JOHN ZUlNGLIUS ANDERSON
Bio- Sawyers
SURNAMES: FREEMAN, SLOANE, VAN HORNE, KNICKERBOCKER
A life of great usefulness and far-reaching influence was ended on May
21, 1916, when John Zuinglius Anderson was called to his final rest at
the age of eighty~seven years. He was one of the sturdy pioneers of
Califomia and his name is written high on the roll of the honored dead
who were among the real builders and promoters of the state. A man of
marked initia tive, enterprise and detennination, his distinguished
ability would have gained him leadership in any vocation which he chose
to follow. Descending from Scotch progenitors and early identified with
the history of America, the Anderson- family possesses the high
principles of honor characteristic of the one race and the independent
and enterprising spirit of the other nation. Loyal to the land of their
adoption, they have furnished representatives to aid the country in
almost every war in its history. The great~grandfather of John Z.
Anderson was a Revolutionary soldier, enlisting with a regiment from
old Virginia. The grandfather, George S., removed from that state to
Pennsylvania, settling among the pioneers of Crawford County. When the
War of 1812 began he was prevented from becoming a participant by his
responsibility as the head of a family, but two of his sons responded
to the call for volunteers and showed the fighting spirit of their
Revolutionary ancestor. When the family settled in Pennsylvania,
George, the father of John Z., who was born in Virginia, was a child of
two years. Early in life he became interested in general farming and
stock business and for a number of years engaged as a drover over the
mountains to the big cities of eastern Pennsylvania. The dairy business
also claimed his attention for many years. His life was passed in the
same locality and he lived to be eighty-nine years of age. His marriage
united him with Miss Elizabeth Freeman, a native of New Jersey of
English extraction, who accompanied her father, Thomas Freeman, to
Pennsylvania when thirteen years of age and settled on a farm in
Crawford County.
In this family of eleven children, of whom he was the only one to
establish a home in California, John Z. Anderson was the fourth in
order of birth. In this favored section of the East, he grew to
manhood, receiving a good education, and being trained in habits of
industry and perseverance. Becoming interested in the newly discovered
gold regions of California, be decided to seek the new Eldorado, so in
1852 he made his way to California, being at that time twenty-two years
old. He made the journey on the ship Daniel Webster to Greytown, when
he crossed by the Nicaragua route to the west coast and thence on the
vessel Pacific to San Francisco. W hen the ship cast anchor he hastened
to the mines on the American River and for nine months followed the
adventurous life of a miner, but failing to find the coveted gold in
sufficient quantities to be paying, he turned his attention to general
farming in the Suisun Valley in Solano County, in which he met with
suc-cess. In 1857 he returned to Pennsylvania, where his marriage
occurred. He returned with his bride to Solano County, Cal., and for
ten years continued a resident of this state, but in 1866 revisited
Pennsylvania with the intention of remaining in the East. However, he
was not long satisfied with that part of the country and soon returned
to the Golden State, establishing his home in San Jose, where he spent
the remaining years of his life.
