Yolo-Sacramento County CA Archives Biographies.....Oeste, John H. 1837 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 23, 2006, 9:54 pm

Author: Tom Gregory (1913)

JOHN H. OESTE
*
    The agricultural possibilities of the west, supplemented by the unwearied
industry of the man, have made it feasible for Mr. Oeste to merge the position
of a stranger whose entire possessions were limited to $5 for the gratifying
responsibilities incident to prosperity, influence and landed possessions. As an
instance of the opportunities afforded by Yolo county the chronicle of his life
repays perusal and it further presents to young men the example of what may be
accomplished by thrift, frugality and practical common-sense applied to farming
operations. The large farm shows the care of the owner in even the smallest
detail. The fields of barley, wheat and oats indicate that he is an expert in
the raising of grain. The broad-spreading pastures with their flocks of sheep,
their drove of hogs and their band of mules prove that he understands the care
of stock and makes this department the most profitable part of his farming
operations. Every part of the six hundred acres bespeaks the thrift of the owner
and gives evidence of his fitness for his chosen occupation.

    Referring to the family history of Mr. Oeste we find that he was born in
Germany April 21, 1837, and came to America with other members of the family at
the age of seventeen years, settling with them in Milwaukee, Wis., where he
remained until 1858, thence going to St. Louis and New Orleans. The father,
Jacob William Oeste, was born and reared in Hesse-Cassel, Germany, and followed
farm pursuits, also conducted an inn in his native province. When he brought the
family to America in 1854 he settled in Milwaukee, Wis., but the severe climate
of that locality affected his health injuriously and in May of 1868 he came to
California with the hope of receiving physical benefit. For a few years he
engaged in ranching seven miles west of Davis, Yolo county, but in 1872 he sold
the property to his son, William, and retired from farm pursuits. His death
occurred when he was sixty-six years of age. After becoming a citizen of the
United States he voted the Republican ticket at all elections.

During young manhood he had married Annie Catherine Voigt, a native of
Kur-Hessen, and she accompanied him to Wisconsin and later to California, where
she died at sixty-seven years of age. Five of their seven children attained
maturity, namely: John H., who owns large interests near Davis; Sophia, Mrs. G.
Schmeiser; David Theodore, deceased; William, who purchased the old homestead in
Yolo county; and Carlotta, Mrs. Frank Kuhstaller, of Sacramento. William married
Barbara Niedecker, who was born in Germany and died on the home ranch near
Davis, leaving seven children, viz.: L. Carrie, Mrs. William S. Wright; Matilda
L., Mrs. Edwin B. Taylor, of Dixon; Edna C., William Charles, George David,
Amelia B. and Frank.

    The trip by way of Panama to California during the year 1863 almost
exhausted the scanty resources of John H. Oeste and forced him to seek
employment without delay. Proceeding from San Francisco to Sacramento he secured
a job of teaming across the mountains and thus laid the foundation of subsequent
prosperity, for the wages were excellent and his frugality unceasing. For a time
he worked in a store at Sacramento, from which city he removed to Yolo county
and invested in land near Davis. Ever since then he has labored incessantly to
pay for the farm and make such improvements as were needed from time to time.
The ranch is now under excellent cultivation and bears all the necessary
improvements, the entire result coming from the efforts of the owner. In his
work he has had the efficient assistance of his wife, whom he married in 1870
and who was Mary E. Strippel, a native of Germany. They are the parents of five
children, Theodore, Henry, Adolph, Julius and Sophia.


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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