California Biographies Mendocino and Lake Counties, California Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of Mendocino and Lake Counties, California With Biographical Sketches History by Aurelius O. Carpenter And Percy H. Millberry Illustrated, Complete In One Volume Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1914 LA FAYETTE SAILOR.� The thriftily kept ranch of La Fayette Sailor, situated in the Scotts valley precinct in Lake county, is one of the garden spots which well illustrate the fertility of its soil and its agricultural possi- bilities generally, and Mr. Sailor himself is one of the substantial residents of the section who have aided its development along conservative but thor- oughly progressives lines. There has been nothing spectacular about his work or its results, yet all in all he has had a career of steady success above the average and has led a life of wholesome activity which has not only brought him prosperity, but has also been helpful to his neighbors and a benefit to the whole community. His place is located on the Ukiah road in Scotts valley, at the steel bridge, three miles northwest of Lakeport, and the improvements bespeak thoughtful industry and good judgment in the outlay of time and money expended in bringing it to its present state of cultivation. Mr. Sailor has carried on general farming, fruit raising and stock growing and has done well in every line. It is presumed the Sailor family is of English origin, but La Fayette Sai- lor's father died when he was little more than an infant, so that he has been able to gather little concerning his ancestors. His grandfather was born in Virginia and died in Missouri, in which state Thomas Sailor, father of La Fayette Sailor, was born. The father married Maria Rice, a native of Ken- tucky who moved to Missouri with her parents when she was a little girl, and four children were born to this union: William H., who was accidentally killed in the mines in Yuba county, Cal., thirty-two years ago, and left four children ; Mary Ann, living in Idaho, who is the wife of Irving Lorton, a farmer, and has a family of five children ; Louisa, widow of George Johnson, living in Yuba county, Cal., who also has five children ; and La Fayette, who Was but two years old when his father died. The mother remarried, her second husband being John Hays, and they lived on a farm in Missouri, both dying in that state. La Fayette Sailor was born October 18, 1843, in Montgomery county. Mo., and lived in that state until twenty years old, receiving a common school education and careful training under a Christian mother. It was in 1863 that he came to the far west, crossing the plains with mule teams and first making a location at Austin, Nev., where he engaged in prospecting for a year and a half, during which period he lost everything he owned. In fact, when he arrived in Yuba county, Cal., in 1865, his capital amounted to $4. An opportunity presented itself in the shape of a chance to buy in a set of old diggings, which he worked with a partner for twelve years, clearing up between $6000 and $7000, with which he came to Lakeport in 1877, that year buying the ranch in Scotts valley which he has ever since operated. It comprises seventy acres, which he purchased from a man named Clark, and here he has had his home from that time, giving most of his time to the im- provement of the place. He has fenced his land twice, all the substantial barns and other farm buildings are of his construction, and the tract is advan- tageously laid out for the various uses to which the soil has been put. At the time he settled here about four acres were covered with willows, brush and bramble, and there were about one hundred oak trees on the place, all of which have been cleared off, not a stump remaining on the cultivated portion now. A beautiful pear orchard now fourteen years old covers twelve and a half acres (set out in 1900), receives scientific care and is bearing abundantly; Mr. Sailor also has a family orchard and vineyard covering two acres or more, planted in apples, peaches, pears, quinces, figs, grapes and walnuts, pro- viding bountifully for home needs ; and he also raises wheat, barley, oats and alfalfa, for hay and seed. His stock usually comprises forty head of cattle, big and little, including from fifteen to twenty hogs. As a rule he feeds from thirty to forty head of beef cattle, besides stock cattle, annually, raising shorthorn Durhams, and he has excellent pasture for his cattle on a forty-acre tract which he also owns, halfway between his home place and Upper Lake. On his home ranch he also raises Rhode Island Red poultry. Altogether he aims to supply the wants of his own household generously without interfering in any way with the commercial productiveness of his property, and has managed well. Persevering and well directed labor has had its reward, and he is a man of good standing in all the other relations of life as well as in business matters. Mr. Sailor has interested himself in the various local movements designed to benefit the neighborhood, and he was specially active in the organization of the Lake County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which has proved very advantageous to the farmers of the county ; he is now president of this organization, and has been one of the main factors in its success. Politically Mr. Sailor holds to the principles of the Progressive party. He has been a devout church member for the last thirty-five years, uniting with the Methodist Episcopal Church South at Lakeport, with which his family are also associated ; for over twenty years he has served this con- gregation as trustee, being president of the board, and he is zealous in pro- moting the work of the Sunday school. He is also a member of the Lake County Cured Fruit Association. Mr. Sailor has always given a full share of the credit for his success to his wife, who has helped him with encouragement and counsel in more than forty years of wedded life. On October 2, 1873, he married, in Montgomery county. Mo., Miss Emily Grace, daughter of William Grace, of that county and state, and they have reared a family of five daughters and two sons.