California Genealogy and History Archives
Biographies
of
Sacramento County
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SOLOMON
RUNYON The
genealogy of the Runyon family is traced back to French ancestors, but
several successive generations of the name have been identified with
American history. Michael Runyon and wife, the latter of American birth
but English parentage, lived upon a plantation in Kentucky until their
demise when advanced in years. Their son, Armstead, was born and reared
in the Blue Grass state, whence he removed to Preble county, Ohio, and
then became a pioneer of Will county, Ill., during a period so early in
the development of the Mississippi valley that Chicago was still a
frontier trading post and the rich agricultural section of Northern
Illinois wholly undeveloped and sparsely inhabited. During young manhood
he had married Anna Hornbacker, who was born in Ohio of German or
Pennsylvania-Dutch stock, and with her energetic assistance he had
earned a livelihood from a tract of unimproved and undeveloped land.
Fond of the frontier, a pioneer in every sense of that word, he found
his highest enjoyment in the strenuous labors incident to such an
existence, and when he heard of the discovery of gold in California he
was as eager to join the procession of Argonauts as though he himself
had been a stalwart youth in his teens. With his sons, O. E., A. N. and
Solomon, he left Illinois early in the spring of 1849 and followed the
usual route of migration across the plains, arriving safely at
Sacramento during the middle of September. It was his privilege to
witness the memorable era of early Californian development, the rapid
accession to the population, the admission of the state into the Union,
the growth in wealth from mines and of prosperity from the early
expansion of agricultural interests, and with his own past experience
amid frontier conditions he was in a position to understand and
appreciate the environment of the period as well as the prospects for
future development. His death occurred in Santa Rosa, where he had spent
the last days of his useful existence. Upon
the frontier farm in Will county. Ill., where for years Armstead and
Anna Runyon labored to earn for the family the necessities of existence,
their son, Solomon, was born November 27, 1827. The neighborhood had not
developed a public-school system and he had scant opportunity for
acquiring an education, but he learned to read and write and to keep
accounts in a primitive manner. The broad knowledge of his later years
was wholly self-acquired. Remaining on the home farm and working for his
father until he was twenty-one, he afterward took up the battle of life
for himself. When he came to California during 1849 he began to work in
the mines, and for two years he pursued the exciting life of a seeker
after gold, but the results did not justify further continuance.
Accordingly he resumed the occupation which in Illinois had engaged his
attention. During 1852 he entered one hundred and sixty acres of state
land near Schoolcraft, Solano county, and there he settled, spending the
next few years in the improvement of the property. .September 15, 1859,
he bought a ranch twenty-four miles below Sacramento on the river of
that name, and there he took up agricultural activities with such
success that- in 1868 he was able to replace the old home with a modern
mansion, which for years ranked as the most elegant residence on the
river. After
he had remained a bachelor until middle life Mr. Runyon established a
home of his own, being united in marriage, July 23, 1863, with Miss
Adaline Bloom, who was born in Missouri and arrived in California
September 12, 1850, having been brought across the plains by her
parents, William H. Harrison and Delilah Bloom. The only child of her
marriage was a daughter, Ora, born January 18, 1875, and educated in
Mills College, Oakland. Her demise occurred November 18, 1905. The
landed possessions of Mr. Runyon were enlarged by the purchase, December
13, 1871, of one hundred and fifty-five acres at the head of Andrus
island five miles down the river from the old homestead. August 21,
1881, he purchased an adjacent tract of two hundred and eighty-six
acres, so that he had in one body four hundred and forty-one acres of
rich land. Other acquisitions of property made him one of the largest
land owners of the entire valley and much of this vast acreage was
planted in fruit trees, so that he ranked among the most extensive
orchardists of the locality. In addition he owned considerable property
in Sacramento and San Francisco. The
landed possessions of Mr. Runyon and the management of the same did not
represent the limit of the varied activities of his useful career,
existing in the incorporation of the California Transportation Company,
he afterward retained a large amount of stock in the concern and served
upon its directorate. For years he was interested in the Sacramento
street railway and was one of six men who bought the farm that is now
Oak Park, laid out the townsite, and built a residence as a model; and
this was virtually the starting of that prosperous suburb of Sacramento.
In order to promote throughout the west an interest in the growing of
fruit he identified himself with the State Board of Horticulture, which
he served as treasurer at one time and in which he was a member of great
influence, his recognized success as an orchardist giving him prestige
among those who were seeking to give to horticulture its rightful
position near the head of the profitable occupations of the west. Honored
among the pioneers of the state, respected by the rising generation
cognizant of his successful supervision of large enterprises, a leader
in the charities of the Knights Templar and the Masons of the
thirty-second degree, Mr. Runyon was regarded as one of the most
influential men of the Sacramento valley, and his death, which occurred
May 23, 1896, was regarded as a calamity to the interests of his
community. However, with a sagacity equal to his own, his wife took up
the supervision of the vast estate of twenty-eight hundred acres,
divided into six ranches, and she has given intelligent and successful
oversight to the important holdings, which are largely devoted to the
growing of fruit and vegetables, the raising of grain and alfalfa and
the care of dairy products. On two of her ranches she makes a specialty
of growing asparagus, having over two hundred and fifty acres in that
product, and is one of the largest asparagus beds in the state. Markets
in San Francisco and also local canneries are supplied from these beds.
In order to ascertain the condition of every ranch and the needs of the
crops, she makes frequent trips to the tracts and gives personal
attention to the same. Her success is a matter of general observation. While owning and occupying one of the finest residences in Sacramento, situated at No. 1801 H street, and holding a position among the society leaders of the capital city, she has not limited her life to home and society, but has endeavored to aid in the greater interests of the entire valley. For years she has made a specialty of reclamation work. On this subject she is regarded as an authority in the Sacramento valley. Her long study of reclamation and her broad knowledge of the local conditions caused her to be selected as a member of the commission that is studying a feasible plan for the opening of the mouth of the Sacramento river. She is a frequent attendant at the meetings of the National Rivers and Harbor Congress and enjoys the distinction of being its only lady member in the United States, besides having the further honor of occupying a high place in the councils of that important organization. She is a member of the Rebekahs and the Onisbo Chapter No. 164, O. E. S. of Sacramento, and is past grand treasurer of the Chapter, O. E. S. of California. |
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Source: Transcribed by Peggy Hooper 2011 |