Sonoma-Alameda-Marin County CA Archives Biographies.....Gerckens, J. H. L. 1838 - ************************************************ 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 28, 2006, 8:40 pm Author: Alley, Bowen & Co. (1880) Gerckens, J. H. L. Born in Holstein, Germany, on April 15, 1838. Came to America in 1861, and remained in New York city ten days, when he sailed on board the "Northern Light" for California. From Panama he took passage on the "Harazota," and arrived in San Francisco July 4, 1861. After farming in Alameda county for a year and a half, he came to Sonoma county, and was engaged in cutting hoop-poles for eight months, when he returned to Alameda county and worked in the harvest field one season. He again repaired to this county, and labored in the copper mines for eight months at Cloverdale. He then went to the gold mines in Idaho, remaining one year. We next find Mr. Gerckens engaged in dairying in Marin county, and one year later was again a resident of Sonoma county, settling in Vallejo township, where he purchased a farm. Here he resided until February, 1877, when he leased his farm, came to Petaluma and became an equal partner in the management of the Union Hotel. Additional Comments: Petaluma Township Extracted from: HISTORY —OF- SONOMA COUNTY, -INCLUDING ITS— Geology, Topooraphy, Mountains, Valleys and Streams; —TOGETHER WITH— A Full and Particular Record of the Spanish Grants; Its Early History and Settlement, Compiled from the Most Authentic Sources; the Names of Original Spanish and American Pioneers; a full Political History, Comprising the Tabular Statements of Elections and Office-holders since the Formation of the County; Separate Histories of each Township, Showing the Advancement of Grape and Grain Growing Interests, and Pisciculture; ALSO, INCIDENTS OF PIONEER LIFE; THE RAISING OF THE BEAR FLAG; AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN; —AND OF ITS— Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc., Etc. ILLUSTRATED. SAN FRANCISCO: ALLEY, BOWEN & CO., PUBLISHERS. 1880. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sonoma/bios/gerckens756bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 2.5 Kb