Napa County CA Archives Biographies.....Coates, Leonard 1855 - 
************************************************
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 January 13, 2006, 6:38 pm

Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1891)

LEONARD COATES, fruit-grower and nurserynian, proprietor of the Napa Valley
nurseries, has been a resident of California for the past fourteen years, and of
Napa nearly that entire time. In 1878 he began business in a small way in a
nursery on the old Magnolia farm, six miles north of Napa, purchasing the stock
owned by J. M. Thompson, of the Suscol nursery. He pushed this business
energetically, until now his nursery is known all over the State, and he ships
stock to points all the way from San Diego on the south to Shasta and Humboldt
counties on the north. He has now a ranch of ninety acres, four miles from Napa
on the Big Ranch road, known as Sausal fruit farm, forty-five acres of which are
now in orchard five years old, and seven acres one year old. This is divided as
follows: twenty-two acres in peaches, fifteen in prunes, French, silver and
golden; about seventeen in Japanese plums, Kelsey-Japan and Satsuma, and one
acre planted with a variety of oranges, berries and other fruits. This
forty-five acres he purchased in 1886, but he has lately added another tract of
the same size, which he proposes to devote partly to orchard and partly to
alfalfa, the intention being eventually to make of this place a model fruit
farm. His plans are fully matured, and he now has a fine residence and other
buildings erected that are in keeping with this idea. Mr. Coates commenced
operations in California by working the first year on the old Magnolia farm, for
Professor Heald, and the next year in different parts of the State, in order to
familarize himself with the various peculiarities of climate and soil and their
adaptability to different kinds of fruit. Meanwhile an offer was left open by
Professor Heald to furnish him land to begin work upon. His nursery is now
situated just below Napa, occupying the space between the railroad and the Napa
River for the distance of half a mile. He will have this season over 150,000
trees for sale, besides a large stock in dormant bud for the following year.

  He was born in Saffron-Walden, Essex, England, in January, 1855. His parents
were W. T. and Emma (Harrison) Coates, now residents of Henley-on-Thames,
Oxfordshire, of which town Mr. Coates, Sr., is the Mayor. He attended private
schools in Bedfordshire, graduating at the collegiate school at Luton in the
same county, in 1870. He first entered mercantile life, in which he continued
for nearly six years, but failing health and the advice of his physicians
decided him in favor of out-door pursuits. Having had a little experience as an
amateur horticulturist, and a taste for study in that direction, his attention
wrs turned toward California, where he arrived early in 1876.

  He was married in 1881, to Miss May Crow, a native of this State and daughter
of A. M. and Sarah (Stark) Crow, pioneer settlers of California. They have one
child, Ronald, born in 1884. Mr. Coates is a charter member of the State
Horticultural Society, and for three years past one of its directors. He has
lately returned from a six months' visit to Europe, during which trip he gave
particular attention to the opportunities of disposing of California fruits and
fruit products abroad. He was lately called upon to lecture upon these subjects
before the Horticultural Society of Yuba and Sutter counties, and has been
invited to address the State Horticultural Society and the National Grange upon
"California Fruits Abroad."



Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California.

Illustrated, Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast
from the Earliest Period of its Occupancy to the Present Time, together with
Glimpses of its Prospective Future; Full-Page Steel Portraits of its most
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers and also of
Prominent Citizens of To-day.

"A people that takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendents." – Macauley.

CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1891.


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/napa/bios/coates376nbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/

File size: 4.6 Kb