Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy

Ventura County Republican Project: History and Genealogy

"A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California" (1891), page 313.

Francis J. Beckwith

Francis J. Beckwith is one of the reliable ranchers of the section of the county where he resides. He was born in Ontario County, New York, August 14, 1834, of Scotch ancestry. His father, Nathan Beckwith, Jr., was born about the year 1798, resided in the State of New York for many years, and removed to Iowa, and from there back to Ontario County, New York, where he died at the age of sixty-five years. His grandfather, Nathan Beckwith, Sr., was a resident of Oswego County, New York, for many years, and an early settler there. Three of the Beckwiths were in the war of 1812. Mr. Beckwith's mother, Phebe (Granger) Beckwith, was born in Ontario County, New York, in 1808. She was the daughter of Elihu Granger, who came from New Jersey and settled in New York, where he resided for many years. Their ancestors had for a long time been residents of America. Mr. Beckwith was the youngest of a family of seven children, three of whom are now living. The family moved to Indiana when he was quite young, and he was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools of that State. Early in life he lost his father, and he remained on the farm with his mother until he was twenty-seven years old, and has made farming his life occupation. When Mr. Beckwith left home he removed to Michigan and purchased a farm near Vermontville, Eaton County, where he resided for two years in a log house of his own building - the only kind in which the early settlers lived. He sold out and worked in a mill for three years. In 1874 he came to California, and September 21 he came to his present ranch. He remained with his brother, Appleton Beckwith, who owned the ranch, for two years. Then he returned to Indiana, and two years later came back to California and worked for his brother nearly a year. February 3, 1881, Appleton Beckwith died, bequeathing his ranch to the subject of this sketch and another brother. This brother Mr. Beckwith has since bought out, and now owns the whole ranch, about 700 acres. Three hundred acres are farming lands, and the rest is pasture and waste land. The location of this property is in a beautiful farming country. Hogs and cattle were formerly the chief products of this district, but now the principal crop is corn and beans, twenty-five centals of corn to the acre and 2,000 pounds of Lima beans per acre being an average crop. Mr. Beckwith has made most of the improvements on the place. The grounds, with trees and flowers, everything about the house, the large barns and well-filled corn-cribs, all denote plenty and comfort. Twelve acres are in bearing English walnut trees, sixteen years old, and there is also a fine orchard containing a variety of fruit. The walnut grove yields at present $100 per acre.

In 1859 Mr. Beckwith married Miss Sarah Greenmayer, who was born in Ohio, July 5, 1841. Her father, Jesse Greenmayer, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1818, of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestors. They have had a family of four children, all living. The two oldest were born in Indiana: Caroline M., September 20, 1860, now the wife of George A. Jones, and resides near Ventura; Charles F., January 12, 1862. Delbert T. was born in Michigan, January 31, 1869, and Emma G. was born in California, October 22, 1878. Charles and Delbert are settled near their father, and Emma is at home with her parents. Mr. Beckwith's political views are Republican.

*********************

Descendants of Francis Jefferson Beckwith

1 Francis Jefferson Beckwith b: 14 Aug 1834 in Ontario County, New York d: 27 Dec 1901 in Santa Paula, CA
.. +Sarah Luiza Gruenemyer b: 05 Jul 1841 in Pennsylvania m: 27 Aug 1859 d: 1909 in Santa Paula, CA
......... 2 Charles Fremont Beckwith b: 12 Jan 1862 in Fremont, Indiana d: 1933 in SantaBarbara, CA
............. +Luella Melissa Ore b: 1863 in Sonoma County, CA m: 21 Jan 1883 in Santa Paula, CA d: 1946 in Santa Paula, CA
.................... 3 Ralph L. Beckwith
.................... 3 Myrtle M. Beckwith
.................... 3 Ada Virginia Beckwith b: Abt. 1883 in Santa Paula, CA d: 11 Jul 1945 in Long Beach, CA
........................ +Jesse Lee Knight b: 20 Sep 1877 in Buffalo, Missouri m: 12 Jan 1904 in Santa Paula, CA d: Nov 1966 in Long Beach, CA
............................... 4 Everett C. Knight
............................... 4 Howard A. Knight
............................... 4 E. Glenn Knight
............................... 4 Dorothy Myrtle Knight b: 21 Aug 1907 in Santa Paula, CA
................................... +Herbert Davis Hurt b: 14 Feb 1906 in Kentucky m: 27 Aug 1927 in Santa Paula, CA d: 17 Mar 1992 in Westminster, CA
........................................... 5 Living Hurt
............................................... +Living Gaines
...................................................... 6 Living Hurt
.......................................................... +Janene L. Carl b: 22 Feb 1949 in Los Angeles, CA d: 14 Sep 1995 in Fontana, CA
................................................................. 7 Living Hurt
................................................................. 7 Living Hurt
................................................................. 7 Living Hurt
...................................................... *2nd Wife of Living Hurt:
.......................................................... +Living Morris
...................................................... 6 Living Hurt
...................................................... 6 Living Hurt
........................................... 5 Living Hurt
........................................... 5 Living Hurt
........................................... 5 Living Hurt
........................................... 5 Eldon Hurt b: 21 Jun 1928
......... 2 Caroline Beckwith b: 20 Sep 1860 in Indiana d: in Ventura County, California
............. +George A. Jones
......... 2 Delbert T. Beckwith b: 31 Jan 1869 in Michigan
......... 2 Emma Beckwith b: 22 Oct 1878 in California


Ventura County Republican Project: History and Rootsweb Genealogy posted by Jon Miller and Tony Larson.