YUBA COUNTY
Biographies
THOMAS J. TAYLOR
Among the enterprising men who have been instrumental in building up the business interests of Meridian, Cal., is Thomas J. Taylor. He was born near Bloomfield, Davis County, Iowa, February 4, 1871, a son of Marion and Elizabeth (Harris) Taylor, natives of Indiana, who while young had moved with their parents to Iowa, where the father became a farmer and later engaged in the mercantile business. Mr. and Mrs. Marion Taylor were blessed with three children: William, deceased; Fannie, Mrs. Thompson, of Roseville; and Thomas J., the subject of this sketch.
Thomas J. Taylor attended public school in Iowa and also attended college at Stansberry, Mo. In 1892, he came to California alone, to stay a year and see the country, and has always remained here. Grandfather William Harris came to California in 1862 and settled in Sutter, just north of Meridian. In 1893, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Taylor also came to the Golden State; and in November, 1894, at Meridian, they started a mercantile business, where Thomas J. Taylor was engaged until his father’s death in 1910. Mrs. Taylor is still living with our subject at Meridian, at the age of eighty-two years. Thomas J. Taylor conducts a general merchandise business at Meridian.
The marriage of Mr. Taylor occurred on September 23, 1895, at Sacramento, and united him with Miss Lena Gibbs, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of R. M. and Losana Gibbs. Her father, who was a farmer, passed away in Iowa. Her mother later came to Meridian, and here she passed away at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor was reared in Iowa and received her education at the public school at Ottumwa and the Highland Park College at Des Moines, Iowa. Before coming to California, she taught school in Iowa for five years. The home of Mr. Taylor, which he built in Meridian, burned down in 1921, but has since been rebuilt. Besides his mercantile interests in Meridian, Mr. Taylor also has a two-acre Robney-Sargent prune orchard. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have been blessed with four children: Loren, Leon, Archie and Mervin. In his political views, Mr. Taylor is a Republican; and from McKinley’s to Wilson’s administration, about fourteen years in all, he served as postmaster of Meridian. Fraternally, he is a member of the Odd Fellows.
History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924
p. 516-519
GEORGE H. KIMBALL
It is to men of George H. Kimball’s type that Sutter County owes much of its present development, and especially its progressiveness along educational lines, for without their optimism and energy the transformation that has come about in the past few years could not have taken place. In 1918, Professor Kimball retired from active educational work, after spending forty-one years as an educator in the schools of Sutter County. Twenty years of this time were spent as instructor in the Yuba City grammar schools. Of pioneer ancestry, he was born near O’Banion’s Corners in Sutter County, August 3, 1858, a son of John H. and Thankful (Spooner) Kimball, natives of Maine and Massachusetts, respectively. He comes of good old New England stock, his paternal grandfather, Thomas Kimball, having been for many years a respected and esteemed resident of Maine. John H. Kimball was born and reared in Cornish, Maine, and remained beneath the paternal roof until about twenty years old. He then went to New Bedford, Mass., where he lived and worked for three years. Sailing from New York City in 1853, he came via Panama to California. Locating at Marysville, then the head of navigation on Feather River, he established himself there as a teamster for four years. Having accumulated a goodly sum of money in this business, he bought a tract of land at O’Banion’s Corners and embarked in general farming, including grain- and stock-raising. As time passed on he bought other land, becoming owner of 1100 acres, and continued his operations with increasing success until 1900, when he disposed of his estate. He married Miss Thankful Spooner, a daughter of Nathan Spooner, and granddaughter of Jonathan Spooner, the descendant of an old colonial family in Massachusetts. Nathan Spooner was born and reared in New Bedford, Mass., and after his marriage with Hannah Cummings came to California with his family. He was accidentally killed in a mining accident, at the age of fifty-six years. His widow survived him, passing away at the age of seventy-two years.
Brought up in Sutter County, George H. Kimball laid the foundation for his future education in the public schools, and in 1877 was graduated from Napa College, afterwards merged with the College of the Pacific. He at once began his professional career as a teacher, and followed his chosen vocation continuously until his retirement in 1918. He served as principal of the Gaither, Grant and Murray schools, in Sutter County, and for many years was principal of the Yuba City grammar school. For many years, also, Mr. Kimball was interested in agriculture and horticulture, and was the owner of a quarter section of land in Sutter County. Some years ago he disposed of this property.
At Colfax, Placer County, George H. Kimball was united in marriage with Miss Maria Allen, a native of New Bedford, Mass., and a daughter of Lorenzo T. Allen, who was a pioneer of Placer County, but spent his last days in Butte County. Mrs. Kimball was also a graduate of Napa College, in the class of 1877, after which she taught three years in Placer County. She passed on at her home, on February 15, 1920. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and of the Marysville Art Club, and was a woman much esteemed by all who knew her. Six children were born of this union, four of whom are now living. Mabel, the wife of T. H. Richards, resides in Chico; Allen H., a graduate of the University of California and the Boston School of Technology, is a professor at the head of the architectural department in the Iowa State Agricultural College at Ames; Reginald G. resides in Marysville; and Kenneth C. lives in Bakersfield. For thirty years Mr. Kimball served as a member of the county board of education of Sutter County, and for many years was president of the board. From 1918 to 1920 he served as probation officer of Sutter County. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Enterprise Lodge, No. 70, F. & A.M., in Yuba City.
History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924
p. 519-520
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