Yolo-Glenn-Sacramento County CA Archives Biographies.....Coil, Charles 1828 - 1892
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@gmail.com December 1, 2005, 1:57 am

Author: Tom Gregory

CHARLES COIL

    To recount even a few of the experiences of this pioneer of 1849 is to
realize anew the hardships incident to the early settlement of the west and to
appreciate afresh the self-sacrificing labors of our forefathers. Theirs the
toil that we might reap the reward; theirs the incessant labor amid discomforts
in order that we might enjoy the fruits of a high civilization; and theirs the
years of self-denial in order that generations yet unborn might find life's cup
of joy filled to overflowing in this goodly land beside the sunset sea. The
trite adage that he is a public benefactor, "who causes two blades of grass to
grow where one grew before," finds a noteworthy exemplification in the
activities of Mr. Coil, who by his own wise judgment proved the possibilities of
the soil of Yolo county, tested its adaptability to varied crops and won
financial success as a tiller of the soil. When he took up farming he was one of
the very first men in Yolo county to raise grain. The venture, made at
considerable financial risk, proved so successful that others were quick to
follow his example. Nor was this the only agricultural enterprise in which his
was the risk and to others came the returns of his experiments. Such service
proves the value of a man to his community and his worth was appreciated by all
who were familiar with his forceful efforts.

    Sorrow and bereavement cast their shadow over the early years of Charles
Coil and thrust upon him the necessity of self-support ere an education had been
acquired. A member of an old family of New York, he was born in 1828 at Verona,
Oneida county, and lost both his father and his mother while he was yet a mere
child. At the age of seventeen years he went west as far as Wisconsin and
settled at Racine, where he secured employment with S. C. Tuckerman, a grain
dealer. Upon learning of the discovery of gold in California he immediately
arranged his plans for removal to the coast. Early in the spring of 1849 he
started across the plains with a party that traveled with oxen and wagons.
August 13, 1849, he reached Hangtown (Placerville), where he joined an excited
and cosmopolitan throng of gold-seekers. Such work, however, did not satisfy him
nor did he meet with any success therein.

    While looking for employment at Sacramento, a chance encounter with Matt
Harbin, the owner of the Hardy grant, gave Mr. Coil an opportunity to enter upon
ranch affairs. Mr. Harbin not only engaged him, but also furnished him with a
horse so that he might ride to the grant. After a brief and pleasant experience
as a ranch hand, he embarked in the butcher business at Sacramento with F. W.
Fratt and John McNulty. The stock was bought from the Harbin ranch and the
venture netted its projectors a neat profit. Returning east via Panama in 1852,
Mr. Coil drove a herd of cattle across the plains the following year and then
leased a part of the Harbin ranch. Later the property came into his possession
and since then has been known as the Coil place. To the house he erected there
he brought his bride in 1858 and there he conducted large stock enterprises in
partnership with John McNulty and W. B. Todhunter. With Gabriel Brown as a
partner he bought the Thomas O. Larkin grant, situated on the present site of
Willow, Glenn county, and the two men engaged there in the cattle business for a
number of years.

    The year 1862 was a disastrous one for settlers on account of the floods.
Even more serious was the drought of 1864, and Mr. Coil was among the sufferers
both from the flood and the drought. A part of his cattle he saved by taking
them to Nevada, but to do this he had to mortgage his land. Later he found
himself unable to redeem his Willow land, which was foreclosed. In a desperate
effort to save the old homestead he spent his last dollar. In desperation he
asked D. O. Mills of San Francisco for a loan. On being asked how much he
needed, he answered $10,000, and Mr. Mills gave the amount to him with no other
security than his note. Purchasing teams, he engaged in trading between
Sacramento and Salt Lake. The merchandise taken to Utah would be sold there, the
money used for the purchase of cattle, which he would drive back to the coast.
The tide began to turn in his financial affairs. Little by little he paid off
his debts. Finally he was able to resume farming. Then he began to buy more
land. His possessions increased to such an extent that at the time of his death
he owned four thousand acres, some of which was only one and one-half miles from
Woodland.

    The marriage of Mr. Coil and Ellen W. Pond was solemnized near Cacheville,
Yolo county, March 8, 1858. Mrs. Coil was born at Bristol, Vt., being the only
child of Samuel P. and Ann (Gregory) Pond, likewise natives of Vermont. At the
time of the discovery of gold Mr. Pond relinquished his farming enterprises in
New England, and came, in 1849, via Panama, to California, where he worked in
the mines. During 1852 his wife joined him and he established a home on Cache
creek. In 1856 his daughter, who had been a student in the Townsend Academy in
Vermont, came by way of the isthmus to join her parents in Yolo county. About
that time Mr. Pond bought a farm just east of Woodland. When he sold that place
and retired from agricultural labors, he settled at Woodland, where he died at
the age of seventy-eight years. His wife lived to be seventy-two.

   A worthy life came to an end when New Year's Day of 1892 witnessed the
passing from earth of Charles Coil. His had been a kindly existence, simple,
sincere and earnest, and he had borne life's disappointments, as its triumphs,
with dignity and honor. He was survived by his widow, who has since spent much
of her time in Berkeley, the home of their youngest child, Irene. The older son,
LeRoy, resides at No. 548 Second street, Woodland, and the younger son, Herbert
E., has made his home on the old farm so long identified with the activities of
the father. The years that have come and gone since Mr. Coil entered into
eternal rest have not dimmed his memory in the hearts of relatives and friends.
His true worth is now, as it was then, appreciated by associates in business,
neighbors on ranches, by co-workers in the Republican party, by comrades in the
Ancient Order of United Workmen, and among the Knights of Pythias, and indeed by
all in whose breasts God has implanted a deep respect for true principles of
manhood.


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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