Yolo County CA Archives Biographies.....Cecil, James G. 1836 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com December 7, 2005, 11:10 pm

Author: Tom Gregory

JAMES G. CECIL

   An identification of thirty years with the history of the west enabled Mr.
Cecil to acquire a large fund of information concerning the resources and
possibilities of this section of the country. From the time of crossing the
plains he made his home in California, with the exception of a comparatively
brief sojourn in Oregon and for many years he was one of the extensive farmers
of Yolo county, where since his death his widow has managed his interests and
developed them into income-producers of exceptional importance. The capability
in ranching which he displayed forms also an important element in her
personality. Competent judges assert that comparatively few ranchers of the
county surpass her in sagacious judgment and discriminating management of landed
tracts. In evidence of this statement mention is made of her early
identification with the fruit and nut industry and her shrewd foresight in the
planting of seventeen acres in almond trees, from which now she receives an
important annual income.

    The isolated settlement at Sand Hill, Knox county, Mo., where James G. Cecil
was born in 1836, is famous as the birthplace of the noted humorist, Mark Twain.
The parents of James G. were Samuel S. and Lillian (Richardson) Cecil. The
former traced his lineage to the illustrious English family of Cecils and for
many years engaged in farming in Missouri, but during 1863 accompanied an
expedition across the country to California, where he died in 1895 at a very
advanced age. The son, James G., had come west in 1862 and settled on Putah
creek in Solano county near the Yolo county line, where he took up land and
engaged in raising grain. At that time Nevada offered the best market for
produce and the greater part of the grain was freighted over the mountains to
mining camps and villages in the other state. Going to Oregon in 1864, in that
year Mr. Cecil married Miss Eliza Lindsay, a native of Kentucky, their wedding
being solemnized in the city of Portland. The bride had arrived in Oregon only a
short time before her marriage, having come across the plains with her parents,
Hiram and Mary (Lilly) Lindsay. After a brief sojourn in Oregon the Lindsay
family came to California and settled on a ranch near Madison, Yolo county,
where Mr. Lindsay died in 1870 and his wife five years later. For a long period
he held prominent identification with the blue lodge of Masonry and in his life
he always endeavored to exemplify the philanthropic teachings of the order.

    Coming to Yolo county as a permanent resident in 1867, James G. Cecil
secured a quarter section north of the village of Davis and for fourteen years
he gave his undivided attention to the improvement of the property. Next he
purchased three hundred and twenty acres in the same locality and eventually he
purchased a ranch of one hundred and twenty-three acres, where he remained until
his death in 1892. Since then Mrs. Cecil has managed the property and has
increased its productiveness. From the harvest of 1910 she secured thirty-five
sacks of barley per acre. Other crops have been correspondingly valuable and the
entire appearance of the ranch bespeaks her thrifty management. While not
neglecting the least detail pertaining to the prosperity of the ranch, she finds
leisure for participation in charitable enterprises, for information concerning
educational advancement in the county and for active membership in the Davis
Presbyterian Church, besides enjoying the social life of the community and
contributing to its moral upbuilding.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
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
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]

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