Madera County

The Madera County Historian, Volume 3, Issue 1

The Madera County Historian documents the history of Madera County and was published by the Madera Historical Society beginning in 1961. This is issue 1 of volume 3, was published in January of 1963 and totaled 8 pages. Since the 1800s California has diverted its rivers to assist farmers in producing the crops that feed […]

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The Madera County Historian, Volume 2, Issue 4

The Madera County Historian documents the history of Madera County and was published by the Madera Historical Society beginning in 1961. This is issue 4 of volume 2, was published in Oct of 1962 and totaled 8 pages. Doris E. Foster continues her article on the First Annual California Mission Meeting held in 1961 that

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Cover E W Chapman Ranch Time Book 1876-1878

Time Book from the E. W. Chapman Ranch, 1876-1878

This original ledger was used by the E. W. Chapman Ranch to keep track of their employees time spent working, starting in July of 1876 and running through June of 1878 . Generally the amount worked are either indicated by a check mark for a day of the month, or 1/2 to indicate they worked only half a day. What a day’s work was is never mentioned, but traditionally it could be as long as sunrise to sundown. The job employed for is also not mentioned. You would consider these employees as day laborers, and many of them may have also worked for other ranches and farms. The type of information provided in this document is the name of the employed, the days of the month they worked, the total days, wages per day, amount paid, amount due, and total amount.

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The Madera County Historian, Volume 2, Issue 1

The Madera County Historian documents the history of Madera County and was published by the Madera Historical Society beginning in 1961. This is issue 1 of volume 2, was published in January of 1962 and totaled 8 pages. This issue starts out with the Mordecai family of Madera County who descend from Augustus Mordecai and

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The Madera County Historian, Volume 1, Issue 4

The Madera County Historian documents the history of Madera County and was published by the Madera Historical Society beginning in 1961. This is issue 5 and totaled 8 pages. Doris and Clyde Foster, members of the Madera County Historical Society, wrote and submitted two articles on the history of the Foster Hogue Ranch. The first

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The Madera County Historian, Volume 1, Issue 3

Starting on June 21, 1880, a group of Madera County friends made a camping trip to Yosemite Valley. They kept a diary of their vacation, taking turns in writing of their impressions and progress. The Daulton’s, joint editors of this article, narrate the trip for us while highlighting specific passages from the Diary itself and the words of those who wrote the Diary. Names of the authors of the Diary were C. E. Brown, his wife Matilda Gilmore Brown; Tillie’s half-brother Willie Mace; Jack and Jonathan Daulton and their sisters Ida and Agnes; and Addie Raynor.

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The Madera County Historian, Volume 1, Issue 2

This issue starts with an article written by the President of the Madera County Historical Society, Nathan C. Sweet. Nathan examines an original Time Book from the E.W. Chapman Ranch situated just outside Madera, California which covered the year of 1876. He describes various facts he can elicit from it, such as the wages in 1876 for the farm hands, a description of grain raising at that time, and how straw was used for fuel. Arch Westfall gives a brief accounting of his father Fremont Westfall, and mother, Isabelle Smither, arrival and settlement in Madera County in 1895. Finally, Muriel W. Sweet describes an early trip her mother, Miss Annie Hoyt, made to Yosemite from Vassar College in 1872.

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