interested in the advancement of his home town and county, he votes on all questions which come up before the public, and gives his support to those measures he thinks best calculated to further develop its resources and advance its general welfare. He has one daughter, Miss Grace Wilson, now attending the Modesto schools. 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/wilson444bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 7.2 Kb