Yolo-Sacramento-San Francisco County CA Archives Biographies.....Crites, Ephraim Q. 1835 - ************************************************ 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 22, 2006, 11:33 pm Author: Tom Gregory (1913) EPHRAIM Q. CRITES It has been the rare privilege of Mr. Crites to remain for more than fifty years on one farm. Meantime he has witnessed many changes in the environment and has watched the development of Yolo county with an interest as appreciative as it has been loyal and patriotic. The tract upon which he settled in 1859 has been improved under his capable oversight into an extensive vineyard with every facility for the raising and packing of seedless grapes. Years ago, after he had made a close study of the soil and the climate, he determined to plant a vineyard and set aside ten acres for that purpose. In vain his friends attempted to dissuade him with their warnings against the folly of the undertaking. With a steadfast purpose he started about the task, and in a short time those who had ridiculed the theory came to admire the thrifty vines loaded with their rich clusters of grapes. The success of the first planting encouraged him to increase the size of the vineyard and he started new vines, continuing to increase the vineyard from time to time until now he has one hundred and forty acres in seedless raisin grapes, the largest vineyard of the kind in Yolo county, besides having on the farm a modern equipment for the curing, drying and packing of the raisins. He has the only recleaning outfit as well as patent dippers and cap stem-mer in the county. The grapes on the ranch ripen two weeks earlier than in other points and in 1911 he shipped the first two cars of seedless Sultana raisins from California which were exported to Europe. In 1912 he again made the first shipment from the state, consisting of two cars, the raisins being shipped to New Zealand. Born in Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio, in April, 1835, Ephraim Q. Crites received a common-school education, supplemented by academical advantages. When he started out to make his own way in the world he came via the Nicaragua route and an ocean steamer to California in 1856 and gained his first experiences of the west in the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento. Any honest occupation was followed that offered an opportunity for a livelihood, but he principally engaged in work as a clerk. Coming to Yolo county in 1859 he bought a squatter's claim near what is now Blacks Station. A shanty stood on the tract, but no other attempt had been made toward improvement. Hardships and privations filled his life for years with struggle. The discouragements would have disheartened a man of less determination. It was incredibly difficult to improve the one hundred and sixty acres in such a manner that they would prove producers of a large revenue. Indeed it was not until he had entered the grape industry that he found himself the recipient of returns from the place equal to his expectations. In 1911 he purchased what is known as the Ethel vineyard at College, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, of which one hundred and twenty acres are in muscat grapes and the remainder in almonds and peaches. The London layer raisins from this vineyard took the first prize at the St. Louis Exposition. For a long time after his arrival in Yolo county and his location on his present farm Mr. Crites kept "bachelor's hall" and lived in a most frugal and self-denying manner. Eventually he established home ties and became the possessor also of a neat farm residence, while he further has improved the place with a substantial barn and a packing house equipped for his special work. In this county August 3, 1884, he married Miss Cordelia Frances Maupin, a native of Shasta county and a devoted member of the Christian Church. She is the daughter of Thomas and Elwisa (Rockhold) Maupin, natives of Missouri. Mr. Maupin crossed the plains to California in the '50s and became a large land owner and stock raiser on the Cottonwood, in Shasta county. There he passed away February 23, 1912, his wife having died about twenty-five years ago. Mrs. Crites received her education in the public schools of Shasta county and the Bed Bluff high school. The two sons born to Mr. and Mrs. Crites, Charles Carleton and Harry E., were educated in the Woodland high school and now assist their father in the management of the vineyards. In addition to his public-school advantages the older son also attended a business college and took a commercial course of study. Politically Mr. Crites has been a lifelong Republican. He prides himself upon the fact that he cast his first ballot for Abraham Lincoln in Yolo county in 1860 and four years later he enjoyed the privilege of voting for the same candidate. Indeed, he has supported every Republican nominee presented by the party as its presidential candidate and anticipates a continuance of the same policy throughout the balance of his life, but with his devotion to party principles he combines a dislike for office-holding and at no time has he consented to become a candidate for local positions of trust and honor. 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] File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/yolo/bios/crites671bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 5.9 Kb