FRANK A. WERT
Bio-Pen Pictures
SURNAMES: HAYES
fruit-drier and horticulturist, resides on Cypress Avenue, between the Stevens Creek road and the Williams road, four miles west of San Jose. Mr. Wert was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1846, and is the son of Joseph and Rebecca Wert, both of whom are now deceased. He received his education in the schools of the city of his birth. Near the close of the Civil War he enlisted in Company G, 154th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served for six months in the Army of the Shenandoah.
The subject of our sketch was trained to the industries of the city, first learning the tinner's trade. This occupation he followed for several years, later becoming a carpenter. That trade he also plied until after he came to this county from Indianapolis, in 1880, having had, before that time, no experience either in agriculture or horticulture. The three years succeeding his arrival in this county were spent in San Jose. He then bought, in 1883, ten acres of land on the Stevens Creek road, in the Meridian District, three and a half miles west of San Jose. There he planted a general variety of fruit-trees, French prunes leading. This model little orchard also contained apricots, peaches, cherries, Bartlett pears, figs, apples, almonds, and English walnuts. In learning this new business, he availed himself not only of theories but also of the experience of successful horticulturists. That he was successful, is shown by his sale of the orchard in January, 1888, at $850 per acre. Not intending to abandon the business, Mr. Wert soon afterward bought eighteen acres, which he will devote mainly to the culture of French prunes and apricots. In 1887 he dried about seventy-one tons of green fruit, and his success in producing a superior line of goods shows his skill in handling, and has encouraged him to make fruit-drying a specialty. His preparations for the crop of this season, and of coming seasons, are carefully made. Five acres of land he has reserved for fruit-drying purposes, and, having a Waliss drier, and 1,000 sun-trays, he is fully equipped, and will compete actively for a share of future crops.
Mr. Wert is a member of the Order of Chosen Friends, and also, as becomes an old soldier, of the Phil. Sheridan Post, G. A. R. Politically he is thoroughly identified with the Republican party.
In April, 1871,
in Cincinnati, Ohio, he married Miss Mattie Hayes, who was reared in
Indianapolis, and whose father, E. S. Hayes, lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Mr. and Mrs. Wert have three daughters: Clara, Georgie, and Julia Blanche.
Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H. S. Foote.- Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888.
Pg. 550-551
SANTA CLARA COUNTY BIOGRAPHY PROJECT