San Benito-Santa Clara County CA Archives Biographies.....Canfield, R. W. 1820 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 25, 2007, 5:12 am

Author: Luther A. Ingersoll, Editor (1893)

R. W. CANFIELD, a resident of San Juan, and an esteemed pioneer of San Benito
county, is a native of New Orleans, having been born there, March 27, 1820. His
father, R. F. Canfield, was a merchant by occupation, and lived during President
Jackson's administration, was active in political matters, and held the office
of Appraiser at the port of New Orleans. He was a native of Morris county, New
Jersey. Mr. Canfield's great-grandfather, James Canfield, was a patriot of the
Revolution, and was a native of Virginia and a graduate of Princeton College. He
developed into an itinerant clergyman of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, serving in
the Revolutionary army as a chaplain and soldier. He was murdered by a sentinel,
June, 1780. Mr. Canfield's grandfather was locally prominent as an advocate of
the principles upon which American independence was founded. His home was at
Morris Plains, and there he pursued his occupation of farming. Mr. Canfield's
father left his native State when about eighteen years of age, and located in
Louisiana. He gained practice and experience in mercantile business while in a
firm of that description; became a merchant, and lived and died in New Orleans.

  Our subject left New Orleans for Illinois, and located on a prairie farm in
Sangamon county, nine miles west of Springfield, on Spring creek, where he lived
for several years. He came to California in the fall of 1850, and after a brief
stay in San Francisco he located a claim on Mountain View, in Santa Clara
county. His claim formed the nucleus of the present town, to which he gave its
name. He lived there until the spring of 1858, when, owing to the serious defect
of the title to his land, he abandoned his claim and located on his present
estate, near San Juan, where he has lived for the past thirty years, engaged in
farming and stock-raising, also dairying. He has been an active business man,
alive to the interests of his State, county and town. His estate comprises 200
acres of land, all very fine.

  Mr. Canfield was married at twenty-one years of age, to Miss Frances A. Bowers
daughter of H. G. Bowers, of North Hampton, Massachusetts. She died in 1872,
leaving a family of six children, all settled in life.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California.

Illustrated.

Containing a History of this Important Section of the Pacific Coast from the
Earliest Period of its Discovery to the Present Time, together with Glimpses of
its Auspicious Future; Illustrations and Full-Page Portraits of some of its
Eminent Men, and Biographical Mention of many of its Pioneers, and Prominent
Citizens of To-day.



HENRY D. BARROWS,
Editor of the Historical Department.

LUTHER A. INGERSOLL,
Editor of the Biographical Department.

"A people that take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will
never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote
descendants."-Macaulay.


CHICAGO: THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1893.


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