YUBA COUNTY Biographies
JAMES D. BYRNE
Among the well-known native sons of the Golden State is James D. Bryne, who was born at Angels Camp, Calaveras County, Cal., December 16, 1873, a son of James and Rosana (Havey) Byrne, natives of the Province of Ulster, County Down, North Ireland, and Newark, N.J., respectively. James Byrne, Sr., was born August 31, 1844, and when nine years of age he ran away to go to sea. He served as cabin-boy and then as a seaman for nine years in the Mediterranean Sea and on the British Coast. In 1861 he enlisted in the American Naval service and came to San Francisco on a brig which was carrying big guns to the Presidio. The same year, at the Presidio, he enlisted in the 2nd California Infantry, under Col. Crook, and was placed in Company F, under Capt. Douglass. He was sent out to the Pacific Northwest to subdue the Indian disturbances, and served until May 25, 1866, and was discharged at the Presidio. He then went to Georgetown, Eldorado County, with two friends, Mr. Beatty and Mr. Haskins, and while prospecting found some quartz float, but on account of lack of money, he was obliged to quit mining. He then went to Sucker Flat, Yuba County, and was employed by Mr. Crary on the Blue Point tunnel. His family remained at Sucker Flat during his absences, and all the children were born there. As foreman for the Uticker Company, he went to Angels Camp, Calaveras County, and remained there until 1874. He mined in Nevada and in California, and from 1880 to 1882 he was in Tombstone, Ariz., where he prospected and mined. In 1905 he left for Mexico and mined there until 1909. On December 24, 1916, he passed away, greatly mourned by his children and his many friends. Mrs. Bryne passed away on October 2, 1902, at the age of fifty-four years. This worthy couple were the parents of nine children: James D., the subject of this sketch; Adelaide, Mrs. Ed. C. Owen of Yuba City; Mary J., Mrs. D. F. Compton of Smartsville; John B., at Folsom; Robert E., doing harbor reclamation work; Henry J., at Richmond; Rose G., Mrs. Wilbur; Sarah F., who died when she was twenty-four years old; and Thomas P., who was shot to death when he was fourteen years old.
James D. Byrne was educated at the Smartsville public school and he has also taken a correspondence course in mining. He has mined all his life, except from 1898 to 1903, and from April 24, 1917, to March 24, 1919, when he was in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was at Quantico, Va., Fort Crocket, Texas, and was on the U.S.S. Buffalo and the U.S.S. Hancock. During his first years in the service, in 1898, he served in the Philippines, on the U.S.S. Wheeling during the China Boxer uprising, and the Asiatic station, finishing up at Mare Island. He was a first sergeant. In 1908 Mr. Byrne came to Marigold and worked on the dredge for four years. He then went to Brazil on an exploration expedition where he remained for seven months. On his return to Marigold he worked for three months and then went to British Columbia where he prospected for the Canadian Exploration Company. In 1919, he returned to Marigold, where he has resided ever since.
On August 31, 1904, at Chico, James D. Bryne was united in marriage with Miss Selma Crandall, who was born at Nimshaw, Butte County, the daughter of DeWitt C. and Ethselea Crandall, natives of Stringtown, Cal., and Jo Daviess County, Ill., respectively. Her grandfather was born in the State of New York, and her great-grandfather was one of the engineers that built the Croton Dam in New York. Her father, who was a miner, and her mother were the parents of five children: DeWitt C. was born November 20, 1883; Selma F. E., March 24, 1885; Broomfield N., August 3, 1886; Edna Elizabeth, February 3, 1888; and Zalia, May 30, 1891. James D. Bryne is a stanch Republican. He is a member of the Spanish War Veterans.
History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924
p 1249
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