While ranching at Suisun, in the early days, Mr. Anderson also operated
a line of freight teams from California to Nevada, hauling supplies to
the princi-pal mining camps in that state, being thus occupied from
1863 until 1865 and winning substantial success in his operations along
that line. Following his location in San Jose, he became interested in
the fruit industry, shipping fruit to the East. He conceived the idea
of shipping fresh fruit from California to the eastem cities by
refrigeration, and many thought this a very impracticable idea, but he
refused to abandon his project, so to test out he converted a freight
car into a refrigerator car, dividing it into small sections and
providing it with a plentiful supply of ice; thus he shipped the first
carload of ripe cherries from California to Chicago, the fruit being
sent from San Jose. The cherries arrived at their destination in fme
condition, and long-distance shipping of fresh fruit by refrigeration
thus became a realized fact. Mr. Anderson invented the present cherry
box used for shipping cherries that has since become so popular and in
general use. He was urged by his friends to protect it by patents, but
he refused to do so, being desirous that all should profit by his
inventive genius. He was also first to employ women packers in his
packing and shipping of cher ries, thus opening a way for a new
industry for women. Mr. Anderson was the first man in this state to
ship ripe olives in carload lots to the East. He became the heaviest
shipper of fresh fruits in California, sending consignments to Denver,
Chicago and all of the large centers in the Middle West. Mr. Anderson
was president of the J. Z. Anderson Fruit Company, being associated
with his son, George, in this business until he retired from active
business life. He was also president of the California Fruit Union,
which was organized in 1883, the first co-operative fruit marketing
organization formed for shipping California fruits to the East. He was
never satisfied with old and worn-out business methods, but was
constantly striving for improvement and advance-ment. and although a
few of his experiments did not prove the success anticipated, he
enjoyed a large degree of success and was responsible for many
innovations of value, resulting in a notable saving of time and
increased efficiency. His nature was a buoyant one and he never allowed
himself to become dis-couraged by failure or defeat. He possessed the
ability to think in large terms and his plans were carefully formulated
and promptly executed.
At Meadville, Pa., in 1857, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah E. Sloane, a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Van Horne) Sloane,
the former a native of Philadelphia, Pa., while the latter, bom near
Meadville, was a member of an old Knickerbocker family; her
Great-grandfather Van Horne was born in Holland, while her grandfather,
Cornelius Van Horne, a native of New Jersey, was the first white
settler to locate at Meadville and was captured by the Indians during
one of the marauding expeditions in Pennsylvania, but in the course of
time made his escape. As has been stated he was a pioneer of Meadville
and became a very prominent man, the father of a distinguished family
and lived to be nearly one hundred years of age. Mrs. Anderson's
wedding ring was made from gold mined by her hus-band in Califomia in
early days. She survived her husband, passing away January 16, 1920,
when eighty-five years of age. She was a woman of much personal charm,
culture and refmement, who was devoted to her husband and children, a
noble, true and loving mother in every sense of the word, whose memory
is cherished and loved by all who knew her.
They became the parents of ten children; Elizabeth died at the age of
fifteen years; Robert died when but two years old; Josephine departed
this life when young; George H. is engaged in the fruit business in San
Jose; Grace died at the age of thirty-two; Alden, who was formerly
lieutenant-govemor of Califomia, also serving as assemblyman and
speaker of the house, is now president of the Capital National Bank at
Sacramento; Callie E. and Edwin F. were twins, the latter of whom died
when but a year old; and Elmer E. and Wilbur, were also twins, the
former a resident of Southem • Califomia, while the latter died in
infancy. Miss Callie E. Anderson, was bom in San Jose and acquired her
education in the grammar and high schools of this city, after which she
attended the State Normal School of San' Jose.
Mr. Anderson was always an inspiration to young men and his advice to
them was to engage in business for themselves and having chosen their
business to throw all of their energy into it and by right doing and
thinking make a success of it, and many a busi-ness man of today gives
credit of their success in life to his advice and counsel. Mr. Anderson
gave his political allegiance to the Republican party and he was at one
time connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He was a
prominent Mason, having membership in the Blue Lodge, Chapter and
Commandery at San Jose. He took a deep interest in preserving data and
relics pertaining to pioneer-ing and early historical events in
California and was very active in the formation and served as president
cf the Santa Clara County Pioneer Society for ten years, spending much
time to further its importance, as well as looking to the comfort of
the old pioneers-being very solicitous regarding their welfare. A man
of pleasing personality, always affable, Mr. Anderson was well known
and esteemed and everyone who knew him was his friend. He was a big
man-big in that power which understands conditions, grasps situations
and molds opportunity into tangible assets. His was an admirable
character, worthy of all praise, and the record of his
achievements is -the best commentary upon his life and upon his ability
and enterprise. His honesty and integrity of purpose gained him the
greatest confidence and respect, so much so that- no man in Santa Clara
County was more trusted than John Zuinglius Anderson.