JOHN H. GILBERTSON.
The enterprising and progressive blacksmith of Coalinga, Jack Gilbertson, as he is familiarly known, is of Scotch ancestry, his grandfather, Henry Gilbertson, having been born in the land of the heather and of Bobby Burns, from which country he emigrated to Canada, afterwards moving over the line into New York State. He was a blacksmith by trade and passed his last days in the Empire State. The father of J. H. Gilbertson was Thomas Gilbertson, a native of Canada, who followed the trade of blacksmith in New York State as well as in Pennsylvania. While he was engaged at his trade in the latter state, oil was discovered at the old Drake well, near Titusville, Pa. Later on he ran a shop at Bradford, Pa., and it was in this place that he died. John H. Gilbertson, the subject of this sketch, was born on May 10, 1877, near the famous old Drake oil-well, located near Titusville, Pa. His mother, in maidenhood, was Ellen O'Hara, a native of New York State, and she resides now at Long Beach, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gilbertson were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living, J. H. being the sixth child.
When eleven years of age, Jack Gilbertson moved with his parents to Bradford, Pa., and it was in the public school of this town that he received his early education. Following the footsteps of his father and grandfather, he learned the trade of a blacksmith, and in due time ran a shop in partnership with his father. He remained with him until he sold his interest and then he accepted a position with an oil-tool company, in West Virginia, where he was the blacksmith for the firm of Betman, Watson & Burnham, in Belmont, W. Va. After remaining here three years he returned to Bradford where he was in the employ of the Oil Well Supply Company, as a blacksmith, continuing with them for five years. Having a desire to see the western states, Mr. Gilbertson migrated as far west as Kiefer, Okla., where he was foreman of the Independent Iron Works, engaged in building oil-well machinery. His next move was eastward, as he located at Rochester, N. Y., where he secured employment with the Fredericks Structural Iron Works as foreman of their blacksmithing department. After remaining here a few months, Mr. Gilbertson moved to California, making his advent into the Golden State in 1906, locating at Coalinga, where he secured employment with the California Oilfields Limited, as a blacksmith, which position he filled for three years, when he left Coalinga for Tonopah, Nev. After serving nine months as master mechanic of the Tonopah Extension, he resigned and returned to Coalinga, where he accepted the position of head blacksmith for the Bunting Iron Works, which place he efficiently filled for five years, resigning in 1915 to engage in business for himself. Purchasing the blacksmith shop of Hansen & Borum, he opened a general blacksmithing business, also engaged in auto repairing and light oil-tool blacksmithing work. Mr. Gilbertson is an expert in his line of work, an enterprising business man who has the happy faculty of making friends, which accounts for his growing and prosperous business, located on Front Street, Coalinga. From a boy Mr. Gilbertson was reared in the oil region and has been through most of the prominent oil-fields and has had valuable experience in the making of oil-well tools. While with the Oil Well Supply Company in Bradford. Pa., he assisted in the making of the fishing tools that were exhibited at the Saint Louis Exposition.
Mr. Gilbertson was united in marriage with Miss Gladys M. Levey, a native of Iowa, and they have three children: Jack; Helen, and Norma. Fraternally, Mr. Gilbertson is a member of the Eagles.
JAMES P. GREGORY.
An enterprising and progressive resident of the Rolinda section of Fresno County, is James P. Gregory, merchant and rancher who has become one of the leading men in his community, where he is very popular. He was born near Chattanooga, Tenn., December 3, 1876, a son of Thomas and Sarah (Milam) Gregory, who were both born in that state. The elder Gregory was both a merchant and farmer, and conducted a mercantile establishment in Daisy, Hamilton County, and later in Hill City, Tenn. Subsequently he removed to the Cherokee Nation and engaged in farm pursuits at Vian and there he passed to his reward. Mrs. Gregory died in Tennessee. They were the parents of two children: James P., of this review, and Mrs. J. C. Bach, of Barstow Colony. By a former marriage Thomas Gregory was the father of three children, and by a later one, of one son, Lawrence, now in the United States Army.
James P. was educated in the public schools in Tennessee until his removal with the family to the Cherokee Nation in 1891, there he continued his studies in the public school and completed at the academy. During the interval he assisted his father on the farm. Having a desire to see the Pacific Coast country, in 1901 he left for California and came direct to Fresno. He soon found employment in the store at Kearney Park owned by the late M. Theo. Kearney, and there, by careful attention to the interests of his employer, he soon became known as a young man of ability and was made manager of the store.
In 1905, having gained a good insight into local conditions and become familiar with the methods of carrying on the general merchandise business here. Mr. Gregory saw a good opening for a like enterprise on White's Bridge Road, one-half mile east of Rolinda Station. He leased an acre of land and the small building that had been erected for him, and began on a small scale. There were but few ranches in the locality and the little store was the only building at the four corners. Being well and favorably known, he soon drew trade from former patrons of the Kearney store and gradually his business grew. Before three years had passed he was able to buy the land where his store stood and some besides, making two and one-half acres: he tore down the old building and erected a more commodious structure and by close application to business prospered beyond his expectations. He it was who gave the name of Rolinda to the settlement; also named Rolinda Avenue, running north and south. During the time he was carrying on the store he also farmed some land across the road from his store and raised some good crops. On account of ill health caused by too close confinement in the store, Mr. Gregory sold out the stock of merchandise in March, 1919, and then turned his attention to the development of a ranch of sixty acres that he purchased in July, 1918, and which is located on McKinley Avenue. Later, he expects to reenter the mercantile field at Rolinda. He is a member of the California Associated Raisin Company and he served as a deputy under Sheriffs Chittenden, McSwain, Thorwaldsen and Jones. As a republican he has ever sought to do his duty at the polls; also has shown an interest in educational affairs and is serving as a trustee of the Houghton school district. Fraternally, he is a member of Houghton Lodge of the Fraternal Brotherhood at Rolinda and of Pitiaches Tribe, I. O. R. M., at Fresno.
The marriage of James P. Gregory and Miss Bena Jacobsen, the daughter of P. C. Jacobsen, a pioneer resident of this section, was celebrated in February, 1904. Of this union six children have been born: Ruth, Emma, Edna, Tames, Clarence, and Parker, who add to the charm of the Gregory household, and with their parents enjoy the good will and esteem of their many friends.
JOHN BIEN.
A prosperous rancher of the Biola district, John Bien is justly proud of his record and what he has accomplished through his own industry and thrift. Born in Dinkel, Samara, Russia, August 30, 1875, he is a son of George and Annie (Grommer) Bien, both residents of that country, and there the father's death occurred, in 1878; the mother still living in the old country. John is one of two brothers left living out of a family of three boys and one girl born to his parents. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and when six years of age went to live with his uncle, Conrad Bien, remaining with him until the age of fifteen. From that early age he made his own way in life, working out on farms for his board and twenty-five dollars a year, which stipend was increased a little each year, until when twenty-four years of age he was receiving fifty dollars a year, out of which sum he had to buy his clothes and incidentals — an illustration of the scant wages paid to young people in that country.
In the fall of 1898, the young man emigrated to the United States, and first located in Lincoln, Nebr., where he was in the employ of the Union Pacific Railroad. In the fall of 1900 he came to Fresno, and for seven years