California Biographies

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


CHARLES WESLEY TRABER. As one of the active young men in his community to advocate 
progressive ideas and improvements, Mr. Traber has ever been a willing promoter of every 
plan to advance the business development of his section, and much of the progress of Par- 
lier is traceable directly to his influence. A native of Mendocino county, Cal., he was born 
March 25, 1868, a son of Charles P. and Mary E. (Coates) Traber, the former a native of New 
York state and the latter born in Wisconsin in 1833. The union of this esteemed couple took 
place in Wisconsin, and in 1861 the father came west to seek a home, locating in Mendocino 
county, and a couple of years afterward he was joined by his wife. Of the three children born 
of this union, two are sons and one a daughter, namely : George L. ; Charles W. ; and Loretta, 
wife of Samuel J. Harp, deputy sheriff of Fresno county. The father, after locating in Mendocino 
county, engaged in the flour milling business and for a period of thirteen years ran a mill near 
Willits, in that county. In 1874 he removed to the San Joaquin valley, being one of the original 
settlers on the plains south of Selma, Fresno county. There he took up a homestead claim of 
one hundred and sixty acres of government land in the vicinity of Parlier, and he it was who 
superintended the construction of the Church ditch, or the "Long cut," which has been of untold 
benefit to the settlers, bringing as it does the water necessary for agricultural pursuits. He also 
ran a mill at Centerville for a short time, in connection with his farm pursuits. His active career 
was closed by his death in 1878, aged forty-five years. 

The mental training of Charles W. Traber was gleaned from his attendance at the public 
schools. His school days over, he engaged in farming and stock-raising. He is now joint 
owner of the paternal farm with his brother George L. They have one hundred cows, and 
the high brand of their dairy products is unrivaled. Their extensive vineyards cover forty- 
five acres devoted to the raisin grape, which alone yields them a comfortable income. The 
balance of their one hundred and sixty acre farm is used in raising alfalfa, which yields sev- 
eral successive crops each season, in addition to furnishing pasturage for several months. Mr. 
Traber is unmarried, and with his mother still resides on the home place, and it is needless to 
add that she is well cared for by her sons, who anticipate her every want. Although he has 
abstained from political aspirations, Mr. Traber is active in the advancement of the Republican 
cause and has proved himself a useful member of his party. Fraternally he is allied with the 
Knights of Pythias of Selma and the Native Sons of the Golden West.