Yolo-Alameda County CA Archives Biographies.....Harley, Emerson B. 
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Author: Tom Gregory (1913)

EMERSON B. HARLEY

    A lapse of sixty-one years since the original identification of the Harley
family with Yolo county has witnessed a remarkable transformation in the aspect
of the region and a gratifying development of the native resources. The founder
of the family in this vicinity was an honored pioneer, the late Elias Harley, a
descendant of English and German ancestry and the possessor of rugged qualities
admirably qualifying him for the difficult achievements demanded of a
frontiersman. Born in Montgomery county, Pa., in 1815, he followed the tide of
migration toward the then undeveloped regions of the Mississippi valley and
about 1840 took up land in McLean county, Ill., where he made his home for ten
years. Meanwhile the death of his first wife in 1847 left him somewhat alone in
the world and thus in a position to respond to the call to the west coincident
with the discovery of gold.

    Accompanied by a younger brother, Aaron, and journeying in a wagon drawn by
a team of mules, in 1850 Elias Harley crossed the plains and autumn of that year
found him a stranger at the Placerville camp, eagerly studying prospects and
conditions at that famous spot. After he and his brother had tried mining for a
year with no special success, in the fall of 1851 they came to Yolo county and
settled among the pioneers of this then undeveloped region. Eventually Elias
Harley again established domestic ties, choosing as his wife Miss Anna V.
Powell, who was born, reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and engaged in
teaching school in that state, later following the same occupation in Iowa, and
thence coming to California.

    The purchase of land had been one of the early acts in the identification of
Elias Harley with Yolo county. For years he and his wife lived upon a ranch of
one hundred and sixty acres near Yolo, and to this he added land adjoining until
he owned four hundred and forty acres, which he devoted to grain and stock
raising. At the old homestead occurred the birth of their only son, Emerson B.,
May 29, 1878, and it was in order that he might enjoy the splendid educational
advantages for which Berkeley is famed that the parents in 1894 relinquished
their agricultural activities and turned their land over to the care of others.
From that time they remained in Berkeley until the death of Mr. Harley April 27,
1897, and the widow continued in the city until the completion of her son's
education, giving him the advantages of the Berkeley high school and the
University of California. After he had completed the course in electrical
engineering and had graduated with the class of 1903 with the degree of B. S.,
he went to Portland, Ore., to take up professional work, and there he and his
mother made their home until 1910. Meanwhile the landed interests in Yolo county
were in need of skilled supervision. In order that the best returns might be
secured from the property it was necessary for the owners to expend money and
time on the estate. Accordingly they returned to the old homestead, which Mr.
Harley now owns, while his mother owns the other farm, both properties
comprising two hundred and eighty acres, being under his personal charge. By a
previous marriage, Elias Harley had one child, Celia, Mrs. George Jones, of
McLean, Ill., who received one hundred and sixty acres of her father's property,
which, as previously stated, aggregated four hundred and forty acres.

    The marriage of Emerson B. Harley was solemnized at Berkeley July 12, 1910,
and united him with Miss Pluma E. Button, who was born in Kansas, but has spent
her life almost wholly in California. As a girl she lived with her parents in
Oakland and attended the University of California at Berkeley, graduating with
the class of 1907 with the degree of B. L. From that time until her marriage she
engaged in teaching school, and achieved signal success in the profession. Mr.
and Mrs. Harley began housekeeping on the ranch they now own. Here they have
erected a commodious bungalow that is a model of comfort and convenience. Other
improvements have been made and the farm has been greatly enhanced in value
through the intelligent activities of Mr. Harley, who is engaged principally in
the raising of grain and alfalfa and is bringing the land into a material
condition that renders its cultivation profitable in a constantly increasing
degree. For such important tasks as these he gave up his professional labors,
and it is now his hope and ambition to develop an estate second to none in point
of improvements, thrifty cultivation and gratifying returns.


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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