San Joaquin County Biographies This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm OLIVER C. CUTTS. A progressive, prosperous rancher, whose methods and results would afford a theme for profitable study, is Oliver C. Cutts, the owner of some choice Delta farms about nine miles to the southwest of Stockton, in the Middle Division of Roberts Isle, just off Tracy Road. He was born in Rio Vista on the 25th of November, 1868, his father being Henry Harrison Cutts, a native of the Empire State, who came out to California in the early fifties, and as the owner of a river boat undertook the transportation of freight and passengers from Rio Vista to Sacramento. After a while, he sold the boat and conducted a hotel at Rio Vista. He also had a rancho off Steamboat Slough, and there he passed away, near Walnut Grove, in 1871, survived by his wife�who was Mary P. Odell before her marriage�and three sons. In 1872, on May 2, the widow was remarried to Benson D. Beckley, who proved both a considerate step�father and a devoted husband. Mrs. Cutts-Beckley was born in Michigan, on June 1, 1848, and with her parents crossed the great plains with ox teams, about 1854, to California, where they settled on land on the Sacramento River, near the capital. Grandfather Odell was an early pioneer of Walnut Grove, and had a farm in early days, the center of which is now the site of the Libby-McNeil-Libby plant. The old home, a large, pretentious red brick house, can be seen today in passing along the Sacramento River, standing out as a silent monument to the foresight and grit, as well as the taste, of the man who built it. The city of Walnut Grove is located on a portion of the Odell ranch, but the pioneer�as is so often the case�did not reap the benefit of his struggle for success, that benefit having fallen to later corners. Benson D. Beckley was born in Dayton, Ohio, and came West with his parents in the early fifties; they settled in Sacramento County, where they reared their six children, and where the old home is today. He served as a member of the state militia, founded by Governor Stanford in 1861, and was among those who helped preserve peace and order among both the Indians and the natives. He carried the United States mail by pack-horse from Fort Yuma to Fort McDowell, and later as a stage driver between Walnut Grove and Sacramento City. He died on August 10, 1918, at a venerable age, breathing his last in the Soldiers' Home at Napa. Among the most satisfying recollections of our subject is the fact that he always stood by his parents, sending them, after leaving home, what money he could, to help keep up the home, as those were hard years for the farmers on the Sacramento Delta. In 1886, he came into San Joaquin County and worked on the Odell ranch near Lathrop. Later he found employment on the J. M. Blankenship ranch near French Camp. Each winter he returned to his home in Sacramento County, and there he remained after 1889. The year previous, he entered the Delta on Roberts Island, and he has ever since been identified with its development, first as a farm hand, then as a foreman on a large tract of land, and finally as the owner of two fine ranches. The first was purchased in 1901, and embraced forty acres; and to that he added by subsequent purchases, so that now he has ninety acres in the home place, and eighty acres nearby. On January 21, 1910, Mr. Cutts received a clear title to a claim in Calaveras County, including 160 acres; but due to priority mining claims, this property was segregated, and now he owns only ninety-two acres; but it is valuable range land, and the patent was signed by President Taft. In 1912, however, Mr. Cutts suffered severe loss in the destruction of his home by fire, but two years later he rebuilt his residence, erecting a far handsomer and more comfortable home than before. As early as April 25, 1899, Mr. Cutts had married, at Stockton, Miss Sarah Etta Brown, the daughter of George W. and Mary (White) Brown, natives of Illinois and Arkansas, respectively. When they were children of nine years and two years, respectively, they crossed the plains with their parents in an ox-team train, being nine months en route. The family friendship thus formed continued after the arrival in California, and in due time the young folks were married. The paternal grandparents settled near Stockton, where they spent the remainder of their lives. The maternal grandparents, the Whites, settled in Calaveras County, and when the Copperopolis Mine was opened, they opened the first boarding-house. Later on, Mr. White was engaged in freighting, but soon purchased a farm near Stockton, where he became one of the progressive farmers. Selling out, he removed to Texas, after raising a family of thirteen children. In Texas, he became a large farmer and stockman, continuing active until his death in 1917, at the age of ninety-eight, his wife having passed away fifteen years previously. Mr. White was a decided optimist and a public-spirited man, and his was a very interesting and worthy career. George W. Brown was a very progressive farmer at Collegeville, where he owned about a thousand acres of land, and farmed other ranches besides. He also ran a stationary thresher all over the county, and was well and favorably known. He finally discontinued operating on such a large scale, and thereafter devoted his time to general farming on his ranch. Mr. Brown was a Democrat, and was prominent in county conventions and committees. He died at Lathrop, in 1907. His widow still lives and is the mother of ten children, all living, of whom Mrs. Cutts is the fourth in order of birth. She was born at Collegeville and received her education in the public school of the Wildwood district. Mr. and Mrs. Cutts are the parents of four children: Veva G., a graduate of the Stockton High School, the wife of Joe M. Davis, of Lodi, and the mother of one child; Ora Mae, also a graduate of the Stockton High School, and now the stenographer for the R. E. Doan Company; Cecil R., attending the Stockton High, School; and Robert O., in grammar school. In 1922, Mr. Cutts moved into Stockton in order to provide better educational facilities for his children. He has always been a strong advocate of farming by irrigation, and spends most of his time looking after his ranch. A Republican in respect to his preference for party standards, Mr. Cutts heartily supported all the Liberty Loans and Red Cross work. As a member of Charity Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Stockton, he helps along its benevolent work in whatever way he can. He takes a very live interest in the cause of education, and has been clerk of the board of trustees of Fairchild School for the past twenty years, interesting himself particularly in child-welfare work. History of San Joaquin County, California � Los Angeles, Historic Record Co., 1923 p 1550 Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.