THEOPHILUS KIRK
-Fruit Grower, Santa Clara County Pioneer
Surnames: LOWE, CHESNUTWOOD, FARRINGTON, DORRANCE
Conspicuous among the extensive and successful fruit
growers of Santa Clara county, Theophilus Kirk was both prominent and
influential, and his demise was regretted by his neighbors and a host
of friends. He was owner of one of the finest orchards and one of
the most attractive home estates to be found in the valley. A man
of keen intelligence and superior business attainments, he was actively
identified with the agricultural and horticultural developments and
interests of Santa Clara County since the early '50s. He was born
in Jefferson County, Ohio, a son of Theophilus and Elizabeth (Lowe)
Kirk, and in that state his father died, his mother passing away at the
Kirk home place on Hicks Avenue, Santa Clara County.
Theophilus Kirk was educated in the public schools of Iowa
and Illinois, whither his parents had moved. In the early years
of his life, he crossed the plains in 1853, bringing with him a drove
of cattle and consuming about six months in the journey from the
Missouri River to the Coast. He and his brother, S. Kirk, located
in Santa Clara County, where they purchased a large tract of land and
began farming; but Mr. Kirk soon saw the future for the successful
growing of fruit and so was one of the first to set out orchards,
becoming one of the pioneers in the dried fruit industry, which has
made this valley so famous. He was also one of the pioneers of
irrigation in the county, and at his passing he was the last of the six
original owners of the Kirk Ditch Company, organized in 1859 for
irrigating purposes. Mr. Kirk made a practical study of
horticulture and found both pleasure and profit from this interesting
side of country life. All the improvements he made were of a
substantial and modern nature and the methods he employed in the
culture of his orchards were those of the earnest and interested
student of science.
Mr. Kirk's marriage, at Stockton, united him with Miss
Elizabeth Chesnutwood, also a native of Jefferson County, Ohio, who
came to California with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Kirk were the
parents of two daughters--Ethel, now the wife of S. D. Farrington, and
Edith L., the wife of J. P. Dorrance--both residing on the Kirk
estate. There are two grandchildren, Theo Kirk Farrington and
John Kirk Dorrance. Politically Mr. Kirk was a firm supporter of
the principles of the Republican party, but was never an aspirant for
official honors. He was a devout Methodist and was for many years
an active and official member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church
of San Jose. Liberal in the support of all measures looking
toward the prosperity and advancement of his community, his
conscientious and upright life and business career won for him the
honor and esteem of his fellowmen, and his passing on June 30, 1915,
deeply mourned by his family and friends, was a distinct loss to the
county.
Transcribed by Joseph Kral, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California, published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 379
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