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John Kolmer | Page last modified: |
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John Kolmer | Page last modified: |
John's brand
Click to view registration.
(Source: Sonoma Co. Recorder's Office)
Per census records, he was born in 1836 in North Carolina, U.S.A. He was eight or nine years old when he emigrated with his parents (Michael & Josefa Kolmer) to California in 1845. After his parents died (11 Feb. 1858, & 22 Feb., 1864), his brother-in-law Wilhelm Benitz gave him title to the Kolmer Farm in Timber Cove. He lived on the farm until he died. He was shot and killed outside his home by a neighbor, Ed Hatton – apparently because John would not give Hatton a bottle of whisky. An iron spike was driven into the ground to mark where John fell. He is buried with his parents in the Benitz-Kolmer cemetery in Timber Cove, California.
Per anecdotes, John was not liked by his neighbors. Charles Fairfax, a subsequent owner of Fort Ross, found him so unpleasant that he preferred to build his own timber loading shute rather than rent or use John’s. It is possible that, because he was so disliked, Ed Hatton was not convicted of his murder, claiming at trial that he had shot John by mistake when shooting at sea-gulls (see the newspaper articles below).
John is thought to have married and have had at least two daughters. We don't know what became of them because upon his death no heirs came forward and, as per agreement, ownership of the farm reverted to Wilhelm’s heirs.
Sonoma Co., Voter Register 1890 |
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© Peter Benitz (Benitz Family)