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


JOSEPH J. STREET. A noticeable fact in the population of California is that the southern element 
is represented in almost equal degree with the northern, for the climate and opportunities of 
the coast region have proved as attractive for families south of Mason's and Dixon's line as for 
the people from the colder climate of the north. Among the men of Fresno county who trace 
their lineage to southern progenitors, mention belongs to Joseph J. Street, who is a southerner 
by birth and ancestry. Born in White county. Tenn.. December 6. 1846, he was only three years 
of age when his father, hoping to better their financial condition, removed the family to 
Arkansas. As the years passed by, however, Richard Street found his prospects less bright than 
at first, for in addition to financial troubles, the war cloud was beginning to hang heavy over the 
land. In 1860 he decided to make another move, and this time he crossed the plains with ox-
teams and settled in California. After two years on the Kings river, in the fall of 1862 he bought a 
tract of land near Visalia and took up ranch pursuits. Probably prosperity would have rewarded 
his arduous exertions had his life been spared, but he died within a year after settling on the 
ranch from whose purchase he had hoped so much. His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
Patience Randolph, was born in Tennessee and died in Tulare county, Cal. 

In the parental family there were three daughters and five sons who attained mature years, 
one of these being Joseph J. Street, now of Fresno county. As a boy he had practically no 
advantages for an education. Poverty reared an impassable barrier between him and the 
schooling he earnestly coveted. Toil was his portion from childhood and the future held little 
promise in the Arkansas environment. When the decision was made to seek a home in 
California he gladly agreed to the proposition and accompanied his parents across the plains, 
settling on a ranch in Tulare county. In the fall of 1877 he came to the upper Kings river and 
rented a ranch three miles east of Centerville. In October, 1901, he secured his present 
homestead sixteen miles east of Sanger, where he not only conducts ranch pursuits, but also 
carries, on a stage station. The ranch is situated on the Sequoia mill road, a highway in more 
frequent use by travelers than some of the other roads in the eastern part of Fresno county. In 
addition to this property he owns a cattle ranch and also leases a considerable acreage. His 
wife, formerly Mrs. Almira Hutchinson, is the owner of a ranch of two hundred and forty acres 
in Clark's valley, their aggregate possessions representing a considerable amount. In politics he 
has been a stanch Democrat ever since casting his first ballot. Though not an office seeker, he 
accepted the positions of road master and school director at the solicitation of the people of his 
district, and these offices he filled with care and praiseworthy diligence.