Colusa County Biographies

Columbus C. Felts

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives 
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm


            Columbus C. Felts was born in Georgia, January 16, 1837, and at the 
age of six years moved with his parents to Mississippi, where he lived until 
1853, when his father decided to once more move westward, to California.  
Accordingly, with the father, mother and five young brothers and sisters, young 
Felts turned his steps toward the Pacific Coast.  In Missouri the father died, 
and shortly after his death the mother died, when the care of the orphaned 
children devolved upon the eldest brother of Columbus.  After remaining in 
Missouri a year after the death of their parents, the young emigrants proceeded 
on their way to California, shortly after which the elder brother died, when 
young Columbus piloted his brothers and sisters on, arriving in Colusa County in 
1855, taking up their residence on Grand Island.  Here young Felts remained for 
seventeen years, working for wages and farming for himself.  In 1872 he moved to 
his present home five miles northwest of Maxwell, where he has a farm of three 
hundred and thirty acres.  In 1878 Mr. Felts married Miss Emma Hodgen, and is 
the father of two sons and two daughters.  In politics Mr. Felts is a Democrat, 
and was chosen in 1884 by his party for Supervisor, which position he filled 
four years.  In 1888 he was elected County Treasurer.  He took a prominent part 
in the formation of the Central Irrigation District, and was a director of that 
district in 1889-90.  Mr. Felts takes an especial interest in his twenty-acre 
vineyard of wine grapes, which he set out in 1883, and reset the following year. 
 There is not a missing vine in the entire vineyard.  The leading variety of 
grape planted is the Zinfandel.  He makes annually about six hundred gallons of 
claret wine, which some of the best judges in the State have examined and 
pronounced of superior quality.  His vineyard the past two years has each year 
produced over one hundred tons of grapes.  What grapes he does not use in making 
wine are dried and sold to dealers.  The profit from this little vineyard during 
the year 1890, after all expenses were paid, was $1,320.  Mr. Felts keeps well 
posted on the topics of the day, and is an enterprising, progressive citizen.
 
�Colusa County� � by Justus H. Rogers � Orland, CA � 1891 � pp 434