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- BRYDEN, JAMES
Marysville Daily Appeal - 4/17/1892, p2 - Died: At his late residence on the Honcut, Marysville township, April 15th, James Bryden, a native of Nova Scotia, aged 64 years, 4 months and 15 days. Friends and acquaintances are respectfully invited to attend the funeral which will take place from the residence on Wednesday, April 20th, at 2 p.m.
Marysville Evening Democrat - 4/18/1892, p4 - Died: Near the Honcut, April 15th, 1892, James Bryden, a native of Nova Scotia, aged 64 years, 4 months and 15 days. Friends and acquaintances are respectfully invited to attend the funeral from his late residence Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock. Interment at Bryden cemetery.
Daily Appeal - Thu 4/21/1892, p2
- The Funeral of James Bryden - A Pioneer Resident of Yuba County Laid to Rest -
James Bryden was laid to rest yesterday by the side of two of his children who had preceded him in the journey which follows life. The plot is on the home place and it was at his own earnest request that he was burried [sic] there. Quite a number drove from Marysville to attend the funeral and many friends from the surrounding farms were present to pay the last mark of respect to one who in life was a true man and a good neighbor. The funeral was held at the late residence on the Honcut at 10 o'clock yesterday morning. The services were conducted by the Rev. Leonard J. Garver, and appropriate music was rendered by a choir consisting of Mrs. Arthur Boulton, Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Phipps and Prof. Sears. The floral offerings by sympathetic friends were many, several of the pieces being unusually beautiful in design. - The gentlemen who acted as pall-bearers were: W. T. Ellis, D. McDonald, C. C. Hampton, C. S. Brooks, William Pierson and A. S. Wight.
- James Bryden was one of Yuba county's wealthiest farmers. He was respected by all and those who knew him best regarded him as a warm, true-hearted, generous man, a fitting representative of those sturdy pioneers who learned in the trying times of early days to look upon humanity with a kindly eye, ever willing to help a friend, ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate than themselves. He came to California in 1850, crossing the plains with the relatives of the estimable lady who subsequently became his wife. He first engaged in mining and seemed to be blessed with fortune from the start, for in a very short time he had accumulated a sufficient sum of money to purchase a farm on the Honcut. This formed the nucleus for the large property which is now known as the Bryden ranch, situated about fourteen miles from Marysville and three miles from Moore's Station. - The deceased was always a busy, energetic man, and when about four years ago he was attacked by the sickness which finally resulted in his death, he refused to give up until his health was completely undermined. During the days of suffering that followed he was attended by a faithful, loving wife, who not only ministered to his every want but took the cares of the business into her own hands and managed them with success. Mr. Bryden leaves a widow, five daughters and a son. Only one of the children is married, the eldest daughter being the wife of Dr. Gates of Moore's Station.
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Sutter-Yuba County Biographies
This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm
Although more than thirty years have lapsed since the death of James Bryden, his memory still lives in the hearts of those who knew him, for he was one of those hardy pioneers who bravely faced the hardships and dangers of the unknown West and by their own labor evolved, out of a trackless wilderness and vast forests, the fertile land and well-developed farms that have made this State one of the greatest agricultural sections in America. His name is inseparably associated with the history of the development of Yuba and Butte Counties, in which his operations were conducted; and the Bryden Ranch, one of the finest in the State, has been in possession of the family for more than seventy years.
Mr. Bryden was a native of Ohio, but later removed to Monticello, Ill., and in February, 1850, while yet a young man, started across the plains, traveling with ox teams and wagons. They were six months in making the journey, which was a long and hazardous one, and in the fall of 1850 they arrived in California. For two years Mr. Bryden worked in the mines at Downieville, winning success in his search for gold; and in 1852 he invested his capital in land, purchasing a large tract on Honcut Creek in Yuba and Butte Counties. He was at first associated with a partner; and in 1852 they planted the first grain sown in Northern California. Their first crop was harvested by the Indians, and much of it was stolen; but the experiment proved that the soil of this section was well adapted to the growing of grain, and many settlers afterward followed their example. Subsequently Mr. Bryden bought out his partner and became sole owner of the ranch, which he brought to a high state of development, erecting thereon substantial buidings and converting it into one of the most desirable farms in the State. He worked diligently and persistently, and equipped his place with all of the newest devices in farm machinery. He conducted his labors systematically and scientifically and set the standards of farming in his section, becoming recognized as an authority on agricultural matters. The ranch comprised 3400 acres, all in one body, and since his death land has been added until there are about 5000 acres. The place is now being operated by Charles Bryden, a grandson of the subject of this sketch. Large numbers of sheep and cattle graze on a portion of the land, while the remainder is used for the growing of crops, and for three generations the ranch has been owned and cultivated by members of the Bryden family.
In Marysville, on November 30, 1865, Mr. Bryden married Miss Mary J. Sadorus, who survives him and is now residing in Marysville. She is a native of Illinois, born near Champaign, a daughter of A. M. and Margaret (Hamilton) Sadorus, who crossed the plains to California in 1850 and were pioneers of Butte County, where Mrs. Bryden was reared and educated. To Mr. and Mrs. James Bryden were born six children, of whom three are living. Mrs. Kate Gates, of Oroville; Mrs. Lillian Flannery, a resident of San Francisco; and Mrs. Edna Murphy, of Portland. Their son, James R. Bryden, died in April, 1922. He was born on the ranch and there spent his entire life. He was a worthy successor of his father, ably carrying forward the work which his sire had begun and adding many acres and modern improvements to the place, in which he took justifiable pride.
The death of James Bryden occurred in April, 1892, and in his passing California lost one of its pioneer builders, his associates a faithful friend, and his family a devoted husband and father. He was a man of broad vision, a power in constructive development and evolution; and his irreproachable character and life of industry and usefulness won for him a reward which he valued more highly than material gain, the high and enduring regard of his fellow men.
History of Yuba and Sutter Counties, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, 1924
p 333-334
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