Kings County Biographies This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm STILES A. McLAUGHLIN vineyardist and rancher at Lemoore, was born in Ashtabula County, Ohio, in 1852, a son of Wm. H. McLaughlin, a mechanic by trade. In 1862 the latter moved to Pennsylvania, and in 1866 to Mercer County, Illinois, where he followed his particular industry. Our subject lived at home until 1872, when he came to California, first settling at Woodland, Yolo County, as an employe� upon the fruit ranch of R. B. Blower, one of the first raisin developers of California. In 1873 Mr. McLaughlin came to Lemoore and bought a claim for 160 acres of railroad land, where he began farming, and in the spring of 1874 he received grape cuttings from Mr. Blower, of Woodland. He set out about two acres to vines, and made the first raisins in that part of the valley. In 1878 he sold his ranch and purchased his present place of forty acres, west of Lemoore. In the spring of 1879 he set out ten acres in fruit and vines, and has since added to the amount of twenty-eight acres, the remainder of the ranch being in alfalfa. His vines are in full bearing and are considered very fine, as they produce two and a half tons of raisins to the acre. In 1888 Mr. McLaughlin, in partnership with I. H. Ham and C. L. Dingley, of San Francisco, purchased 421 acres of land adjoining the town. In the spring of 1889 they set eighty acres to fruit-trees and vines, to which they have since added, and now have sixty acres in fruit and 170 acres in vines, all doing well and just coming into bearing. Mr. McLaughlin superintends the ranch, and its fine condition is the most substantial evidence of its able management. Mr. McLaughlin built his handsome cottage home in 1889; and his tank-house adjoining, covering his artesian well, is both useful and beautiful. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. of Lemoore, and of the Farmers� Alliance. Active in all of his pursuits, he is deeply interested in the fruit interests of California. He was married at Lemoore, in 1876, to Miss Mary Wright, a native daughter, and the union has been blessed with two children: Wilmot Wright and Aimee Edna. Memorial and Biographical History of the counties of Fresno, Tulare and Kern, California Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1892 p. 328 STILES A. McLAUGHLIN The McLaughlin family, to which belongs Stiles A. McLaughlin, originated in Scotland. His grandfather, John McLaughlin, lived in Pennsylvania. His father was William Harrison McLaughlin and was a native of Pennsylvania, where he grew up and learned the trade of carriage maker, later removing to Ohio. Following his trade there for a short time he engaged in merchandising and various other pursuits with varying success. It was in Ashtabula county, Ohio, that Stiles A. was born January 3, 1852. When he was about ten years old his parents moved to Pennsylvania, and after a residence there of six years they went to Illinois, where they remained for a like period. The changes of time brought the younger McLaughlin to California when he was about twenty-one years old. He worked in Yolo county about a year, then came to Lemoore, Kings county, and soon afterward acquired a land claim half a mile south of that town. He relinquished it, however, and bought forty acres, bounded on one side by the city line, which he planted to fruit trees and retained until 1902, when he sold it to advantage. He then bought forty acres west of the forty just referred to and eighty acres adjoining this last purchase. After having lived there six years, he sold forty acres of the property, retaining the eighty acres, forty of which is in vineyard, and moved to Lemoore. In these various real estate deals he was quite successful, gradually accumulating money and land until he has come to be considered one of the well-to-do men of that part of the county. He is a director of the First National Bank of Lemoore and has been in one way or another identified with several interests of importance. His public spirit impelled him to accept the nomination of his party for membership of the Board of Supervisors of Kings county. He was three times elected and served continuously from November, 1895, to December, 1906. Local lodges of Free & Accepted Masons, Woodmen of the World and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows include Mr. McLaughlin in their membership. In 1876 he married Mary Wright, daughter of Samuel Wright, a pioneer of 1868 in Kings county, who made his mark as a farmer and stockman. They have children as follows: Wilmot Wright, of Lemoore; Aimee, wife of Samuel McCorkle. of Dinuba ; Mary, who is a clerk in the post-office at Lemoore ; and Elmira, a student in the high school. In April, 1912, Mr. McLaughlin completed his comfortable brick residence on West D street, which is up-to-date in every respect and adds greatly to the residence district of Lemoore, being most tasteful and attractive in design and appearance. The Wright family of which Mrs. McLaughlin is a member came originally from England and were old Virginia settlers, coming to Ohio in the early part of the nineteenth century. Later they removed to Iowa, whence Mrs. McLaughlin's parents, Samuel and Amelia A. (Orton) Wright came overland to California in 1849. Mrs. Wright is of Scotch ancestry and is now making her home at Lemoore, bright and active at the advanced age of eighty-four. History of Tulare and Kings Counties, California with Biographical Sketches - Los Angeles, Calif., Historic Record Company, 1913 pp. 843-844 Transcribed by Kathy Sedler