California Biographies, San Joaquin Valley 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 the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin Valley, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from its earliest settlement to the present time. Prof. James Miller Guinn , A. M. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1905 Notes: Missing Page: 865-866,983-984,1175-1176 LAYTON J. HANSBERGER. California, with its beautiful landscapes, its lakes and streams, its picturesque mountains, its progressive towns and cities, its farms with the fertile soil, its wonderful prosperity and its abundance of fruit and flowers, makes a habitation fit for a king, and no history would be complete unless due mention were made of the pioneers who assisted in settling this great state, and in this Virginia furnished her quota, among them Mr. Hansberger, who first stepped on California soil October 6, 1878, and for a quarter of a century has been identified with the agricultural interests in the vicinity of Selma, Fresno county. In 1902 Mr. Hansberger retired from his farm, taking up his residence in Selma, and at once engaging in the real estate and insurance business. The first year he was associated with T. L. Jones, but he now carries on an extensive business under the name of the Hansberger Land Company, buying and renting land and doing a general insurance business. Mr. Hansberger was born March 2, 1850, in the vicinity of Fredericksburg, Va., and is one of six children born to L. J. and Martha (French) Hansberger, natives of the same state. The father, a native of Rockingham, Va., was a Methodist Episcopal minister and his demise took place in a parsonage near Appomattox Court House. He was survived some years by his widow, who died in her sixty-fifth year at Sedalia, Mo. Of their children, three were sons and three were daughters, and they are as follows : W. F., a mail contractor, residing at Sedalia, Mo. ; Henry, residing near Yuma, Ariz. ; Layton J. ; Mrs. Louise Guerant, also a resident of Sedalia; Mrs. Alice Fretwell. residing a t Danville, Va. ; and Mrs. G. S. Hewitt, of Fresno county. The mental training of Mr. Hansberger was received in private subscription schools, which he attended during the Civil war, and when of sufficient age he engaged in farm pursuits in his native state, raising tobacco, principally. His people were southerners, and at this time lived near Cartersville, but in 1867 Layton J., in company with his brother Henry, went west to Sedalia, Mo., and followed farm pursuits there, renting land. Upon the death of their father, they returned to Virginia and stayed there for eighteen months, but in the fall of 1870 they returned to Sedalia, which was their home for several years. About 1878 Mr. Hansberger came to California, purchasing a quarter section of land three miles south of Selma, which he still owns. He lived upon this place and carried on agricultural pursuits until 1902; since then he has lived in Selma. The home ties of Mr. Hansberger date back to November 18, 1877, when he was united in marriage with Miss Nannie Stone, formerly of Missouri. Three children came to bless this union. They are : Alma, now Mrs. Morris Yost, residing near Selma; Celeste, who was a high school student in Selma, class of 1904; and Nannie, also a high school student. The mother of these children passed to the great beyond in 1889, and October 26, 1890, Mr. Hansberger married for his second wife Mrs. Julia B. Reed, a native of Missouri, and she has one daughter, Ruth Reed, who is also a high school student. In 1899 Mr. Hansberger was one of the organizers of the Selma Co-operative Dairy Association, of which he .is now serving as president. Fraternally he is prominently connected with a number of secret societies, among them Selma Lodge No. 155, K. of P.; Valley view Lodge No. 208, A. O. U. W., and Justice Council No. 322, Fraternal Aid, of which his wife and daughters are members. In his political convictions he is termed an Independent Democrat and has served as school director many times, being also twice elected director for the High School of Selma.