H. L. KUNS

was born near Logansport, Cass County, Indiana, November 19, 1847, his parents being David and Margaret (Lamb) Kuns, both of whom are natives of Ohio and reared near Delphi. The grandparents of the subject settled in the Wabash country shortly after the battle of Tippecanoe. In 1853, when six years old, his parents removed to Monticello, Piatt County, Illinois, where he was educated. He engaged in the grain business and farming for about five years, when, in 1878, he came to California and located on the San Ysidro Rancho in Gilroy Township, where he has since resided, having previously come to California in 1874 and selected it. He has a farm of 215 acres, three miles from Gilroy. He raises fruit and vegetables, having five or six acres of vegetables, which have been profitable, as he finds a good market for them in Gilroy. In 1882 he began to set out an orchard, setting out an acre of assorted fruits; in 1883 he planted nine acres into peach, apricot, Bartlett pears, and apples of the standard varieties, and about fifty cherries, besides a few prunes, plums, and nectarines. He regards Gilroy Township as the finest pear country he ever saw. His apples are fine. He has set out a few English walnuts, which also do well. The land is rich and very moist. The place is supplied with water from a two-inch well l00 feet deep. He never irrigates his vegetables. He has a ranch of about 4,500 acres in the San Joaquin Valley, which is principally devoted to stock and grain, his stock consisting of cattle. The rest of his home place is devoted to different purposes. On fourteen acres in 1887 he raised about .fifty tons of barley hay. He has raised as high as seven tons to the acre. He had nine tons of apricots in 1887 from 170 trees.

        He was married in Scioto County, Ohio, near Portsmouth, March 28, 1870, to Miss Ella Pearce, a native of Ohio, and by her has five children, namely, Arthur, Maggie, Lena, David, and Ora. Mr. Kuns is a member of the North Methodist Episcopal Church of Gilroy. In politics he is a Republican. Has been a School Trustee. He is an enthusiastic horticulturist, and has done much toward developing the fruit interests of his neighborhood.

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.
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