Yolo-Sacramento County CA Archives Biographies.....Laugenour, Thomas F. 1827 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 14, 2006, 2:02 pm

Author: Tom Gregory (1913)

THOMAS F. LAUGENOUR

    A reputation for successful agricultural activities and high principles of
character, not limited to his own home county but extending also into the
adjacent regions, forms a fitting sequel to the long career of Thomas F.
Laugenour, one of the few survivors of the early settlers of Yolo county and a
man of intense mental and physical alertness. It is indeed this equipment of
mind and body that furnished the basis of his growing prosperity. Not only as a
young man, but even when the shades of evening were beginning to cast their
shadows over his useful existence, he was able to work assiduously and
indefatigably without disastrous results and now, at the age of eighty-five, he
is still active and not easily fatigued. During a residence of over sixty years
in this county he has had practically no illness and even when, during 1905, he
suffered an accident through the catching of his left arm in a horse-power and
was forced to submit to amputation below the elbow, he was confined to his room
for only a very short time, his splendid constitution enabling him easily to
withstand the shock of an operation that would have proved fatal to many men of
his advanced years.

    The genealogical records show that the Swiss family of Laugenour became
identified with American history during the colonial period. Thomas F., fourth
oldest son of Philip and Phoebe (Davis) Laugenour, large land owners and
planters of Salem, N. C., and lifelong residents of that state, was born on the
old plantation in what is now Forsyth county, July 6, 1827. Memories of early
days bring to his mind thoughts of the broad acres cultivated with the aid of
slave labor, affording for the white men a life of aristocratic ease and broad
hospitality. The environment and conditions, however, were not satisfactory to
the youth and when he had completed his education he started for other regions.
In 1847 he became a pioneer in Indiana. Later he took up a temporary residence
in Pettis county, Mo. Early in 1850 he joined an expedition bound for California
and with oxen and prairie schooners crossed the plains in safety, landing at
Placerville September 7, 1850. For a time he there engaged in mining and met
with some success.

    Shortly after his arrival in Yolo county, during 1852, Mr. Laugenour made
his first purchase of land, the same consisting of one hundred and sixty acres
containing only meager improvements and here he still makes his home. Later
through a trade he acquired the title to other lands adjoining his present
homestead situated five miles north from Woodland. From time to time he has
bought and sold thousands of acres and at this writing he still owns three
thousand acres, more or less, improved with four sets of farm buildings and
largely under cultivation to wheat, barley, beets, and alfalfa. The broad
pastures support extensive droves of stock, including a flock of several
thousand sheep as well as many head of cattle, horses and mules. Through careful
personal supervision the owner has made stock-raising a profitable adjunct of
general farming and he is accounted one of the best judges of stock in the whole
county. At a glance and apparently almost by intuition he detects the best
points in an animal and discerns also disqualifications not noticeable to the
majority, this keen judgment having been one of his most helpful factors in the
stock industry. The ranch is naturally one of the most beautiful in Yolo county.
Oak Leaf ranch is well named on account of the many large scalloping oak trees,
besides a large grove of the same variety. Some have attained a diameter of four
or five feet and represent hundreds of years of growth.

    The marriage of Mr. Laugenour took place in Sacramento November 16, 1864,
and united him with Miss Belle Burton, who was born in Monroe county, Mo., and
at the age of fifteen years 'came to California with other members of the
family. Her parents, Charles and Lucy (Nelson) Burton, were natives of Kentucky
and in early maturity removed to Missouri, where they passed much of their
married life upon a farm in Monroe county. During the year 1859 they came to the
west accompanied by their children, crossing the plains with a large expedition
bringing many head of cattle and horses for sale in California. They established
a home in Sacramento county, where Miss Belle grew to womanhood and received
wise training in the domestic arts. Mr. and Mrs. Laugenour became the parents of
one son and three daughters, but lost one of the daughters, Phoebe, at the age
of six years. The other daughters are Bettie, Mrs. D. A. McGriff, and Lucy, Mrs.
D. B. Woods, both residing on farms that were once a part of the old homestead.
The only son, Charles, is a progressive rancher on property that was also
formerly a part of the old home ranch. Politically Mr. Laugenour votes with the
Democratic party. In religion he believes in the doctrines of the Moravian
Church, of which he is a member and has long been identified with its
fellowship, while his wife is a member of the Christian Church at Woodland. Both
have been ardent supporters of and workers in the temperance cause and Mrs.
Laugenour is a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.


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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